The Beauty of Spring

We have had extremely warm temperatures the past week, which is unusual for this time of year. The temperatures have been in the upper 80's and even low 90's. Due to the warm blast of air our cherry tree has blossomed early. This is the sight that I eagerly await each Spring. For a couple weeks it had been tight buds, but then within a couple days they all have burst open into beautiful flowers.

When I saw the sight I had to share it with my sweet husband. Our boys were gone for the day on a field trip to the aquarium, so I called my husband to come outside for a few minutes so he could enjoy the sight as well. The walk outside wore him out, but I'm sure it did him good to get some fresh air.

Even though things have been incredibly hard this past month, and will continue to be for quite some time, this tree helps to remind me of God's faithfulness. Just as He causes the seasons to faithfully change, I know I can rely upon Him for strength to be with me through all things. I know that on the difficult path we are on right now, He is walking beside us. I don't know what I would do without Him.

Strength for Each Day

I have blogged recently about the ski accident that my husband experienced on March 28th. He continues to struggle with health issues related to it as well as surgery too. Our lives look totally different than they did a month ago. Our calendar was often filled with activities, meetings, etc. Lately our biggest excitement is when we have a doctor appointment to go to.

My days pass and seem to blur together. I don't have much accomplished by the end of the day, other than the fact that I have taken care of my husband's needs. But God amazes me that even in the midst of difficult times and days where I have little sleep, He provides the strength I need for each moment and each day. Psalm 29:11 says, "The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace."

I can attest to this verse every day in my life this past month. Even with uncertainty ahead of us in that within a couple days we will have used up all of our leave, and it will still be quite sometime before my husband is strong enough to return to work. Even in the midst of storms we have felt the Lord's peace that only He can provide.

What are you facing today that you need the Lord's strength? Call out to Him and He will answer you!

Christlike Around My Family

"You are only as Christlike as you are Christlike around your family. If you start there, where it is most difficult to love, then it will be easy to display Christ everywhere else!" This quote by Eric Ludy has been hanging in my home for about a month and a half. I have it posted in several places throughout our home. There are many times that I see it, but don't realize that I do. Yesterday it caught my attention and I reread the quote I remembered the day that I hung it. My prayer then was that as a family we would learn this truth, deep within our hearts. Little did I realize that just two weeks later that my husband would be in a serious accident.

As I look back I realize how much God has been instilling this in our hearts. My husband needs a lot of help and care right now, which provides my sons and I the opportunity to be a servant to him. My husband would be the first to tell you that I have never been great in our twenty one years of marriage when it came to being overly sympathetic when it came to times that he was sick or hurting. My excuse was that I never had a desire to be a nurse or something like that. Well God has used this time of my husband's accident to refine many rough edges in my heart. Only through the Lord's strength have I been able to do better in this area.

I feel that God is using this very difficult stage in our life right now as a training ground for bigger things that He has for us in the future. I desire to exemplify Him in all that I say do. I pray that His sweet Spirit rests on me so much that it is very evident in my life to those I meet that I am different because of Him. I pray that in all I say and do, here at home, and wherever I go that I will be Christlike.

Things I Take For Granted

Not quite a month ago my husband was involved in a skiing accident that completely fractured his pelvis from the leg joint all the way through the top of the pelvis. He underwent a seven hour surgery to repair the damage that was done. One of the complications he faced from surgery is numbness and extreme pain in his right hand. He has very little feeling in it, and this is his dominant hand. It makes it difficult for him to use his crutches or walker.

Our lives have changed in just an instant. I used to take for granted having my husband be the strong one in our family. I took for granted when he came home each day and gave me a hug and lovingly embraced me. I also just assumed he would always be lying by me in bed each evening. But life has drastically changed in that he only can sleep comfortably in the easy chair in our living room. Due to being on crutches and in tremendous pain he is not able to really give or receive hugs without hurting him. For now it is me that is having to be strong. I only can be strong because of my faith in the Lord.

I realize that I could have easily lost my dear husband and I am very grateful that I still have him. The Lord has been showing me in a multitude of ways of my need to have a thankful heart and to not take things for granted. I need to continually work on being a servant and being more like my Heavenly Father. I desire to be open and receptive to my husband. I pray that through all the difficult times we are facing that I will remain strong in my witness for the Lord.

An Act of Kindness

I have shared the struggles that we have been facing right now with my husband fracturing his pelvis due to a skiing accident. He is home now and has a long road of recovery before him.

During the week that he was still in the hospital and I was traveling home every few days to take care of errands here, I was surprised one morning. A friend had come to pick up my two boys to take them to a home school function that day. After I waved goodbye and turned back around to come into the house I noticed something that truly touched my heart. Dear friends had done some yard work while I was at the hospital. This I had already known, but how surprised I was when I saw cheerful pansies in the flower bed by my front door. They made me smile and cry at the same time. I know for them it probably was just a simple act of kindness, but it touched my heart tremendously.

Now whenever I actually make it outside, I smile whenever I see those flowers and remember how just a simple act can cause joy, cheer and lift one's spirits.

What can you do today to touch someone's heart?

I'm A Proud Mama

Several days ago my son finally got set up to have his own blog which is something that he has been desiring for quite some time. Things have been pretty crazy lately, so I hadn't had the opportunity to read more than his first entry when he started it.

As I read last night I was amazed at the depth of his thoughts and feelings and how much he has matured into a man of God. His new site is called Becoming a Warrior Poet. The address is:
http://becomingawarriorpoet.blogspot.com/
If you get the opportunity to do so, please check it out. I am so proud of him!

When Life Changes in a Moment

"But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

When I wrote these words almost two weeks ago I had no idea how much my life was about to change. One minute I was just relaxing as my guys were away for the weekend, and the next I received a phone call that my husband was in the hospital and had fractured his pelvis. It has been a week and a half of hospitals, doctors and a major operation. My husband went from being a very active guy to one that is unable to do much of anything for himself. I have had a crash course in being a nurse. But yet through it all I have felt the Lord's peace and presence. Every time I start to get worried or concerned about the future, God shows me that He is in control and that I can trust Him. There are many things that God has been showing and teaching me through this process. I hope to sometime soon share these, when I can find the energy.