Gratitude

I have had a variety of different blogs mulling around in my brain over the last week...so much has happened...and there's so much I could say...but I think the focus of this blog is going to be gratitude...gratitude to the Lord for what He has done in me and gratitude to the people He has placed in my life who are an extension of His love to me.

I honestly have had so many moments in my life where I have had to pause and realize that the life I have today is nothing short of a miracle. I cannot help but to remember that the person I once was would not have ever opened herself up enough to receive the blessings that I now have in relationships. I do distinctly remember when the Lord started changing me in this area though...when He started calling out encouragement in me...and started teaching me to speak words that were life-giving rather than words that were spirit-crushing...when He started teaching me to not hold on to relationships with tight fists but to instead offer them to Him with open palms. And I have loved seeing how He has transformed my relationships with others as I have begun to walk more openly and freely with Him.

The end of last week was disappointing to me for a variety of reasons...and more than ever I was needing the Lord to just tell me that it was going to be ok...that He hadn't forgotten me...and that He did in fact hear me. And did He ever! This last week has been such an incredible display of the Lord's presence in my life. I cannot even begin to count the moments this past week when people just went above and beyond to appreciate me and love me...and I really don't think that they could ever know how much the Lord was using them in those moments to make it more evident than ever how much the Lord is in it with me. How much He does hear me. How much He does see me. How much He does believe in me. How much He does value me. And how much He does in fact love me...with a love that goes far beyond any other love I will ever know in this life.

I pray that we may all know the nearness of the Lord in our times of heartache and confusion...and that in His presence we may find the strength we need to keep hoping for that which seems impossible in our present circumstances. He is a God who loves to do the impossible, and may He receive all the glory when He does!