Blessings

First of all, I want to say thank you to those of you who offered encouragement after my post yesterday.  I really did not write it to elicit sympathy--I just a hate being fake, and that's how I was feeling yesterday.  And while I'm mentioning fakeness, I should also admit that Harper's room does not always look like that...I definitely cleaned it up before I took those photos :)  But after I wrote the post, I got quite a few sweet messages, offers of help, and even a couple small gifts.  While that wasn't my intention, it sure did a lot to improve my mood and help me realize how much people care and want to help.  So thank you.  I have to share this one photo of an outfit my sister brought in last night to cheer me up...SO cute. It's a preemie size, so it's tiny and cuddly and so sweet. Even has hints of our Dutch roots :)  Thanks, Jones. 

I also have had two fast food meals since I wrote that post last night, including fries and onion rings, so I'm in a much better place today!  Ha.  One of the other nice gifts came from my mom's cousin Marlys, who works here at Sanford and dropped by during lunch to bring me a devotional based on Laura Story's song "Blessings."  (Thanks, Mar!)

I'm sure you have heard the song, but if not, it's definitely worth a listen. Here is a video of it (the hospital blocks YouTube, so it's from GodTube :)




Laura Story - Blessings (Listen: Aline Barros) from jorgi on GodTube.

In her introduction to the book, Laura Story explains that she grew up asking a "blessing" on her food and singing songs like "God Bless America," leaving her with the impression that God's blessings always arrive in the form of health, happiness, and prosperity.  And while those are certainly good things that God gives to His children, where does that leave the other things that come into our lives? If we experience hardship or heartache, does that mean we are being punished? 

When her husband was diagnosed with brain tumor, they discovered as they dug into Scripture that sometimes God actually blesses his children through the absence of the very things they pray for.  She mentions the examples of Paul and Job, who were both blessed through their trials.  Here is the conclusion she comes to: "So how do I define blessings now? I'm still not sure.  Every 'what if' of the song 'Blessings' symbolizes a thousand questions God seems to have left unanswered. But this I do know: there is a depth of intimacy with God that can only be known through suffering.  There is a reliance on Him that can only be experienced when everything else around my soul seems to give way.  And if that's what it takes to make this stubborn child cling to that old rugged cross, you can have your prosperity.  I'd rather have Jesus."

Wow. What a convicting passage.  I am being inconvenienced, yes, but I am so blessed.  I need to remember to look for the ways God can use this in my life and teach me how pass it along--we are blessed to BE a blessing (and so many people out there have done that for us, too!).  It also made me think...would I still be praising God if I was going through something worse?  The couple I mentioned in an earlier post is burying their daughter today.  Horrifying.  Would Jesus be enough for me in a situation like that?  He has to be. 

For now, I am trying to see the blessing of some extra time to read, write, create, and sleep.  And I'm so glad I am in a safe place for myself and this baby.  And I love all the sweet messages, cards, flowers, and visits. And I am grateful for lunch dates and visits with friends. And family birthdays so we have excuses for pizza parties in the room.  The list could go on.

I am counting my blessings today.