I almost cried for the first time in a while in prayer meeting last night…. well, first time in a while at a time when I wasn’t giving the prayer request.
There were some serious prayer requests given, requests that I felt personal connection to: people in pain, in broken relationships (with God and man), in inner torment for what is out of their control, … in eternity. Yes. During our prayer meeting, we received a phone call that a man we had prayed for, for both salvation and physical healing, had passed away.
My heart broke for a young couple and the possibility of a sad diagnosis.
My soul ached for a 2-yr old girl about to enter the foster care system.
My spirit mourned for the death of this man who entered eternity without Truth, without Hope, without Christ.
Sobering.
It’s been that kind of week, a week of re-focusing on what’s important, of having zero hot water and being thankful for it, of constantly re-prioritizing and wondering how I can fit everything into my schedule, of remembering and taking time to be quiet and enjoying silence.
God uses all sorts of things to touch our hearts and teach us lessons. He continually uses the unexpected and reminds us of His plans. He constantly offers us choices to remind us of His empowering Grace. He keeps using our weaknesses to demonstrate His strength and our “strengths” to teach us humility and dependence.
This week God chose to use hot water to remind me just how blessed I am live in such luxury as I do. Even without hot water, I’m still living a life of such wealth.
This week God chose to use a child that I have grown to love over a weekend to break my heart for the fatherless.
This week God chose to use my running schedule and training to remind me that life is a marathon and my spiritual race takes consistent training if I’m to win the prize.
This week God chose to use a simple and growing friendship to remind me that His Word never comes back void.
This week God chose to use simple interactions, lots of laughing, serious talks, and some good hugs to remind me in very clear ways just how blessed I am.
What has God chosen to use this week to teach you, to remind you, to grow you?
Making My Boast 
With some of the recent sad news articles, I’ve been thinking a lot about how very blessed I actually am. So easy to take for granted; so easy even to find things that I become ungrateful for. But when I step back to actually look at my life, I realize that it’s not a happy accident, and how God really has given me so much to be thankful for. Joyous and sobering.
Ashley,
As I quickly scanned through Facebook posts this morning, I came across your blog. For the first time since Monday morning when I got the news I paused and realized how blessed I am. You see, God has blessed me in so many ways. He has placed me in the life of a wonderful woman, full of life, full of love. M has four great kids, they keep us busy with sports, school activities, scouts and we have a very lively home. The youngest has a very rare genetic disorder and additional complications that make it impossible for her to walk or communicate effectively. Mentally and developmentally, she is about six months old. She is also feed with a feeding tube and is hospitalized several times a year. At six years old she is one of the happiest “babies” I have ever seen.
M has changed her life for her children and her world centers around them and Gods plan for them. The kid’s father is rarely around for them and sees his them only once or twice a year for only a couple of hours at a time, he has no desire to see his sweet disabled child at all. The kids love me and I them as if they were my own, this is only one more of my many blessings.
Back to Monday morning… M routinely sees several doctors as she has Rheumatoid Arthritis, Fibromyalgia, bouts with her thyroid as well as several other health issues. Few people know about any of these problems because of her energy and zest for life. Monday morning she went back to see one of her doctors, a quiet man of few words, and proceeded to listen to him talk for nearly an hour. She finally stopped him and asked what he was trying to say. He responded directly to the point and said. He wanted to do one more test to be sure, but it looks like cancer. Although she doesn’t know it, but my heart stopped when she told me and since, my mind has been consumed with the “what now”, “what if”, “how”… I have put on the strong supportive role as my heart has been crumbling inside.
My blessing… God has placed me in the lives of wonderful people, great kids and blessed friends. His will is his will and perhaps this is only a moment of testing or a way to get our attention to put even more of our trust in him. I pray that M is fine and this is nothing, but I trust God that he will be there no matter what as he ALWAYS has been. That is the ultimate blessing!
T