Lucie

This post will be a little different. A year ago today I said goodbye to a beautiful soul. A woman that showed me how to keep the faith even in the most trying times. I would sit with her and have deep talks about everything. She was not only a second mom to me, she was a best friend. 

One year...it still doesn't seem real to me. In such a short time you made a huge impact on my life. An impact that has remained ever so strong. The way you lived life, your faith, the way you always brought my sights back to God. I miss your laugh, your smile, your hugs. I miss the talks we would have sitting there in your bed. The day is still so vivid and still unreal to me. You promised me you would try to behave when I left for work that morning. It was a blessing upon blessings to be a part of your life and to be by your side. Lucie you were a second mom to me. You loved everyone you came in contact with. You had a huge heart in which you have also passed on to your children. You did great Mama. I love you more. ❤️

Don't take people for granted...tomorrow is never promised. 

Strong Foundation

The first house I bought was a fixer upper. My husband at the time and I bought it with so many plans to update every room in the house. It had so much potential. Room by room we finished our goals. At the time of our divorce we only had the bathroom yet to do. As time went we had to make the decision on whether one of us kept the home, or do we sell? 

We had agreed at the beginning that I keep the home, I mean, after all we did put a lot of money into it in order to make the improvements. I had my dream kitchen. I loved my new flooring. I prided myself on the landscaping need had finished. Our new patio fire pit in the back yard. 

One day my daughter pointed out a dip in the living room floor. I had an experienced contractor take a look...turns out the main foundation of the home was falling apart.

You see we often go through life experiencing things that put cracks on our foundation. We then look to put a band aid over those cracks. We go to the gym to get our dream body. We undergo plastic surgery to change our body. We change our hair. We attempt anything to improve the way we will look to the world. All the while the foundation is crumbling under us. We cannot be a whole house without that main foundation being strong. 1 Samuel says it best in chapter 16 verse 7 - "Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." God isn't looking at the way we look, He's looking at our soul. 

How's your remodeling going on your soul?

Catfish

Have you ever gone fishing for catfish? Do you know what it takes to catch them? I'm not talking noodling. I'm talking with a pole, bait and hook. Catfish are nocturnal, they decide to grace ya with their presence at night right? It takes a lot of patience in order to catch them. A lot of times you cast out, set the pole up and wait. It's a big waiting game. You wait for that pole to move, watch the line for action. Some times it takes hours, but the end result is always worth it isn't it? Mine resulted in a 10 pounder that ended up in my freezer. It ended well for me that night. We can related to this a lot in our own lives. God is asking for us to be patient. He has our end result ready for us but sometimes we just can't wait and we reel the line in too soon. He's wanting us to wait because he has our purpose waiting for us. So how is it we can show patience when it comes to trying to catch catfish but when it comes to our lives we want God to act now? When we take control and reel in too soon we miss out on that end result. We miss out on the grand prize of actually catching the fish. The whole purpose of even casting out in the first place. Wait on the Lord, for He knows what's going on below the water that we know nothing about. 

Going Through the Fog

Have you ever driven through fog? It can be nerve wracking. You can't see what's ahead of you. A lot of times in life we allow for things to fog our minds. Things such as pain, heartbreak, death, the list can go on and on. It is in these times that we focus on the drive. We rely on the head lights and drive a little more cautious. We need to use those moments to rely on God. It's on those moments where our fear may be a little bit higher due to the unknown as we take that drive. We trust that our careful driving and headlights will help us get the through it. We need to put our trust in Him to be our headlights and to bring us through safely. The fog won't last, the sun will shine again and the skies will clear.

Turbulence

Have you ever been flying? It's a beautiful view right? You almost feel like nothing can touch you. The skies are clear. Then come clouds...clouds can cause some turbulence. In those moments you're trusting the pilot to bring you through those clouds and the rough air to a safe landing right? The same thing goes for our lives. We find ourselves in moments of turbulence and rough wind. These are the times that we stop trusting God (our pilot) and we try to take control of things ourselves. 

Isaiah 41:10 says it best - "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." 

What do you think would happen if we were to try to take the controls aways from the airplane pilot? Not having experience, do you think you would be able to safely bring it through to the other side as well as the trained pilot could? This is what we do in our lives, trying to take things out of God's hands and put it in our own. We don't really know what we are doing. In these moments we need to lean on God to bring us through those clouds and turbulence. God has the landing pad ready for us he's just waiting for us to let go of the controls and let him take it. 

Give all your worries and fears to the Lord and he will give you a safe landing.