Journey in Thankfulness

 

Last Sunday, before church, as we were waiting for my mom to pick Jaelyn up for church (I didn’t go because of a migraine), Jaelyn was working on memorizing a scripture for Sunday School.  The verse that she was working on was Romans 8:28 – “All things work together for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purposes.”  I asked her if she knew what the verse meant, knowing that if she understood it, it would be easier to memorize.  She wasn’t sure what it meant.  I shared how this is a verse that had been shared with me frequently since Daddy’s death.  Jaelyn asked why.  I explained that it talks about how even though Daddy’s death was difficult and we may never understand why he had to die so young, God will bring good out of it because we love Him.  I explained that this didn’t mean that Daddy had to die for good to happen, but that God can bring good out of bad things. 

This conversation had me thinking about the good things that God has brought about over the last fifteen months.  Please understand that of the good that I know God has brought about, I would selfishly give it all back if Scott could be with us.  Yet, this wasn’t God’s plan for our lives.  So, I choose to look for the good rather than dwelling on what cannot be changed.  In our journey over the past fifteen months, God has provided many opportunities to share our faith and the strength that God has given us.  Being so honest and vulnerable in this format is certainly not something that I could have predicted under these circumstances, yet this has become a ministry only by God’s leading.  Many times I have questioned why I was blogging my journey, yet every time I had decided in my own head that there was no purpose, randomly someone would share with me what reading about our journey meant to them – not knowing that I was considering stopping the blog.  After this happened numerous times, I have given it to God and I continue to wait on his leading and prompting for when I need to write and for what I need to write.  So, I am most thankful that God has used my very real, raw, and honest emotions and words for His glory. This has not only been a journey through grief, but has been a journey in thankfulness as well.  For, when you have lost something so very precious, it makes you even more thankful for the very precious things still remaining.

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