Glenda
Durano

Like many women, Glenda fulfills multiple roles every day including ministry leader, prayer partner, professional communicator, and business owner. She is the owner of College Advising and Planning Services, a full-service, faith-based educational consulting firm in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she helps families navigate the college planning process. She is the author of College Planning for Christians: Finding Your Fit Without Losing Your Faith, The Christian’s Guide to College Admissions (Junior & Senior editions), and a 30-day devotional called Desperate for God: Trusting God Through Trials. While Glenda loves what she does, she most wants to be known for who she is: mother, wife, friend, and above all, a child of God.

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More from Glenda Durano

More from Glenda Durano

Repairing the Broken

“Mom, she broke it!” My nine-year-old daughter, Christina, let out a wail I heard all the way downstairs. I wasn’t sure what had happened, but I knew it probably had something to do with her younger sister’s shenanigans.

Both daughters stampeded down the stairs, with Amberle, the younger one, apologizing the whole way. They met me in the kitchen in a cacophony of confusion. 

“One at a time. What happened?”

After listening to both daughters’ versions of the scuffle, I realized the only casualty of the clash was a six-inch-high, twelve-dollar glass cross I’d purchased for Christina at a local craft fair.

“Please, mom, can you fix it?” 

Although I knew restoring broken figurines was not within my realm of mommy superpowers, I agreed to try. 

That night, I got out the Superglue and went to work. As I attempted to fix Christina’s treasure, my mind was not on the shattered cross, but on my broken life. Our family was in the midst of personal and financial trials, and the stress was taking its toll. 

The next morning, when I went to check the cross, I found the adhesive had not held and the cross was still fragmented. 

Christina was adamant when she saw it. “You’ve got to fix it, Mom. Try again. Please.”  I wondered how she had gotten so attached to this insignificant item. 

The next night, as I was trying to repair the irreparable, I saw something catch the light. It was a small sliver of glass I’d missed the night before. Inserting it carefully into the puzzle of pieces, I glued the cross together again, hoped for the best, and went upstairs to bed. 

The next morning, I was shocked to find the cross standing strong on the kitchen
counter. Amazed, I whispered a prayer, “God, I wish you could fix my life like that.” As if He were standing right next to me, I heard God say, “If you would give me all the pieces, I would.”  

It’s easy to hold on to our problems when we think we can fix them ourselves or they’re too small for God. However, our Heavenly Father wants to meet every need. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) encourages believers to “cast all your anxiety on Him because he cares for you” (NIV). 

We may think it’s more righteous to bring only our big requests to God: intercessions for others and situations that require supernatural support. But that’s not being spiritual; that’s being self-sufficient. More than anything, God wants us to depend on Him. When Paul admonishes us to bring “every situation” to God in prayer ( NIV), he means everything: big and small. When we hold back our requests, we’re believing a lie from the enemy that keeps us from experiencing God’s mercy and grace. 

God doesn’t just mend a crushed heart or repair a ruined life. When we surrender to God’s sovereignty and trust Him completely, He makes us brand new. promises, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here” (NIV)! 

In order to do that, however, we must fix our hearts on God and give everything to Him. It’s the divine exchange—our broken pieces for His blessed peace. 

Copyright © 2021 Glenda Durano, used with permission.

what-if

What If ...?

Opening our mailbox, I held my breath and prayed, Please God, not today. No bills today.  

After months of unemployment, our bank account had dwindled to nothing. We’d survived by living on a shoestring while my husband worked a series of odd jobs — positions well below his qualifications. Recently, he’d faced a dozen refusals, and now our situation was dire. What if we lose our home? I thought. What if he can’t find a job? What if…? 

My mind wandered to several years earlier when my husband ventured into business for himself. He traded the security of a dull but lucrative government job for the opportunity to do what he’d always wanted — build energy-efficient luxury homes. I supported him in his decision. We knew it was risky, but we had plenty of savings — or so we thought — and we knew he would be successful. And he was until the economy turned. Now, my mind bent backward. What if he hadn’t gone out on his own?  What if we still had the safety net of his retirement? What if…?

What if…? Two words that throw you fearfully into the future or imprison you with regret. Two words that fit nowhere within the framework of faith. Two words that deny God’s sovereignty, goodness, and love. 

In Exodus 3, when Moses encounters God in the burning bush, Moses asks the Lord, “What is [your] name?”  The Lord replies,

“I AM who I AM.” OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) (NIV)

The Oxford Dictionary defines the word “am” as “the first person singular present of be.” Present. Not future. Not past.

Theologically, we know God is not defined by time. He is eternal, with no beginning or end.

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (NIV), and He is “from everlasting to everlasting ...” (NIV).

And yet we, His children, are constrained by time. The enemy of our souls knows that and tries to use the burden of time against us as he tempts us to focus on a future filled with fear or a past ruined by regret. What if…?

In , God promises, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (ESV)

When our minds drift ahead toward worry and fear or behind to shame or regret, we forget God’s eternal faithfulness. Satan wants to get our minds off God and onto our circumstances. He strives to steal the stability we have in Jesus Christ. 

This is why we must refuse to follow the enemy’s leading into an imaginary future or an unfortunate past. When we find ourselves being lured into Satan’s lies, we need to stop and “take our thoughts captive” ( ) by confessing the truth of God’s Word. 

Living in the present — focusing on the here and now — doesn’t mean you don’t set goals or you ignore your mistakes. Knowing God is the great I AM means you rest in His eternal sovereignty, goodness, and love, and you trust that ...

“... in all things at all times, having all you need, you will abound in every good work.” (NIV)

My husband didn’t have a steady job for three long years. It was a difficult season, but God was faithful. When the enemy deceives you into focusing on what if, give him the what for. Take your thoughts captive, and remind yourself that God is the great I AM. He is always in the present. And that’s where He wants you. Because, simply put, God is not the God of what if. God is the God of what is. 

Copyright © 12/2018 Glenda Durano, used with permission.

When Healing Becomes an Idol

When my daughter went blind five years ago, our family resolved to stand strong in our faith. Although we didn’t understand God’s purpose in allowing her to become disabled, we knew God was sovereign and able to heal. Amberle had always wanted to be a missionary nurse, and she’d just begun her senior year at college when she experienced a rare allergic reaction that resulted in blindness.

Every day—several times a day—we prayed for healing. After three “experimental” operations, when Amberle’s vision returned, we were overjoyed. Six months later, however, she plunged into darkness again. We sought the best medical help available, and we continued to pray in authority and faith. Because we expected God to heal her, we waited nearly a year before we sought out the practical services Amberle needed to live independently—benefits like transportation and rehabilitative training. We continued to pray.

Five years passed. Eighteen operations later, Amberle was still blind. One day, as I was lifting up my request for Amberle’s healing, I sensed the Lord interrupting me. “There are more important things than healing,” He said. “Things like contentment, joy, and peace—does she have these?”  

Yes, she did.

In fact, Amberle was happily married, completing her Master's Degree, and actively serving God. “You have made her healing an idol,” God gently admonished. “You have made your desire for her healing more important than your relationship with me.” 

Although I hadn’t recognized it, over the last five years, my spiritual energy had been devoted to praying for my daughter’s healing rather than praying to God. I had been blinded by what I saw rather than empowered by what I knew—like the Israelites had been in the valley of Elah (1 Samuel 17). And like the Israelites, I had spent so much energy focusing on my Goliath-sized problem I couldn’t see my God-sized problem solver.

Distraction is one of Satan’s primary tools. He tries to damage our relationship with God by having us concentrate on our earthly difficulties instead of our Heavenly Father. 

In my case, instead of surrendering the situation to Him and seeking His peace, I just told God about it all the time—and tried to solve it on my own.

Was I wrong to pray for my daughter’s healing?  Not at all. OPEN VERSE IN BIBLE (nlt) states: 

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (NIV)

I repented of my idol worship and began bringing my request to God rather than God to my request. I learned to meditate on who God is instead of what He can do and applied the truth of :

“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” (NIV) 

Did the change result in healing for my daughter? No. She’s still blind. And I still pray for her every day with the authority that the Heavenly Father gives believers. I know God can heal her. But since I’ve started focusing on my relationship with God, I’ve learned to trust Him more. Whether or not healing comes in this earthly realm, God can be trusted with His good and perfect plans.

When you have a problem that seems insurmountable, don’t place the problem between you and God. Place God between the problem and you. 

Copyright © 2018 Glenda Durano, used with permission.