Mixed Blessings

I am a Jesus-follower, and believe He is the only way to heaven.  You can agree or disagree, but I'm pretty upfront about it and not shy to talk about my beliefs.

I started my post this way because the song "Blessings" by Laura Story has been going through my head over and over.  It makes me cry every time.  I have experienced that song.  "What if blessings come through raindrops?  What if healing comes through tears?"

You know, so many people are struggling. 
 

Think about it:  if it never rained, we'd have no flowers.  And if you get something in your eyes, the best thing to wash them out with is your own tears.

But my heart it so burdened by loved ones who are hurting.  Some are fighting physical illness, some struggle with mental illness (which is so invisible that some people don't even believe it exists!); people struggling with inner demons that just overwhelm them.  And it makes my heart break.

I have always been an empathetic person.

Empathize. Understand.  Identify With.  Put oneself in another person’s place.

I remember one time when I was little, I was at my cousin’s house, and he got into trouble for something.  He received discipline, but I was the one who cried! I’m still kind of the same now, but on a broader scale.  If I could take the burdens of others I would.  I have a few MG friends right now (several really,) that are going through SO much....And I wish with all my heart I could do something about it.

But it's not my place.  It's God's.  It's Jesus's.  HE is the only One who can take the burdens.  Before I had MG, I was not on a great path in life.  I was doing things I knew God didn’t want me to do.  But I was so insecure, and so self-absorbed I did them anyway.

God got my attention.  He loved me too much to leave me where I was.  And if it took MG to do it, so be it.  I have a better life now.  Do I wish I was healthy?  Cured? Absolutely.  Do I wish I could breathe every day really well and run and jump and roll around on the floor with my son?  Of course.

But would I trade all of the blessings that came with this insidious disease? Nope.

I guess in my rambling, round-about way I'm trying to tell you that there is HOPE.  God loves you.  He wants your heart.  He doesn't want some blindly following robot.  He wants to know you.  He already loves you.

When I became a mom, the sacrifice of God sending His only Son to earth to die a horrible death took on incredible new meaning to me.  I don't know if I could do it.  I love my child more than my own life.  To send him to a place where people would mock him and beat him and eventually kill him?  Even if it was to save others?  I don't know.  I could give up myself, but my son?

Just think about that today.  The God of Heaven wants YOU to be His child and ease your burdens. 

Life will NOT be all sunshine and roses. 

But it will be different.  Better.  More joyful.  It may not be easy, but it will be good.  It will be very good.

“Blessings” by Laura Story

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
All the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough
All the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we’d have faith to believe

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not our home

What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
What if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise

Greetings from the Sunshine State???

Okay, so the weather hasn't been perfect...a fact my husband continues to remind me of. Like I control the weather, hullo?? But ya know what? We're not in Michigan. It's not snowing. We're together. We're in FLORIDA. We've been fishing. We've been to the zoo. So it's supposed to maybe drizzle a little bit here and there...

{7 hours have passed}

So....we've been fishing and beach hopping looking for shells all day. Struck out on all fronts. We fished in like 3 or 4 different places...it was just kind of a cluster day. Nothing got accomplished. I got about 3 raindrops on me this morning, and now there isn't a cloud in the sky. We had to come back to the room so Jacob could take a nap. He was being RIDICULOUS. He has really been a trooper, doing SO good for being away from home for so long, not getting regular naps, WAY more activity than he's used to.... He has been awesome. I'm very proud to be his mommy!

Went to Bubba Gump Shrimp last night. That was awesome. Great food, great service, very busy, but we got right in. I'm not ready for the vacation to be over yet, for sure...but I sure could use some "all by myself time!" Egads!

Hopefully I'll post more tomorrow.