By Diane K. Chamberlain
Many times, we see weakness as a place of
failure where we live with pain, heartache, and despair and this is what I
thought my life was going to be. My life always felt as though it
was taking a nosedive to a place of permanent defeat until God began to work in
a way I never thought could be.
After learning about a congenital problem
in both my knees as a young girl I never thought my life would go in
a direction that would lead me down a road of multiple knee surgeries from the
age of seven to the age of forty-five. As time passed, even more was added to
my plate through the loss of children and the memory of a past sexual
abuse. As each circumstance piled high upon the others, my life
began to feel so overwhelmed and out of control, that I could not see any real
purpose for my life and even began to question God’s love for me.
Many times, I would try to figure out the
purpose behind so much pain and heartache, until one day, God’s timing began to
allow me to view the true purpose for my life. As I began to
surrender the pain and heartache over to God, He began to exchange these
moments with His words of love and encouragement. As I continued to
follow His lead and walk in the footprints that He had laid out for me, I began
gradually to see the reason behind each painful moment in my life. I came to
see He was transforming my heart to hear His voice and encourage me by His
loving presence.
As time has passed over the years of my
life, God has allowed me to share the words He gave me as a means of
encouraging others who live in despair through my ministry–A Refuge thru the
Storm along with five published books of inspiration. Life can
become one difficult journey and we can question the purpose for our existence.
But when we choose to focus on God who already knows the plan for our lives,
rather than focusing on our circumstances, then God will give us a clear view
of the pathway. He longs for us to follow.
Now I have been in ministry for ten years
and God continues to teach me more about His love for me. As He brings these
special gifts into my life, He also continues to lead me to those who could use
a special gift of encouragement. When we choose to pursue our lives
according to God’s plan, while ignoring the words that our circumstances try to
dictate to us, then we will have the heart that can open up the way for God to
walk in and make our lives complete.
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As a child Diane lived in the outskirts of a small town in Michigan, where we only
lived a pathway away from where my favorite great-grandfather lived. I loved
his place because he had an orchard with all kinds of things to enjoy and
explore. While playing outside one day, with my brothers and sister, I suddenly
fell to the ground, while experiencing a great amount of pain. Little did I know that this first doctor's visit
would take me on a long journey...through 21 major knee operations,
in an attempt to correct a congenital problem in both of my knees. To this day,
I still live with a deteriorating left knee and a rod in my right leg.
Diane can be found at A Refuge thru the Storm Ministry Link: www.jesuscarechildrenministryus.org & DianKChamberlain@aol.com
Twitter Link: https://twitter.com/DianChamberlain
Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/DianKChamberlain
