I can't help but look back on this summer and wonder, where the heck did it go so fast? Why was it in such a hurry to leave? *Sigh* It feels like just yesterday I was writing this post on the last day of school in the spring. And I am already gearing up for another 9 months of craziness. And by that I mean, 9 months of waking up at 5:50 in the morning. Of eating crappy frozen meals for lunch, and barely having enough energy left to make dinner. Falling asleep when I sit down to read a book or watch TV in the evenings, no matter how early it is. Watching my house fall apart at the seams with an unmade bed, dishes overflowing in the sink, and obscene amounts of laundry waiting to be washed, dried, folded, or put away. Yikes. Let me just take a moment of silence to mourn the passing of summer '10 and my clean house!
Anyway, onto the review of this summer...
This summer I was looking forward to a relaxing time, thinking it would be pretty much the best summer ever. (Not including, of course, the summer when I got married!) A chain of unforeseen events happened pretty much right when summer did, though, that turned this summer into a nightmare. Never have I felt so lost and frustrated in my life. There were a few days in June that I don't even know how I made it through. I was driving myself crazy. It's hard to be going through something when you have so few distractions. My problems were staring me in the face 24/7.
BUT...God did not disappoint. Through this situation, I have learned so much. I have learned that I can trust God in any situation, and that He is making me go through this thing because He loves me. He wants me to know that He has a plan for my life, and He wants to show me that I can trust Him with everything.
Along with this problem, the Lord has sent me some amazing things. He has sent me a great friend who was also going through a hard time. The two of us have greatly bonded over our struggles, and a great friendship has formed.
He has brought me comfort in the form of some blogging friends who are going through or who went through the exact same thing that I'm going through. You know who you are :-) It is great to have someone else who understands. And it's great to pray for each other, too!
He has brought me comfort, and so many blessings. Maybe because I've been struggling so much this summer, I've noticed all the everyday blessings so much more. My heart is overflowing with thankfulness for all the little things this summer!
He has brought Luke and I closer through the things we have gone through this summer together
And above all, He has brought me deliverance. And in doing so, brought me so much closer to Him. Yes, I am still struggling with the same things I was struggling with at the beginning of the summer. But it is no longer something that causes me so much pain. It is no longer something that I think about for hours on end. My heart is no longer breaking. Instead, I feel like I am absolutely overflowing with hope!
To put it simply, he has given me peace. He has given me so much love. And He has shown me that I can trust Him in any circumstance. I would never have gotten to feel all of that if I hadn't gone through this situation.
(As a sidenote, I have found one thing to be so helpful this summer, and that is worship music! I have added another playlist to my blog. This one is full of songs that have given me hope, and provided so much comfort to me. So I pray that when you visit my blog, these songs speak to you, too!)
BUT...God did not disappoint. Through this situation, I have learned so much. I have learned that I can trust God in any situation, and that He is making me go through this thing because He loves me. He wants me to know that He has a plan for my life, and He wants to show me that I can trust Him with everything.
Along with this problem, the Lord has sent me some amazing things. He has sent me a great friend who was also going through a hard time. The two of us have greatly bonded over our struggles, and a great friendship has formed.
He has brought me comfort in the form of some blogging friends who are going through or who went through the exact same thing that I'm going through. You know who you are :-) It is great to have someone else who understands. And it's great to pray for each other, too!
He has brought me comfort, and so many blessings. Maybe because I've been struggling so much this summer, I've noticed all the everyday blessings so much more. My heart is overflowing with thankfulness for all the little things this summer!
He has brought Luke and I closer through the things we have gone through this summer together
And above all, He has brought me deliverance. And in doing so, brought me so much closer to Him. Yes, I am still struggling with the same things I was struggling with at the beginning of the summer. But it is no longer something that causes me so much pain. It is no longer something that I think about for hours on end. My heart is no longer breaking. Instead, I feel like I am absolutely overflowing with hope!
To put it simply, he has given me peace. He has given me so much love. And He has shown me that I can trust Him in any circumstance. I would never have gotten to feel all of that if I hadn't gone through this situation.
(As a sidenote, I have found one thing to be so helpful this summer, and that is worship music! I have added another playlist to my blog. This one is full of songs that have given me hope, and provided so much comfort to me. So I pray that when you visit my blog, these songs speak to you, too!)
So summer 2010, Here's to you!
(Picture overload about to come your way!)
"Today my soul is soaring
(Picture overload about to come your way!)
"Today my soul is soaringway over mountains high
Though I can see the valleys
They're all just passing by
It's not that I am stronger
Look at my feeble wings
But I've been lifted higher
Yahweh's lifted me with His own strength
Oh how I love you, Lord
I love your perfect word
With tearful eyes I see
The God who always will endure
Now I will celebrate
For all the thousand ways
That You have shown me grace
And made my heart in grace to stay"
~The Swift, from the song "I Need You"
Though I can see the valleys
They're all just passing by
It's not that I am stronger
Look at my feeble wings
But I've been lifted higher
Yahweh's lifted me with His own strength
Oh how I love you, Lord
I love your perfect word
With tearful eyes I see
The God who always will endure
Now I will celebrate
For all the thousand ways
That You have shown me grace
And made my heart in grace to stay"
~The Swift, from the song "I Need You"
Wow, you have gotten to do so many wonderful things this summer! I'm sorry about the struggle you have been wrestling with this summer- but it sounds like you are facing it with the right attitude!
ReplyDeleteI hope this school year is the best you've ever had :-) I'm glad that even though you were going through a hard time, you still let God into your life and let Him control it. That's all life's about :-)
ReplyDeleteI hope this year will be a great year for you! I'm sorry that this summer was full of struggles for you! I was all caught up in moving and missed out on a lot of blog posts so I'm not really sure what went on! :( {Going to look back on posts now}
ReplyDeleteKate,
ReplyDeleteI didn't really openly share what was going on, so all you will find is lots of complaining if you look back at old posts. Haha! Not really, but yeah, a lot of my posts, especially toward the beginning of the summer, definitely had a melancholy feel to them. I will be able to share everything someday though...it is just a matter of time :-) I feel bad for being so mysterious! Haha, but yes, I will share sometime because it is a part of my testimony now, and I hope to help others through what I am going through!
Great recap post! I love that you've gotten to "that place" Jessica - I feel like sometimes the Lord just wants us to get there first before He works in the situation for us. And it's important, because we DO need to learn that lesson first before we can really help anyone else. :-) I know the Lord will use your story!
ReplyDelete