“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”—Romans 8:28

I know that when you are in the midst of a trial it might be hard to read Romans 8:28. You may think, “Lord, how can anything good possibly come out of this? Look at this scripture as a promise from God to you. He gives us this scripture to give us hope. Hope that something good will come from our suffering. Hope that God will use it to make a difference for someone else because of the pain we ourselves have endured.

When my first husband died, and I was led to this scripture, I had to cling to this promise. I had to believe that something good was going to come from this tragedy. I was determined to not let his death be in vain. I quickly found out that there were not a lot of resources for younger widows, especially ones that were pregnant with a toddler. God laid it on my heart early on that I was going to do something about that. 

God led me to a group called Widowed Persons Services, where the average age was probably mid 60’s-70’s. However the woman in charge had been widowed twice. Once in her late 20’s with two young children and the 2nd time in her 50’s. Nine months after my first husband’s death, she helped me get a support group going for younger widows. I led and facilitated that group for over two years. God used my pain to become my purpose. 

God can and will use those challenging times in our lives. When I look back on my trials, rather than resent them, I am able to see God’s beauty from them because of how they changed my character to be more like Jesus. 

So while, I no longer lead grief support groups, I still have a heart to reach out to people who have been widowed. I will usually make a prayer shawl and bring it to them. I am what you might call a, “lazy knitter.” I don’t like hard projects that take me too long to make. For me, a prayer shawl means, straight garter stitch triangle shawl on larger needles, so I can get it finished in one evening. 

I also think about Knit, Pray, Share. This is a movement that I am doing (hopefully some of you reading this are doing it too) that is a way to minister to those in our every day life by giving them the gift of encouragement by letting them know they make a difference in your day. Like I mentioned last week, it might be awkward at first. Your heart may be beating fast, but once the words start to come out, and you see the thankfulness in the recipients eyes, you know you did what you were called to do. Being obedient to God’s prompting does bring blessings to those around you. If you haven’t done it yet, step out in faith this week and let someone know that they matter. 

Dear Lord,

Thank You that You are working in my life and using ALL things in my life to bring about good. I know I can’t see what You are doing. I ask that You help me to trust You during my dark times. Let my faith be evident to those around me. I pray these things in the Mighty name of Jesus! Amen

If you are memorizing this months scripture,“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!”—Galatians 5:22-23, make sure you keep it with you as you knit or crochet this week or put it on a sticky note where you will see it.

Please make sure you tweet @KnitPrayShare or share your projects on the Knit Pray Share Facebook page or Instagram using the hashtags #ThreadsWithRed #KnitPrayShare.