Stepping into the Light

It's the last day of August 2009 and here are five reasons August was a really good month for me:

1. I sat down with someone who felt a bit sad and shared with him the story of what it was like for me when my late husband died and what God provided in my life afterward. Going back to Jae's deathbed over lunch made me cry a little, but the young man with whom I shared it said he felt more hopeful that real love can happen more than once in a lifetime, and that's a good thing.
2. I watched my husband Benjamin forgive a friend who did his best to deeply wound him with words. He accepted the following apology and talked over the incident calmly with his friend. Mature behavior in one's man is a real turn-on.
3. My husband gave me more reason to admire him when he gave someone in our church a second chance, but had sense enough to add locks to a couple of doors. Married men, if you don't know, your wives are thrilled with any opportunity to feel proud of you. (Any married lady who has not made this clear to your husband, start letting him know.)
4. Seeing many, many dear friends we had missed was one of the highlights of a trip to Tennessee for a Faith Conference at Faith Mission Ministries, Inc. Sharing the trip with our two boys and several members of our church seriously sweetened the experience for me and my husband.
5. On August 2nd, we officially became part of the Faith Mission Ministries family of churches under Bishop Harold K. Browning. Our church is no longer made up of St. Stephen's people and Koinonia Faith people. We are St. Stephen's Koinonia Church and we have each other's backs. We're in love with God and the work He has called us to do is our focus.

Those are the highlights of August for me, but not the end of my list of things for which to thank God this month. At the same time, bad things happened too, but reminding ourselves of the good makes the bad seem so much less worth mentioning.

What were your August highlights? Remember that when you share your stories of what He has done, God is glorified and you may just increase someone else's hope.