Message from Margaret Crotts, Central Campus 1st Grade

“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”

Romans 8:37

“What should have happened did.” That statement was made by Paul “Bear” Bryant, former head football coach at the University of Alabama, when he was asked about a loss against a team they were expected to beat. Applying that to more than a sporting event made me chew on that idea. If we believe that God controls our course in life and has our best intentions at heart as he does so, then “What should have happened did.” Add to that the truth that we were never alone, never abandoned. Our omnipresent God says My beloved child, I was there. I held you although you could not see my arms. I caught each tear that fell. You were never alone.


I know what you are thinking. There are some situations that you would be justified in asking, “How can you possibly say what should have happened did?” The answer would simply be that being set free from the past means accepting what is true, not mulling over or dwelling on what we wish were true. We must make peace with what was or is if we are going to be able to let go and move forward. So I encourage you to let go of that past – your “what should have been” – and embrace your “what is” and “what can be”. Truth is powerful, at times it is heartbreaking, but ultimately it will deliver you.

When the valley is deep
When the mountain is steep
When the body is weary
When we stumble and fall


When the choices are hard
When we’re battered and scarred
When we’ve spent our resources
When we’ve given our all


In Jesus’ name, we press on
In Jesus’ name, we press on
Dear Lord, with the prize
Clear before our eyes
We find the strength to press on.