All things work together.....

All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28

This is my life verse.  Well, to be fair, this has been my life verse for at least the last 17 years.  I'm not arrogant enough to pretend to know what God's going to do with me in the next 17+ years of my life.

{Well wait, sometimes I am.  Darn.}

I am; however, smart enough to realize that whatever happens to me or through me, God is going to use for a good reason at some point in time, so I don't know if he's going to give me a different life verse for the next chapter of my life.

I do know that this verse has been my 'go-to' verse for a while.  It's the verse I say over and over in my head when I don't understand some circumstance, when something messes with my sense of fairness, when I don't understand the 'why' of the situation.

"All things" means just that. All things. The kids spilling milk at the kitchen table for what seems like the millionth time. The sassy response of a 4 year old who might morph into a teenager overnight. The child, small for his age, who has become the brunt of teasing by 'friends'.  The loss of a baby I'll never know here on earth.

All things.

"...work together for good." All of those situations, all of those experiences, all of those feelings, all of those regrets are coming together into a product only known to God.  He's using those things within me and through me for good.  What Satan means for harm, God uses for good.  The experiences work together, which means that one experience doesn't occur in isolation and that all experiences are necessary for me to fulfill what God intends.  And what God intends is good, even if the experiences necessary to get me there don't feel like it to me as I'm living them.

"...to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose." That's me!  I hope that it's you, too. No matter how often I stumble, no matter how badly I mess up, I love God.  That means everything I have gone through, am going through, and will go through is worth it, because it's molding and shaping me to be the person God wants me to be so that I can accomplish the things He wants me to with His help and through His strength.

I feel like the things He wants me to do have a lot to do with the my personal experiences.  Those same experiences that I felt necessitated Romans 8:28 being my life verse.  I feel like I'm supposed to reach out and assist those going through life trying to wear some of the same hats that I've worn.  Those perhaps stumbling in the same areas in which I stumbled and struggling in the same areas I've struggled.

My next question is, "How?"  Followed closely by, "What might that look like?"

One avenue to assist me along this journey could be the She Speaks Conference, sponsored by Proverbs 31 Ministries.  Lysa TerKeurst is hosting a scholarship contest on her blog and the scholarship recipient will be gifted with attendance to their annual conference, which is designed to answer those very questions for women.  I'm hopeful that this conference might solidify for me exactly how God wants to use me and what that might look like.  I've sat too long on my experiences and feel convicted to use my life experiences to help others through theirs.

The She Speaks Conference is designed to assist those who want to develop their speaking, writing, or women's ministry skills to their fullest potential.

I'm not worthy of doing this on my own and in my own strength, and trust that I'll certainly need to rely on the Lord's guidance as I set out on this journey.

Regardless of who wins the Cecil Murphy Scholarship, please pray for each of the ladies entering, as I have no doubt God wants to do amazing things through their lives.  Please pray for the conference itself and those involved in the preparations.  And I'll selfishly ask that you pray for me as I try to answer these questions in my own life.