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As we celebrate Holy Week, the week leading up to Easter, you may start to wonder, what is Maundy Thursday? Three days before Easter, we come to Maundy Thursday. "Maundy" comes from the Latin word "mandatum," meaning command, order, or commission.

Abby & Brittany: Conjoined Twin Abby Hensel is Married!

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When the Lord Sends You Locusts

I stood in the shower this morning, the welcoming spray of steamy water beating the sleep from my body. I was trying to pray, and honestly, I just felt like crying. The lump in my throat grew, with a heat behind it, like a torrent of tears lay on the other side just waiting to pour out. Mixed with my erupting emotion was a strange sense of gratitude, resting below the surface, as it always did, that morsel of truth that kept my compass pointing north.

I was not alone.

My mind pondered the scripture I had read just before bed, the one I had prayed for as a sought guidance before drifting off to sleep. Like life, the verse had held a two-part truth, one certainly easier to swallow than the other, but I also knew they often worked together. It was easy to forget that.

Thank you for the reminder.

I remembered something I had said to my husband last week. Awash with melancholy that day, again I had sought the wisdom of the Lord, and faithfully He had whispered His truth. I had repeated it to my husband.

“You know,” I had said, “we couldn’t be where we are today if all of this had not happened.”

He agreed. Being back in our hometown had stirred bad memories. Walking the empty halls of our old house had brought a wide range of feelings; happiness, yes, but also a sadness to let go. You walk tall with a big smile, and it’s not necessarily just innocent optimism. I think there’s some pride in there too. No one wants to talk about the battles they lose, or the time they had to wave their white flag of surrender, but there it is, underneath it all, trying to keep you down in the trenches.

It had begun the downward, financial spiral almost two years ago, I realized. We started off by selling our big ticket items that we could get along without. We didn’t have a yacht or sports cars, but we lived life comfortably. So when my husband’s business began to go under, we made it work. Ahh, the plans of mankind and whatnot. We sold the children’s outdoor jungle gym, the second shed, a freezer we could do without. Then we sold collectibles, jewelry. We had our first big yard sale. We made ends meet in hard times. That’s what you do, right?

You persevere, you look on the bright side, you trust in the Lord. It still hurts, but you do it. You try, at least. Things got better. They did. Good thing, too, since we didn’t have any assets left to sell. It wasn’t as hard as those first six months, but it wasn’t easy either. The thing about problems is they tend to follow you no matter how far away you go. The Walmart card to buy groceries, the Discover to purchase gas. Those pesky bills you rack up in the midst of making ends meet, they confront you, again and again. We had lost the store, been forced to find new income, gotten rid of everything, and taken off to keep from going completely under. The only reason we never lost heart was because we knew Jesus was there. He was leading us, walking with us, and surrounding us with His peace. Had things not fallen apart like they did, we wouldn’t be in the beautiful ashes now, picking up the pieces and building something new and wonderful.

Brie Gowen
Brie Gowenhttp://briegowen.com/
Brie Gowen is a 30-something (sliding ever closer to 40-something) wife and mother. When she’s not loving on her hubby, chasing after the toddler or playing princess with her four-year-old, she enjoys cooking, reading and writing down her thoughts to share with others. Brie is also a huge lover of Jesus. She finds immense joy in the peace a relationship with her Savior provides, and she might just tell you about it sometime. She’d love for you to check out her blog at BrieGowen.com.

WATCH: Sisters Sing Bone-Chilling Easter Rendition of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’

The young sisters from Fort Frances, Ontario sing an Easter rendition of Leonard Cohen's famous "Hallelujah," that is so beautiful, it'll bring tears to your eyes.

What Is Maundy Thursday?—How to Celebrate During Holy Week

As we celebrate Holy Week, the week leading up to Easter, you may start to wonder, what is Maundy Thursday? Three days before Easter, we come to Maundy Thursday. "Maundy" comes from the Latin word "mandatum," meaning command, order, or commission.

Abby & Brittany: Conjoined Twin Abby Hensel is Married!

They’re the most famous conjoined twins in the world, and now Abby Hensel, of the duo Abby and Brittany, is now married!