I can’t believe the year is coming to an end. I thought I would sneak in one more post as I didn’t want my last post of the year to be of our laundry area even if I do love it so. This year I did not resurge my blog quite as I had hoped, but I did not give up and that’s what counts in my book. I did not aim for perfection, but progression. That I did do. As I was thinking about what to post, my mind kept on coming back to the goodness of God especially when we feel it least. So this year I want to go beyond my normal blogger format of gift guides and decorating tips for the holidays, as others have done that oh so well, and simply go to where my heart truly sits in the season. I have been seeing and hearing a lot of “God is faithful”, “we are blessed”, and so forth when things are going really well in one’s life. In no way am I discounting the praises as they are very much true and a gift from above. What I do want to always remember, though, is that even during the storm, God is still faithful and we are still blessed. No matter what life looks like currently, the chaos, the fears, the madness, the Lord is there. When we feel the most alone and feel as if we can not handle another day, the Lord is there. He is in the storm with us even when we may think he is not there or listening or even cares. He is always there. He is powerful always and our faith is made stronger during that storm, not always necessarily when all is calm. Living in the hard is when He is doing His greatest work within us. This year we have walked through storms that left me breathless, but as this year closes I want to praise Him for being there in the storm. I want to praise him through the tears of sitting by hospital beds. I want praise Him during countless medical tests that don’t always have favorable results. I want to praise Him even when I feel like I am drowning. I want to praise Him even when it really hurts. Everyday I see wonders and miracles even if it doesn’t seem quite that way on paper. I find them in the small things that I have to remember to be aware of and choose to open my eyes to. He is a beautiful God. He is my joy and my comfort. He is why I can smile brightly. As I sign off for 2018, I can also bring a hope to 2019 whether this storm passes or not. I am choosing to always aim to see the moments the skies clear even if it is ever so brief. I hope you all are walking in clear skies this Christmas season, but if you are experiencing a storm of your own I pray that you find your umbrella and rain boots and can go dancing in the rain with our faithful God. Breath deep and push forward and allow the waves that can drown carry you instead. Grasp onto hope in the hopeless moments for He is there in the fury that surrounds. Choose to find the joy that He can bring by just being His. So now I say farewell to 2018, I would have never chosen you, but I thank you for all the things you taught me this year.
Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. - Matthew 8: 23-26
*All images are during our time spent at Karla & Rays airbnb this fall. Will share more in the new year as this was one of the times the skies parted and we all breathed deeply. This place is purely divine.
