Showing posts with label keeping the faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label keeping the faith. Show all posts

Rambling Thoughts

Today is one of those days where I woke up and my thoughts were running away with me. Seriously, my thoughts are all over the place. When I first got up, something someone said yesterday started running around in my head and it went mentally viral from there.

I work for an SEO company - we work on websites. Its founder is a believer and a group of us meet online to pray for the company and all the employees. During that meeting yesterday, someone told me that God would restore these years to me. 

I know the guy meant well, but even as my heart can agree my head can't grasp that thought. My biggest question is How? I have become very familiar with the story of Job and everyone gets all excited at the end of the story about how God restored his fortunes (I had none of those before my story began! lol), and Job had 10 more kids! Yippee!!

I'm not overlooking or lessening the work God did in Job's heart and I understand the story had a good ending. But Job didn't get his first set of kids back either. That was a loss that could not be made up for. Let's be clear, I don't want any more kids - I'm too old for that!

When I think of "restoration," my mind goes to Joel and how he prophesied that God would restore all the cankerworm had destroyed. Caregiving can be like that worm that chips away at life one piece at a time. Can God put that back? Can He heal a living grief? Can He make restoration?

 I have to hold to God's word and know that He is able to restore in ways I don't even understand. And then....I just have to trust Him...for one more day. Then tomorrow, I'll trust Him for another. and so, in my crazy thoughts I come full circle back to the heart of the matter - trusting Him.

No matter how He chooses to restore, or what that looks like for each of us, it's all about finding that place of trust. Job said, even if God kills me, I will trust Him. So no matter what a day brings, or doesn't bring we have to keep our hearts in His and live in a continual state of waiting on Him.

Today I will picture my heart in His and do what I need to do to keep it there. My thoughts will be on trusting Him just for today, and I'll rest in that spot. I will give Him my concerns, my worries, my crazy thoughts and I will wait to see how He works on my behalf. I will trust Him for one more day - will you join me?




No Easy Day

One thing I enjoy is a good book. I miss having the time for reading that I had prior to being thrust into my present situation. But I feel like our lives are enriched by reading so I've tried to make more time for it over the last few months. No Easy Day has been on my reading list for a long time and I finally broke the book open and began reading it not long ago. It's written by a Seal Team Six member and talks a lot about training and missions. One of their mantras is "the only easy day was yesterday."

For many caregivers there are no days off or anything too much to make one day easier than another. There are multiple tasks that have to be done everyday when caring for another person. I had this brief day dream that for my birthday someone would come and tell me to take the day off and go do whatever I wanted to do and they would care for Chris. But it remained a dream - mostly because caregiving really is difficult and there are no easy days.

We are not alone. Many of our Bible characters faced trials and tribulations and had a few very rough days too. Just think about some of our most popular Bible stories. Here's the short list:


  • Noah faced a flood in the midst of a wicked generation
  • Abraham faced a childless future
  • Daniel lived in captivity (no easy day) and faced the lion's den
  • 3 Hebrew children lived in captivity and faced being thrown in the fire
  • Joshua led a wayward people and still faced Jericho
This is just a few of the top billings! For the most part, they were already in a tough situation and then something worse happened. However, they all were looking for the promise of God; even in the midst of great trials. Then- their faith took action. When these and many others are listed in our Hall of Faith (Hebrews 11) there is an action after their name.

  • Noah built an ark
  • Abraham looked for a city
  • Daniel shut the mouth of lions (v34)
  • 3 Hebrew Children quenched the power of fire (v34)
  • Joshua marched around Jericho
None of these gave up when the tough going got tougher. They continued on in their faith even when they were told they would face dire consequences for doing so. I love the statement made by the 3 who were thrown into the fire. In Daniel 3:17 - they said our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire....but even if He does not - let it be known to you O king, that we are not going to serve your gods.... (NASB)

I love that tenacity. They were already in captivity and that was not a pretty picture nor a life anyone would desire. Now they are being told to bow to the gods of their captors or face the fire. They chose the fire rather than idolatry.

As caregivers every day is rough and then there are rougher days. But there is no place to give up on our faith. Even if life gets tougher - or the day gets rougher - we have to say that we will not bow.

Today my meditations will be on how I can preserve my faith. I will think about ways I can protect my heart and strengthen my spirit man so I won't bow in the face of further adversity. I will turn my thoughts toward faith and meditate on this phrase even if not..... I won't give up on faith. Will you join me?

The Stare

  Do you ever just find yourself sitting and staring at the wall? It doesn't really happen too often because, quite frankly, who has tim...