Here's a small peek through the window of my heart...
Today I woke up and realized that I'm struggling with discontentment. So all day I've been trying to refocus my mind and heart on the great blessings in my life: my forgiveness & relationship with God through Jesus Christ (huge)! my amazing husband who truly loves me the way Christ loves the Church (huge)! our little miracle boy (huge)! my happy home life, my role as wife & mom & homemaker, my family and friends - all huge! I truly have nothing to be "in want of"...and yet my heart struggles. I feel silly. We all have days like this right? We don't always talk about them, but we all have them.
At lunch, Colin surprised me by making us a picnic area in the middle of the living room out of blankets, pillows, and even a lamp :) and asked to watch a movie together while we ate (I love these fun little moments that happen throughout our day). I picked "Cinderella" for us to watch.....(it was Colin's first time seeing it...oh, and don't tell Dustin! I know he'd rather have us watch, well, anything else! ha). So as pumpkins were turning into carriages, mice into horses, and rags into beauty, my heart half wished that dreams came true as easy as "Bibbity, Bobbity, Boo!" and the fitting of a simple glass slipper!
And then I came across an article that a friend recommended of a completely different subject (click
here to view) and my heart was challenged, encouraged, and reminded of God's incredible truths and what my heart and mind needs to focus on. Here is what touched my heart:
"Taking note of answered prayers is the best antidote I know for overcoming the forlorn assumption that your own prayers go unanswered. Soon you will see an abundance of prayers are answered every day, which balances out the long wait for other prayer requests."
"if we are still alive, the story of God’s grace in our lives is still being written. We don’t know the future. Only He knows the beginning from the end (Is. 46:10 and Rev. 21:6) and so it is arrogant to assume we can survey our circumstances and conclude we know what God is doing. (See: Naomi. A woman who was so very sure God’s hand was against her that she wanted to be called “Bitter.” But as she stood complaining, she had no idea that God was already at work to provide food, a kinsman-redeemer, an heir, and even far more unexpectedly, a place in the lineage of her Savior!)"
"Philippians 4:4-7 makes this very clear: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” This passage makes it very easy for us to understand that all we can do is pray, be thankful, and avoid anxiousness, which leads to bitterness. We’re not in charge of the answers. We’re in charge of the petitions. So, petition away!"
"But be thankful in those petitions. Since we’re not the omniscient, omnipotent, perfect, holy, just, and merciful Being in these transactions, we get to be the grateful recipients. All the time. Without ceasing. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thes. 5:16-18)."
"What circumstances do you find yourself in today? Give thanks and pray without ceasing. For as we keep our eyes on Him and praise Him in all circumstances (the good, the happy, the hard, the confusing, the horrifying), we silence the Accuser, the one who exists to blame God for not being good and blame us for not being good enough."
"Of this I am supremely confident: When we see our Savior and Redeemer face to face, we will not regret being thankful for trusting Him, even in circumstances we could not control and would not have chosen. We will see then by the light of His glory all that He was doing in and through those very moments. What seemed like unanswered prayer will be set against the grand tapestry of His grace coursing through history. We will see what He was doing . . . and we will eternally praise Him for it."
"So pray without ceasing and eagerly await what God does in and through these prayers."
Amen!
God's promises are Good! They are True! They never fail! And so my heart is encouraged and will continue to push aside this selfish pit that wants me to curl up on the couch, forget responsibility, and be able to wave my "magic wand" and get whatever I want right now.
God's timing is perfect and He has never once failed to work all things together for good in our life. Life for us hasn't always been easy, but it's good, very good and we are blessed, very blessed. Romans 8:28 "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." Sin in this world brought cancer and infertility into our lives, brought injury and financial hardship. Yet God has used (and is continuing to use) these things for good - our son for starters(!!), opportunities to love on people in ways that only those who have experienced infertility can, moving us closer to family, bunches of time together as a family over these last 3 years (what kid gets to have both of his parents home all the time for the first 3 years of his life? Pretty cool.), the future adoption of more precious kiddos, and the list can go on and on....and it will! :)
As I think about my finishing sentence to this post, I realize that my heart is happier and more peaceful than it was a half hour ago. Thank you God for refocusing me!
I pray this post will encourage those struggling and hurting and wanting more. Thank God for the blessings right now and petition for the rest - in thankfulness and in accordance to God's will!
