Monthly Archives: March 2012

True Love’s Gift (Five Minute Friday)

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Sharita

“It’s finally Friday… Free again… Finally Friday… Time for a ‘wild’ weekend…”

Oh hey. Didn’t see you there. (Ok, maybe I did, but I really wanted to finish the chorus.)

Today is Friday, in case you didn’t get my singing memo. And Friday in this gal’s blogging world specifically means it’s FIVE MINUTE FRIDAY.

For those of you newcomers, on Fridays I link up with The Gypsy Mama… she gives us a prompt and we write for five minutes flat. No more, no less. Just letting the words flow. No editing, no over-thinking. Challenging, fun and theraputic. My kind of Friday fun.

Ok, enough yammering on my part. Let’s get this Friday party started. Todays prompt is GIFT. 

Ready?

GO! 

His comings and goings make my heart pound. “When will he return?” As an army wife, specifically the spouse of an infantry drill sergeant, this question is often in my mind. God has called me to this role and while it is a challenge… it is also a gift.

Someone once asked me what the best part about being an army wife was… I knew they were expecting an answer something similar to “living new places” or “excitement” or “steady paycheck.” But without hesitation I replied, “We never take each other for granted.”

Now that is true love’s gift.

My husband and I have been apart during our relationship more than we have been together in the same zip code. Just this morning, I kissed him goodbye as he prepares to pick up another basic training cycle. He will be home off and on for the next several weeks, but our “quality time” will be rare.

True love’s gift as an army spouse can be wrapped in many different packages, in different shapes and sizes…

It’s getting up early on a Friday to cook breakfast for him before cycle picks up.

It’s helping him bottle his home-brew.

It’s the front porch conversations.

It’s the sideways hugs before we drift off to sleep.

It’s the words of comfort as he holds me when I cry.

It’s sharing a moment of prayer together.

It’s loving each other unconditionally, no matter what challenges are in our midst.

Being married to a soldier is a challenge… but such an incredible gift. Very similar to True Love’s Gift on the Cross. Blessing. Sacrifice. Hope. Trust.

That is True Love’s Gift.

STOP! 

Five minute Friday posts always get my heart to pounding… I still think it should count for some kind of cardio workout :-)

 I’m gonna go cool down and hit the showers… God’s most wonderful blessings to you and seriously– thank you for stopping by! (PS: If you are feeling super motivated, leave a comment here.)

Thankful for True Love’s Gift,

SGK

[ Never Take Love for Granted ] Do you know the saying, “Drink from your own rain barrel, draw water from your own spring-fed well”? It’s true. Otherwise, you may one day come home and find your barrel empty and your well polluted. –Proverbs 5:15-16 (MSG) 

Categories: beautiful, believe, blessing, Five Minute Friday, gifts, God | Tags: , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Creatively Crafty

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Sharita

I am not a crafty person. I don’t mean the kind of sneak-crafty but I rather Pinterest crafty. Unless God Himself comes down from heaven and suddenly blesses me to paint neatly and draw straight lines, you will never see any of my “work” on Pinterest (or any other cute-crafting site for that matter.)

For some of you who know me well, you might dispute the claim above. But let me clarify– while I am not crafty– I am creative. I do believe there is a big difference. In my case, I can use limited resources to reach a goal in a unique way… but that doesn’t involved crafting a super cute wreath that anyone would ever want to hang on their front door.

I do like attempting to craft– at least in a creative kind of way. It can be a stress reliever and really gets me pumped up about life. But I have to have a goal, usually involving other people. Let me give you an example.

My creative side got motivated on Monday afternoon. (Mainly because I want to procrastinate on anything that required writing and/or dish-doing.) I had been thinking about doing something for the girls in our Foxtrot company (I am Family Readiness Group leader) for several months. Apparently, Monday was the day.

So I got to work. As FRG leader, I pretty muchly have zippo for a budget, so my goal was to make something close to free-ish. I rummaged through my box of random, leftover craft supplies. Talk about a box of craziness. Ribbon, acrylic paint, puff paint, super glue, fake googly eyes, felt, toy army soldiers, scraps of material, pipe cleaners… You name it.

It took a little while to figure out how I was going to make them all a legitimate copy of the Drill Sergeant Spouse’s creed for little to no moolah. (Plus it was late in the afternoon and I wanted to avoid the store if at all possible.)

I found cream colored and silver shiny cardstock leftover from our wedding invites. I was out of black printer ink (naturally) so printed in blue. But I wanted this little project to look “army-ish” and last I checked, “cream” wasn’t exactly an army color. I dug around in my paint… Had green acrylic paint… Only brown puff paint…. but no black. Sigh.

Fortunately I remembered my elementary art days that black paint comes from mixing random colors together… So I grabbed the brown, green, red, blue and yellow in hopes of creatively achieving my mission.

I wanted to give the background paper a camo look. Sponge painting. But we didn’t have a sponge. (Seriously– this is how my “craft” projects usually go.) I dug around under the sink and found a green SOS pad. I chopped off an end, went to work mixing and dipping paint.

Then… I didn’t have glue. (Super prepared, can’t you tell?) I had used all of my rubber cement on the last crazy project but failed to replenish my supply. I made a frantic phone call to a neighbor asking about the glue situation. She was confused, but said yes, she could solve my adhesive issue. (Whatever happened to just borrowing a cup of sugar?)

Long story still long, I was able to create this makeshift masterpiece, thanks to the laminating efforts of my husband and his buddy. (Apparently army guys are experts at hand laminating stuff… They got really excited about helping me finish this project until my husband’s friend stopped mid-lamination and mumbled something about doing arts and crafts. I sweetly reminded him that they were drinking beer as they laminated, so it was still very manly. Problem solved.)

The final project wasn’t perfect. But they were made for my Foxtrot girls with love… It made me think about how God made us– we aren’t perfect  but we are made with love. I am so thankful that God made me creatively crafty.

Thankful for Miscellaneous craft boxes,

SGK

“Live creatively, friends…” -Galatians 6:1 (MSG) 

PS: Have you done anything super creative or crafty with limited resources lately? Share it here! Maybe it will be my next “project.”

Categories: accomplishment, army, challenge, creation, Drill Sergeant, joy | Tags: , , , , , , | 3 Comments

More than A Motto

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Sharita

It’s Pop Quiz Wednesday! (Wait, don’t go… this will be easy, I promise.)

Quick… Name the company that goes with the following mottos/slogans:

1. “Just Do It.”

2. “Finger lickin’ Good.”

3. “It’s Everywhere you want to be.”

 4. “Can you hear me now?”

5. “I’m loving it.”

Got your answers? Nike, KFC, Visa, Verizon, McDonalds. See,  I told you it was easy.

Here’s the thing, world. I really don’t want to write today. My brain, body and spirit are smuh-oked tired right now, so I wanted to think of something that would use minimal brain power. If we are being perfectly honest, I don’t really have the motivation to do much more of anything today– I am ready for a bath, beer and comfy clothes. (For those of you keeping track of my health: Please note that I try to blog the night prior to the morning that I post… So yes, it is after 5pm on Tuesday. Don’t get all stressed out about me drinking a cold brewsky with my Cheerios.)

Anywho, my brain is rather spent, so forming coherent sentences at this point is about as productive as asking me to run a marathon. Exhausting to think about. See, now I am just rambling. Sigh.

Ok, back to my point. Today, I would like to simply share with you MY life motto. While my motto isn’t quite as catchy or as well-known as some of those listed above, it keeps me going everyday. Ready? Here it is:

Whatcha think? I am personally a big fan. (And also pretty biased.) It keeps me going when my brain, body and spirit are simply spent.

Do you have a motto, verse or phrase to live by? I would L-O-V-E to hear it. Please comment here and let’s get a stellar conversation going.

“The one who called you is faithful and He will do it.” Powerful stuff, huh? That simple biblical phrase shows my motivation, my heart, my mission… Yes, folks it is much more than a motto.

Answering the Call One Rambling-ish Post at a time,
SGK

“He will set things right. That’s when Judah will be secure and Jerusalem live in safety. The motto for the city will be, “God Has Set Things Right for Us.”– Jeremiah 33:16 (MSG) 

Categories: beautiful, call, Christ, Comfort, goals, God, mission | Tags: , , , , , | 10 Comments

Worth Waiting For

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Sharita

Tick…………….

                           Tock…………..

                                                   Tick…………….

                                                                        Tock…………..

Waiting. UG. It ranks right up there with “Going to the Dentist” and “Cleaning the Bathroom” on my list of Fun Things to Do. But waiting is SUCH a big part of our world, whether you are waiting for them to call your number at the DMV or waiting for God to give you an answer on what you are supposed to do.

I’ve always heard that “A watched pot doesn’t boil.” I think a watched pot does boil (I mean, we can only change basic science for the sake of proverbial wisdom so much) but it does seem to take FOREVER when we are staring at it. UGGGG… HURRY… UP!

But here’s the thing with waiting… It is a good thing. It helps us to enjoy the time we are in, reveling in God’s goodness. In HIS timing. For a society that has been conditioned to receive things instantly, this can be a challenge. A serious, annoying, hurry-up-or-I’m-gonna-start-twitching kind of challenge.

God makes us wait for a reason. Yes, it makes us stronger. Yes, it helps us to enjoy that moment even more when it finally arrives. But even more so, it requires us to deeply depend on Him.

Some things get better with time… I personally believe homemade macaroni and cheese is better the next day. It is thicker, richer, and to my taste buds, much yummier. Wine gets sweeter with time. And don’t even get me started on how awesome chocolate avocado mousse is after a day or so in the fridge. (I’m making myself hungry. Dang.)

Waiting for an answer isn’t easy. But it is necessary. My husband  and I are currently in the midst of a shoulder-shrugging “What-do-we-do-what-choice-does-God-want-us-to-make” match. We’ve debated options about a variety of life topics, thinking that we could talk ourselves into a feasible answer.

Yesterday morning, my husband came home to grab his dress uniform while I was in the middle of my quiet time with Jesus. It was a good thing I was sitting down because God knocked my socks off. He had given me an answer to all of our questions we had lately.

I excitedly announced this information to my beloved upon his entrance into the house. “GOD TOLD ME THE ANSWER!! I KNOW WHAT WE ARE SUPPOSED TO DO!!”

He immediately poised himself for the profoundness that he expected to come out of my mouth. See, my husband is a very black and white kind of dude. (I guess probably because he IS a dude. Men are kind of  like that, I’ve noticed.) I took a deep breath and proceeded with the announcement that would change both of our lives…

“God said to wait on Him.”

My husbands shoulders fell a bit. So much for the black and white answer we were both hoping for, right? Surprisingly, I was relieved to know that it was OK for us to just chill out. We had been trying to find the “best” answer ourselves and it was wearing us down. After a few moments, Brandon perked up,  hugged me and replied, “Ok, then my lover… We wait on the Lord… Together”

Talk about a moment worth waiting for.

Waiting in His Presence,

SGK

“I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.” –Lamentations 3:24

Categories: faith, God, patience, trust | Tags: , , , , , | 3 Comments

Dive In & Just Keep Swimming

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Sharita

My heart was pounding. The sun was beating down on the back of my neck. My little feet left wet footprints on the warm concrete. I shivered… from the gentle Kansas breeze or nerves, I couldn’t tell. I approached my target. Breath. Step. Breath. Step. Breath. Step.

The higher I climbed, the harder my heart pounded. I reached the top and peered down to the deep blue water. My Mama was looking up at me, her hands shielding her eyes from the sun, watching my every move. I inched slowly to the end of the board. Then I turned around, heading back towards the ladder.

Suddenly, I spun on my heels, got running start and jumped. It felt like I was flying, suspended in air for a few brief seconds… That is, until I hit the water.

Yes, my first ever trip off the high dive at the swimming pool ended in a belly flop. Uh, ouch? While the landing took my breath away, my third grade limbs managed to function well enough to get me back to safety to the side of the pool. I DID IT.

Not quite the high dive described above... but it captures my expression both then AND now when it comes to taking risks.

Many years later, I discovered that my Mom was prepared for me to chicken out. When I turned back around heading towards the ladder, she thought I had changed my mind. But in all actuality, I had a surge of courage. Get a running start, plug my nose and dive in.

Nearly two decades later, I am still not much of a thrill seeker, especially when it comes to heights. But one thing has changed. When it comes to Jesus activities on the ground, I now have the courage to risk boldly and jump (with or without the running start and/or plugged nose.)

While I would love to say that the risks I take were the same caliber as jumping off the high dive, now they seem to be much more intense. Instead of risks of the physical type, God has called me to risk boldly when it comes to issues of the heart. Personally, my heart seems more fragile than my body sometimes.

And yes… even “heart risks” can end in a belly flop.

I risked boldly when… I answered the call to be an army wife. It’s thrilling, rewarding, and occasionally terrifying. Yeah, sometimes I feel like we are just treading water, waiting for a direction. But I don’t regret diving into marriage with my beloved.

I risked boldly when… God told my husband and I to start a family. Right now, we still feel the sting of that landing as we recover from our miscarriage. However, we are slowly but surely paddling to the ladder of safety and recovery on the side… And we await the call when God tells us to dive in again.

I risked boldly when… I answered the call to ministry. Launching my own personal ministry has literally made me lose sleep on occasion, due to excitement, uncertainty and confusion. Yes, I have swallowed a little water along the way and felt like I was temporarily sinking, wondering WHY I jumped in… But God is right there beside me, His words similar to Dori from Finding Nemo: “Just Keep Swimming.”

Is God calling you to dive into something? Or are you already in the pool, trying to keep your head above water? I would love for you to share your experiences by leaving a comment here.

Regardless of where you are on that risk taking dive, whether you are still on the ground looking up, in the middle of the climb, flying through the air, recovering from a bellyflop landing or paddling towards the side… Know that God is your lifeguard, cheering you on. Don’t be afraid to dive in and just keep swimming.

Doggie Paddling my way to Jesus,
SGK

“Risk your life and get more than you ever dreamed of. Play it safe and end up holding the bag.” –Luke 19:26

Categories: call, challenge, childhood, Courage, excited, God, perseverance | Tags: , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Coping with a Rather Loud Crowd (Five Minute Friday)

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Sharita

A few reasons to rejoice today, world… 1) IT’S FRIDAY! (That should be enough to put a smile on your face, eh?) 2) In this blogger’s world, Friday means it is finger sprinting time… Great training for my mind/body/heart. Hope I am all warmed up.

On Fridays, I link up with The Gypsy Mama. She gives us a one word prompt, then we write. For five minutes flat. No over-thinking. No editing. Just writing. Literally just going with the flow (of words, that is.)

Thus on that note, I do believe it’s go time. Todays prompt: LOUD.

Ready?

GO! 

“Why didn’t you… I think you should have… the only way is… but what happens if…” 

I am an optimist by nature. (Granted, being an army wife has made more of a realist some days.) However, I attempt to look at the bright side of things. I try (key word: try) to live my life according to God’s voice. However…

There are a lot of folks in my life-crowd who seems to be rather loud. I have heard that “the early bird gets the worm” but apparently we live in a world where “He who is the loudest and makes the biggest scene gets the attention.”

Sometimes, I just want to thump those distracting naysayers in the nose. For real. Let Jesus and I do our thing, please and thank you. But I also have to remember that God made us to live in community, so my job is to be on guard (gentle guard of course) against those less than productive seed-planters in my life.

So how can we cope with a rather loud crowd? The whole world is hollering “Do this, do that, yadda, yadda, yadda” while our gentle and loving God is nudging us and whispering in our hearts.

The answer is simple… but hard at the same time. We have to listen. We have to spend time with Him daily. We have to love on those in the crowd, but we don’t necessarily need to BELIEVE every single word that they say.

As I write this, I can’t help but smile at the irony. My husband is up, getting ready to go to his job as a drill sergeant today. I am in my zone, concentrating. But the LOUDNESS and noise from the kitchen (shutting of cabinets, buzz of protein drink mixer, clank of spoon on the counter– men sure are noisy!) is throwing off my Jesus mojo a bit. Kind of like that rather loud crowd we deal with daily.

But the great news is with just a little focus, a lotta love and perhaps a hypothetical remote controlled mute button, we can live for Jesus… And cope with that rather loud crowd by tuning into Him.

STOP

All right, world… It’s time for me to face the noise of today from that rather loud crowd… but the protein drink mixer has stopped, so I do believe it’s time for a little hour-long time with the quiet lover of my soul.

Thankful for the noise– and the quiet,

SGK

“Jesus overheard what they were talking about and said to the leader, “Don’t listen to them; just trust me.”– Mark 5:36 MSG

Categories: Comfort, faith, Five Minute Friday, God, listen | Tags: , , , , , | 4 Comments

No More Cornflakes (Repost)

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Sharita

Hey there faithful readers! I am taking a one day chillout break from creating new blog material. After the events of the last week, my brain is a bit tired. However, since many of you are new readers/followers (thanks for that!) I wanted to share with you one of my all-time favorite posts.

What did you have for breakfast? I hope it wasn’t this kind of cornflakes… Let’s chow down and enjoy!

*******

I have a confession to make. Sometimes I feel like my faith is flakier than a box of Kellogg’s  Corn Flakes.

I would love to say that I am strong pillar of faith, unshakable, undoubting at all times. But then that would be a lie. And last I checked, lying is a sin. True, I never lose faith that God exists, but sometimes I forget (doubt? worry about?) HIS faithfulness and sovereignty. Just last week during my morning quiet time at the kitchen table, I was studying Romans 4 where it was discussing Abraham’s faith and salvation through righteousness, not works. Before I could stop myself, I was praying for God to give me faith like Abraham.

Then, midway through the prayer, I panicked. Literally. I remembered all of the things that God commanded Abraham to do, including the near-sacrifice of his son Issac. I freaked out!! I tried to take back my prayer. God, I can’t handle anything that big. Developing faith involves potentially scary stuff. I was just kidding. Please cancel my request. 

THEN I realized the ridiculousness of my “please disregard my previous prayer.” Why shouldn’t I want faith like Abraham? Sure he was challenged and much was asked of him, but seriously, MUCH was given in return.  Where was my faith?

It turns out that as a woman (ok, human,) my natural flesh allows the enemy to sneak in doubt, fear and worry when it comes to our faith in God. Amidst homework, blogging, devotional writing this week, I felt very (surprisingly) calm with my busy schedule– then actually caught myself starting to worry that I wasn’t worried! Seriously, Satan? BACK OFF.

We have to lean on our Father at all times, because he gives us the weapons needed to combat the enemy. We can come away with Him daily and know that He is, was, and will forever be faithful to us. He can and will leave us without worry, and their will be no more “cornflakes” for breakfast (or any other time of day for that matter)

Do you have the courage to pray for faith like Abraham? What worries or doubts are keeping you from it? Share your heart by commenting here. Ask  for His strength and glory to shine down on you… He will take away your fear,  and replace it with faith.

Say no to the “cornflakes” in our faith. Let’s chow down on God’s Promises for breakfast instead.

SGK

“Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1


Categories: attitude, dependence, devotional, faith, fear | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Factor of 7: “Chill” with Jesus

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Sharita

I love frozen yogurt. And I love Jesus.

So what happens when you put the two together? A dang good, heart-healing, God glorifying experience.

Last night my husband, my cousin Hailey from Oklahoma and I had the chance to do our 2nd official monthly “Factor of 7.” (For more information on this movement, click here.) In addition to blogging daily for this ministry, God has laid on my heart to DO something at least once a month.

So this time, we took $107, my nifty new info cards and a notebook, and we camped out near the register of one of my favorite treat spots: Chill Frozen Yogurt in Columbus, GA.

The principle was quite simple. We paid for the next $107 worth of yogurt that came through the line, then asked people how we could pray for them .

It was probably the coolest 30 minutes… EVER.

As folks came through the line and the sweet cashier Whitley told them to put their wallets away, their reactions were priceless. Some were suspicious. Some thought they were being punked we were bringing back ol’ school candid camera. But as they approached our table and I said, “First name and how can we pray for you…” Their was nothing in their hearts but gratitude.

Many of them were shocked… I mean shoot, I would be pretty stoked about free yogurt on a random Tuesday! But shock aside, every single one of the 35 people that came through the line were receptive to our request of letting us pray for them. Talk about knocking our Jesus socks off!

A few folks gave us hugs, some just laughed, a couple others teared up. Some asked “why” and I said “Because Jesus loves you… and told me to.” We met a newlywed couple, parents of kids of all ages, and even some students who were having a powerhouse study session for their AP statistic test today. (I am praying extra hard for them– because if they do math like me, they might need it. Just kidding, girls. You will do great :-) )

As we were nearing the end of our $107 amount, one couple came back in the store after they left and handed us a $20 bill… They wanted to make a donation. (Side note: My heart almost exploded with joy!) I told them to add that to our “total” at the register. So overall, we were able to share a spoonful of faith with 35 people and provide $127 worth of fro-yo on a random Tuesday.

I could write about 12 blog posts from the reactions, answers and great little Jesus moments that grew out of this small 30 minute event. But instead, I pose a question to you: How will you give someone a spoonful of Jesus lovin’ today?

Sharing His love doesn’t have to be an all day event. Pay for someone else’s lunch today. Mow your neighbor’s yard without being ask. Buy the person in line behind you their Starbucks for the day. Give someone a hug and ask how you can pray for them. The possibilities are endless, folks.

Be a Factor of 7… It can be simple as finding somewhere (or someone) to “Chill” with Jesus.

Keeping Cool with Christ,

SGK

 ”Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity.”

Categories: disciple, Factor of 7, generosity, gifts, glory, God | Tags: , , , , , | 16 Comments

Raising the Stakes

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Sharita

At the very beginning of 2012, God chose my “word” for me to live out for the year. That word was “DEPENDENCE.”

It has been now been 80 days. What started as a seemingly simple challenge has blossomed into a literal life-changing experience.

In the past 80 days, God has put the following events into our lives… ALL of which have drastically built my dependence on Him:

  • Ranger school– aka, complete removal of my husband communication (see: Just me and Jesus)
  • Launching a personal ministry
  • Finding out we were pregnant with our first child
  • Losing our first child (See yesterday’s post)

Now my beloved Brandon and I have 10 days (ok evenings-ish) to be together before he picks up another Basic Training Cycle and we are faced with our third Red Phase (again– limited interaction/communication.)

Anybody ELSE think we need a vacation??? Sigh.

But through it all, God has been with us. He has raised the stakes for me to live out my word: DEPENDENCE.

A fellow blogger has recently challenged us to take our word and create an acrostic… So here is what my tired, yet God centered brain came up with…

Denying myself and taking up my cross to follow Him

Expectantly Waiting on Him– ALWAYS

Praying fervently about all things

Experiencing Him more deeply than ever before

Noticing God’s sweet gifts in everyday living

Daily submission

Emphatic trust

Never letting go of His promises

Conceding Control

Exclaiming His goodness and faithfulness to the world!

So yes, God has raised the stakes for 2012. And yes, I admit there are a few times I have wanted to quit– perhaps changing my “word” to EASY or RELAX or BEACH… But I’m still in the game, laying it on the line, playing with everything I have… The question is… Are you?

All in,

SGK

“I heard a voice out of Heaven, “Write this: Blessed are those who die in the Master from now on; how blessed to die that way!” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “and blessed rest from their hard, hard work. None of what they’ve done is wasted; God blesses them for it all in the end.” –Revelation 14:13 (MSG)

Categories: faith, God, One Word, trust | Tags: , , , , | 4 Comments

Even Though…

Posted on March 19, 2012 by Sharita

God’s plan is perfect… Even though it can hurt like hell.

Last Wednesday, we lost the baby.

This is something I would not wish on anyone. I have never experienced so many emotions coupled with shock, denial and utter exhaustion in my entire life.

God’s ways are always good… Even though we don’t understand.

I finally got a chance to tell my husband about our loss on Friday, at which point he decided to come home from Ranger school… A decision for which I could not be more grateful. I have never loved him more.

We can always trust fully in God… Even though it takes every last ounce of our strength.

It’s only been a few days, but already I feel like I could write an entire book about this heart-wrenching experience. But today, I rejoice in the fact that God has been alongside us, every step of the way.

God is always with us and never forsakes… Even though our vision might be clouded by tears.

As I lay by myself staring at the white ceiling in the emergency room last Wednesday, God was with me. I could feel Him. While I could barely remember my husband’s middle name or my phone number, God continued to remind me of His everlasting word.

God’s words are true and everlasting… Even though they can sometimes seem impossible to embrace.

It didn’t matter if I was between sobs or gasping for breath as I cried… His words kept coming to mind… words such as Romans 12:15– “Rejoice with those who rejoice, mourn with those who mourn.” Or 2 Corinthians 1 as he is the God of all Comfort. And especially Habakkuk 3:17-18:

Even though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines,
Even though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food,
Even though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior.

God never gives us more than we can bear… Even though it can feel as if the weight of the world is crushing our heart.

Over the last few days, God has kept showing up, some moments more clearly than others. He showed up when in the form of the family members that listened to me sob on the other end of the phone. Or  in the form of the friends that stopped by to check in and make sure I was eating. Or the fact that the nurse that was with me on Wednesday turned out to be an ordained minister. And God is with us now through  the literal hundreds of people that are praying for us.

There is nothing greater than God’s grace… Even though the current trial seems impossible to handle.

My beloved Brandon and I’s hearts are broken… but we take great solace in the fact that our little Baby Angel is safe in the arms of Jesus. What a lucky, lucky little baby.

So… Even though our nursery will remain as our office for a while longer, and even though the baby gifts will remain hidden in the corner of a closet, and even though we won’t hold that little one in our arms until we reach heaven’s gate… yet we WILL rejoice in the Lord, we will be joyful in God our Savior.

Thankful for the other side of the “Even Thoughs,”

SGK

 ”Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” –Matthew 5:4

Categories: empty, God, miscarriage, pain | Tags: , , , , , | 38 Comments

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