Category Archives: human interest

Dec4

Random (hopefully inspired) Thought…Today I Am Thankful For… STRUGGLES (DAY 388 of 2025)

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Random (hopefully inspired) Thought…Today I Am Thankful For… STRUGGLES (DAY 388 of 2025)

Do you struggle? I do. Every second of every day (in my humble opinion) is a struggle to do what’s right, to choose humility, forgiveness, understanding, patience, kindness, and love. We want vengeance on those who mislead us, lie to us, or hurt us. We want vindication of the movie variety, where the bad guy gets what’s coming to him, in all its Technicolor, high-definition glory. But life isn’t a movie, and God allows us to struggle not for the fun, but to build in us things that will not be shaken. Don’t believe me? Check out Hebrews 12:11-13, “No discipline/trial/struggle seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. Make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.”

I am learning (very slowly) that my struggles make me stronger, build in me the attributes and character that God wants to instill in me; that even when I can’t see it (with my limited human sight), God has a purpose, a reason, a lesson for me to learn and then use to encourage others. The author of Hebrews is right: it is not comfortable, not pleasant; it is painful. If we’re looking at the waters around us instead of the God and Father who loves us, we can feel like we’re sinking and failing. And guess what? That’s OK. It’s OK to fail, it’s OK to struggle, it’s OK to cry out to God, and yes, even to whine. God can take it. BUT, He won’t leave us (you or me) there; instead, He will pick us up, dust us off, and make our feet like deer feet and enable us to tread on high places (Habakkuk 3:19). Don’t be discouraged as you struggle, be thankful that God is working in you. He loves you, and His thoughts towards you are good.

Oct27

DAY 299 (2014)

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A little cleaning never hurt anybody.

A little cleaning never hurt anybody.

So I dislike cleaning it is my least favorite past time. If I could avoid it I would. However, God in his infinite wisdom and with His ironic sense of humor has made it so that cleaning is something I can not avoid. Why you ask? Well, I am allergic to dust. Yes makes me laugh when I think about it too. Dust is everywhere it is unavoidable, which is why I have a large and unending supply of  allergy medicines that I have to take on a daily basis so that breathing does not become difficult. One of the ways to combat aversion to dust is to clean. Told you God had an ironic sense of humor. I am convinced He allowed this infirmity because He knew I’d never clean any other way 😉 . Today was clean the house day (I do it twice a week to lessen the dust accumulation). as I cleaned my home I contemplated the change that life has taken over the past few month. Then it hit me that what I was doing in my home, was the very same thing that God was doing with me… CLEANING. There were many things in my former home of South Florida that vied for my attention, many things that caused clutter in my mind, in my life. Many of those things God needed to clean up in order to get me to a place where I could be pliable in His hands. Sometimes there are things in our lives that can cause us not to see the path. Dust in our life that makes it hard for us to breath. Let God clean it up. Don’t despise the cleaning. It makes breathing easier.

“Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:4).

Lesson: If your “house” is dirty let God clean it.

Sep26

DAY 268 (2014)

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So true!

So true!

Yesterday I went for an interview. It is for a really good company, I previously applied for the same position with the company. I even went as far as flying to NY from Florida to do the testing. However, a week after I was informed that I was no longer a candidate for the position. I was disappointed, but I let it go. Yesterday when I sat with the interviewer he pulled up my info and then got this rather quizzical look on his face. His expression said, “What the heck?!” So I asked, “Why do you have that expression on your face?” He laughed and said, “I have never been able to control my expressions. I have gotten in trouble a lot for that.” I told him I’d like to play a game of poker with him… 🙂 . He laughed and then said this, “I don’t understand why you didn’t make it through the last time. You passed the testing.” Huh… we continued the interview (I did not have to take the test again… Yay!). On the drive home I started to wonder as to why God had closed a door that could have had me moving to Western New York  with a job to come to? Then my mind ran across my friend Karla. Why is this so important? I wrote a post about her recently (not sure of the DAY). She is a friend that I had invited to church on multiply occasions, each time she told me no. However, she finally said yes in July. Had the comapny hired me I would have left Florida in March, never attempting to ask her again. Then my mind ran across Miss A. Miss A was a patient who previously had gone through chemo, was found to have resolution of the disease. However, several months later in April was diagnosed with a new very aggressive form of cancer that literally has a six week window of life expectancy (that is the standard prognosis for most people diagnosed with this form of cancer). During that time I bought her a devotional because I felt that God told me to do so. It is now September and Miss A is not only is alive, but walking and talking on her own (which is miraculous). Here’s what I realized God had a reason that was BIGGER than I could have imagined. His purpose was eternal. Today Karla has inherited a peace that she says she can’t explain. Miss A’s husband once told me that both he and his wife read the devotional everyday. It’s the first thing they do every morning. Yesterday the interviewer said something else that floored me. “When a door is closed it is ALWAYS for a reason”.  He’ll never know how true his words were. God had a much better plan.

“To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of Him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What He opens no one can shut, and what He shuts no one can open” (Revelation 3:7).

Lesson: Let God shut and open the doors as He wills. The outcome will always be worth it.

Side story: Today I got a phone call for Final Interview… God’s got a plan 🙂

Sep10

DAY 252 (2014)

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First and foremost to all those who left prayers for me due to yesterday’s post. THANK YOU!!!! Today I can honestly say I woke up with a completely different perspective. Today I wanted to tell you a story about God’s grace, about being used despite believing yourself unusable.

Bed of Blessing:

Give and it shall be giving to you... Picture by Lisa R.

Give and it shall be giving to you…
Picture by Lisa R.

In the course of our move from Florida to NY, my mom had to give up her bed. Why? Two reason: 1. Her mattress was giving her back pain. 2. We needed to minimize. So why not get rid of something that was causing her pain. Makes sense, no? When we settled in our new home, mom had a room, a bed frame, and a headboard, but no mattress. However, that was not the only issue we faced. We moved from a three bedroom house to a two bedroom apartment (although incredibly spacious, still an apartment), thus the bedrooms were considerable smaller. A king would not fit the space mom had. Moving without a job means you have to be conscious of every penny spent, the lack of a job means money will go out, but not come back in. I prayed about the most efficient way to fill mom’s need of sleeping accommodations. First thought get her a king mattress, sure she would have no space in her room (to move or breath), but at least she’d have a place to sleep. One day in my quiet time, I heard God clearly say, “Bless her”. Okay now let’s back track, by telling you a little about my mom. She’s the kind of person who would give you her last dime, if she genuinely believed it would help you. I watched her drain her retirement plan to make sure that my brother could graduate college. At a time when my father had a good paying job and could help, he kept saying that he would, but some how was NEVER able to (I am not angry with him, but not gonna lie it still hurts when I think about it). My great, great aunt died a couple years after my mom was laid off, and left her money. Instead of hoarding it and storing it up for her retirement, she used that money to pay off mine and my brother’s school debt. Are you seeing her pattern? So when God said, “Bless her.” I said, “Okay God, but…” (my brother and I have not reached her level of selflessness yet, but I hope to someday).But I have bills, but I have limited funds, but… God’s answer, “Bless her”, So obediently yet reluctantly I started to search for beds, and mattresses. We found what we wanted at SEARS. What is amazing is that we were able to purchase a top of the line mattress, and a beautiful bed frame, for less than it would have cost me to purchase one king size mattress! Blessing number one. Today my mom’s bed arrived. She was like a little kid. So excited. She kept saying, “Thank you Lord. Thank you for this blessing.” She kept thanking me for being generous. I can’t explain what it did to my heart to know I was able to give back to someone who has always without hesitation given to me. Blessing number two… PRICELESS. Then God reminded me that He blesses those who willing bless others. He reminded me that the call of the Christian, the follower of Christ is to give and not expect in return. Something my mom had done for years, and today God returned it to her, “A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over“.

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Luke 6:38).

Today’s Lesson: Be a blessing and you will be blessed… pressed down, shaken together, running over.

Jul12

DAY 193 (2014)

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Look into the mirror and understand, we are NOT what others say we are. We are who God created us to be.

Look into the mirror and understand, we are NOT what others say we are. We are who God created us to be.

I saw the music video to the song, Try, today. It is by Grammy award winning artist Colbie Caillat. The video, I have to be honest, brought me to tears. Not because it was sad, but because it was beautiful and honest. I am a female and the standards that I am judged by many times are harsher and more critical than say, the standards my brother is judged by. Not because I am less somehow, but because while my brother will be judged on his abilities. Many times before people ever find out what I am capable of, I am judged by my looks.  Am I slim enough, pretty enough? These are questions that many times plague the female population. The lyrics of the song lead to a very important question: “Get your sexy on. Don’t be shy, girl. Take it off. This is what you want, to belong, so they like you. Do you like you?” Do YOU like you? Such a simply question, yet so profound. Why? Because many times we can’t answer. We have become so busy trying to become what society thinks we should be, that we don’t know who we are ourselves. So how could we even begin to know if we like ourselves? It took me a while to like me, and I can honestly say that I do. I may not be the prettiest girl out there, but I am loved by the people in my world. I like my laughter (I love to laugh). I like my personality (stubborn, nerdy, and funny… it’s an awesome combination). We are created in God’s image, each of us has a purpose and I can guarantee that purpose is NOT to fit into society’s cookie cutter standard of  “cool”. So stop trying so hard. Be who you are. We weren’t made to fit in, we were created to STAND OUT!

“So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27).

So what’s the plan? Be me. Because I like me.

Here’s the link to the video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXoZLPSw8U8&feature=kp). Enjoy!

Jul11

DAY 192 (2014)

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Don't see the stretch you have to run. See the finish line.

Don’t see the stretch you have to run. See the finish line.

After yesterday’s realization. I decided to get back on track with my life. So decided to started doing the things that make me, well, me. So today I worked out, (it helps to clear my mind). I looked at my eating pattern and have made a plan to change the way I deal with stress. I have this bad habit of abandoning the things that give me peace and keep me centered when I am stressed, worried, or scared.  Today as I was formulating my plan I was reminded of something we tell our patients going through chemo: Don’t stop your life. Continuing doing the things you like to do. When you don’t feel like getting out of bed, make yourself get up. Live your life. Why do we give this advice? Because we (human beings) make subtle unconscious changes when life gets uncomfortable, when things are outside the realm of our control. These tiny compromises start to pile one on top of the other and before we know it… BAM! We are in a black whole of our own creation unable to find our way out. Today I made a conscious choice to regain my joy. A conscious choice to not worry, to put one foot in front of the other and move forward. Today for the first time in a while, I felt like me again. My life now (the one I am afraid of letting go of) is not where I want to be. Which begs the question, why do I want to stay? Honestly, it’s comfortable, it’s the evil I know, so to speak. But when I take my feelings and fears out of the equation  and look clearly I realize that there is NO room for growth where I am now, no chance for change. I’d rather try and fail, then never try and never know. So I am taking the advice that I give on a daily basis to heart. I am going live my life, do the things I like to do, and move forward. Just like my patients are’t sidetracked by cancer, I won’t be sidetracked by fear. Plus God’s in control… so what am I worried about? God’s got this!

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze” (Isaiah 43:2).

So what’s the plan? One foot in front of the other, with my eyes focused on God.