Multitude Monday

1331. Date with my mountain man

1332. Snow covered ground

1333. New grace, new memories, new year

1334. Flamingos and grandson's

1335. Rainbow juice

1336. Bedtime stories

x

1337. Heartstrings being tied
1338. Small bodies snugged up next to mine
1339. The warm house on a cold day
1340. A warm glow from the salt lamp

Long nights and early mornings

The night was short and the morning came early. I had spent the second night in row up caring for kids that were throwing up.
I walked out of my room to find that one of the cats had thrown up in my hallway. I cleaned it up and headed into the laundry room and threw in a load. Then I headed upstairs to the bathroom to find a dog had left me a lovely pile on the bathroom rug. I cleaned that and then went out and surveyed the mess in my house. Two days of stomach flu can wear on a house!
Some would say that this sounds like a bad night turned into a bad day! Several years ago I would have viewed this situation as terrible! This morning I found myself praising the Lord for His goodness and for reminding me how far I've come! Just a few short years ago missing out on two nights of quality rest would have left me wiped out, exhausted, and most likely I would have ended up sicker than my kids! My adrenals were so weak and my body fragile. Today my body is in a completely different place!
I am only 18 months into my health journey with Plexus and I have come so far, but I know I have more layers of healing to go. I look forward to seeing where I am next year!
Despite how my day started I am so grateful for the Lord allowing me the opportunity to see just how far He's brought me! ❤

Going back to basics

Sometimes you just have to go back to the simple, basic consequences such as writing sentences. After saying, "have better manners" more times than I can count I had this boy write sentences.

"I will work on having better manners."

I'm not sure if the manners will improve but the laugh we all had was worth every letter written.  😊

But, first, remember, remember, remember....

"But, first, remember, remember, remember"....C.S. Lewis

How many times do my interpretations of trials or hard times distort my view of God calling me to Him? Sadly, most of the time this is the case. A trial will hit and I suddenly feel like God has abandoned me or that I have some how done something that has evoked God's wrath.

God has been calling me to remember the paths, the journeys, the battles, and the adventures, that He's sent my way, but He has also been telling me to not dwell on the pain that was involved in so many of those trials. I had 6 years of very poor health and there was a lot of pain involved. The pain wasn't all physical but emotional as well. So many things were affected and even lost during those years. I have now been on my journey to better health for 17 months and though I feel good  physically I have not moved on emotionally. I have been living in the land of "what if's".  I mourn and at times deeply grieve the time lost with my children. I mourn what I lost in my marriage. I mourn over how much was undone in our family during that season.

God has been pressing into my heart that I need to let all that go and move forward. There are no go backs or do overs. We can live in the past and it changes nothing or we can be present in the here and now and move forward making new memories. This is my goal this year. A year of new beginnings. To embrace today and not keep looking back, but to not forget either. Our trials are meant to shape us more into the image of our Lord. We need to remember the pain, the lessons learned, and the refining that took place in our life. We need to focus on what we have gained during our trials. If we look hard enough we will find we did gain something! (I have gained so much compassion towards others that are battling health issues!) Most of all I want a healthy memory of the time I lost with my family. I want that pain to cause me to never take for granted those I love. I want the pain I feel over what I've lost to cause me to realize the preciousness of time and cause me to use the time I have been given more wisely.

This year is going to be filled with many new memories and traditions. I look forward with anticipation to see what the Lord has planned for us!