Finding His Grace through suffering!

Its amazing how nice it is when 6p.m. roles around. I'm usually at work alone and it rarely is busy! I enjoy the alone time before the relaxing drive home. I also have the best view to watch the sun fade in the west before disappearing and I always find it a blessing that God seems to clear up my schedule, for the thirty minutes or so it takes, so that I can enjoy it.

I am excited about tonight. It will be our second group bible study. I say group because its only the second time we have hosted a bible study at our apartment that other people (who don't live there) come. Last week was incredible! Josh spoke on the importance of fellowship as well as finding grace through suffering. Its a funny thing that those two points have literally been the subjects of my last week.

God has done some pretty amazing stuff through my Mema's sudden illness. She has been in the hospital since last Friday and it has been a rollercoaster of emotions. Never knowing what to expect with each call has been a re-ocurring fear that I have learned to live with the past few days. Although she seems better spiritual (the best I have seen her since I was a little kid), physically the doctors just don't know what to do! It is here that i'm reminded that I serve the great physcian and that nothing is beyond our faith (thanks again for those of you who are praying). I have learned a great deal from her suffering though. Much of it is very simple too.

I have learned:
-The value and blessing of family. My family has never been closer, (my dad and sister talked for the first time in two years!). I can't tell you what a joy it has been to be able to share in this with my mom and dad together. It is so easy to be petty and to take our family for granit especailly because they are usually apart of our lives on a daily basis. I have been guilty of this and never really saw it till this weekend. God didn't even reveal it through the suffering of my Mema but in the coming together as one...being broken together, restoring relationships together, and even praying together (something I haven't done with my dad's of the family in a long long time). Your family is a blessing from God and it is important that we recognize that and start treating them like that. Praying for one another...loving one another...sharing with one another. Every day, not just because tragedy has struck but even in the good moments!

-The value of friendship. I don't know where I would be if it weren't for some of the prayers of my friends. I know that most of the time it's thier faith over me that protects me instead of mine. I love what the word says in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12. This verse is a reminder that when we stand together and pray for one another we are not easily broken! What a powerful affirmation of the impact of good friendship and accountability. I know that in times of suffering it is important to have those around you who are there just to listen or to pray. I'm thankful that I have that and it is my prayer that I can offer the same in return for others.

-That God can/will use the toughest of circumstances for His glory. I have seen God in alot of ways the past few days but never as evident as in the affections of those restoring thier relationships. I don't think I have seen so much spritual healing as I have in my family these past few days. It has been one of the biggest blessings in my life. I know that no matter how dark a circumstance may be God is there and He is working behind the scenes restoring people's spirits and mending thier hearts.

I feel very blessed and I am so thankful for the things that have taken place in the last week, as weird as that might seem. The doctors say there is nothing they can do for my Mema except give her some medicine and send her home with all her arteries clogged and hope for the best. She is at peace with it though. I believe that is because there is something powerful about the peace of Christ and His healing through restoration. I know that no matter what happens to my Mema this is not the end...another joy I get to share in as a child of God. I also know that Jesus does make all things new and He alone is the author and finisher of our faith! So I continue to put my trust in him and praise him in the "rain".
Because the same grace we see through His suffering...we can find in ours!

Thanks for reading!
-Love you guys-