Happy New Year everyone! I’ve been away for the last few months and this post will explain a little bit of why. I wanted to be open with everyone about where I’ve been and what’s been going on. If you follow me over on Instagram you may have noticed I’ve been posting a lot about things not going the greatest.
When it comes to social media a lot of the time we tend to post only the good things. If we’re going through something we’ll wait until the storm is over to share what was going on, but I want to be a bit different here. 2018 was a very complicated year, it had a lot of good, but it also had a lot of bad. Starting off 2019 really wasn’t any better for me. I spent the first day of 2019 in tears because I didn’t want to go back to my job. Let’s rewind back to January 2018. After the first week of January I was out of a job because my boss was semi-retiring, by February I was blessed to have a new job. I’ll be honest it was fine at first, but it went bad quite fast. It wasn’t the nicest environment to work in and it brought a lot of stress and anxiety I just didn’t need in my life. I had a goal that if I couldn’t be in ministry right away I would love to get into the hospital since they pay so well, they give you benefits, etc. I applied for 4 jobs and after 4 months of trying I was hired in a new position at the hospital. I was SO excited because I felt like I could cross off a goal on my list, it took time and patience, but I made it. In October as many of you know I visited Uganda, Africa. It was a trip of a lifetime and coming up in the next few weeks I’ll be sharing the lessons I learned from my trip, but once I came back from that trip everything and I mean everything fell apart at my job. I won’t go into all the details, but it was bad enough that HR had to get involved. Now, nothing has changed and things probably won’t change for a bit. It’s been incredibly hard, draining in all sorts of ways, and beyond frustrating. Especially, when I didn’t go to school for this and it’s not what I want to be doing long-term.
So why am I telling you all this? I’m telling you this because if you’re going through something right now I want to let you know I understand. I get it, life is hard. It’s not easy, things fall apart, we cry, we get mad, we ask God why and guess what I’m there with you. Sometimes we think when we’re going through hard seasons no one understands because all we see is everyone’s shiny, perfect life on Instagram. I’ll be honest my life according to Instagram looks great, but it hasn’t been feeling like that for about 6 months now. I will say this God is with us, He’s still speaking, and this season will end, but in the meantime I wanted to reach out and let anyone out there who needs to hear this you’re not alone and if you need prayer feel free to message me. God is faithful I know He’ll work this out for all of us, but know that there’s someone who’s going through it just like you are.
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up
Galatians 6:9
For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
Ecclesiastes 3:1
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
Romans 8:28
Love,
She Laughs Mission 
I love that you’re willing to be real in the difficult times and I hope what I have to say will be an encouragement to you. I LOVE MY JOB and have worked here for 4 years. Part of the reason I love my job so much is because my boss is amazing. Then, last month, we had a public disagreement about faith. She’s always known I am a believer and I have always known that she is not but there was a mutual respect that felt completely obliterated by this disagreement and I very much contemplated finding a new job. Through seeking God’s guidance, and the counsel of other Christians, I decided to stay. I don’t believe that is the path God calls us all to and He may very well be calling you on to new places but I believe every trial is an opportunity for growth. Several years back my family was struggling pretty severely financially and I sought prayer from our pastor, not for our financial troubles to end, because I knew they eventually would, but that I would have revelation and receive whatever it was that God was trying to teach me through that season so I wouldn’t have to repeat it. Whatever the outcome, I pray that you can see God’s purpose for this trial and that you would grow from it and be a light wherever it is you end up.
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Alisha-I’m so sorry it’s off to a rough start for you. I too had a rough 2018 and am hoping this year will be better and I agree Gods presence is ever present and leaning into that truth has helped me immensely. Stay strong in His strength!
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I know how it feels. God is growing your faith and perseverance. James 1: 2-3 – “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.”
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