Author: Judy Elmer

My strong, energetic husband unexpectedly suffered a brain bleed that caused a massive stroke. I was in a place where I needed to be strong and courageous, but instead I felt weak and scared. We both were broken.

Are you in a place where you feel dropped and broken? If so, you’re not alone. God understands and can take the broken pieces of your life and make something good. No matter how difficult a situation is, or how weak and scared you feel, you can count on God. He is able to hold you, carry you, and lead you through the tough times. Since my husband’s stroke we now have what we call a new normal. Our lives have changed in many ways, yet we can see that God is taking our brokenness and making something new and good. There’s a lot we don’t understand, but what’s clear is that God’s love is forevermore and He’s with you all the way.

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18

Father God, You can lift and carry our heartaches and heaviest burdens. Help us to drop all our anxieties and burdens on Your shoulders. You can pick us up and take us to higher ground. Your resurrection power is ours through Jesus Christ. He is the Elevator…the lifter of those upside down days and worthy of our praise!

He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire. Psalm 40:2

A Bible study teacher once said that when we pray we need to “shoot for the moon.” She encouraged us to always remember that God is GOD, so pray big prayers. When we ask for what seems impossible that’s when we shoot for the moon. Nothing is too big or hopeless for God. He is able to make the impossible a reality. A friend of mine had a tough pregnancy. She was two weeks away from her due date but the closer she got to that date the further away it seemed. She asked people to pray that her baby would come soon. I was one of many that prayed a shoot for the moon prayer. My friend and I stood in the church foyer and asked Jesus for the baby to come early…”Tonight Lord.” The next morning on FaceBook there was a picture of my friend, her hubby and their new baby boy. He was born that night! Not always does God answer our shoot for the moon prayers with a fast YES, but when He does…O what joy! “For nothing is impossible with God.” Luke 1:37

Yes, I met the love of my life at a water fountain at what was called a college mixer. I went to an all-girls college and my husband, Carl went to an all-guys college. So, on Friday nights the girls and guys would meet in a college gym for mixing, music and dancing. 
I saw Carl across the gym and thought… he’s cute, I sure wish he would ask me to dance. Years ago, it wasn’t proper for a girl to ask a guy to dance. So, I positioned myself in places that were close to him in hopes that he would ask me to dance. I wasn’t successful and it was getting late. Then, I noticed he kept going to the water fountain to get a drink. I suddenly got thirsty too! As he bent down to get a drink of water, I stood right behind him. I was so close that when he turned around he had no choice but to say something. It worked! He asked me to dance.  When the mixer was over he walked me to my car and asked me for my phone number. Three years later we were married and had our wedding reception at the college where we fell in love – at the water fountain.

“So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.” Matt. 19:6