Quiet in His Love

Some days are more of a struggle than others. It all depends. On what? I'm not even sure I know the answer to that question. I do know that those that I share with are very encouraging and that they believe that I will find help and hope. I need both. Truly. Each day feels different and none of them feel "normal." Bits and pieces feel "normal" but never the whole day. I want to see miracles and joy sprout from this time. I want to be able to look back on this season and say God got me through, family got me through, friends got me through. There needs to be a pot of "gold" at the end of this rainbow. So much of who I am is suppressed or overwrought or confused right now. I feel as though I live in a haze of Hallmark movies and naps, with a little bit of living thrown in for good measure. It's a struggle. My own mind is not so comfortable right now...not such a lovely place to be. Yet, there must be help and hope out there for me and for others like...

Eleven months have passed since that awful day that we had to say goodbye to my dad. So many days I am still overcome by strong emotions and the loss of hoped-for experiences. I am so very thankful for all the wonderful experiences I did have with my dad, and he had with my children and my husband. My joy has shriveled into a tangled mess of hurt, sadness, confusion, and, occasionally, anger. The truth is that when I say I'm okay...I'm not...not entirely. I'm broken...heartbroken. I'm treading water, staying afloat. I put on a brave face and step into the world and live, but the living isn't quite as joyful, not quite as carefree as it once was. The last two and a half years have been full of challenges, hurts, heartaches, unexplainable craziness. So many are hurt, scared, treading water. They may be experiencing loss, anxiety, fear, confusion, financial troubles, medical concerns, family upheaval. Our prayer list seems to grow weekly, if not daily, with another...

Life is hard.  This is not new information for many of you.  I pray it's not your life motto right now.  Instead, I hope your life motto is more along the lines of: God is good even when life is hard.  That's something to hang onto and embrace.  You can count to ten and then remind yourself: God is good even when life is hard.  It's a simple thing to acknowledge the truth of that statement, and remind yourself that it doesn't just have to be: life is hard.  God's goodness flows over the hardness of life and smooths away some of the jagged edges. This is a good reminder for me right now as some struggles are happening in my family.  I try hard to not put my family's concerns out in the public eye because I don't feel that's necessary.  However, with one of our recent struggles, I have turned to five dear ladies for prayer.  They are my prayer warriors, and I am beyond thankful for them.  If it weren't for my Abba Father, my handsome...