Being Thankful in All Circumstances

The other day I was talking to my sister on the phone and the topic of my parents' divorce came up. As we were talking I caught myself saying, "You know, I think I'm thankful that they got divorced." As soon as I said that I had to think about the words that had just come out of my mouth. Did I really just say that? Did I mean what I just said?


This summer I had the opportunity to talk to tons of kids, but there were some kids I got closer to than others. One thing that I really learned this summer is that ministry is best in the context of relationships. If you build a bond with someone they are more likely to trust you and listen to what you have to say. So for me, I always had those same questions I would ask kids at the lunch table or during hang time to spark conversations:: What did you learn in Bible Study today?  What's your favorite part about camp? etc. Sometimes these questions turned into really good conversations and other times they just filled up the awkward silence that was spent eating with kids during meals. But there were a handful of intentional conversations I had this summer with kids that were based on the topic of divorce--I'm going to share two of them. 


During my fourth week of camp at Eckerd College in Florida, I was asked to talk with a girl from my church group who wanted to know more about divorce because her parents had gotten one. I talked to her a few times and then another girl from my church group, Madison, wanted to talk about her parents' divorce as well. Madison and I talked one night after worship on the stage and I shared with her a little bit about my story and then she shared hers. She didn't understand why things had to be the way they were so I pulled out my Bible and read to her Romans 8:28, "And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." I told her that if we've accepted Christ into our lives and have been adopted into God's family then God is going to make sure that everything that we go through (good and bad) will end up working out for our benefit. She might not see it now, but her parents' divorce is going to work out for the best in the end. With that statement, Madison told me that she didn't have a relationship with Christ and had never made the decision to give her life to Him. Right there on the stage that night, Madison decided to accept Christ as her Lord and Savior and she gave her life to Him. It was such an awesome moment and it is one that I will never forget. 

Me with Madison

Madison accepted Christ on June 30, 2011

The other story I have is about a girl named Hannah that I met my eighth week of camp in Maryland. One afternoon at lunch I was sitting at the table with Hannah and she told me that her parents were divorced. I told her that mine were too and we began talking about her life back home. She told me that her parents were Christians and that she was as well. I asked her when had she become a Christian and she said she had been one ever since she was born. It was evident that she had never made a decision to follow Christ. We looked at some Scripture and talked some more and Hannah ended up giving her life to Christ. She was telling me that she knew she was a sinner, she knew that she didn't deserve life, but that she wanted to live the rest of her life for Christ. It was crazy to see God work through her situation of her parents' divorce to make Himself known to her. She knew that God was always going to be there for her, even when she had hard times dealing with her parents' divorce. 

                                     Me with Hannah
                                        Hannah accepted Christ on July 27, 2011


Looking back at the summer, I'm so glad that God provided me with that common ground so I could minister to kids who were struggling with divorce. When my parents got divorced I thought it was the worst thing ever, but I can see now that God made it part of my journey and He did it for a reason. Everything works according to His purpose and I should be thankful for the opportunity He has given me to minister to kids who are dealing with the same things that I have. God wanted me to go through all that so I could say, "Me too. I've been there." 


1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, "Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus." When I told my sister I was thankful for my parents' divorce I thought I was crazy, but after reading this verse it's shown me that I should be thankful! It was God's will for my life and who am I to second guess Him?