When Our Heart Bleeds

There are times in everyone's life that causes pain. I don't know why things happen but they do.  The best thing I know to do in the midst of all the pain is to pray, read God's Word and seek good counsel. On the days that we are not able to even manage a prayer we can ask others to pray for us. Then there are the days that even asking others to pray seems difficult, so don't do anything at all. God will meet us where we are in that moment. In the midst of the pain we should continue to press on even though we don't feel like it. There are moments we don't believe we can make the effort and just need to lie still. We can't see what lies ahead when we are in the midst of the difficulty but we need to trust in God. He is our HOPE. I am grateful to have a God that allows us to cling to Him when all hope is gone!

Pray and seek God in everything! We may not always feel Him during those difficult times but we must trust that He is carrying us.

Jeremiah 29:11-12 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
  

I took this picture at sunrise on the beach October 17, 2010 
after my nephew James passed away.

Rejection

The Father gives me my people. Every one of them will come to me, and I will always accept them.”  John 6:37

Everyone has faced rejection at some time in their life. It may have been a parent, a spouse, a business partner, their kids, classmates, etc. No matter what you do or say, someone is not going to like you. People may not accept us or like us, so it is important to understand that God always loves us. 

Once we realize that we are in the same predicament as every other person in the world then hopefully it will help not to take any rejection so personal. People who reject others are usually struggling with their own hurt and insecurities so rejection becomes a pattern in their life. We do not have the power to change people or heal their hurts. In many cases there is nothing we can do or say that will make any difference. 

What we do have control over is our attitude because of that rejection.  Love doesn't rub it in, it rubs it out.  You don't have to approve of everything people do but you do have to love them. “Accept one another,  just as Christ accepted you.” Rom. 15:7 

God has put so many different types of people in our life and we need to enjoy the blessing of our differences. We will miss out on so much if we don't open ourselves up to others. I have learned to pray in my time of need, "Lord, bring into my life those you think I need today." It is always a blessing and it is always enough.

Everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving. 1Timothy 4:4

This picture was taken over a ridge at sunrise from
 my hotel room in Georgia, December 2013.

Our Happily Ever After

My father took many photographs of us growing up and I found them to be a real sense of comfort during difficult times growing up. If I had a particularly difficult day I could always count on those photos to pull me out of a sad or angry mood. Photos are usually always taken of fun times and things we want to remember so it isn't difficult to see why they would cause my mind to meditate on pleasant memories instead of the difficulty of the moment.

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. Philippians 4:8

 I always tease that my pictures are my anti-depressant but actually I got into the habit of looking through photos any time I felt any negative emotion. There are days when I miss someone who has passed away or circumstances have removed them from my life and I will take out the photographs and remember special memories together. It brings me joy instantly to relive those moments and I am grateful to God for His goodness. Even though I may have been robbed  of my relationships in life through death and circumstances,  I am grateful that no one can rob me of my memories. We have to find healthy ways to control our emotions so they don’t take control of us.

The scriptures are another way I find hope in the midst of any circumstance. This week I am reading the book of Ruth which is a beautiful love story but it certainly did not start out that way at all. The story begins with the death of Naomi's husband and two sons. Ruth 1:5b so the woman survived her two sons and her husband. We have all had losses but so many at one time? This is a beautiful story on how God turns the most difficult of circumstances into a happily ever after. We need to always trust God for our own "Happily Ever After."

This is one of my grandkids at a trip to Disney, September 2014.