Bonus: #Recount2Remember Vol 4

Mar 31

Written By Rachael Wade

A Kickoff Message with Maria Granados

Maria kicks off an entire month of #Recount2Remember Volume 4!

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Maria’s Kickoff Message

As we recount to remember the goodness and faithfulness of God, I felt a reminder emerge in my heart: the holy spirit in us is alive. The hope we hear in our sisters’ stories is an alive hope available to us through the same spirit. We can find comfort in this truth: Holy Spirit in us isn’t unique, it’s unifying. We are part of the same body, led by the same Spirit. So what if our sister’s story of God’s goodness and faithfulness is the vehicle God is using to carry the body of believers out of fear and into His promises? Let’s dive into this collection of stories, expectant to experience the alive HOPE of the Holy Spirit that is available to each of us through the goodness of our Heavenly Father.

‘Olive Us’ Sisters Recounting

April 4: Rachael Adams (God’s Presence)

I received a scary health diagnosis. I was fearful of my upcoming surgery and biopsy results. God was faithful to be present with me during my trial. I felt His peace and comfort through His Spirit and through the love tangibly displayed through the people in my life. While our healing may or may not be His will, He is faithful to be with us through it all.

April 7: Rachael Hankins (Being Present)

After getting sick with covid as a family back in December, the month of January felt like a blur. In February I set out to get things in order through my planning and organization but God halted me. Instead, He is calling me to “start it all from rest.” This looks like observing the sabbath and getting a full night’s sleep. I can look at this in-process time in my life and see how faithful God is to guide me back to the loving ways in which He carries my load, lifts my burdens, and calls me to rest well with a deeper trust in His care.

April 11: Minnie Lee (New Season/Transition)

In the past, I’ve experienced a few painful experiences of being shunned and shut out from the closest people in my life when I decided to move on to crucial, new seasons of life. Six months ago, it was clear to me that it was time for me to leave my job of 6.5 years and move on to the next thing God had for me. Sharing this news with my boss and co-workers was hard, mostly because I was afraid of losing them in my life once I stopped working with them. These were people I not only worked with, but also did life with. Would the friendship change once I left? I was scared. However, God proved to me that my worry was unwarranted, and on top of that, He reversed my past hurts by showing me that the very people I was afraid of losing were fully supportive of my decision. They blessed me with a beautiful send-off, where I felt so loved for the years that I’ve worked with them, and the years to come. I am believing now that my days of lonely new beginnings are over.

April 14: Candace Collette (New Season/Transition)

My husband and I are in a time of transition and change. We have been preparing for his retirement and a cross-country move in the past few months. This uprooting from San Francisco and replanting in Louisiana will happen this year. We have felt God’s peace and faithful provision in this time of uncertainty and sadness over moving.

April 18: Katie Montgomery (Provision/Hope for the Future)

My husband and I had been wanting to move to a 2-bedroom apartment. With the increase in rent cost for a 2-bedroom, I wanted to have found a new job before doing the apartment search since I didn’t know if I’d be able to make the same amount working remotely. Originally I had been wanting to get my job and salary in place before looking at apartments, but one week in January I had a feeling that it wasn’t up to me to button up all the details before we could look for a place. Instead, we needed to act in faith and begin looking and know God would provide the job and the home. HE DID! He gave us better than we ever could have asked or imagined. The same week I started applying for jobs we signed a lease for the apartment and God gave me a wonderful job prospect. About 3 weeks after we’d moved into our new home, God provided the job in only the way He can! Praise God!

April 21: Lauren Peters (Provision/Hope for the Future)

When you say “I DO” you promise ‘in sickness and in health’…but for my husband and I, it has always been ‘in sickness’. After 8 years of an unanswered diagnosis, God moved in a mighty way this year. He gave us a few names for what has been going on in my body, one which is Lyme disease. Though the road ahead is tough and we still aren’t sure how He will provide financially for all the testing and treatment, His faithfulness in these past months give me hope. I need to hold on to truth. He didn’t bring me this far to abandon me. Physical healing is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to healing. He desires total and complete healing for me and His people. Body. Mind. Spirit.

April 25: Sonja & Jayna Dighe (Honesty in Community/ Hope for the Future)

After a difficult year of struggling with our grandmother’s Parkinson's disease & dealing with stress and anger, we talk about the way our community supported us. It was our community that helped us navigate all that we were feeling. Matthew 5:4 and Jeremiah 29:11 were given to us by God in this season. We believe God has a great plan for our future!

April 27: Amy Debrucque (Anticipated Hope)

My recount to remember story is about looking back at my son’s prior deployments overseas while beginning to prepare for his upcoming deployment at the end of the year. The growth and intention that came from the last deployments helped me approach this deployment with anticipation for all the unknowns that God has for us. I encourage others to spotlight the growth over the hardship.

April 29: Lisa Selan (Praying Boldly)

Over the past two years, I’ve walked a cancer journey with my brother. Praying boldly for healing and clinging to God and his Word every step of the way. Holding fast…’Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction and faithful in prayer’ (Romans 12:12). Understanding hope…’May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope’ (Romans 15:13). And in all of it confidently saying, and if not, He is still good. God is faithful…always.

The Olive Tree

How has God been good and faithful to you in the last 6 months?

As you hear each women’s story take a moment to reflect on your own life: Pray, journal, and/or tell a friend what you discovered in your reflection time.

How can you make recounting to remember God’s goodness and faithfulness a regular practice in your life?