I hit “update,” and in front of me appeared an alarming blank white screen.
I had somehow wiped out my cozy home in this blog world. Everything was gone. Everything.
Panic filled me, along with a strong feeling I was about to physically be sick.
Seven years of blogging, wiped away. Yes, seven.
I realized right then how much my blog means to me. The memories I’ve captured. The events I’ve shared. The encouragement I’ve received. The account of my growth in this journey with God.
All gone.
I couldn’t call Bluehost (my web hosting provider) fast enough. My fingers fumbled over the numbers.
“Dear, Lord. Please. Please restore my blog.”
Waiting while on hold made me sicker.
This calm voice soon came over the phone. I told the service technician what happened. I should have never been messing in my blog’s inner code while I was having a conversation with my husband and son. I wasn’t paying 100% attention. Not a wise thing to do when you’re working with a bunch of code.
His words, “Things like that happen,” made me feel a little better. Within a matter of a minute, he restored the file I somehow messed up, and thank the Lord, my blog appeared again!
If I could have hugged that man through the phone, I would have! I am so thankful for Bluehost’s support team!
So, I’m back. And you probably didn’t even realize I was gone for those minutes!
But this awful experience reminded me of all the numerous times I’ve messed up in my life. Numerous. Sickening mess ups. Failures. Falls. Acts of rebellion. Deliberate disobedience. You name it.
With each time, however, when I called out to God, He gently and calmly restored me. Sharing what I had done, asking for His help and for forgiveness, He began to restore that “file” in my life and make it whole and working again.
That’s an even bigger deal than my blog.
I’m so thankful for restoration this evening. So very thankful.
There’s nothing you or I have done that God cannot and will not forgive. He makes all things new, including us when we allow Him to!
And by the way, I hope you like the new look of my blog home! Every time I look at it from now on, I’ll be reminded of God’s restoring grace, hope and love.
Blessings to you today!
Julie
(Linking with Holly Barrett for Testimony Tuesday.)
So glad you were able to restore your blog. I would have freaked too. And yes, I too am so very thankful for the restoration He has done in my life and thankful that He isn’t done with me.
Blessings to you friend.
xoxo
I’m thankful He’s not done with me too, Beth! So thankful! Have a blessed Tuesday!
Oh I feel your pain! Last week my blog went down because I had mistakenly thought my domain registration was transferred when my site hosting was transferred. So I had ignored those little emails reminding me to pay, rather than check it out. And down it went. I was in a panic!!! So grateful for the fixes God affords us when we mess up!! Thanks for linking up today, friend! xoxo
Holly, you know exactly what I was feeling! What a terrible thing to experience, but so thankful our blogs were both restored! And yes, so very grateful for how God restores us when we mess up! As always, it’s a joy to participate in Testimony Tuesday. Thanks for hosting. Love it at your place!
I love the clean simplicity of your blog home. I am so glad your blog was restored but more importantly that God gave you and then all of us the reminder that we are restored each and everyday when we walk with Him. God does indeed make all things new and His mercies are new every morning. Those promises alone make me sing and shout because I am a woman of messy more than success. Happy Tuesday!
Mary, I’m with you! We have much to sing and shout about, don’t we?!! Thank you for your words of encouragement and hope. Thankful we can walk this journey together! Blessings to you!
Yes, I like the look of your new blog home! And I can’t imagine how you must of felt. He does make all things news. (And it still is true when things we love are lost forever. Glad your blog wasn’t!)
Thank you, Betsy. I’m glad it wasn’t lost forever, too. And yes, you are absolutely right. He is faithful, no matter what. Thank you for coming by today. It’s a joy to walk through life with you. Hope you’re having a great start to your week!
I’m also amazed and humbled by His gentle guidance of me when I wasn’t even calling out to Him. Now that I am at a different and better place in my spiritual walk, I am (again) amazed and humbled when I reflect on what He has carried me through.
Agreed! He was “wooing” us way before we even realized it, wasn’t He?!! So thankful for his, as you wrote, “gentle guidance” every day. Thank you for sharing these uplifting thoughts today! Blessings, friend!
Phew! That would totally freak me out. I hate starting over. Glad it was recovered for you Julie. I love the thought of God restoring our corrupted files. That’s what he is doing for me, and has done so many times before. Those destructive patterns, sin, lies, doubts, etc. They bog us down and muddy the file that’s meant to run according to His grace and power.
Amen, Jolene! He’s restoring our corrupted files. So thankful He doesn’t just toss us out and start over! Thank you for coming by today!
I love how you say He will do it with us if we allow Him to. So glad He restores us, and I am so thankful to hear that you got everything back! Blessings!
Thank you, Michelle. I’m so thankful too. There have been times I’ve not allowed Him to have His way with me. Those were miserable times, for sure. Thank you for stopping in today to bless me with your words and presence! Have a beautiful week!
I accidentally deleted my Genesis Framework once and my blog disappeared. I am thankful for quick working hosting companies who keep our words afloat. So glad your blog was not lost. And I love the look here. So peaceful! Blessings!
Hi Barbie! Thank you. That’s a terrible feeling, isn’t it??!! So glad yours didn’t disappear too. Thanks for sharing here today. Always a pleasure!