Training and Truth
By Shunte Gamble | March 2, 2023
Training and Truth
As I read a blog titled Why God Repeats by Lori Hatcher two words stood out: training and truth. In my prayer that morning, I expressed all the ways, I felt my training was panning out. I reflected on the ups and downs, the twists and turns, the advances, and the setbacks. I told God I felt His training was hard. I understood, at that moment, the road I am traveling is not the road I chose for myself. I had been chosen and called to this path.
After the birth of my first son, I felt like a statistic. You know, the girl who went to private school, was meek in behavior, and graduated college pregnant. I was young and feeling like I had disappointed the expectations everyone had of me. I was even mocked for having a baby less than a month after graduating college.
I began to doubt my significance even though their expectation of me was not my own. All I knew was once I learned of my pregnancy, something within me awaken. Most would simply say the light bulb came on. I felt a sense of purpose and responsibility. I knew I was to carry my unborn baby and birth him into this world.
With that instruction, everything you could imagine unfolded. From pressure of abortion, an illness I forced doctors to find and treat, a year of college in one semester just to stay on course to graduation, to a birthing process that required medical attention. All of that was training.
I didn’t know, then, that the truth revealed in a dream would require training to experience. God showed me a son standing next to his father on his graduation day. When I awoke, I knew I was pregnant. As a baby believer in Christ, I didn’t know this would be how God would choose to speak to me. I did know I was on a mission. Turns out, I needed that vision. The road was so difficult, the promise felt impossible to reach. God used a pandemic to accomplish the last leg of that promise and my baby boy graduated high school right on schedule. A proud moment for sure.
I set off on a journey with a promise in hand. I had a dream. From the moment of revelation, great tests would come as the journey was training for the promise. God knew the truth; I needed hope. He knew He had to show me hope. He knew that hope would keep me moving my son and I forward. He knew the dream would surely happen.
Truth is, I needed to know how to persevere when faced with impossible tasks, how to overcome when doubt felt more like depression, or how to keep going even when I was misunderstood.
I learned the finish line is the place where the new begins. At the end of something old, the training in transition would equip me with tools for the new. I have learned how to hold on to truth as I travel the roads set before me. I encourage you today to hold on to whatever is true while you are training in transition. Your new will be your next!
I leave you with the scripture that Lori left for her readers: Matthew 5:3-11. New International Version reads as follows. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
Love,
SG
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