My Own Soul Surfing

As I am listening to the trailers of Soul Surfer God reminds me of my own "Soul Surfing".  We each have an amazing story of how God has demonstrated His love for us.  We never plan for the trials of life, all we can do is be prepared to hang on to God and not let go no matter what.
It was not my plan to be a teenage mom or a widow at the age of 20 with two beautiful girls ages 2 yrs and 9 months.  It was not my plan to raise my children by myself or to have to explain why "Daddy" isn't coming - EVER.  However, God plan was to show me through those trials the intesity of His love and faithfulness.  He had the answers and the "escape routes" before the trials came about.  When the enemy of our souls was predicting failure, God smiled because He already knew about the victory through Jesus Christ.  Through my grievance, I was able to help more than ever. God reminds me of the family who I love with all my heart that I helped in a very small way (according to me) - only to find out from one of them that my help was appreciate it so much because they didn't expect a widow to help out that way.  See, I never saw myself as a "widow" God kept my focus on my daughters and our future not on the circumstance/trial. Yes, there was a time that I wanted to throw in the towel and drive off a bridge, but that was not Gods plan so it did not come to pass.  His mercy is so big and His love for me is so much that He stepped in and rescued me. That night, my Pastor prayed over me and I realized that God had been there all along waiting for me to acknowledge Him.  Even when we part from his wings He lovingly awaits our return so that His plan is fulfilled. 
You'd never know that I come from a Christian family who knows about God and the Bible, truth is - it doesn't make a difference! Temptation is temptation and nobody is exempt! I didn't have to be a drug abuser, an alcoholic, a gambler, etc., in order to be rescued, God loved me long before that - so much that He sent His son to die for me so that I can be saved when the time came, talk about planning ahead! God is so amazing.
So as I listen to the trailer of this movie that I predict will be awesome, I smile and thank God for my own Soul Surfer testimony.  It may not be in the movies or gain attention as the movie, but is my testimony of how God has been there and continues to be there for me and my family. 
I have since met a wonderful man and have a beautiful angel together. All I can say is thank you God for your unconditional and everlasting love.
Sometimes its not the planning of events that matters but what happends during those events - I chose to hang on to God and His promises.