How Do I Handle This?

        Most of us have made that commitment to God. The commitment that we will love Him through the good times, the bad times...we will love Him through it all. It is so easy to praise God to give Him all the recognition He more than deserves when things are good. But the question...the question is this How do I love God when all this bad is happening in my life?

      February 2010 my best friend Kristin called and said that Nick's brother died. He was in the army stationed in Germany and doing a training excercise in a helicopter. The helicopter crashed everyone was killed. Nick's brother...early 20's left his widowed mother, his bestfriend and brother Nick, Kristin and his sister Rachael.  How do they love God when this tragedy is surrounding them?

    July 2010...Libby Ryder 26 years old, has an 8 month old daughter and along with her husband they have committed their lives and work to the Lord. They both work/serve at Young Life in Virginia. This summer Libby received news that no one wants to hear. CANCER. What now? 26 years old, baby at home, chemo every other week and a husband that struggles to sleep at night due to fear. How do they love God when this tragedy is surrounding them?

   October 2010 we are leaving for Florida when a friend is called into a conference room and told that she no longer has a job. They say it is "nothing you did we are just downsizing." Gut wrenching news and she is left with the question How do I love God when I am surrounded by this tragedy?

   When my dad was sick a good friend sent me the words to a song by Casting Crowns titled "I Will Praise You in This Storm" this song has motivated so many people who are going through times of grief, fear and abandonment. I will put the lyrics at the bottom of this post. They are so true and so comforting!

   When I was asking this question "How do I Handle This?" I was answered by reading Libby Ryder's blog. First let me say that I do not know Libby Ryder I found her blog through a friend. Her blog has been life changing for me and probably anyone else who has read it. This is what I have learned...God needs us to be His vessels to show Him, to share Him and this time of absolute devestation has been a time where Libby has been able to proclaim Jesus, she has shown an undeniable faith that is truly profound.

   So often I find myself thinking what God can do for me. God can you bless me with this, can you take care of this and so on and so on. The commitment to God isn't just one way. The commitment to Christ means that I am laying down my life to serve Him in the good times and the bad. I pray that my attitude will be "Here I am Christ send me..." whether it is down a dark windy road or a place of beauty. May we all be the vessels of Christ in all that we do!

I was sure by now,God, that You would have reached down
and wiped our tears away,
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen
and it's still raining
as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away.

Chorus:
And I'll praise you in this storm
and I will lift my hands
for You are who You are
no matter where I am
and every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to You
and raised me up again
my strength is almost gone how can I carry on
if I can't find You
and as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away

Here Goes Nothing...

    I discovered when my dad was sick last year that the best form of therapy for me was to write. I found that I could write about fears, frustrations, joys and for some reason sharing my feelings on this computer screen made me feel so much better! Since my dad's illness has improved I haven't felt that I had a lot to share; that is until last night...So with that being said here goes the first of many posts.


   Last night Brian and I had the priveledge to go eat at his grandparents house. In typical grandma fashion she made the best of everything! Chicken and Dumpling's, Swiss Steak (Brian's very favorite), lima beans, greens,fried okra, cornbread...you get the idea the healthiest of everything. ha! The revelation wasn't the food it was the prayer, the visiting, the love that his grandparents share 60 years into marriage. The four of us held hands and Brian prayed. We listened to stories told by his grandma ( many of them we have heard time and time again), We got to listen as his grandpa proudly proclaimed the greens and okra we were eating were from his garden. After dinner we got to watch them drink coffee and hold hands. The dinner was delicious but the lesson was life changing.


    The lesson of how blessed we are to get to spend time with our precious grandparents, to get to learn from them and to get to pray with them. Wow these are truly precious memories that will be with me for life. The marriage that they share is truly top notch! She puts his needs before her own and he puts her needs before his own. This results in the ultimate win-win situation. I am so thankful for the constitution of marriage. The idea that I get to share everything in this life with my partner, my best friend, Brian it is truly more exciting than I can ever describe in words!


    So the revelation that I had last night that made me start this blog was this...There will be times of tragedy, times of rejoicing, and times of just blah but during all these we learn such important life lessons if we just look and listen. May God open my eyes to see all that He wants me to learn, be thankful for and accept.