Making A Difference

Alright, I am finally sitting down to post about something I was inspired to post Tuesday.  Lazy. Let's move forward.

If you didn't know, I teach group exercise classes at the YMCA. It is amazing. I get paid to work out and build relationships with people.  It has been a huge blessing in my life for two years now. I'm not always in the mood to workout or even be around people, but b/c I know people are counting on me, I go and my day is always better (most of the time). ;) This past Tuesday after teaching Sh'Bam (dance fitness), a woman came up to me and thanked me for my humor in class. She said that she was going through a really difficult time with her family and that it was therapy for her.  She never misses a class. She says she makes herself go b/c she knows she will always have a smile on her face and leave feeling better. Wow! That may not sound like much to you, but that spoke volumes to me. I can relate to her and she probably doesn't even know it. It is therapeutic for me during this hard time as well. I was so encouraged, I prayed and thanked God right then for using me in her life. I pray often for my classes and really desire to use them as a ministry tool. To hear that it is happening, even when I thought I could not be used at the time is amazing and humbling. I would pray, "God, heal me from this so I can use it for your glory," when really he can use me while I'm going through it.

A similar circumstance happened this past Friday evening. (Okay, God is really up to something now) :) My family and I went to a new home group through our church. They were working on testimonies and talking about how your testimony is different depending on who you are talking to. For instance, if I am sharing with someone at the gym, I may use an example of how God used exercise to give me strength, etc.  Anyway, we were writing down some key points that we would later share with eachother. I felt in my heart that the strongest testimony that I had and needed to share was how Christ has been a provider of hope even through dark depression. I got choked up, b/c I am still going through this and it is difficult to talk about.  Somehow in spite me and in spite of that, God used it. Right there in a room full of Christians. Praise God! I still pray for healing and to be able to speak comfortably about the issue of depression, but now I also pray for opportunities to share and let God use me now.

I just started taking an antidepressant and am praying for the best.  I am feeling most of the side effects, but hopefully in a couple weeks my body will adjust and I won't have them.  To have hope of freedom from this horrible disease is truly awesome.