friday favorites- april 5

 

Happy Friday friends!! I hope that you have had a lovely week!  Well friends, this will be a quick Friday Faves as yesterday was one that was extremely difficult and this morning I find myself just sitting in gratitude. 

Yesterday our area was hit with a snowstorm and due to the temperatures of the area it was a wet and very heavy snow. Yesterday one of our neighbors trees came down on our home. It was scary, extremely frightening, and exhausting. In the midst of all of that there were some personal things going on and then we had to take Scamper to the emergency vet clinic (about an hour and a half away in the weather) for another emergency appointment. In addition to that I was shoveling our car out to leave for the appointment and threw my back out. To be honest I was in tears and just very discouraged. In many ways the simple of tree falling is how a lot of things over the past year have felt behind the scenes. It has been a season of clinging to the hope of Jesus and holding onto to faith as small as a mustard seed in many areas. It has definitely seemed fraught with lots and lots of trials behind the scenes, many intensely personal and has required a lot of focus over this last year.

I am terribly behind in communication with nearly everyone and grateful for the kindness, support, and encouragement of so many in this community. 

And as we went to bed last night in the comfort of our home (yes, with a tree on it), warm with still having electricity, I had tears for a different reason... tears of gratitude that things were not worse and that the Lord will continue to work out each and every detail... even on the discouraging days. 

I have been thinking recently a lot about Caleb, one of the spies that went out to view the promise land. The simple children's song about 12 Men Went to Spy on Canaan comes back to me from my early Sunday School days and makes me stop and think a lot. What is it about people who can look at the same circumstance and hold on to faith and see the possibility of what the Lord is doing despite what our earthly eyes can see? What made the 2 "good men" see the fruits of possibility while ten others saw the discouragement and the impossibility, despite the promises and truth of God when everything looked hopeless? What made Caleb decide that despite wandering in the wilderness for so many years, existing on manna and not fighting that they could take the promise land despite the giants? 

These questions have been deeply considered in my life these past 11 months. 

And this morning I am resting in the hope of that story and also in gratitude as we work to figure out all of the details that we need to in the immediate circumstances. Thank you for your prayers friends and your love and sweet encouragement in this space. You are a gift!

"Our forefathers had many dangers to contend with... on either side of them rose a wall of water like none they had ever witnessed. The wind raged, the sea churned threateningly, like a lion ready to fall on its prey. The army of Pharaoh sat on the edge of the land intending to pursue them. How easy it would have been for our people, through every step of that perilous passage to set their eyes on these dangers. How easy to give in to fears and discouragement. These are the rushing waters of our lives, surrounding us like a churning wall on every side. They are the army of our Pharaoh. But instead of growing distracted and fearful, we can choose to set our eyes on the path that the Lord opens for us. One step at a time, we can go forward, and learn to be faithful in suffering."

//Land of Silence//

I hope that you have a wonderful Friday and weekend friends! Thank you for making this such an incredible space to come to and connect with every single day. I am so blessed!!