by Sharon O | Dec 1, 2011 | Uncategorized
As we begin the season of Christmas traditions
I pray we do not let go of the original story and the original reason Jesus came.
So much to question and so much to share
about the story of Mary and Joseph and the journey
they had to set out on.
With faith and with a strong will and with instructions from an angel they were obedient.
They chose to listen and follow and do what they were told.
The angel told Mary she would have a child and the angel told
Joseph to take Mary as his wife and love this child that was not his own.
What courage and what strength this must have been
for them as a couple.
What an honor it was for them to be a part of the Christmas story.
Forever this story would be told and forever
everyone would know how it all began between
Mary a peasant girl and Joseph a carpenter and the love that grew between them.
The advent of a new birth brought new hope and a new beginning and new love.
Can you even imagine their thoughts?
To be chosen out of all the people around them
to be chosen
by God.
by Sharon O | Dec 1, 2011 | Uncategorized
As November ends and December begins
we rejoice in so many things.
In this month we celebrated our 38th wedding anniversary
and we prayed for more to come.
In this month we learned to be thankful.
We learned to pray deeper and
we learned to be grateful for all things.
We learned to place our trust in someone bigger and wiser than ourselves and
we also learned to release and let go just in case we really had to.
In this month we learned that change takes place in an instant and
time could stand still as we learned to breathe again.
As November ends and December begins
it is with a grateful heart and thankful spirit that we finish this year.
It has been one full of challenges and trials and testing of our faith.
We close this year with a new awareness that life is fragile
and good and challenging
and not to be taken advantage of or thought of lightly.
I pray that we can have closure on all the difficult moments
this year has brought us and
now we can enter into a time of Christmas celebration.
We give God all glory and praise for He has been good to us.
He IS the reason for the Season.
by Sharon O | Nov 30, 2011 | Uncategorized
We found out today that the mass in my husbands liver is nothing to worry about.
It is not cancer.
It is not going to require surgery.
It is with grateful hearts we give God all praise and all glory.
We would praise him no matter what the outcome would have been
but it is so nice to not worry about
the what ifs between us.
What this lesson has taught us is this:
We are not alone.
We have many who care for us
many who prayed for us
and many who hoped with us
for a good positive outcome.
We pray that we have time to make plans for our future
and
we believe a powerful testimony will come out of this ‘test.’
Why God allowed us to go through it is a mystery.
We stay true to our beliefs that all things are for a purpose.
Perhaps the reason was to bring us to a deeper place of prayer
Or
perhaps it gave others a reason to pray for the first time.
Whatever the reason we are thankful for the experience
and we are extremely glad for good news.
by Sharon O | Nov 26, 2011 | Uncategorized
Today was the biopsy.
Shower taken fast
early morning coffee rushed
we give ourselves enough time for traffic
as the appointment needed to be on time.
Once we arrived there not knowing where to park
or which floor to go to we become directionally challenged
by a large hospital setting.
Adding to that our anxiety of what was ahead of us
we finally find the right floor
do all the paper work at the desk
get into the room
do more paperwork
have all belongings labeled and
all the iv’s and protocol done.
Then we wait
again
He is wheeled out of the room
and I walk away
trying to be strong and not fearful
trying to have faith and to believe
we won’t have a what if conversation later.
I go out to the waiting room and find my son
we decide to eat some breakfast while we wait
the 60-90 minutes and hot coffee would be good too.
Downstairs in the cafeteria I order a
breakfast plate.
The dish too large for my concerned spirit
so we share the half cold plate
of shredded hash browns,
scrambled eggs scooped like a ball of ice cream
and fat laced bacon that might have been good on a better day.
Not so comforting on an anxiety filled morning.
We return to the waiting room
with hot coffee helping to wake up the mind not yet alert.
The staff gave us a pager like one given in some restaurants
when they have a table ready
only this one serves a different purpose.
The loud shaking noise goes off after
the 90 minute wait and it startles my quiet thinking.
I go to the recovery room and find him eating crackers
and watching a football game playing on the walled tv
muted words of refs talking and spectators cheering
felt out of place for me at the moment.
His way to relax not mine.
The other words not spoken between to who have loved
set the mood of ‘what ifs’ again.
Many things to pray for.
Many things to be concerned over.
Many things God could fix and remove.
We wait and we pray as we have no other choice right now.
Thoughts in a hospital are not that great when one wants answers.
We get him out to the car and head for lunch
then home for a nap and a routine of cleaning up the dishes
left in the sink the night before from Thanksgiving.
The warm sudsy water was actually a form of therapy for me.
Our lives are in a waiting room
all we can do now is breathe and pray and not
let fear move along side us in this new journey.
by Sharon O | Nov 23, 2011 | Uncategorized
I have had a few moments lately where I have felt like
being strong was not something I wanted to do any more.
This new journey seems to be a bad dream that arrived
without an invitation.
We wait.
We pray.
We wait.
We worry.
We trust.
We pray more.
We acknowledge our lack of faith.
We acknowledge our strong faith.
Can it be done in the same breath?
We are tested and we want to deny news that could
change us forever.
Soon we will know what we are dealing with
and
what has to be done for healing to begin.
God is in control we know that.
Others tell me I am very strong so I must be.
Fear cannot come in like an uninvited guest and
ruin the peace we have tried to create.
This journey is one more path we must walk this year.
Praying that it will be a short path and over soon.
by Sharon O | Nov 22, 2011 | Uncategorized
We still wait in anticipation of the news from the MRI done last Friday.
This Friday there is a biopsy scheduled.
Lord we ask for wisdom for the doctors
and peace to come and rest into our hearts.
Where there is anxiety and fear
fill us with calm and faithfulness.
Where there is a restless spirit
give us restful sleep.
Help us to know
You are in all things.
You work through all things.
You are the great healer and
we know you can heal
if you desire it and it is your will.
Thank you ahead of time for whatever
you lay at our feet
help us to be willing to open our hands and accept.
Whatever the outcome is
let us learn the lesson and remain faithful.
You are a God who listens to the cries of our hearts
and we thank you for being so near to us.
by Sharon O | Nov 20, 2011 | Uncategorized
Learning to trust is not the hardest part
The waiting is hard
The silence
The not knowing
The test pushed back another half hour
Anxiety trying to rise while numbness pushes it back.
There is nothing I can do
but trust
I have questions. Lots of them.
I have worries and concerns.
I could have fear
but I choose to trust.
God is bigger than our circumstance
and
He ordains it all and approves of it all
for a purpose far greater than we can know.
Is it to show our faithfulness?
Is it to test our belief?
Is it for others to watch and observe
our behaviors actions and attitudes?
Do I dare ask why?
GOD could say why not?
Even Job was tested beyond what was acceptable for many
and our past year has been a test for each of us
in many different ways.
I am silent
as I listen to the reassuring voice that let’s me know
nothing happens without a reason
without a purpose
without a bigger plan.
I can choose to be afraid of what I don’t know yet
or I can put one foot in front of the other
and with open hands
accept ~
If this is for your glory then I choose
to relinquish my will and be faithful.
There are so many things in this life
we cannot control and this is one of them.
As I spin with the ‘what if’s’ in my mind
I tell myself to stop and get a grip
For the plan may be to test our faithfulness
in our journey
and in our God.
If you say you believe
what better way to test that belief than to be placed
in the midst of a difficult trial.
Lord give me the strength
give us the strength
the love
the trust
and the belief
to get through this next
season of life you have for us
whatever that may be.
(My husband went to the doctor on Wednesday for assorted reasons,
on Thursday he had a cat scan, on Friday he had an MRI.
The doctor pushed things through as quick as he could.
They found a mass in his liver.
We know nothing else.
Will find out on Monday the final results)
by Sharon O | Nov 18, 2011 | Uncategorized
You never know how strong you are
until being strong is the only choice you have.
Our lives
can change at any moment
when that happens
our choice is to trust
or not.
Today
in the midst of heavy hearts for many
we choose to trust.
by Sharon O | Nov 16, 2011 | Uncategorized
One can imagine ~
sitting on a deck out side in the brisk fall air listening to the quiet and enjoying the moment of doing nothing.
The voices of nature and the stillness of the water splashing against itself is the only sound entering over whelmed ears.
So often we have to have noise in the air.
It would be good for us to stop and just listen.
Listen to the quiet.
Look at the beauty.
Listen closer as the season speaks in words we don’t often recognize.
Soon the quiet begins to change as geese fly overhead encouraging each other to press forward and on to that last winter resting place.
It is a distant call.
A migratory call. Almost a haunting sound.
A miraculous sound echoing into the vast sky.
When I hear them often I will stop and look up.
If I am in a car sometimes I will pull off the road to just listen to them and watch.
It always amazes me how they tirelessly fly high into the air and onto a journey only they know.
It is a God designed mystery.
It is a beauty that is almost too hard to describe.
For me it is a reminder that we are not meant to live this life alone.
We need each other to encourage and come alongside as we
journey through our individual paths.
Just as the geese need each other to continue on to their destination.
Each one of them listen and press forward and often there will be more than one
joining into the haunting call.
For us I think
This season is a time of reflection of what really matters.
It is also a season of choices.
I choose to enjoy the season we are in.
I choose to stop and look and listen.
I choose to perhaps take a walk or a drive and enjoy the colors God has painted around us.
Fall is also a season of change.
A season that leads into others.
May we learn to slow down and stop
and learn to look and listen
to the beauty God has given us.
May we become more thankful
for this season of change
and embrace it.
For when we embrace something
it soon becomes a choice of the heart.
by Sharon O | Nov 12, 2011 | Uncategorized
On this Veterans day November 11th ~ 2011~
May we remember those who served to give us freedom
give us hope
and help to restore our faith
in the United States of America.
Even though our country is struggling and sometimes not doing so well.
We still pray that God will Bless our America and keep us from harm.
To say we thank you might not be enough to those who sacrificed so much for the good of the country.
We remember ~ Our words are not enough ~
For everyone who has served and is still serving ~ We thank you ~ We pray that God will protect you and send you all home soon ~
