Walking Testimonies

I think I’ve shared this before but I’ll share it again.  Many years ago when I was in my 20’s I began my journey to recovery.  Of course, at the time I had no idea that the process was beginning.  All I knew was that suddenly everything was turning upside down.  I was beginning to face certain abuses at the hands of my father and it was time to stop pretending that it didn’t really bother me or had not affected me in a negative way.  There were other things going on at the time as well and I was really feeling like the world was crashing down on me and I was completely powerless to stop it.  I remember praying as I was driving one day.  (Drive time is my favorite time for prayer. J )  I asked God, “Why do I have to go through this?”  As I prayed that prayer a thought came into the back of my head.  “Because you’ll need it someday.”  That was odd.  How in the world would I need this someday?  The notion was completely ridiculous to me at the time.  It’s not so ridiculous now.   

I have learned since that every experience of abuse, every bad choice I’ve made, every horrible and filthy thing I’ve ever done, has been covered in Gods grace in such a way that now I draw from those experiences to help others and show them that they can find healing through Christ.  Each of us have a unique set of circumstances in our lives that God can and will use to help someone else through the same type situation if we let Him. 

Consider this….that which we are ashamed of and embarrassed by now, may already be affecting someone else in a positive way because they see how we have gone through it and how our lives have changed for the better.  For instance, when you feel like everyone is snickering behind your back because they all know what you’ve done, think of that one person who isn’t snickering because they are in that very same boat and they are watching you to see how you’ve dealt with it.  You may be bringing someone to Christ just by how you are living your life in spite of the obstacles you face!  I don’t know about you but for me, that is one big selah moment!  Stop and think about that!   

For we know that all things work together for good to them that love God.” –Rom. 8:28

Pretty awesome!

As of yesterday we have been officially open a week.  Last Wednesday was pretty much me sitting around doing nothing but watching my little girl and the little boy I babysit.  Friday night rolled around and it was very slow as well.  We had a few people come in and talk and get to know us a little but it was nothing to speak of really.  Then Saturday came and it was quite a day!  About 9:30 AM the kids started filing in.  We had a Yu-gi-oh tournament and after that we had a Naruto tournament.  Our sales for the day were way more than we expected.  It was an amazing day with many of the kids sticking around until we closed at 9 PM.  These kids are very well behaved as well which really blew me away. 

Yesterday, exactly one week after we opened, I sat there pretty bored again for a while.  Then guy came in with his family and bought some things and as he was leaving he mentioned that a bunch of the kids from Saturday were talking about coming in later in the day to play.  And they certainly did!  Around 4 PM they all came in and hung out until closing and sales were really good again!  The neat thing is that these kids are all begging to work there with us, telling us how awesome the place is, and thanking us for giving them a place to play!  Oh, and I forgot to mention that the ages of these kids range from 10 to 20.  Most of them around 16. 

Anyway, just wanted to share this with everyone.  I can’t tell you how often people have asked how we are going to make money because no one could imagine how much these kids love the games or how much they would invest in them.  I’m in shock about it myself! 

If anyone had told me last year that we’d be opening our own business and having this much fun doing it I’d have said they were crazy.  I’m sure many people were thinking we were crazy for trying!  But it just goes to show that good things may come from crazy ideas!