Turning Things Upside Down

Days rush by and I realized today that it's been over a week since I've posted here. I love to write and often my writing is connected to something going on in my life. This is my way to process through it, figure out what God wants me to learn from it, and then in turn, encourage someone else with that same truth.

But it's hard to find inspiration when the things I take inspiration in are no longer available to me. I hear best from God when I'm out in nature and yet, I can't do much walking because of my knee. I attempted to walk today but made it less than a mile. My knee kept giving out on me and I knew if I attempted to go further, I'd end up with a setback.

But thankfulness came when I realized that two weeks ago I wouldn't have even been able to hobble that far. 

I'm taking two classes this year. They take place once a month on a Saturday and I drove back to our previous area, spent the night with a friend and then drove on to the class in the morning. 

I was tired to start with and the classes went from 8:30 a.m. until 6:00 pm. and then I had to drive 4 hours home.

But thankfulness came when I realized how much I enjoyed my time with my friend and also enjoyed being with other women I don't get to see very often and who are as passionate about going deeper in their spiritual lives as I am. It was refreshing.

As I drove I really felt sleepy which started some cranky feelings, especially as I realized how long of a drive I had in front of me.

Thankfulness came when I got to drive into a beautiful sunset for about an hour of the drive. It was gorgeous!

This past week I started a program for kids in our church and community. I'm trying to find ways to connect with people in our city and thought this would be one way to do that. But the reality is I'm 59, have a ton of other things on my plate and sometimes get frustrated that I'm still having to lead programs to get them to happen.

Thankfulness came when 8 children came and had a wonderful time. Two little boys saw children's Bibles sitting on a table and asked if they could look at them. These two bouncy boys who previously had been running around the room non-stop, sat quietly for about ten minutes reading.

Thankfulness came when I got two people to step up and help without even asking.

Last week I was busy as I prepare for a district retreat this coming weekend. I didn't have a lot of time and didn't want interruptions. A young girl wandered into the church and wanted someone to talk to. So I sat with her, prayed with her, offered her some advice. 

Thankfulness came when she told me how much she appreciated my time and then turned around and came to church yesterday. She sat with me afterwards and asked for prayer and advice again for a different situation.

I haven't been able to taste and smell for the past 7 months. About a week ago it came back suddenly and I was thrilled. However, the past few days, I'm back to where I was before. It can make me start to feel really discouraged.

Thankfulness comes when I realize that at least I had a few days of normalcy and I'm given hope that it may not be this way forever.

I've learned to start looking for the blessing in the hard things. When I do, it changes my entire outlook. When I take the stressful things and turn them upside down, I see the perspective that God may have about my struggles. 

And for that I'm thankful on this Multitude Monday.