My friend Laine Lawson Craft is the author of the Enjoy Today, Own Tomorrow series and shares some great tips on the three R’s of healing in today’s blog post.
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The past year has been quite a challenge for all of us. From the pandemic to quarantine, all of our lives have been turned upside down. Many of us are struggling on how to put the pieces of our lives back together again so that we can move forward. Sometimes we feel like we have lost all sense of normalcy or certainty in our lives. How do we heal from all of the trials and tests that we’ve all faced? How do we know we are following God’s best for our lives?
The answer to the path of healing is found in discovering the three R’s: reconnect, realign, and reactivate our lives.
When the pandemic hit, many of us were stunned by the impact it caused. We were locked up in our homes. We were not allowed to attend church. Our schools were closed. Almost every area of our lives had been affected by Covid-19. This brought us to a reality that we had never experienced before. Many of us seemed unclear on what our next move would be. The first R, reconnect, is the answer to the rescue we do desperately need. When we are lost or confused we must first turn our thoughts and hearts towards God running into His arms. When we reconnect with God, accept His love, and lean into His guidance, then our lives will have a new level of clarity and direction.
We begin the second phase as we get to the next R, realign. We begin to realign with God by allowing God to move through our broken hearts and shattered dreams so that we can find healing. We realign our thoughts and plans as we seek God’s will and ways for our lives. When we realign, we are made whole and live in step with God’s purpose for our lives.
The final R, reactivate, is the most essential step in the three R’s. This comes from the supernatural power that lives inside of us. We must reactivate or stir up the power inside of us, the living power of God called the Holy Spirit. Then as we reactivate this power of God living inside of us, it enables us to reconnect, realign, and reactivate our lives in God’s strength and wisdom. So that, we know God will orchestrate your steps to give you your best life now! You will find peace knowing He’s got you!
GIVEAWAY: Leave a comment below sharing a time when God used the pain you were experiencing to reconcile you back to Him to be entered for a chance to win a book bundle!
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Laine Lawson Craft is a popular speaker and best-selling author. Her book Enjoy Today Own Tomorrow has helped thousands of women learn to lean into God’s power and healing in their lives. The Enjoy Today, Own Tomorrow Journal has been created to help women reconnect their lives with God, realign their hearts to His, and reactivate their faith daily.
My first marriage ended in divorce but I have two beautiful and amazing children to be thankful for from this marriage. When I had met and allowed someone else to come into my life my well being and my children’s were a priority. Over a period of time I realized that I was not my happy self and became a chameloeon to appear otherwise . I felt like a weeker woman than what I was, avoided conflict, his ethics where not matching mine and In some ways I was afraid of this person leaaving our lives but I knew I had to make a choice to me the role model that my children deserved to have a fullfilling life. I started reading again and one of the books I reached for was Rick Warren’s “The Purpose Driver Life:What on Earth am I Here For?” God had given me direction through this book. The words that came to mind is that God doesn’t want me to “just take it” He wants me to live the full life that he has intended for me to have. I grew up in the Church all of my life and so thankful to my parents to have built this foundation for me because there was a number of years that I did not attend but I knew God was with me probably not always happy with me but He was with me. So the following Saturday, I announced to the man in my life that on Sunday morning that I will be returning to Church with my children . I didn’t even think to ask him because it was something that I had to do. Sunday morning came and he got ready and came to Church with us. One year later he was baptized into Christ and a few months after that we were married (and still until this day). As I was renewing and building my personal relationship with God, God was working within me so my husband could start building his relationship with God. He is with us every challenge and season along the way.
SO powerful! I am so proud of you and your faith! God is faithful too! I love that when we draw closer to Him that He promises us that He will draw closer to us. God is with us in every challenge and season and He will always prove to be faithful! Thanks for sharing! Love to you!
Congratulations Stacey Weatherbee! You won the bundle! Please email your mailing information to me at [email protected]
I applied for the same job 5 times. Four of them of course were no’s or I would not have applied the 5th time. The job I had been applying for was to be the assistant manager of the house I had been working in for years.
I was determined to get this job. The key phrase here is that “I” was determined. “I” was going to beat the repeated rejections I kept getting. “I” had stopped listening to God yelling at me firmly “NO!” every time I applied. You see that job was never in “Gods” plan for me but it sure was “MY” plan. So, on the 5th try I was hired for the assistant manager job.
At beginning of 2018 when I transitioned from support staff of the group home I worked in to assistant manager and then as Manager in May 2019. Being on call 24/7/365 took a toll on my life in all areas. Physically I was exhausted from phone calls and text messages from staff in the middle of the night for NON-emergency stuff. Emotionally I was drained from the demands that came down from the Admin office. Spiritually I was dyeing a slow death. I complained A LOT to God and my office partner.
But God…I look back and see God’s hand all over me in 2018. I 100% believe God allowed the on the job fall on March 17th, 2018 that dislocated my left elbow and broke my left little finger. You see that fall put me out of commission for 2 months. Dr. orders to stay 100% at home, no working.
During that time 2 very major incidents took place in the home I was assistant manager in allowing the very experienced manager to handle in my place. God’s hands were all over that. After 4 months I returned doing light duty, desk work only. I never came off light duty for the rest of 2018.
Then because my elbow never healed I needed elbow reconstruction surgery in Feb 2019. That put me out of commission again for 2 months. At this point my mobility was declining very rapidly due to my right knee osteoarthritis (bone on bone) and it was becoming apparent I was getting to the point of physically not being able to do my job.
Then in May of 2019 the Admin office restructured management on the homes removing all assistant managers to make them sole manager of the home and the previous manager would transition into newly created job. When that happened, I knew my days were numbered due to both my really bad knee and my still being on light duty due to my elbow injury.
Then July 2019 my mom passes away after being in ICU on life support for 4 days. On day 4 I had them turn life support off. Four days later I suffered a severe PTSD panic attack when I was called in the middle of the night due to one of the homes residents going by ambulance to the hospital.
It was my job to drive to the group home, pick up their medical notebook and then arrive at the hospital to stay with the resident. I could not do it. My PTSD was so bad that I had to ask the caregiver that called me to go in my place. She had to do what my job was to do.
My days were numbered. I could no longer physically do the job but now after the trauma of my moms death I mentally could no longer do my job so I turned in my resignation before I could be terminated.
God’s hands were all over those 2 years I was in management. I still wonder why because you see I stepped out of HIS WILL to do my own when I applied for the job. God told me “no” and I refused to listen and applied anyway.
Even in my disobedience He allowed things to happen to keep me from dealing with issues I was not prepared to deal with. When God told me to write my letter of resignation I obeyed even when I did not have a fool proof financial plan in place yet. This was the hardest step out in faith I had to do. Also walking away from a group home, I had worked in for 16 years was even harder because the clients were like family to me.
But I obeyed and God opened up so many doors in my life to finish out 2019 strong. After my mom’s death there were finances in place to support me. The door opened for me to enter the medical program that would later allow me to get Gastric Bypass surgery in June of 2020 so I could finally lose the weight I needed to lose. My chronic pain improved with my weight loss.
COVID opened doors for me to be obedient in Gods calling for me to write. Virtual writers conferences became available to me. What was a sad moment for the industry was a blessing for me. God used my on-the-job injury to get me off of “my” path and back onto His path and plan for my life.
I can honestly say I am glad God allowed me to fall while at work so everything medically was covered by saif, my job was secured till the claim closed and during my physical healing time God began a great work in my heart, preparing me for the life I am living today.
The best thing I ever did was obey God and walk away from that job. Because you see the job as manager was slowly killing me and God saved my life, so to speak.
Wow! I am so thrilled to connect! These 3 R’s helped me to run to God, reconnecting to Him, AM and not run away from Him when the hurts happen. Then I take my broken heart and realign with God’s loving heart so that He can mend my brokenness into a beautiful mosaic. Then I am able to allow God to move through my hurts by reactivating the power, the supernatural power of God, that lives in me so I can lean into His strength, power , and capacity so that I can heal from the hurts that life is sure to bring! I pray that this will help you too!
YOU are amazing! God is surely moving through you! Thank you for sharing this story of how God is concerned in every detail of our lives. Love to you!
Thanks for sharing. It has been a difficult year for so many, on so many different levels. Love the 3 R’s! I am ready to reconnect, realign, and reactivate!
God used the pain of dashed dreams to bring me back to Himself. Like many people, I had dreams and expectations of how my marriage, children, health, and career would be. None of those things turned out as I expected, but all of these things drove me to seek Him in a deeper way and to realize that I was in some ways using the very gifts He had given me to satisfy as ONLY He can. When He brought me to this realization, I put all those things on the altar and renewed my relationship with Him and He is now EVERYTHING to me.
At 35 I went through a very painful divorce from my childhood sweetheart. At the time I was a paralegal and my personal life became courthouse fodder in my small town. Needless to say I was humiliated and devastated. BUT GOD!!!!!! Had it not been for His work on my life and what I can now identify as the three Rs working in my life, the story would have ended there! However, that was not the case! God had plans for me and what the enemy meant for evil, He used for my good. God told me earn a grad degree and change careers. I went on to work with single parents in the child welfare system for over a decade. Moreover, I now have a consulting firm and have one of the largest child welfare systems in the country as a client. Talk about realignment! And none of it would have been possible if I had not submitted myself to the principles you shared. Sooooo grateful!