I always seem to write about the hard times. The stressful moments. The anxiety that takes over. But this morning I want to take a moment and just enjoy the peaceful moment that I have in this moment! The house is quiet ,other than my snoring dog, which is cute. My heart and mind are in peaceful place as well. I think that it’s so important to find the calm in the storm. Sometimes the calm comes right before the tornado hits and destroys your whole world. For now we are not going to think about the next storm and focus on the peace that is right now!
I couldn’t do any of this without my Lord and Savior! I wouldn’t have any of this without Him! Not even the words. God tells us to be thankful in the hard times of our lives. I don’t know about you but I find that very hard to do sometimes. I have to really put a lot of thought into it just to figure out what to be thankful for. God wants us to find the sliver lining in those times. Even it’s just counting our blessings. All the fights and all the crazy that I’ve been through and still going through with Clayton, were for this moment right here! To be able to share my stories and what God has done for me! And to let others know that they are not alone! I wasn’t alone even though it felt that way!
I don’t know if I’ve shared this before, but one day we were driving out to my moms house and Clayton just kept complaining. He went on and on about how the trailer might fall apart and we’d lose the four wheeler, and how the tags weren’t current and we could get a ticket. Then it was he couldn’t afford to pay for the ticket. Just things like that. He stays in a negative place all the time. It’s very exhausting. But anyway, I just couldn’t take it anymore. I was looking out the window and just blurted out ” Look at those clouds! Aren’t they beautiful? Look at the cool shapes.” Rose spoke up and agreed with me. Clayton just stopped talking. I was very thankful! I had to find the silver lining at that moment. Clayton was going down a dark hole and I didn’t want me and Rose to be taken down with him.
All the fights, or the bad days, even the days that nothing is really wrong but you’re feeling like something just isn’t right. Or maybe the bills are trying to take over. Those are the moments that you have to dig deep and find that sliver lining. We learn something from the troubles that come our way. That’s what the Lord wants from us. To learn from it and give Him thanks for that teachable moment that He gave us! I’m very thankful for how far I’ve come with God’s help! I wouldn’t be here sharing all of this without Him! God is our strength, joy, refuge, our peace. Let Him row the boat or fly the plane. God doesn’t make mistakes! You’re not a mistake and your hard times are not punishments! I used to think that! But I was wrong!
If you don’t have peace, ask God for some! He will give it to you! He will put you in place to get some peace. Even if it’s five minutes alone in the bathroom! Take those five moments to recharge. Take the breaths you need to take! Or if it’s the drive home from dropping off the kids at school. Turn the radio off and just enjoy the quiet. Just say ‘Thank you” to God for those few moments. You’ll be glad you did!
