"Sometimes, I really don’t know how it is that I’m still smiling!" Life has its way of taking us through painful experiences, one thing after the next, and yet I am still able to walk around smiling. Some days, I wish I could crawl back into bed and let the world do without me for the day, but somehow somewhere deep inside there's a little bit of joy that is dying to be shared. My students sometimes find it strange, and they ask me if I'm ever having a bad day or feeling sad. Of course I do! Quite often!

It’s exactly how I know that God is real because even as I’m going through my storms, I remember that God has his hands on me the entire time. I remember how He’s ALWAYS gotten me out of tough situations and blessed me with better ones. It makes me appreciate the blessings more, and it gives me a testimony and story to share with anyone who may be going through the same thing that I went through or even unknowingly preparing for a similar storm. Not only can I give them a little bit of the Word, but I can also give them a relate-able story and experience that is more believable for them.

A lot of people have a hard time believing in God because they can’t see Him or they don’t see what He’s doing, but we as Christians and as believers have to tell our stories and say “Hey, here’s a visual. This is what you CAN see." You CAN see that God helped me through getting out of debt. You CAN see that God lead my husband and I through saving our marriage when we thought it was over, and we were both DONE. God blessed us with a beautiful baby boy when I wasn’t sure if I could even get pregnant. You can SEE that!

"You don't need science to SEE God move..."

It’s so important to get to that point because now, more than ever, we know that Jesus is coming back. We don’t know when nor do we know how our lives are going to end. The best way to be okay with that is to be prepared so that when it happens you know you’re a believer, you’re saved, and you’re GOOD!

If you've ever wondered why you had to go through certain things because you feel you didn't deserve to, just know that somewhere someone is preparing for a similar battle that will need your guidance and your story. They may need your help navigating that situation, even if they don't know it. Don't be afraid to share how you made it through!

Need more inspiration? Subscribe to my site to receive inspirational emails to start your week on a positive note. Feel free to share this post with someone you know and love so they can be inspired, too! And please try to be a blessing to someone today. We really don’t know what good you can be adding to their story.

♡♡♡

Samantha Maree