Prayers

I believe in the power of prayers. Even though we may not get the answer we want, prayers do have the power to change us. It's like the moment one's soul is connected to God, despite the storms around the physical self, suddenly the soul is surrounded by this supernatural halo that enables one to feel peace beyond understanding. Imagine the invisible protective shield covering a spaceship in sci-fi movies. Just like that. Except that the protective shield is an impenetrable one. Not even your worst enemy can break it down, because it's God's. Imagine the soul coming out of the body and then an angel comes out to embrace it, to protect you. Like feeling God's embrace and then hear Him say, "Trust me. I know what I'm doing. I understand your pain." 

And even though your physical self can still be battered and bruised from all the storms around you and even though the situation may not change just yet, when the soul comes back and rejoin the physical self, you begin to see things anew. It's like you're given a new set of lenses or glasses in which to see the world. And that's when the miracle begins.  

Not by your might, but by God's might. And all for His glory. 
 


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3BT: Random Days

1. A customer bought a few stuff but then realized that she had 30 cents less than what she had to pay. When I was asking her what item she wanted to take out, the guy behind her immediately said, "Don't take anything. Here, let me just give you 30 cents." The woman thanked him profusely. :-D

Sure it wasn't a big amount of money, but not everyone would do that and it's lovely to witness something like that. :-D

2. My first batch of summer holiday is coming soon and we're going on a week cabin trip. WOOOHHHHOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Can't wait!!! :-D

3. Thankful that in this tough economy, we still have jobs and we're still able to do some budget trips on our holidays. 


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4. My BPPV symptoms have been much less and less severe in a short amount of time and I'm even thinking of exercising again. My body's itching for a real exercise. Here's to regaining health!!! :-D

5. A friend's dad's bypass surgery went very well and it seems that so far the recovery period has been well, too. HALLELUJAH!!!!

6. Reading this prayer that I found accidentally:

“Prayer of an Anonymous Abbess:

Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from becoming too talkative, and especially from the unfortunate habit of thinking that I must say something on every subject and at every opportunity.

Release me from the idea that I must straighten out other peoples' affairs. With my immense treasure of experience and wisdom, it seems a pity not to let everybody partake of it. But thou knowest, Lord, that in the end I will need a few friends.

Keep me from the recital of endless details; give me wings to get to the point.

Grant me the patience to listen to the complaints of others; help me to endure them with charity. But seal my lips on my own aches and pains -- they increase with the increasing years and my inclination to recount them is also increasing.

I will not ask thee for improved memory, only for a little more humility and less self-assurance when my own memory doesn't agree with that of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be wrong.

Keep me reasonably gentle. I do not have the ambition to become a saint -- it is so hard to live with some of them -- but a harsh old person is one of the devil's masterpieces.

Make me sympathetic without being sentimental, helpful but not bossy. Let me discover merits where I had not expected them, and talents in people whom I had not thought to possess any. And, Lord, give me the grace to tell them so.

Amen”
 

7.  Small epiphanies that allow me to understand some things even better than before. I cherish them with all my heart! :-D

8. Hubby for making me laugh a lot 'coz of his antics. :-D 

Addition: Just had a full blown exercise - sweating and all that. Now I feel VERY VERY fresh. WOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Feels WONDERFUL to be able to exercise again. :-D 

3BT: Random Days

1. Writing this note for hubby (I had an evening shift that day): "Just eat me all up 'coz your wife is going to cook something else tomorrow, OK? Signed: The Slaughtered Lamb. :-D" ---> I had cooked some lamb the day before and there was some left in the fridge, but I knew that he would be worried whether he should eat it all up or leave me a little piece of it, so I stuck the note on top of the box containing the lamb meat. I'm glad to know the note made him smile. :-D Hubby, you INSPIRE me!

2. Had a brilliant idea to trick hubby again on Christmas. ROFL ROFL!!! I'll write about it later on after Christmas if it works!!! I'm just SOOOOO excited!!!



3. Bro told me he woke up earlier specially on my birthday to say a prayer for me. My heart melted!!!

4. My Mom sent me a bday SMS and she also sent prayers. THANKS A LOT, Mom!

5. My closest friends send me birthday greetings and them really touched me deeply and one of them made me laugh by writing down how we first met. :-D More mushy mushy feelings...

6. Watching the frozen snowflakes on my bike saddle and bag when the temperature outside was about -20'C. Amazing artwork!!!


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7. Falling in love with characters in books/stories/movies...ahhhhh...I know they're not real, but there are just so many unreal things that are so adorable he he...

Babies?

One of the things I dreaded when I went to Indo the other month was who was going to come up with the "baby talk". I dreaded that 'coz I would never know how to deal with them: do I tell them the truth or do I just smile and say nothing? The truth would be too complicated to tell, but I did tell "the truth" to one person who finally mentioned "baby talk".

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One neighbour, upon seeing us walk outside the house, said, "Going out? Hurry and make some babies!"

I stopped, smiled and said, "It's OK even if we'll never have babies."

You should've seen her face!!! She didn't see that coming! With a shocked look on her face, she quickly said, "DON'T SAY THAT!!!!! I'm gonna pray for you so that you'll have kids."

Deep inside I was sighing and rolling my eyes, but to her I just smiled and said, "Why, THANK YOU for your prayers."

Why is it so hard for people to understand that we're OK even though we have no babies? It seems that THEY are the ones who want US to have babies more than we do. Don't get me wrong, though, I DO appreciate them and I DO understand their wish for us, but why can't they understand that it may not be what we want anymore? It almost makes us feel that we're not "complete human beings" without kids in our life.

FYI, two relatives hugged me upon saying goodbye, rubbed my belly, and whispered, "I'm praying for you to have babies."

OK, that's all good...but my cynical mind thinks, "If God says no, no matter how many times you pray, you won't see the result that you're wishing for." That's why I asked my closest friends for God's peace beyond understanding instead of asking them to pray for us to have kids.

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One close friend told me, "You shouldn't have said that to the neighbour. You should've just smiled and said nothing."

Maybe she's right. I begin to feel that there's no use trying to make them understand our situation anyway. Oh well...

3BT: Random Days

1. Hubby said the other day with a winning smile on his face, "I got a jackpot when I married you." Awwwwwwwwww...I melted right away...;-D

2. Every time I think that my work shift is going to be hellish, I send a little prayer to God for help and He always makes things better for us all who are working that day.

3. Finally had a chance to meet my friend yesterday and we had a nice time chit-chatting about different topics for hours!!! :-D

4. Hot days in between cooler days with some rain in between, so it's not too hellish esp. to sleep at nights.

5. Making progress in doing a puzzle even though in the beginning I got stuck badly (the first big puzzle I've ever done on my own).

6. Finding very cheap summer sandals and also something else for Ken on a HUGE discount. :-D

7. R2 has a week off next week due to his accumulated overtime so we're going to the cabin sometime next week when I don't have any work shifts. YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!! Quality time, people! Can't wait!

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A Mother's Prayer

The other day I called my Mom through Skype and she told me one other prayer she had for us (her kids). She had told me one prayer she had for us when she was in labour room. She said that she prayed that God would help smoothen our paths each step of the way, but I never knew she had another prayer all these years he he he...

The second one is that she prayed for a "normal" life for us without any huge "gap" between us - for example she wouldn't wish that one of us would become so rich whereas the other one could be so poor. She just want us to have enough of everything. And I must say that so far her prayers have come true.

Most of all, I'm SO VERY thankful for having a praying mother who loves us equally, who listens to us, who understands us, who supports our decisions, who guides us without forcing her wishes upon us, who doesn't make us feel guilty about anything (including her sacrifices). And I can't wait to meet her and the rest of my family and friends again sometime soon in Indo!!!! Yep, counting down to our Indo trip he he he...

A Turn for the Worse

Today I found out that my FIL's condition went worse than yesterday. He started having fever again and his mind wasn't clear at all. There's no clear sign of when he can go back home again. MIL starts to wonder if she can ever take care of him at home again. I can't imagine how devastated MIL must be, so for all of you the praying type, please pray for MIL so that she's given comfort and strength and peace of mind.

She's been so worried about FIL that she has had trouble sleeping at nights. One reason is that she feels that he's not being taken care of as best as he should be, but then there's no way she can stand by at his side day in and day out. She can only come by daily and try to feed him. Yesterday she helped him finish dinner, but today he couldn't finish it all. Probably 'coz he's got fever again.

Not sure what's going on with his body. The first thing that happened was that he had fever and they claimed it was some sort of inflammation, but after some tests they still don't know what's causing it. We all know that his condition is going to get worse (mentally as well as physically), but it's just surprising to see that lately it's been deteriorating this fast. Oh well...just wanna let you know.

Wishing for peace of mind, wishing for the best kind of health care providers possible for FIL so that MIL can feel somewhat comforted...may God help them!!!

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Bittersweet Birthday

Had a lovely birthday even though I had work that day. What made it sad was 'coz on Sunday my MIL went to visit FIL at the hospital and he didn't remember her anymore. He did, though, say that her voice was familiar. Other than that, FIL became upset at everything easily - probably 'coz he can't remember anything much, so he's probably so scared and confused. Ugh...So prayers please...

It's hard to see your loved one like that and it makes me think of serious stuff on my birthday, such as how fleeting life is and if I ever live long enough to experience mind degeneration, I hope that everything I've done beforehand could "make up for it". It seems that the doctor has told MIL that she doesn't have to burn herself out and that he can stay in the hospital, but she wants to be with him as long as possible. So hopefully FIL's mood gets better so that MIL doesn't have an even harder task to take care of him.


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Anyway, on a positive note, I got the birthday present that I wanted - 'coz I kept on insisting that R2 bought it for me HA HA HA HA...I mean, rather than "expecting" him to buy it for me, it'd just nicer to tell him straight away what I want so that in the end, we're both happy.

What did I want? A new wedding ring that fits my left ring finger perfectly. The one I have is now on a necklace 'coz it's a bit loose (even though I've gained 6 kgs ever since I moved to Finland, but my finger size stays the same). Wanna see the ring? Here goes...




We asked the jeweller's to engrave Arttu's name and our wedding date, but she said that for a wedding ring, we should put both our names, whereas for an engagement ring, you'd just put your future spouse's name and the engagement date. Interesting!!! We didn't even know it!

Anyway, I think the most important lesson of all that I've been getting over and over again so far is letting go and letting God (and finding out when to let go and to let God instead of keep forging the battle on my own). However, lately I feel that I should learn to say "no", to stand up for myself, and also to set boundaries for myself. I was actually thinking of writing a serious birthday post, but things have been hectic at work and it's going to get even more hectic 'coz Christmas and New Year are coming soon, so I may not get much free time until after New Year. So maybe the serious post can wait until then he he...

I haven't had time to blog-hop, either, but I have a free day tomorrow (AT LAST!!!), so we'll see. Take care, everybody!!!

Lazy Feet + Dad Update

Some of you might know already that my Dad's being treated in a hospital. He's doing much better now and it seems that he can go back home on Saturday. I'll keep you updated. I was surprised when I got an SMS last Sunday from my Mom, telling me that my Dad was taken to hospital 'coz his whole body was cold.

About a few months ago, finally my family succeeded in making him go for a full check-up and at that time it was found out that his heart wasn't that good anymore, so since then he's been taking heart medication. So I guess that was why they took him to the hospital - 'coz they were afraid it was a heart attack.

Due to my Dad's type 2 diabetes, he can't feel anything much anymore (in terms of pain), so my family has the heavy task of being alert whenever he looks unwell. The doctor told my family that my Dad suffered from an early heart attack and that the heart was swollen so much, so he had to stay in the hospital for a few days.

My doctor friend told me that my Dad's heart's function will never get any better, so the only thing we can do is just try to keep his condition stable, even though it IS hard to do 'coz my Dad is stubborn and it's tough to tell him to be careful with what he eats. But anyway...to be honest I felt a bit guilty for not being able to take turns in taking care of my Dad, but then again guilt won't enable me to do more for him, will it?

And at least my family does NOT make me feel guilty for living so far away, so I'm thankful for that. I'm also THANKFUL for all the prayers and support that I've got through Facebook. HIGHLY appreciated!!!

Anyway, what about "lazy feet"? Well, yesterday I went to my friend's place on foot (she lives about 3 km away from our place) 'coz R2 promised to pick me up after work. I had NOT been walking such a distance for a LONG time 'coz I've always been riding my bike, so it felt like such a long journey 'coz it took at least twice as long to reach the place he he he he...Lazy feet!!! Spoiled feet!!! But it was good to walk that distance, though.

OK, I'll blog-hop a little. Been busy again with work and other things.

Bad News, Good News

Haven't been feeling too well. Not too bad, either...but just a little bit weird. Autumn is coming for sure and flu bugs are everywhere. I asked hubby to coin my back just now and it feels GREAT!!!

Update on my parents' health: Mom seems to be OK now, though she has to be careful with what she eats. Dad went to the lab again for a second check-up and this time my bro took him to an internist instead of a GP. The lab results were all fine (no more protein leaking in the urine, glucose level is OK, blood pressure is OK), BUT the internist said that his left lung's capacity has down gone down to 31% only and his right lung is swollen, so he's on medication and he's told NOT to get too tired.

The good thing is that he's NOT stressed about it. He even said to my family, "Look, all the other results are good, though." However, my bro and wife are worried that my Mom might worry too much about Dad and that might cause her blood pressure to peak again...so I still need your prayers for my parents, THANK YOU!!!

Another piece of bad news is that my camera's flash isn't functioning. When we go to Rovaniemi sometime soon, we're going to try to find a place where I can get it fixed. I browsed online and someone said that we only need to replace something, but it's better if the pros do it. So we'll see about that!

Photo taken from here

Now on some good news...my poster has arrived and I think next time I'll know better, 'coz a little bit of two of the pics are cut off, but other than that I'm pretty pleased about it. However, I think next time I should use Photoshop or something like that to maximize the color contrast - 'coz it's not printed as a photo, so it seems to me that the better the color contrast is, the better the end result would be. We're going to take it soon to my in-laws' place, so we'll see how my MIL likes it. ;-D

Today I got a VERY nice surprise. You see, the other day I was thinking of buying a pot of flowers from my workplace, but I restrained myself from doing so due to my shopping budget. Today when I worked at the cashier, a customer said, "I've got a surprise for you." I was scanning the pot of flowers (the type that I had wanted to buy for myself: Celosia Caracas) and then he said that it was for me, "for my good service" - that's what he said.

I was SO touched (still am)!!! It was really thoughtful of him to do that and said that ON purpose. I TRULY appreciate it. He really makes me feel encouraged to know that at least in his eyes, my service is good enough.

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3BT: Random Days

1. Yesterday's intimate housewarming party with two friends was the first time I became a hostess in my own place (never had any before) he he...and it went well, though I was slightly worried about the food 'coz I had to time everything right so that everything I cooked was still warm (it was -32'C in the morning, though the temp. went up to -24'C during the day).

2. I got a special homemade housewarming gift. I'll take a pic of it later on when I've put it up. ;-D

3. Today was "our first time" in the sauna, if you know what I mean. *wink wink* Naughty naughty! ;-D

4. Lying down on the sofa with hubby after sauna (after hubby scrubbed my body with loofah and soap HO HO HO HO...).


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5. MIL saying to me: "My little daughter, I'm glad you exist" and me saying to her back: "I'm also glad you exist."

6. Fresh orange that I ate after sauna (I got thirsty)...mmmm...

7. Kicking the ass of my own worst bully AKA myself before she can shoot me with negative phrases, sentences, adjectives.

8. 70% done reading a teenage novel (in Finnish). Only 30% left to go. YAAAAAAAYYY!!!!


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9. Crispy spring rolls that I made today in the oven instead of deep-frying them (the first time I tried doing this, they wouldn't go crisp - I think 'coz the filling was too wet or something).

10. Knowing that some people are praying for me (close friends and blogger friends and some relatives).

11. I've got an interview for another training place (read: don't mistake this for a real job) coming up next Friday. WISH ME LUCK!!! I have NO experience whatsoever in this type of place (daycare), so I don't know what the boss is going to ask me...gasp...but at least this is something to look forward to he he...

Life Slipping Away...

What do you say to a patient of an incurable disease, whose condition you know will only get worse as time goes by?

Last night MIL sent an SMS, saying that FIL could be taken home from the local clinic. He was taken to Rovaniemi hospital on Monday and yesterday he was taken back to the local clinic after some tests. He had a long sleep apparently and couldn't be woken up for some reason. Yesterday MIL was dropped by our place by a neighbour who had to run some errands in town and the three of us went to the clinic. A few minutes after we arrived, R2's elder brother and girlfriend arrived - they were the ones who took MIL and FIL back to their house in the countryside (about 25 min. drive away from here).

I wanted to cry when I saw FIL. He seemed to be in and out of the conscious world, as though life is slipping in and out of him. Sometimes it looked as if he understood most things, sometimes it looked like he was confused and he didn't know where he was or what kind of clothes he had on. He couldn't even put on his clothes on his own anymore. I don't know how fast the disease will worsen his condition, but it seems to me that it's going rather fast these days compared to, say, a year ago.

It's going to be really tough on MIL as time goes by. They live in a countryside with such a huge lawn and they use firewood in the living room fireplace, so every day or every other day the firewood has to be carried from the barn to the living room and as you know, wood is rather heavy (just a few pieces of firewood isn't enough for one day, mind you). I don't even know what to pray anymore, except for MIL to be given the strength, energy, patience, joy, and peace of mind.


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Additional note: FIL can still walk on his own, so it's a good thing.

The Meltdown

Due to the nature of this post, I'm not allowing any reader comments. I just wish to share what I felt the other day, because this is my blog and the nature of this blog is like a kind of diary and I just want to be honest with myself - because life is not just all roses and sunshine, but it can also be stormy and cold.

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It all started with a little chat with a friend of mine who also suffered from IF (infertility). She has never got a regular period her entire life (sometimes she got a period only every three months and the menstrual blood was never really much). She went on a hormone therapy, got pregnant once, but sadly experienced miscarriage early on. During the chat, she told me that she was finally pregnant again. She said she didn't have her period for FIVE months, so she wanted to go to the gyno to ask him to initiate her period - but as usual the procedure was that she had to do a pregnancy home test in order to make sure she wasn't pregnant. So she did and she found out she was pregnant. WHAT A MIRACLE!!! I congratulated her right away and we continued chatting for a while.

My meltdown happened after the chat. It started slowly but surely...Again I had those nagging questions, "God, when's my turn? Where did we go wrong? Do You deem us unready to be parents?" The questions didn't stop there...they went on and on and on...and they drove me mad...

I KNOW that if God thinks that it's not the right time, then it's not the right time. After all, God says in the Bible that His plans are not my plans and that His timing is the best of all. My logic knows it all, but my heart still felt the kind of sadness that turn into this whirlwind of emotion. I didn't even know I was still so into this "baby making program" until I heard my friend's miraculous pregnancy. That shocked me to the core. I thought I was "taking it easy".

What did I feel? I felt like doing nothing. I felt sad, hurt, helpless. I wanted to just curl myself into a little ball and do nothing. I didn't want to think of anything, yet my thoughts ran wild. I wanted to share this meltdown to my closest friends, but I was afraid that if I did so, they would be wondering how to tell me their good news when they do get pregnant (or when they do get pregnant again). I wanted to share my feelings with hubby, but I was scared that it would make him sad and in turn it would make me sadder, too. So I felt sort of "lonely" in my sorrow.

Other parts of the "dark void of sorrow" that surrounded me also jarred my senses. I was hurting so much that it slipped into my mind the idea of hurting myself physically to move the pain away from my heart. That split second that idea came to my mind, I understood why some people did hurt themselves physically. Mind you that I didn't hurt myself physically, though - but that thought made me realize that I had never gone to that extreme before (never experienced that kind of pain in my heart before). I also felt that it would be nice if death took me away 'coz then I wouldn't have to live with this "hope of becoming a mother" and all the emotional baggage that comes with it if I still haven't gotten pregnant yet.

As you can see, I'm still fully alive. I didn't hurt myself nor try to kill myself, but I did scream out to God silently and pray, "God, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE...if You're not going to let us have our own kids, just take away our wish to be parents. I'm begging You." Tears ran down my cheeks no matter what I tried to do to distract myself. That day was one of the toughest days in my life.

After calming down a bit, I went to an online infertility forum to share my feelings and thoughts and everybody there knew EXACTLY what I meant. They all supported me and they all said how IF can make people think of crazy thoughts. They all know that dealing with IF means that there are good days and there are bad days - there are times when you think everything is fine, there are times when IF can make you experience the kind of meltdown that I was having even when I thought I was doing okay.

What next? I still cried on and off that day and I felt so lonely in my sorrow still that I finally decided to tell hubby. At first I couldn't tell him. I just cried on his shoulder, in his arms. Poor hubby must've been SO confused. I could barely speak 'coz I was trying to control my sobbing. After a while I left his arms to wipe my face and to try to calm down. In between my sobbing, hubby asked me what had happened, but I couldn't bring myself to speak. I was scared that the sobbing would shake my entire body to the point that I would not be able to speak at all. That was why I tried to move away to calm myself down a bit.

I sat on the sofa, cried again, then I sat in front of the TV and stared at it (I didn't watch it, it was just a means to distract myself for a while) and after I had stopped crying, I came back to hubby's arms. We held each other tightly and then after a little while he asked me again what had happened. That started another flood of tears...but I finally explained what made me cry. In his usual calm way, he comforted me. He understood my feelings. That was more than enough. He kept on holding me tightly in his arms. Half of my sorrow vanished and I felt safe in his arms.

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I don't know how long this IF journey would last for us and whether it will end the way we want it to end. I have heard some couples who have dealt with IF and are given the gift of miraculous pregnancy (pregnancies). I also know at least a couple who dealt with IF and then decided not to pursue any treatments nor adoption and they live happily. I just want to write this down now so that in the years to come maybe I can look back on this moment and at least have a better understanding on the questions I asked in this post. And maybe for someone who is dealing with IF who reads this post, that person will know that he/she is NOT crazy. It DOES help to know that you're not the only one who experiences this kind of meltdown.

Right now I'm feeling fine. That's why I can finally write this post down. I didn't want to write this post while I was still feeling so sore inside. For all of you who read this post, if you wonder what I want to hear from you about this struggle of ours, then my answer would be: "I'll pray for you" or "Sending you warm thoughts, wishing you all the best". No other words can help, especially when one is feeling so much pain. Not even logical explanations help when your heart is bleeding so much.

However, because I have chosen not to accept any comments in this post, suffice it to say that I THANK every one of you for your prayers and warmest thoughts. No need for any written words. Just being able to publish this post is enough for me. I'm sending all the negative feelings and thoughts I had to the universe and leaving them there...so that my cup runneth over again with positive, warm thoughts and feelings.

Crosses to Bear

When I found out that my FIL was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease about 2 years ago, I didn't know how it impacted my MIL. I figured it'd be hard on her (esp. since they've been together for over 45 years), but 'coz whenever we visit them, he always seems so functional and he always looks okay, I thought it was still okay.

Once or twice my MIL told us that she had trouble sleeping at nights 'coz FIL woke up during the night and went out. She also told us once that FIL peed in a bucket instead of in the toilet, so she even made a label on the toilet door. Other than that, though, I didn't know anything about her struggles.

Yesterday MIL asked us what to do to be able to comment on a "blog", 'coz it required registration or something like that. At first I was confused, 'coz usually if you want to comment on a blog, you don't need to register first as a user. When she showed us the webpage, I realized it was a forum for people who take care of their sick family member(s).

She found a thread about Alzheimer's disease and she wanted to comment on that, so we guided her on how to register and how to comment. What struck me the most was when I visited the thread at home after I got back home and read all the stories there, including what my MIL shared with them.

She said she took the diagnosis hard and she went into a depression (that I knew NOTHING about!), but gladly her doctor helped her to get into therapy where she could unload her burdens, so it helped. Now that he's been taking medication for the disease, it's helped somewhat (she said that the mornings are always so hard, but after he eats breakfast and takes his pills, he becomes "a different man" - in a good way). So that's why whenever we visit them he always looks pretty normal to me...except on two or three occasions when I saw him have trouble putting on his clothes (he looked confused on how to put them on).

Anyway, I shed some tears when I kept on reading the thread. One story that struck me was about this 97-year-old guy whose wife has been put in a nursing home 'coz Alzheimer has wiped out so many things from her brain. This guy drives his car and visits his wife regularly. He feeds her (even though she doesn't seem to recognize him anymore). His daughter died when she was 60 years old and his son died in a car accident when he was in his twenties, so he has nobody else in life.

God, I cried! Some people have such tough crosses to bear...My Mom always tells me that different people have different crosses to bear...

I'm GLAD that now my MIL has a support group to help her. As much as I want to help her, it's always MUCH better to find some people who've gone through similar problems who can really give her total understanding, support, comfort and also advice/tips.

This is one reasons I LOVE the internet...you can talk to people all over the world who've been through or who are experiencing what you're experiencing. A burden shared is a burden halved, agree?

Sending prayers for all of those people who struggle to take care of their sick family members...may God give them strength, joy, and serenity to go on...

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Blessed are those who mourn,
For they shall be comforted.
- Matthew 5:4

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.
- Philippians 4:11b-13

Grace

This morning I woke up earlier and found something that I thought should be shared here.

Young women and men must be aware of two dangerous "DRAGONS" - activism and materialism. Activism says, "You are what you have accomplished." Materialism says, "You are what you have acquired or accumulated." Both activism and materialism produce misery or destroy lives.

The Bible shows that our worth in God's eyes has nothing to do with how successful we are by this world's standards or how much we have accumulated. Our worth is found in the fact that God created us in His image and gave us the authority to rule over the earth as His representatives. (Gen. 1: 27-30, Ps 8)

Excerpt taken from: Finishing Well.

Then I also stumbled upon this which made me smile. Something that had nothing to do with what I was trying to find.

Do you think that religion is always good?

In some ways religion can be dangerous and damaging.

Instead of bringing us to God, it can keep us away from God.

Here's the link to the rest of the passage: Parable of the Talents.

And here's also some lines that I LOVE so much that I HAVE to write them down here. :-)))

Not ours to know the reason why
Unanswered is our prayer,
But ours to wait for God’s own time—
To lift the cross we bear. —Anon.

When we pray, God wraps us in His loving arms. - Bill Crowder.