“Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?”
Esther 4:14

Doesn’t life feel like a rollercoaster of highs and lows?  Some days are filled with smiles and sunshine, and other days are filled with storms and tears.  The days of sunshine can seem so perfect but then a storm hits and when the storm hits it can hit really hard.  The storm and following recovery can seem never ending. The bible teaches us over and over that there is a time and season for everything.  We see this in Ecclesiastes 3 as Solomon, a man of great wisdom, shares that life is filled with ups and downs but through it all God remains with us.

Last week we shared in all transparency the struggle with weariness and the need for rest. We are thankful that God meets us where we are and provides grace in our struggles.  He finds us in our low places and He fills us up.  It is through Him we are provided strength  –  not so that we can sit in the solitude of our strength – but so we can pour out of ourselves into others.   We are vessels to be used for His glory.  By God’s grace, we are resilient and through the storms WE WILL RISE.

The story of Esther has to be one of our favorites in the Bible.  It tells of a young girl hand picked by God to deliver her people from great harm.  In eyes of men, everything was against her.  She was too young, of the wrong descent, of the wrong family name, and she was an orphan.  She did not have the background or type of leadership experience  needed to save her nation but still SHE ROSE.

We believe that there is a TIME TO RISE for each of us.  We are never meant to stay down-and-out. We are not meant to live in a constant state of discouragement or defeat. Our situations may not always be ideal and sometimes our backs may be up against the wall, but WE CAN RISE.

We can rise against the storms in our life.  We can rise against the challenges we face.   We can rise against sickness.  We can rise against hurt.  We can rise against pain.  We can rise against failure.  We can rise against the tough decisions. We can rise against naysayers.  We can rise against the worlds view of us.  WE CAN RISE.

“Do not gloat over me, my enemy!  Though I have fallen, I WILL RISE.
Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light.”
Micah 7:8

We can rise to become a voice of hope.  We can become an ear to listen.  We can become  an arm to help.  We can become the feet that march for injustices.  We can become a person of influence, regardless of our history.  We can become a person of substance and purpose.

We want to encourage you to take a look around… Your home or your job, your neighbors or where you go to school.  God has assigned you where you are for this specific time and purpose.  It takes sacrifice and looking outside of our own wants and needs, but the reward is great and engraved in eternity.  It does not matter how great or how small you feel the call is, what matters is you rise to the occasion.  You matter and you are important.  Your life has immeasurable  value.  It is time to RISE and be the light and life to those around you.

In honor of Maya Angelou’s birthday, we included a link to her poem Still I Rise which served as encouragement to us.

Always,

Tisha & Misty