Living Today - Molly's Story

This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

The greatest joy I ever know as a Bible teacher is when one of my students surpasses me in knowledge, passion, dedication and service; such is the case with Molly Geralds, Amy Hughes's sister and an active member of Titus 2. This week after finding out the new bi-line is "Living in the present moment..." Molly wanted me to have a copy of "This is Today" -- an article she found in her church's bulletin. Upon receiving it, along with several other thoughts she shared with me , I asked if I could share them with you for today's comments regarding "This is the day" and as her MY STORY. With great joy I present to you Molly's thoughts.
____________________________________________________________________________________

I’d like to begin by saying that I am a 44 year old woman who was raised in the Lord's Church and had the best up-bringing anyone could ever ask for. My parents are wonderful and raised my two sisters and one brother and I in the way I believe God intended. We were just an ordinary, Christian family where nothing was amiss and feel like we must have been good examples to everyone who knew us. I married at the age of eighteen and have the most wonderful husband. We have now been married 26 years and counting.(Where does the time go?) We have been blessed to have two beautiful children, Christopher, 23, and Kimberly, 20. We also are extremely blessed to be the grandparents of Shannon, age 2. My 'other' children are Janie ( my daughter-in-law), and Matthew ( my future son-in-law). I raised my children the best I knew how, using my own up-bringing as a guide-line. Looking back now, I think it was my parents that instilled this great love I have within me for the Lord. I just pray my children have it too. I have, as long as I can remember, loved God and all things pertaining to God.

I have always had an incredible appetite for God's Word and have many copies of the Bible and many versions. I did not realize that everything I knew about God's Word was really not doing me any good until the summer of 2009. This is the time, in which, I feel my life began. By this I mean, everything has become 'new' since that summer. Now I know that sometimes God is working in our life by just 'preparing' us for sometime or something later. I feel like everything I had lived up until that time was a preparation for the life I have now. God is so good. He gives us everything we need, and at just the right time, because He knows us better than we know ourselves.

In the spring of 2009, I had come to a point in my life when nothing was making any sense and I had nowhere to turn. (or so I thought) I started telling myself I had resources and should be smart enough to know how to use them. I felt so far away from God that I could not bring myself to read my Bible or pray. I felt so unworthy.

How can I get answers to questions I had without going to God. Or how can I find out what is wrong with me without seeking God? This was the problem I faced. As I started seeking for answers, I remembered a video series I had by Teresa Kimbel. I thought that would be perfect for me figuring out what to do. Although it was not really 'peace' I was seeking, I started watching the videos, thinking this could be the solution to my dilemma. I had known Teresa since 1990 and had been a student in many, many of her classes, but had not really kept in touch with her since our move from Bowling Green in 1997. I trusted her and that was enough for me. Little did I know, although I believed everything she was saying, that this was not my answer. Most of it made sense to me but I could not find how this applies to me. When I reached the video where she tells us we can confuse our relationship with God with a relationship with the Bible, I knew that was probably me. I, at that time, struggled with what to do next. No one in my life even knew I had any of these struggles, so I never confided in anyone. Slowly, I started paying attention to what was going on around me. We were having a seminar at church on Wed. nights about relationships. I thought to myself, this couldn’t hurt (even though I thought I had no problems with any of my relationships) so I listened intently and nothing had changed. I still felt very far away from God. It was not until I heard the same thing being said, (three times now) over my new XM radio, that I realized God was telling me that I 'need' or 'have to' have a relationship with Him before I could get any answers to any questions. It was then that I knew I had to start over. And so I did.

Looking back now, it amazes me how God kept on and on and never gave up on me.
About those videos I watched, they make perfect sense to me now and have truly learned a lot from them. I think every woman would benefit from them. And about that relationship seminar I attended, every word he spoke has impacted me.(I acquired a copy on DVD) And about my radio, I still listen and know when God is trying to get through to me.

In case you're wondering how I got to the point I was at in the spring of '09, I can't explain it except to say falling away from God does not happen in one day. For a long time, I thought I was just not 'spiritually accountable' to any one, and through my own thinking, I lost touch with what really matters. Now I know what it means to guard your heart with all diligence. No one is going to give an account to God one day for me. I will have to do that myself. There is a song entitled 'Slow Fade' by Casting Crowns that somewhat explains the mess I was in.

I had come to the end of myself, and it DID cause me to come to the beginning of a vital relationship with my Lord I had never had before, just like you said in the videos. Although, I thought I had a relationship, it was not the kind of relationship God desires. So in discovering my smallness,( I was full of pride and selfishness and was 'puffed up') I knew I had to repent and start over. How does one do this? Where does one start? These were the questions I was asking myself. In the book, Heal Your Body, by Louise L. Hay,(which I had a copy of, because of you, Teresa) there is a chapter in the front entitled "The Point of Power Is In the Present Moment". I read this and wondered if this could be true. She made the statement "We seldom sit down and question our beliefs". So I took it upon myself to really, REALLY question my beliefs. Why do I believe this? or Why do I believe that? This brought me to my starting over point. There IS power in the present moment, for that is all we really have. We are not promised by God to have anything more or less than right now. He is in charge of "time" and we can only acknowledge that fact and live in the present moment or TODAY. Once I realized this and started 'walking' one day at a time, I began to see great things from the Lord and knew this was good advice. I started over with EVERYTHING, I even thought I had to relearn how to pray. Where does one go to learn this? How could I ask for help on this subject from a fellow believer without them thinking I was nuts! I went to Jesus. When his disciples asked him, he gave us all 'The Lord's Prayer'! He prayed for today. He did not mention the past or the future, He just prayed "give us this day our daily bread". Now I knew for sure this is how God wanted me to live (and pray) One day at a time. I now can live for and in today. Jesus said, "Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Every day became to me such a blessing from God and every day as I spent my quiet time with Him, I learned and saw and experienced and felt and read how great, merciful, and loving this God is whom I serve!!!! I was focused on today. I spend my time and energy in and on today and today only.

In September, my husband and I went to church with my mom one Sunday morning.
In the church bulletin was an incredible message, I knew God had sent to me!!!

How he knows what we need, and how He provides it, is so humbling and awesome!
I was at a point in my life, that I felt like I needed to be doing something. I felt guilty for knowing how wonderful God is, and not sharing somehow with others so they could know, too. This is the message from the church bulletin:

THIS IS TODAY

Today is here. I will start with a smile and resolve to be agreeable. I will not criticize. I refuse to waste my valuable time.

Today has one thing in which I stand equal with others... Time. All of us draw the same salary in seconds, minutes, hours.

Today I will not waste my time, because the minutes wasted are as lost as a vanished thought.

Today I refuse to waste my time worrying about what might happen. I am going to put my trust in God, and spend my time making things happen, and dealing with what takes place.

Today I will not imagine what I would do if things were different. They are not different. I will seek to do the best I can, using the material, circumstances and opportunities with which I have been entrusted by God.

Today I am determined to do the things I should do. I firmly determine to stop doing the things I should not do. In one week, I will be miles beyond the person I am today.

Today I resolve to cease complaining. I should/must remember that yesterday was the deadline for all complaints.

Today I will stop saying, "If I had time," for I will never find time for anything. If I want it I must take it.

Today I will act toward other people as though this were my last day on earth. I will not wait for tomorrow. Tomorrow never comes.

Today I will remember that faith does not have all the answers. Faith enables me to live without the answers.

Today..."This is the day the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalms 118:24)

To me, this seemed to be an answer from God on what I was supposed to be doing.
I was so happy and excited, I could not wait to 'laminate' this paper and hang it in my bathroom so I could start my day with these thoughts and attitudes. And I did just that.

I started my day off every day by reading this (out loud) and trying to keep all of this in mind as I went throughout my day. It was not until the second week of doing this, I realized 'I' could not do any of these things. Not without the Lord's help I mean. So what I have done is turn all of this into one of my daily prayers, because I cannot do anything without my Lord and Savior. Now I pray these words and ask God to help me accomplish any or all of these things 'just for today'.

When there are times throughout the day I feel lost or alone and don't know what to do, I fall back on this and focus on one of them in the present moment. God is able and He can accomplish great things! God IS so good!!
____________________________________________________________________________________