Before the Dawn

I have often heard it said it is darkest before the dawn. I woke early this morning thinking and mulling over how many people I have spoken to recently who have wandered through the darkness till it got so dark they couldn’t imagine what was ahead and then like a blaze of glory, a tiny speck of light appeared before them......and then more........and then.........an increasing dawning of a new day.........a new experience.......a new life..........a new job...........a new relationship...........



My son, Jared never ceases to amaze me. I have always learned a lot from Jared’s perspective. He has put his father and me through Hell and back more times than I care to relate. Yet, he always learns from the experiences.....and so do we! He always comes through it with insight that makes me think he is wise beyond his years.



Jared has just gone through some very trying times in his “ministry/business” in Rwanda. How he got over there is an incredible story in itself but what he has learned since landing there is just...........well...........miraculous. But these last few months have been the darkest and hardest tests and trials he has gone through since starting his work in Africa. He was falsely accused of doing things he fights so hard against and had to devote a lot of time and money he did not have to defend himself, his organization and the family he has established in Rwanda. (If you want to read about it, you can read the latest newsletter update HERE)



All throughout the ordeal he kept telling me he was learning a lot about what God wanted him to see. As his mother, fearing for his life, his reputation, his sanity.....it was sometimes difficult for me to handle. He is visiting here now, in the USA, and I have talked to him several times about his ordeal. He says unequivocally that had he not gone through the darkness he never would have learned all he did.....which has propelled him into some new directions and avenues he would likely not have explored otherwise. He even goes so far as to say he would go through it all again for what he has learned.



Wow.........that’s a pretty bold statement! Yet I so understand it. I can look back twenty years ago when Dan and I experienced what we not so fondly refer to as our “crash and burn” experience of losing our home, our cars, everything we owned due to a business venture Dan got into that went majorly SOUTH! It was a devastating time for us......yet I have since often expressed how valuable that experience was to us in learning principles we now use to help others put their careers and lives in perspective. It was better education than sitting in the classroom hoping for a piece of paper that says we pass or fail.



A young girl I am mentoring has been working hard to better her life. She is a former inmate who is fighting to put her past behind her and change her family tree. She has told me that had she not gone to prison, she would never have met me. I heard her pray at a prison worship service I was conducting and knew in my heart this girl needed a hand up. I knew she was a lost child who needed a new family. She now calls me Mom and she has come through the darkness to a new light in her life. And she is still learning. Recently her grandmother died and her home was broken into all within days of one another. She was crushed at first..........but she is a fighter and a strong young woman of God. She is now looking at some options that may take her away from living in the projects the rest of her life. It is her greatest desire to get out of the environment she has always known and give her young daughter a new family tree in which to climb. I know she will do it. I know she is seeing the dawn just ahead and that is exciting to watch unfold!



It is not infrequent my husband hears clients and readers tell him that getting fired was the worst time in their lives and the best time in their lives. Getting fired can often propel you into a new venture you never dreamed could happen. Losing a job can be the impetus to relieve you of that “comfortable misery” of lying day in and day out on that sharp nail.



One thing I know for sure........... I always learn a lot from listening to Jared. He told me probably a year ago that he knows when he is in his darkest hours to be confident God has something really exciting up ahead. He has learned not only to expect it but to live in eager anticipation. Wow! Another good principle. Just like lying your head on that comfortable pillow at night knowing it is going to get darker and darker and when you wake you will face the light of a new dawn and a new experience with exciting anticipation.



I need to always remember that God has His hand on me and if I can weather the storms of life a new dawn will soon appear and I can be comforted in knowing His Plan for me is going to be far better than I could ever have imagined on my own. So why waste energy and time by fretting? I want to take on Jared’s perspective. It is much healthier and will add more years and joy to my life............so today is a new dawn and I intend to expect good things to happen! Carpe Diem!