Patience...

Isaiah 40:31 - But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

What is it about us that cause us so much agony when we have to wait? We get so tired and impatient when we don’t get instant answers to the problems that we face in life. But as we study the scriptures, we will find that God moves at His own pace and according to His Will.

God teaches us valuable lessons through the waiting periods in our lives. Just because He does not answer us in the way we want, does not mean He will not answer us at all. When we read about how long some of the people in the bible had to wait, our waiting seems insignificant. Like the children of Israel, who endured so much pain under the bondage of slavery? They had to endure so much until God said enough is enough, I will bring deliverance to my people. The woman with the issue of blood suffered twelve long years. Job during his affliction had to wait and endured the loss of family, friends, and possessions before God decided He would heal his body. We don’t have to look in the bible to find people who have waited for seemingly forever for their situations to change.

Some of us are still enduring but we have not lost hope that God will deliver us. The word of God teaches us to wait on the Lord and be of good courage and He shall strengthen our heart Psalms 27:14. In our time of transition God will give us strength to persevere. He will daily pour into us His spirit so we can stay in the race. During our waiting we must dwell on all that is good. We must cast the “what if’s” from our minds. Ask God to reveal to you the lesson He wants you to learn while you wait. Maybe He wants patience to be perfected in you so you can be whole and entire wanting nothing James 1:2-3 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produce endurance. Do you agree that every time you face a trail you are stronger than you were before you went through the test?

You are better equipped to handle the next obstacle because your faith increased. God’s grace is sufficient although we can’t see the end results, we know the end result will be victory through Jesus once again! I needed this reminder today as I face new obstacles and I wanted to share with you.

Sincerely from my heart...

In doing research when writing this novel Soiled Diamond, my main source of data was retrieved from www.childwelfare.gov specifically under the Child Abuse and Neglect Statistics column. I was alarmed by what my researched revealed concerning the statics of child abuse, not only worldwide but in the United States of America! It’s a sad reality that child abuse is more of a widespread problem than I imagined. Generally, we don’t pay a lot of attention to the things that don’t affect us.

I have worked with young people for most of my adult life in Youth Ministry at my church, with volunteering with the school system, and several nonprofit youth programs throughout the city. I’ve dealt with youth maneuvering through low self-esteem, self-image and acceptance issues, bullying, poverty, hunger, and their basic needs being met. I’ve assisted youth in dealing with hurtful words spoken by those in authority. I always encouraged them to rise above the negative stigmas that try to define them. I haven't encountered a situation like I wrote about in my fiction novel. Sadly, I realize that it doesn’t mean it never existed in the lives of the youth that I mentored. It just wasn’t revealed to me.

In writing this book I dealt with so many emotions because I know my character’s story is some scared little boy or girl’s reality. I have expressed countless times in describing the nature of my book that although the characters are fictional the content is real. As I realize there are millions of children that fall victim to childhood abuse.

It is my prayer that relief from their tragic circumstances is obtained. I hope this book will shed light on this dark evil currently plaguing our world. May it offer hope and ultimate freedom to some child that is currently suffering. I relate the character to a diamond because like a diamond she is tough. She endured so much pain and heart ache from the refining process. Just as a diamond is soiled with coal and must go through a rigorous process to sparkle. She too is covered with the weight of the world pressing her down.

There is hope for her as she realizes her own self-worth and value. She finally embraces the truth that although she is soiled at this particular time in her life…she is still a diamond!

Thank you in advance for your support.

-Patricia Brower

Walking in Forgiveness

There are many things that hinder us from achieving our full potential in life. Some things that hinder us are revealed and we know exactly what they are, and others things remain a mystery. At times we embrace the truth concerning the “demons” in our lives and at other times we choose to ignore God’s revelations as He reveals truth to us. Then there are times that we suppress the truth because of the pain. The fact still remains that we face certain detours on our Christian journey because we allow other things unnecessary access in our lives. It’s not the blatant, obvious sin in our lives that keep us hindered; it is the little foxes that spoil the vine! (see Song of Solomon 2:15 JKV)

Through the years I have made excuses for not living my full potential in Christ. I conveniently blamed my pastor, church leaders, friends, family, spouse, children anyone else I could, for not doing God’s Will. However, in order to free myself I had to come face to face with the sin that was so prevalent in my life. Trust me it is not easy to come face to face with the sin that you have suppressed for so long. When God placed my new book, “Motivated by God’s Love to Forgive”, on my heart to write it was very hard. The reason it was so hard is because I was in bondage to the sin of unforgiveness, for a very long time. Until I allowed God to heal me I was being hindered in every facet of my life. I was hindered because I was not free to forgive. When He revealed truth to me, and I was finally in a position to accept the truth, I cried out unto the Lord with an earnest plea to create in me a clean heart. I acknowledged the sin in my life and I asked God to heal me as only He can.

This book was written several years ago but I kept procrastinating getting it published. Unbeknownst to me at the time, the truth was that I still had unforgiveness in my life that had not been dealt with! God’s Word teaches us that we must forgive. Today is the day for you to embrace the freedom of forgiveness. It is my prayer that as you read this book, the love of God will motivate you to acknowledge your sin, let go of the past that has held you bound for so long. My sincere desire for you is that you will be motivated by God’s love to move on even when the pain is so real and precise. May God’s love assure and comfort you as you truly forgive, denouncing the revengeful and evil thoughts that constantly plague your mind. God’s love will motivate you to enjoy the freedom that forgiveness brings. You must refuse to be bound again, enslaved to torment and fear. Allow God’s love to motivate you to accept His healing as only He can heal. Healing comes in many ways accept the healing God has for you! Don’t allow a closed mind to hinder you from receiving all that God’s wants for you to have. It is my prayer that God will use this book as a tool to reach you at your place of need, may you be free to walk in the restoration of new life that true forgiveness yields.

-Patricia