Tales of a Thankful Mom

  Life is precious.              In the past three months I said goodbye to my Aunt, my mom’s best friend who was like family to me. One of my best friends from high school also lost her husband to a heart attack. This season is teaching me that life is precious, and not to wait on showing dear ones that I love them. I miss the messes when my children are not home.           When my children are home, I feel like I spend much of my time cleaning up messes, but boy did I miss those messes when they were at their Dad’s house this Summer. It is important to remember this on the chaotic, messy days. Mess is a part of a well lived life and that is a beautiful gift. It is hard to see my kids have needs that I am not able to physically meet.                 One of the times I was talking to my youngest on the phone while she was at her Dad’s she was hungry. I so wished I could make her favorite dinner. There are so many times during the five weeks that they are at their Dad’s that I wish I c

  “casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully].” ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭5:7‬ ‭AMP‬‬            “Do you care?” One of my children asked me this question when they were struggling this week. Of course I care, but sometimes the best thing I can do as a parent is to allow my children to face the consequences of their actions. I have learned that I cannot always rescue my children from the consequences of their choices. I am not that different than my children, when I am hurting I sometimes lose sight of the depth of my Heaven Father’s love. He loves me perfectly, even when I am not being lovable. I want my love for others to look more like my Heavenly Father’s love for me. I am never going to be perfect at this, but I want to live and love like that. 

        I tend to panic during storms. Whether it be the sound of thunder echoing around me while I am trying to sleep, or times of crisis, my first go to response to storms is to panic. It takes intention to not panic in the middle of the storm. This intention comes from knowing, applying and standing firm on God’s word in the calm or the stormy days. This is just one of the truths described in @SallyClarkson’s new book Help, I’m Drowning. This inspiring read gives encouragement to those that are going through storms.            It is easy to believe during a difficult season that we are alone. Sally shared that we are not alone. God is with us, and he created us to live in community with others who have also experienced seasons of grief. This reminds me of the Need To Breathe song “Brother.” God created us to walk together and to be an instrument of grace in each other’s lives. I would recommend Help I’m Drowning to anyone who is going through the storms of life.  *I received a free