A challenge

I've had some great conversations lately with beautiful women in my life. They have been very challenging and thought provoking chats. Like most people, my life has definitely had it's ups and downs. I have had personal struggles to overcome and ones that I continue to work at everyday. One woman in my life recently asked me flat out how I was working out these "things." At first I felt a bit shy, since it is my own personal struggles. When you reveal them you are left sitting there exposed. As the wheels in my head began to turn I started to think about the past year. God in his perfect timing has brought the right people and tools into my life. I just had to keep my eyes focused on him and keep walking towards him.
A big thing for me has been going to a bible study again. When I met the leader of the group she told me God had told her to start this group and even though she didn't know a lot of people that the women would come. I remember as she was talking I was thinking...I'm one of those women. I want to come! We have done incredible studies on the book of James & Daniel and I have been so encouraged and challenged. I often would just sit there quietly taking it all in and thanking God. Week by week I began to feel the "things"lifting off of my life.
One morning as I was pouring over my Daniel homework I stumbled upon 1 Thessalonians 5:11. It says: Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
Hold on, I wasn't really doing a lot of "encouraging" or "building up" because I was working on myself. The homework got put aside and God began speaking to my heart about serving others and encouraging them where ever they are at. As I began to do this, my "things" didn't feel like the weight of the world anymore.
Today I had a new door open for me that is definitely outside my comfort zone. I'm extremely nervous and excited at the same time. I know God wants to use me and it's not the way I thought it would be. However, I trust him and will continue to serve, encourage and build up those around me. So in response to how I'm working out the "things" in my life...well I'm focusing on my heavenly father and serving others and trusting God to heal every area of my heart so he can do even more than I could imagine!