God has promised to supply all our needs. What we don’t have now, we don’t need now. –Elizabeth Elliot
One day is not long enough to thank God for all that He’s given you. His blessings come daily. – Adrian Rogers
There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” —Albert Einstein
“Gratitude” comes from the same word as freedom (gratis = free). Gratitude is the freeing expression of a free heart toward one who freely gave. – Ravi Zacharias
You say, ‘If I had a little more, I should be very satisfied.’ You make a mistake. If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled. – Charles H. Spurgeon
We need to discover all over again that worship is natural to the Christian, as it was to the godly Israelites who wrote the psalms, and that the habit of celebrating the greatness and graciousness of God yields an endless flow of thankfulness, joy, and zeal. –J.I. Packer
This a wonderful day. I’ve never seen this one before. – Maya Angelou
God is in control, and therefore in EVERYTHING I can give thanks – not because of the situation but because of the One who directs and rules over it. –Kay Arthur
Genuine thankfulness is an act of the heart’s affections, not an act of the lips’ muscles. –John Piper
A spirit of thankfulness is one of the most distinctive marks of a Christian whose heart is attuned to the Lord. Thank God in the midst of trials and every persecution. –Billy Graham
Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some. – Charles Dickens
Gratitude is an offering precious in the sight of God, and it is one that the poorest of us can make and be not poorer but richer for having made it. AW Tozer
Nov 11th is Veterans Day. Here are a few famous quotes to share with your Veterans. I know I am proud of those in my life, my husband, Bob , my father in law, Lee, and also my grandfather, Lewis. Thank you all, we love you and admire your courage and honor. You have sacrificed to keep us safe at home. We appreciate you. God bless you all!
15 Quotes to Share for Veterans Day
“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.”– G.K. Chesterton
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.” – John Fitzgerald Kennedy
“Our flag does not fly because the wind moves it… it flies with the last breath of each soldier who died protecting it.”– Unknown
“We will not tire, We will not falter, We will not fail.”- George W. Bush
“Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened.” – Billy Graham
“We remember those who were called upon to give all a person can give, and we remember those who were prepared to make that sacrifice if it were demanded of them in the line of duty, though it never was. Most of all, we remember the devotion and gallantry with which all of them ennobled their nation as they became champions of a noble cause.”– Ronald Reagan
“The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding go out to meet it.” – Thucydides
“Word to the Nation: Guard zealously your right to serve in the Armed Forces, for without them, there will be no other rights to guard.” – President John F. Kennedy
“The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.”– Douglas MacArthur
“This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.” – Elmer Davis
“There are some who’ve forgotten why we have a military. It’s not to promote war, it’s to be prepared for peace.” – Ronald Reagan
“Have the courage to act instead of react.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.
“Military power wins battles, but spiritual power wins wars.” – George C. Marshall
“What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight — it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” – Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower
“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.”—Ernest Hemingway
“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”—Helen Keller
I am so tired of Covid. I really thought this virus would be over with. The media is in a frenzy. I can’t watch it much anymore. It just fills me with fear, not faith. Yes I am one of those people with pre-existing conditions. Covid would not do well with me.
I confess, I was up worrying about it last night until 4 am. Do you ever do that? My head gets stuck in this circle of bad thoughts and I can’t seem to find my way out of the negativity maze. Sometimes I am afraid that I won’t wake up in the morning. Am I being overly paranoid? What do you think? I just have to talk about this. I have been holding it in for 9 months now.
Maybe it’s because this year has sucked for my health. Heart Attack, Heart issues, Treatment, Cardia Rehab, blah, blah, blah. I am to the point I do not even want to go to the Dr. for anything. There are just too many people out there. I find myself crawling back in my shell…
I hope and pray that the God of Healing would heal this land and cast down Covid. I know He can. I know He will. I just don’t know when, and I am fearful of all the people dying from a stupid virus. Here are some Words from God that I need to ponder on to remind myself that God is still on the Throne, and it will not be this way forever.
God’s Word for You
And He said to her, “Daughter,your faith has made you well.Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction.”- Mark 5:34 NKJV
He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds. – Psalm 137:3 NKJV
Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease [a]among the people. – Matthew 9:35 NKJV
Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. – James 5:14 NKJV
who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. – 1 Peter 2:24 NKJV
My Prayer for You
Dear Lord,
I pray that you would be with all of your kiddos, including me, during this Pandemic. We know you see what is going on. Give us peace that surpasses understanding in our hearts. Let us lay our worries and our burdens on your cross. You paid the price for us to be healed and whole. Let it be done according to your Word, in Jesus Name.
We all have struggles in this crazy world. Sometimes hints just happen that make no sense. For a control freak like me it drives me crazy! I like it when things go good, life sticks to the -lan, and life is well with the world. I must admit, that is rarely the case in my life.
This year has proven that right? Whoever would have thought we would be fighting a virus like COVID, closing down schools and businesses in droves. Then there is the whole election nightmare. I will be so glad when it’s over!
It’s during difficult times like these that I have to remind myself that Jesus told me there would be troubles and He was my peace, not the crazy situation.
“I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering, but be courageous [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]; I have overcome the world.” [My conquest is accomplished, My victory abiding.] – John 16:33 AMP
So what is a person supposed to do when they are fearful and panicked, and afraid to go out into the world these days? So,e days I am ok, and other days I just don’t want to go anywhere. How about you?
I am learning to trust God in the storm, and carry on. It hasn’t been easy, that’s for sure. I have found myself-laying a lot of games on my iPad and watching a lot of Netflix, lol!one thing I have determined to do is to be gentle with myself. Used to be a Perfectionist and would over-schedule myself to people please. Not today! I have let goof that terrible habit and given myself permission to just “be” with God and see what He is up to…
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation]. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls. For My yoke is easy [to bear] and My burden is light.” – Matthew 11:28-30 – AMP
I guess I don’t have to know how this whole thing is going to work out. I know the ONE who knows what is next. Today I choose to trust God, and follow Him, no matter what happens. God bless you my friends. Love you all!
Remember Job? I can relate to this guy lately. I wrote about my heart attack here on 4/21/20. That was 6 days in the hospital. 4 weeks later I had another heart episode on 5/29/20 and had to go back to the Hospital. That was another 4 days. That’s 10 days out of 30 that I spent in the Hospital.
It was kind of a blur. Lots of IV’s, lots of medicine, and lots of falling asleep in the middle of a sentence! Very little sleep, they woke me up every hour for vitals and shots. It sucked!
Praise God I am home now. I qualified for Home Health so I have a visiting Nurse, Social Worker, Physical Therapist, and Occupational Therapist that all come to my home to help me get stronger. I’m still using my walker, that sucks, but at least I don’t fall down.
So back to Job. Here’s the verse: “Now there was a day when the sons of God (angels) came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan (adversary, accuser) also came among them.The Lord said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Then Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming around on the earth and from walking around on it.”The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered and reflected on My servant Job? For there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God [with reverence] and abstains from and turns away from evil [because he honors God].”Then Satan answered the Lord, “Does Job fear God for nothing?Have You not put a hedge [of protection] around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands [and conferred prosperity and happiness upon him], and his possessions have increased in the land.But put forth Your hand now and touch (destroy) all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face.”Then the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that Job has is in your power, only do not put your hand on the man himself.” So Satan departed from the presence of the Lord.” – Job 1:6-12
I guess I’ve been considered. Never thought I would have a heart attack at 56 but here I am. I admit it, I lost it. When I got home at the end of April I was in shock. I froze. I was paralyzed. All the faith I thought I had shriveled up like a raisin. My friends tried to reach out to me and I didn’t even answer the phone. I had given up.
I sat in the dust like Job. I cried every day. I really thought I would just wake up dead. Fear had gripped my heart and was strangling me like a snake. I couldn’t pray. I couldn’t read my Bible, nor anything else for that matter. I couldn’t type, I kept messing up the letters. So I sat in the dust and cried and waited.
My husband and Pastor and friends prayed for me. I could feel it. Occasionally there were glimpses of light that came through my broken body and soul. They carried me and lowered me through the roof of despair and put me right in front of Jesus. I don’t think I would be here without their prayers.
Here I am 10 days later after the last hospital discharge. And I’m ready to get up! I have seen the Home Health Nurse, Occupational Therapist, Physical Therapist, and Social Worker. I have also started Cardiac Rehab. I can’t believe all of the people God has put in my life to help me. My husband is amazing. He is so supportive I feel like I’m in a Hallmark movie. My kids have become my cheerleaders checking on me all the time. My tribe of girlfriends have rallied by my side and encourage me all the time. I truly am blessed.
So the point of my story? I may have been planted in the dirt but this seed is breaking through the soil of infitmity and growing more and more into the plant God made me to be. Has it been easy? Absolutely not. I am still fighting for my life here. But I am not alone. My God is for me, who can stand against me?
Here are the verses that I have used to exercise my faith during this trial. I hope that if you are going through a trial you will hold on to these in your heart and speak them to God. Then, like me, we have to give God a minute to do what He said He would do. God is faithful. Some I have paraphrased
FAITH POWER VERSES
Greater is He who is in me than he who is in the world.
If God is for me who can stand against me?
God has not given me a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind.
The blood on your houses will be a sign for you. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. No deadly plague will touch you when I strike Egypt. (I put the blood of Jesus on the doorpost of my heart so God will not destroy my and the enemy will pass over me.)
The devil has come to kill, steal and destroy. But I have come to give you life, and life more abundantly
My Deliverer is coming, my Deliverer is standing by
God will never leave nor forsake me
He who the Son sets free is free indeed.
Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence.He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. (Hide me under the shadow of your wings Lord so the enemy can’t find me.)
“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation. (Because I love You, You will protect me and show me Your Salvation)
Heal me Lord and I will be healed. Save me Lord and I will be saved.
The Lord bless you, and keep you [protect you, sustain you, and guard you];The Lord make His face shine upon you [with favor], And be gracious to you [surrounding you with lovingkindness];The Lord lift up His countenance (face) upon you [with divine approval], And give you peace [a tranquil heart and life].’ – Numbers 6:24-26
It was last Tuesday, April 21, 2020. My husband’s 55th birthday. The day did NOT go as planned to say the least. I had been sleeping upstairs again. I had been vomiting for the last 3 nights and tried to sleep in the recliner. It wasn’t working. I had not been able to keep anything down that day, not even a cracker. It felt like an Elephant was sitting on my chest. I did what I always do, I ignored my symptoms for 3 days. I had fever, chills, shortness of breath, headache, etc. Sounded like all they symptoms of Corona Virus.
Finally on the morning of the 21st I asked my Husband to take me to the Dr. I couldn’t deny it any longer, something was wrong. I had to call the Dr. ahead of time. With the Covid-19 outbreak you can’t just show up these days. We drove up to Madison and went to see the Dr. My husband had to wait in the car. They don’t let any extra people in these days. Crazy times.
I answered a plethora of questions from the Nurse and Dr. both. They wanted to test me for Covid. I agreed, however the Dr. said if she did the test it would be weeks before I got the results back. She suggested I go the ER and they had a test that had results back in an hour. I went back to the car and asked my husband to bring me to the ER. Thank goodness he is a patient man! He had to wait in the car again.
They started with the Covid test. Gotta love that big Q-tip they shove up your nose, not! I thought it was gonna poke through my brain! Then the bloodwork. That was painful. I was pretty dehydrated at that point and my veins didn’t want to come out and play. It took 4 different people 2 tries each to finally find a vein. Needless to say, I still have a lot of bruises.
Then they hooked me up to the EKG Machine. It didn’t look good. They started the Oxygen and the IV fluids. Finally, getting somewhere I thought. They took like 15 vials of blood. Tested for everything under the sun.
After about an hour the Dr. came in. He said it didn’t look good. My Tryptophan levels were through the roof, my heart was not beating properly, and I wasn’t going to go home that day. I phoned my husband to break the news. He had been waiting in the parking lot 3 hours at this point. I told him to go home and that I didn’t know when they were going to let me go home. But it wasn’t going to be that day. Happy Birthday Bob. ;(
He drove home while the medical team kept working on me. I had an ultrasound of my heart done, a CT scan of my lungs, and another EKG of my heart. After all that, the Dr. called me. Yes, they call you now on the phone, along with the registration people and the Pharmacist. It’s really weird. The Dr. said I was having a NSTEMI Heart Attack. That’s funny I thought, it didn’t feel like a Heart Attack. I didn’t even know what that word meant. I had to Google it. Which may I say, is NOT a good idea when you are sitting in an Emergency Room!
After 8 hours, I was finally admitted to the Hospital and got out of the ER. I have to say, it was the most organized ER I have ever been to. They had teams of people helping patients andI would definitely go there again. I had never been to that Hospital in Madison, WI before.
It was a long night. Lots of trips to the bathroom with all the stuff they were pumping into me. They added Heparin and Nitro to the IV. Not a good time. The next morning they told me they wanted to do an Angiogram. I didn’t know what that was either. More Google. Great. Lets take a camera, shove it up your vein into your heart and take a poke around. The week was getting “better and better”, not! Nothing to eat or drink after midnight they told me. Okey dokey.
I dozed on and off. At about 12:30 I felt it. A huge anxiety attack was rolling over me. Too many things to process in one day. My heartbeat sped up, I started breathing faster. I rang the bell for the nurse. She asked me what I took for anxiety. I had just started a new script that week for Lorazepam. I only took one and it made me so dizzy I almost puked. I asked her to call the Dr. for something else as I didn’t want to be that dizzy again. She called the Dr. and he said no, we can’t give her anything new with the procedure going on in a few hours. I got Melatonin. Didn’t help at all. I stared at the clock until 3:30 am totally freaking out. Finally, I feel asleep – for an hour. Then it started all over again. It was one of the worst nights of my life.
Wed morning rolls around andfind out my angiogram isn’t until 11 am. That means no coffee! Miss D is not good at all without her morning coffee, just ask Bob! I wait it out and finally at 10 I get to go to the surgery prep area. Finally. Let’s get this show on the road! They don’t put you under, I had a drug that relaxed me and a local anesthetic for the vein. I was so tired by that point I fell asleep. Thank you Jesus!
I wake up an hour later and was in recovery. The Nurse brought me crackers and string cheese and decaf coffee. That was the best meal I have ever had! I was starving at that point. They wheeled me back up to the top floor of the Hospital. I did have a great view of Lake Monona!
The Angiogram looked good the Dr. said. No significant blockages so he didn’t have to do the balloon thing. Praise God! I ordered lunch and proceeded to stuff my face again, lol! The Cardiac Rehab Nurse came in and shared what I need to do to get better. Exercise, eat better, lower the alcohol, you know. She gave me a file and said I could go home that night between 5 and 6 pm! Yeah! I called Bob, and he was there at 5 pm. The Pharmacist filled my new scripts and brought them up. What a relief. I was so happy to get out of there!
So here we are, 6 days later. I still can’t believe it was a heart attack. It didn’t feel like one. Like I would know – I have never had a heart attack before, lol! I have started walking my dog Max everyday for 30 minutes. We are changing our diets slowly. And I have to see my regular Dr. sometime this week. It may be a phone call, we will see. I have to go back to the Cardio Unit in a month for follow up.
Here I sit. I trust You God to get me through this. I have no control over this, I have to believe that God does. I thought I had Covid, not a heart attack. Guess I’m just gonna take it day by day. Here are a few songs that helped me today. I heard them on Pandora while walking Max.
Max
I BELIEVE by James Fortune & FIYA featuring Zacardi Cortez & Shawn McLemore
THIS IS A MOVE by Brandon Lake and Tasha Cobbs Leonard
I feel like a bird in a cage Trapped with myself in the middle of a plague All the voices in my head keep calling my name There are Angels and Demons, all in a rage
One day life was normal The next day the world closed People divided into essential or non-essential The invisible corona virus exposed
People panicked and afraid, made toilet paper raids The Hospitals run out of masks and people wearing gas masks
God , I’m calling out to You
You hold the keys of Death and Hades We need Your Peace to get through Hide us under Your wings Protect us all from this plague We put our trust in Your Name
These are crazy times in our world. This Corona Virus and Covid-19 is shutting down our country. I am from Wisconsin and they closed all our bars! I know right? I’m not a bar fly these days, but that’s serious in this state. In times like these, I need some Word to hold on to.
10 Bible Verses to Build Your Faith and Overcome Fear
“I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears” Psalm 34:4
“Then Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?’” Luke 12:22-26
“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” Philippians 4:19
“Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God” Psalm 42:5
“So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’” Hebrews 13:6
“An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up” Proverbs 12:25
“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. ” John 14:27
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39
“The LORD is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid?” Psalm 27:1
It was another early morning for me. 3:30 am. I’m really not a morning person. I would much rather stay up later watching Netflix or something and sleep late. But lately, this is not how my life has been going. I find myself waking up early. I go upstairs, turn on our electric fireplace, get comfy in my recliner with my fuzzy blanket and pray.
This morning Holy Spirit told me to check my health insurance. Since I went out on Disability a year ago, I have insurance through Medicaid. It takes 2 years before Medicare will kick in. My response was, “ok, why?” Keep in mind, I ‘m not really awake at 3:30 am and I haven’t had any coffee yet! God knows I’m kinda cranky then, lol!
I admit, I was kind of nervous. I was scheduled to go in for another EMG ( electromyogram) test with the Neurologist today. That’s the painful test where they put needles in your legs and arms and send current through them. All to prove that I have peripheral neuropathy, which I already knew. But hey, I changed Doctors and it has been more than a year so they wanted to repeat the test. Yeah, not!
So, I finally fall back asleep in my recliner and the alarm goes off at 5 am. My husband had another early day driving back and forth to Chicago. That’s when I remembered what Holy Spirit said to me earlier. I get on Google (what did we ever do before Google?) and start searching it out. Interestingly enough, like I should be surprised, God was right!
My father in law recently passed away and left some life insurance to his 3 children, one of them being my husband, Bob. Come to find out, Medicare counts that money as part of your monthly family income! That means for the months of Feb and March this year, I do NOT have health insurance as Bob got checks those months. The state will reinstate my Health Insurance next month.
I looked back and the first time I had this EMG test it was like $1500 or so. I waited until after 8 am and called the Neurologist to cancel this appointment. I can reschedule once my insurance is back on. Thank you Holy Spirit for having me look into this so we didn’t have to pay for it on our own!
God’s Word for You:
And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), to be with you forever—the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive [and take to its heart] because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He (the Holy Spirit) remains with you continually and will be in you.
“I will not leave you as orphans [comfortless, bereaved, and helpless]; I will come [back] to you.After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also.On that day [when that time comes] you will know for yourselves that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you.The person who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me; and whoever [really] loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him [I will make Myself real to him].” – Johyn 14:16-21 AMP
My Prayer for You:
Dear Lord,
Thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit. You live in us and through us and remind us what You have done, and even what is coming in the day ahead. Thank you that everyday You reveal yourself to us. Open our eyes and hearts to see it, in Jesus Name, amen!
“Hold fast to dreams,
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird,
That cannot fly.”― Langston Hughes
“Through the dark and stormy night Faith beholds a feeble light Up the blackness streaking; Knowing God’s own time is best, In a patient hope I rest For the full day-breaking!”- John Greenleaf Whittier
“Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
And never stops at all.”― Emily Dickinson
“It is always darkest just before the day dawneth.” ― Thomas Fuller
“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present.”― Bill Keane
“Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation” – Psalm 42:5
“The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places; but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring
“Hope Smiles from the threshold of the year to come,
Whispering ‘it will be happier…”― Alfred Lord Tennyson
“Faith has to do with things that are not seen and hope with things that are not at hand.” – Thomas Aquinas
“So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” – 1 Corinthians 13:13
“You can look forward with hope, because one day there will be no more separation, no more scars, and no more suffering in My Father’s House. It’s the home of your dreams!” -Anne Graham Lotz
“Never lose hope. Storms make people stronger and never last forever.”― Roy T. Bennett
“You will be secure, because there is hope; you will look about you and take your rest in safety. You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid, and many will court your favor.” -Job 11:18-19
“Where there is no hope in the future, there is no power in the present.” -John Maxwell
“Jesus gives us hope because He keeps us company, has a vision and knows the way we should go.” -Max Lucado
“The LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.” -Psalm 147:11
“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” -Romans 5:1-5
“Only when our greatest love is God, a love that we cannot lose even in death, can we face all things with peace. Grief was not to be eliminated but seasoned and buoyed up with love and hope.” -John Piper
“Hope begins in the dark, the stubborn hope that if you just show up and try to do the right thing, the dawn will come. You wait and watch and work: You don’t give up.” -Anne Lamott
Grief, it comes in waves. One moment I am fine, and the next I am crying like a little baby. There is no way to get through this valley of Grief without it changing you. I have been silent for a while now. The sound of silence is deafening. How can silence be so loud?
We all grieve differently. Some have been through it so many times and they go through the 5 stages of grief quickly. Others, like me, linger here for what seems forever. Memory after memory floods my mind and takes me away to a different time and place – a time when we were together. My heart hurts. I can never go back to the way things were, you are not here. I know you are in a better place with no more sorrow and no more pain, no more tears, but I am stuck here. Help me Lord get through this because I am falling apart.
The 5 stages of grief and loss are:
1. Denial and isolation
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance
I admit it. I don’t like feelings. They come and go and change and I have absolutely no control over any of it! That’s really hard for a control freak like me!
So what is a person supposed to do when they lose someone they love? I would love it if I could turn back time and we could be together again. But I don’t have control over that either. My only choice is to Embrace it all. Don’t run from the valley. I have to feel every thing and make a choice to trust God to walk beside me and lead me THROUGH the valley of despair. Trust God. Yeah, from a girl with trust issues. No wonder this is so hard.
I know God is Faithful. I know God is True and God is with me and for me. But now, I have to let Him lead me out of this valley. I get to let Him drive. Ok, I surrender. I have no other choice. I don’t want to stay here in the despair and sorrow forever. Show me Your Glory Lord. Show me Your Comfort Lord. I need You!
God’s Word for You:
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9
“Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. ” Matthew 5:4
“He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3
“My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26
“And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”” Revelation 21:4
“If you love Me,keep My commandments.And I will pray the Father, andHe will give you anotherHelper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth,whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with youand will be in you.I will not leave you orphans;I will come to you.” John 14:15-18
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ. Now if we are afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effective for enduring the same sufferings which we also suffer. Or if we are comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope for you is steadfast, because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation.” 2 Corinthian 1:3-7
My Prayer for You:
Dear Lord,
You have told us that you would never leave us nor forsake us. I know you are here with me now in the middle of my grief. I pray that you would hold me and comfort me during this season. No matter how long it takes to get to the other side, I pray that you would open up my eyes and my understanding to see You right here next to me, holding me, and walking with me. Help me to just be still, and KNOW that You are God, in Jesus Name!
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