However,

     Ever notice how we tend to freak out at the first part of the story but don't listen to the rest?  We get stuck on what we hear first and then don't listen to what comes after.  Our ears are still ringing from the explosion of the first round of fireworks and we can't hear the band playing as the bigger, brighter fireworks light up the sky.
     However, there is often so much more.  However comma.  So often we stop listening before we get to the however comma.  However, that is often the most important part.
     However comma. However is often used to point out a contrast from the previous statement.  And a comma is used to show that it's not over yet.  Quite often, whatever comes after that however comma is absolutely spectacular.
     With all I've had going on, especially the last few years, this week I had one of my biggest ever however commas.  That moment when all the crazy stuff that came in the first part of the sentence was completely overshadowed by what came after. 
     While I can't go into details just yet, I can tell you that things looked pretty bleak at the beginning of the sentence.  But I knew God was in control.  I prayed and truly told Him that I gave Him the glory no matter what.  And that I intended to trust Him and smile even if things didn't go the way I thought they should.
     The beginning of the sentence was long.  It included some scary words.  Things looked like I was not going to come out even okay.  HOWEVER COMMA.  I prayed.  And believed.  And suddenly the second part of the sentence was completely different from the first!
     Just like that.  In the blink of an eye.  Everything changed.  Isn't that how God does things?  Not that He teases us with the first part.  But when we give it all to Him, truly give it all to Him, He does make it all work together for our good! 
     After my big however comma this week, the circumstances that followed made it even more clear that God was definitely in control.  Had God not stepped in at that very moment, everything would have gone in the opposite direction.  However, my God is so amazing!  He truly is working all things together for my good. My story isn't over.  Not because I deserve it.  But because I belong to Him.
     We may have rain and storms, however, then come the rainbows!