This Is The Day

Okay, some of you may be wondering where in the world I disappeared to.... no I haven't kicked the bucket  yet! I have just been taking a little break from writing.. at least on my blogs. I have lots of projects I am working on in notebooks but too many unfinished. I have also been battling this dragon..."Sarcoidosis" which seems to have gotten worse over the last few months. I am now on Methotrexate once a week  to help with the overall symptoms but there really is no cure for this monster of a disease. I have done much thinking and have come to the conclusion that each day is a special gift. I am thankful for each new day that I see the sun rise. I have made it my goal to try and do at least one thing every day that makes me happy and one thing every day that makes someone else happy. Life is too short to do anything less. Since I have implemented this I noticed I am enjoying each day and appreciating everything around me.
~"This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it."

I Will Never Lose

I was thinking this morning that there are so many things in this life that we can lose. I have experienced personally many losses over the period of fifty some years. Through the years, I have lost many dear friends and loved ones. I have lost a sweet baby to sudden infant death. I have lost two husbands through divorce. I have lost a career which I loved. I have lost finances. I have lost my health. I am in the process of losing my hair. Through all of these losses there are things that I have never lost and never will lose. I will never lose my "Best" friend who sticks closer than a brother. I will never lose Faith to believe that He is with me, for He promised to "Never" leave me or forsake me. I will never lose Hope, for He has promised that nothing is impossible with God. I will never lose His Love, for He has promised me that nothing shall separate me from the love of God. I really will never lose! I have Faith, Hope, Love and these will see me through even if I lose everything else.
~Habakkuk 3:17-19 "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet will I rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Saviour, The sovereign Lord is my strength, He makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to go on the heights."

A Rainbow In The Night

My new year has started out a bit on the stormy side and a little bit scary. Since Christmas my disease, Sarcoidosis has truly had a mind of its own. I have tapered off of the Prednisone I was taking for it due to some unpleasant side effects. My body has decided to give me a true battle. My hair began falling out soon after Christmas and is now very thin to the point of needing a wig. My bones and joints are in constant pain and I now have daily headaches rather than my occasional ones. I now have cataracts in both of my eyes and have chronic fatigue. I am taking about eight different prescription medications however I still wake up in the night. This has become a blessing however. I am finding that at these times when I wake up is when I feel a sense of calm and peace that I know only comes from God alone. It is refreshing to know that He is with me and knows all about  what is going on in my body even though the doctors don't seem to have a clue. It is amazing that even though I am having a terrible time with my memory that it is at these times when I am quietly laying in bed that verses I memorized over thirty years ago or more come popping into my head. They are comforting, reassuring, reminding me of God's presence. It is as if He is giving me a rainbow in the night.

A Blanket Of Beginnings

It is hard to believe that this past year has come and gone already. I suppose it is due to my age that it seems the year has flown by all too quickly. When in the world did I get to be in my fifties?  If you are older than me then you probably are chuckling right now thinking I am a spring chicken. Anyway, this year had of course, its share of ups and downs, which I am not about to share or bore you with. We all have had them. What I find amazing is that as I was thinking on an upcoming year I couldn't help but wonder if it would mean more of the same kinds of problems...physically, emotionally, financially...on and on they go. I thought what is the use of even starting another year if it is going to be just like the last one? OK...some of you reading this are probably criticizing me right about now or judging my despair.... but if some of you are honest with yourselves you probably thought the same thing deep down.. just didn't voice it. Anyway, it is unusual for us here in northern Wisconsin to not have a lot of snow but this winter has been really skimpy on the white stuff. On the very first day of our new year... I opened my door to a blanket of freshly fallen snow. All of the ugly dead brown grass was covered with white. The individual flakes were softly drifting out of the sky. It was as if the snow was waiting for New Years day just to make its appearance. All of the events of this past year are gone forever.... it is a new year...all covered with a fresh blanket of snow. Hope. Expectation. Renewal. Peace. A blanket of beginnings.