Life sucks. Let’s just be really honest here. It sucks. And I don’t mean in the sense of the world is exploding in 2020. I mean on a very personal and very real level, it sucks. We found out my husband is deploying, I’ve developed issues with food and am not really able to eat, I was furloughed from my job, my parents cabin flooded with water, my dad had emergency brain surgery that is now being followed up my chemo and radiation. And all this was in a matter of a couple months. So yes, life sucks.
But God has been telling me to look for the beautiful moments in-between all the heart break and frustration and sickness. Beautiful moments like Shannon getting the message about my dad and within minutes she’s on her way to my house. Beautiful moments like Bethany saying she’ll hop on a plane the next day to be here. Beautiful moments like Katie who is going through her own trial and heart break texting me to say she’s praying for me and my family. Moments like Kate asking if she can bring a meal over. Moments like Hannah who reaches out to all of my BSF ladies to schedule meals for my children while my husband was gone. Moments like Kendall who shares what God showed her while praying for my dad and it blesses him. Moments like Sarah who sends me a song and a word that encourages me. Moments like Ginger who orders flowers to be sent to my mom for her birthday. Moments like Jen telling me she was minutes away from my house to take my kids for me to have a break. Moments like Holly offering to go to the store and drop things off at my house if I need them. Moments like Jen, Lauren and Holly taking me out and letting me cry in the middle of the restaurant and making me feel like it’s perfectly okay and normal.
Moments like my 8 year old son who stepped up as the man of the house when my husband was gone and took care of his mom in a way that was far beyond his years. Moments like my husband coming in to pray over me and then to pray over our children. Moments like when my parents got on a call with my brother and I to give us the news and rather than break down, we prayed together as a family. Moments like the countless men and women who have gathered around my parents to pray over and for them. There are so many other incredible and beautiful moments that I could list, but this post would go on forever if I did.
My mom has been saying the word “perspective” over and over again this year and when I think about what God is doing right now, I hear that word too. It is about my perspective. If I focused solely on the things that are crumbling around me, I would certainly crumble too. But if I change my perspective on the things around me and focus on the beautiful things, they far out number the bad! It’s almost not even a fair comparison. The first paragraph of this blog is far shorter than the second and third and I didn’t even list everything out.
I know that each and every one of us has our own trials in the midst of this trying year, but I encourage and challenge each and every single one of us to change our perspectives. Don’t look at the things that are negative. Look for the beauty, because I assure you that it is there! I have hope and joy for tomorrow, because I know that there will be at least one small moment where He will show me that He is still with me. So while yes, life sucks, it’s beyond beautiful too!
Psalm 34:8
“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.”
Sunshine and Whispers 