I found an old pallet in the corner of our lot. Three years ago, we bought a plot of land and decided to build a house. I saw that pallet every time we visited our lot and knew I had to have it. I convinced my husband to throw it in the back of his truck. Of course he thought I was crazy, but went along anyway. I didn't know what I was going to do with that dusty old thing, but I knew it needed a place in our new home.
While we were living in the apartment while our home was being built, Scott and I had a conversation about a family verse. The boys were two, three, and six at the time and we wanted something they could grow up knowing to be true. We went our separate ways searching for just the right Scripture for our brood and both came back with something having to do with being strong and courageous. I like Joshua 1:9. He chose Psalm 31:24. We settled on his choice and I finally knew what that rickety pallet was for: our family verse.
"So be strong and courageous all you who hope in the Lord." Psalm 31:24
I walk by this every day multiple times a day. I don't even notice it anymore. The pallet with this verse hangs in our dining room next to the back entrance to the kitchen. It's always there. Steady. True.
I text it to my friend. She is sitting in a hospital facing one of life's largest and most horrific giants: fighting for her brother who is gravely injured. You ARE strong. You ARE courageous. She is.
I knew I would blog today. I have to subjects racing through my mind. And then I got the text: "Pray for my family. We have some tough choices to make today."
I saw the text come across my screen and I didn't want to open it. I didn't want it to be true for my friend. This is the third person that I love and adore in three years who has had to face the most heart-wrenching obstacle of life: saying goodbye to a loved one far too soon and totally unexpectedly.
Ugh. I just want to hide and pretend life is a fairy tale.
But it's not.
You ARE strong. You ARE courageous.
I got on my knees and no words came out. What do I pray? What do I say...to God? To my dear beautiful friend? I want to fix everything. I want to take her pain away. I want to go shopping with her and eat too much good food. I want to sit on my back patio with her, again, and watch Dateline. I want her nightmare to be just that: a nightmare that you wake up from shaken but find that it's not true.
But, that's not my job. As much as I am encouraging her to be strong and courageous, I am not. I wonder why it's her going through this and not me. I walk aimlessly around my big house with my only frustrations consisting of having to fold an unending laundry pile, clean out a few closets, and wonder if my kids are getting too much screen time.
How do I enjoy this life, God, while people I love are suffering? When is it going to be my turn? Stop having me be that friend for people. I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT BE THAT FRIEND ANYMORE.
You ARE strong. You ARE courageous.
God isn't just calling my friend to be strong and courageous. He is calling me to the same. Life is full of moments and right now, I need to be strong and courageous for my friend, for my kids, for my husband. I need to stand firm in His truths and the foundation of His hope which is everlasting.
I texted my other friend her lost her mother a few years ago. I walked the journey with her stumbling along the way. I asked her how I can be a friend. I am lost and could use a play book. Her response was simple: just be. Be there. Give of your time freely and with abandoned. Just be. Such wisdom.
I always feel like I need to do when, in reality, I just need to be: be available, be a friend, be a shoulder to cry on, a safe place to land, a listening ear. I need to be strong and courageous for her. Be.
You ARE strong. You ARE courageous.
I will be strong and courageous and live my life today when all I really want to do is run and hide from the ugliness life throws at us. Sometimes, being strong and courageous means you do the basic every day things remembering that those moments matter too.
I will mourn with my friend. We will cry together and question God. We will pick each other up and she will laugh again. And I won't pass by that pallet the same again. I will acknowledge its presence and pray; pray that my friend can see that she is strong and courageous and I will believe the same holds true for me.
We are all strong and courageous. He designed us this way. And when we feel like we can't, He can.
You ARE strong. You ARE courageous.
'He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust."' Psalm 91:1-2
Love & Blessings,
Meg
While we were living in the apartment while our home was being built, Scott and I had a conversation about a family verse. The boys were two, three, and six at the time and we wanted something they could grow up knowing to be true. We went our separate ways searching for just the right Scripture for our brood and both came back with something having to do with being strong and courageous. I like Joshua 1:9. He chose Psalm 31:24. We settled on his choice and I finally knew what that rickety pallet was for: our family verse.
"So be strong and courageous all you who hope in the Lord." Psalm 31:24
I walk by this every day multiple times a day. I don't even notice it anymore. The pallet with this verse hangs in our dining room next to the back entrance to the kitchen. It's always there. Steady. True.
I text it to my friend. She is sitting in a hospital facing one of life's largest and most horrific giants: fighting for her brother who is gravely injured. You ARE strong. You ARE courageous. She is.
I knew I would blog today. I have to subjects racing through my mind. And then I got the text: "Pray for my family. We have some tough choices to make today."
I saw the text come across my screen and I didn't want to open it. I didn't want it to be true for my friend. This is the third person that I love and adore in three years who has had to face the most heart-wrenching obstacle of life: saying goodbye to a loved one far too soon and totally unexpectedly.
Ugh. I just want to hide and pretend life is a fairy tale.
But it's not.
You ARE strong. You ARE courageous.
I got on my knees and no words came out. What do I pray? What do I say...to God? To my dear beautiful friend? I want to fix everything. I want to take her pain away. I want to go shopping with her and eat too much good food. I want to sit on my back patio with her, again, and watch Dateline. I want her nightmare to be just that: a nightmare that you wake up from shaken but find that it's not true.
But, that's not my job. As much as I am encouraging her to be strong and courageous, I am not. I wonder why it's her going through this and not me. I walk aimlessly around my big house with my only frustrations consisting of having to fold an unending laundry pile, clean out a few closets, and wonder if my kids are getting too much screen time.
How do I enjoy this life, God, while people I love are suffering? When is it going to be my turn? Stop having me be that friend for people. I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT BE THAT FRIEND ANYMORE.
You ARE strong. You ARE courageous.
God isn't just calling my friend to be strong and courageous. He is calling me to the same. Life is full of moments and right now, I need to be strong and courageous for my friend, for my kids, for my husband. I need to stand firm in His truths and the foundation of His hope which is everlasting.
I texted my other friend her lost her mother a few years ago. I walked the journey with her stumbling along the way. I asked her how I can be a friend. I am lost and could use a play book. Her response was simple: just be. Be there. Give of your time freely and with abandoned. Just be. Such wisdom.
I always feel like I need to do when, in reality, I just need to be: be available, be a friend, be a shoulder to cry on, a safe place to land, a listening ear. I need to be strong and courageous for her. Be.
You ARE strong. You ARE courageous.
I will be strong and courageous and live my life today when all I really want to do is run and hide from the ugliness life throws at us. Sometimes, being strong and courageous means you do the basic every day things remembering that those moments matter too.
I will mourn with my friend. We will cry together and question God. We will pick each other up and she will laugh again. And I won't pass by that pallet the same again. I will acknowledge its presence and pray; pray that my friend can see that she is strong and courageous and I will believe the same holds true for me.
We are all strong and courageous. He designed us this way. And when we feel like we can't, He can.
You ARE strong. You ARE courageous.
'He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust."' Psalm 91:1-2
Love & Blessings,
Meg
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