Jen’s Gem: Find the good in each day and be thankful.

This week many watched the solar eclipse in awe and wonder. Millions of people with eyes turned toward the skies saw a phenomenon many have never seen; some may not see again. In Connecticut, we had a small blip of a darkened sky, nothing like what others saw. However, my only vision of the eclipse was watching it on the news later that day.

My eclipse viewing was eclipsed by my daughter getting injured and landing in the emergency room via ambulance. This was quickly followed the next day with me breaking out in a nasty case of poison ivy. Needless to say, the eclipse was the furthest thing from my mind.
 
Every morning I spend time in prayer asking God and all of our angels to provide protection for my children and me. I ask for no harm to come to us, that we are blessed with wisdom to make good decisions, and strength to face any challenges. As I drove to the hospital, I wondered if perhaps my prayers went unheard. Was God busy with the eclipse and didn’t have time for me? Did the angels not see the poison ivy? 

 Silly questions perhaps, but I doubt they are unlike the questions many ask when challenges come into their lives. Does God not hear us? Does He not see the pain and suffering?
 
My faith and knowledge of God tell me otherwise. Of course He hears us and of course He sees our pain.
 
Why doesn’t He stop it? That’s a question no one has an answer to. Sometimes things become clearer as time goes by. We see why we had to face a particular challenge. God may have used it to help us grow stronger or develop some trait that was weak in us or maybe…to trust Him that it’d all be ok.
 
In the scheme of things, a sprained knee and poison ivy are blips given the turmoil in our world. They are meaningless but to a teenager who wanted to enjoy her last week of work and has looked forward to back to school shopping, it is monumental. To a mom who’s trying to care for her with kid gloves so as to not spread the poison ivy, it is monumental. 

 As I spend more and more time with God in prayer and contemplation, I’m learning that just because I have faith in Him and His love for me that this is not a guarantee of a smooth ride through life. In fact, it could mean quite the opposite. Lately this appears to be the case.

My typical response in the past would be to throw up my hands in frustration and have a tantrum. I know better than that now. While it is quite tempting to revert to being a toddler crying out that it’s not fair and why me – I have learned that this is a pointless and fruitless action. All it does is stress me out and Lord knows, I don’t need any more stress.
 
So what did I do instead? I thanked God for the miraculous healing that He would bring about for my daughter and me. I thanked Him for protecting her from serious injury or surgery. I thanked Him for giving me the strength to care for her. I thanked Him for the doctors and medical personnel who were so sweet to her. I thanked Him for there not being any good-looking single men in the waiting room at my doctor’s office to see the blisters on my neck and face.
 
Gratitude in the face of challenges. That’s tough.

It’s easy to focus on the bad stuff – there’s so much of it, right? But there’s a lot more good, if only we choose to look for it. And we have the power to choose. You and I have the power to choose each day what our thoughts will be about. We can decide to go to the pity party or politely decline that daily invitation. 

 As I write the post, my poison ivy blisters are healing. Because of the medications I’ve been taking, I’ve gotten the best sleep I’ve had in years. My daughter is now walking with a knee brace and despite having a few poison ivy blisters on her legs, it’s gotten no worse. Friends and family have reached out to us to see if we needed anything. All good stuff my friends. All good stuff.
 
So when you’re feeling that God is not there for you or that He doesn’t hear your prayers, know that He always has your back. He always hears you. He’ll never leave you. He’s bigger than a sprained knee and a case of poison ivy. Much bigger.
 
As you face this next week, I want to encourage you to find the good in each day. Look past the challenges, avoid the pity party, and be thankful.