TRANSFORMED, from broken to beautiful
Don’t you hate it when you’re pulled into an article with a smooth “tickler” phrase, only to find out that you have to read through a post of some 3,698 words to find that tidbit your looking for? Me too. That’s why I’m going to announce the winner of my recent drawing right up front! After that, if you want to continue to read my July in Review, that would be swell.
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We lost my mother-in-law last week. She was 98-years-old so people expect that she was probably in poor health, but in reality the end came quickly. Only three weeks before she entered the hospital she took the bus to a doctor’s appointment all alone. She had offers of help but – no thank you. She was a woman who, when she made up her mind to do something, was going to do it!
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I saw a sight so strange and experienced something so amazing that it is hard for me to explain it. If you can give me a few minutes, I’ll do my best to describe it to you.
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We lost another dog this week. Cozy. She was sweet, spunky, loving, needy, beautiful, anxious, and more than anything she was MY dog, who followed so closely on my heels that I often tripped over her laid-out-flat body. As much as I loved and grieved her mama Snoopygirl, the grief I feel over Cozy is different. More intense. I told Mr. OTN that I think it is because of their personality differences.
Snoopygirl was a strong and independent Beagle. She was smart and intuitive. She sensed our moods and was always there to offer comfort.
Cozy, on the other hand, was not so intuitive, anxious and needy from the start. When you would reach over the dog gate to pet her she would wrap her paws around your arm and hang on for dear life. When any of the family members would lie down she took that as a clue to climb right up on your chest where she would knead like a cat with her front paws while at the same time pressing her head into your face (sometimes a bit too hard) seeking to be as close as she could be!
We gave Cozy the head kisses she longed for and hubby and I always equated her persistence with our own need to be persistent in pressing in for more of God. She taught us lessons, that one.
When Cozy starting going downhill she declined quickly. Her always wagging tail hung limp, she stopped eating as vigorously as a normal Beagle does, she lost weight, and even lost the energy to follow me from room-to-room. Finally she stopped eating and drinking altogether and preferred to stay put on her bed in the kitchen. We knew it was time. On her last day we took turns holding her like a baby as she pressed her head into our shoulders receiving comfort.
I believe that the difference in the intensity of our grief is this: Snoopygirl gave comfort, Cozy received comfort, proving the point that it is indeed more blessed to give than to receive.
We fight against pain, trying to suppress it, getting busy to forget about it.
But why do we tend to think happy is the only way? Do we not know that happiness can be felt more intensely when we’ve experienced grief?
Some positive things about grief:
Now I know that there are other, more painful things in life than the loss of a pet (especially for those of you who may not be pet people). Mr. OTN and I have experienced and are even now experiencing some of those “other” things, but we have come to accept that we can’t expect for life to always be happy.
When we feel the need to pursue happiness at all costs that can lead to all sorts of other addictive behaviors . . . but that’s a post for a different time.
Know this. It is brave and even healing to allow yourself to fully feel grief and brokenness. Sharing that brokenness with others makes you more authentic and real. I’d much rather be with real broken people than fake happy people. How about you?
If you are experiencing brokenness of any kind in your life, I pray that God will speak to your heart today. Our hope is in God alone. He alone is perfectly faithful in love toward us .
“Don’t cry because it’s over, SMILE because it happened.”
New Year’s blessings to you my friends,
I’ve been known to link up to the following great parties!!!
Sunday:
TheDIYShowoff, LifeOnLakeshoreDrive, SilverPenniesSundays, SundaysAtHome, RusticAndRefined, Spiritual Sundays, GiveMeGrace
Monday:
IShouldBeMoppingTheFloor, TheDedicatedHouse, Dwellings, ProjectInspired, InspireMeMonday, BetweenNapsOnThePorch, CelebrateYourStoryMaking Your Home Sing Mondays, The Beauty in His Grip What Joy is Mine/Monday Musings, Darling Downs Diaries, The Art of Homemaking,SmallWonder, LifeGivingLinkup, MomentsOfHope, Glimpses, SittingAmongFriends
Tuesday:
TalkOfTheTown, HomeStoriesAtoZ, AStrollThruLife, CoastalCharm, CozyLittleHouse, CedarHillFarmhouse, KatheWithAnE,TuesdaysAtOurHome, TheWinthropChronicles, Rich Faith Rising Unite Linky, Testimony Tuesday,Cheerleaders of Faith,Tell His Story, IntentionalTuesday
Wednesday:
SavvySouthernStyle, TheBlissfulBee, Posed Perfection, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Woman to Woman Word Filled Wednesdays, ChristianBloggerLinkup, Whole Hearted Home, Mom’s Morning Coffee, Women with Intention, Coffee for Your Heart, MessyMarriage, ThreeWordWednesday
Thursday:
ShareYourStyle, ImpartingGrace, EmbracingChange, HaveADailyCupOfMrsOlson, MyRepurposedLife, ADelightsomeLife, KatherinesCorner, PrettyPreppyParty, The Deliberate Mom/Shine Blog Hop, I Choose Joy, Live Free Thursday, Thought Provoking Thursday, PartyAtMyPlace, 100HappyDays, SincerelyPaulas, ThankfulThursdays
Friday:
FrenchCountryCottage, TheCharmOfHome, RootedInThyme, TheDedicatedHouseAnythingBlueFriday, ShabbyliciousFriday, Sweet Inspiration, Faith’nFriends, Missional Women Faith Filled Fridays, Dance With Jesus
Saturday:
FunkyJunkInteriors, OneMoreTimeEvents, SaturdaySparks, TheInspirationGallery, Make My Saturday Sweet
The fragrance of fresh cut Christmas trees, sounds of laughter from the party house, chilly scenes of winter wonderlands. These are the sensory experiences we’ve come to expect of the Christmas season.
My own house appears to be merry and bright too as I’ve trimmed the tree most carefully and gone room-to-room preparing for guests. But even with all the glitter of the Season my heart hurts.
It’s been a rough year for many of my friends and family. A dear friend’s loss of her only sister, too soon, too young; a precious family watching as their husband and father battles cancer, all the time believing for his healing; the unexpected loss of a job; alcohol addiction; depression; mental illness; friendships broken; people of faith who have walked completely walked away from their long held beliefs; and marriages ended while young children are left crying for their daddy.
As you know, I haven’t been here on the blog much lately. I love to make people laugh and smile. I love to offer hope to those who have no hope because God has done so much to change my life and I know that if He can do it for me He can do it for anyone. He can do it for you. But for the first time ever I’ve felt like I have nothing to write, nothing to give back to my readers for their faithfulness in coming here regularly to read my words.
In slight admonition, Mr. OTN said to me the other evening, “How can we NOT share our hope with others when it is what causes us to most come alive?” Yes, we know through experience that when we give ourselves to others, even when our own hearts are hurting, God blesses us with such joy that we have even more to give.
Yet this year, a year of great pain within my own family, it is that very sharing of our hope with the many that has caused such anger to erupt within those who are closest to my heart. How do I prove to someone that I love them more than any of the people we’ve reached out to in the past? How do I continue to reach out to others when it causes such feelings of jealousy in those I love the most?
The pain ebbs and flows within this heart of mine due to hard happenings within my own family, and when I hurt deeply, nearly every day, I feel like I have little to give. Then God reminds me that the giving doesn’t have to be BIG. I can give in little ways. I give back when I am faithful to pray for the many who’ve asked me to keep them upheld through tough times. I give back when I make our home a refuge for my hard working husband. I give back even in the decorating of our home for Christmas to make it warm and inviting for those who are coming for the holidays.
Yesterday I watched my elderly dog Cozy slide off her bed, feet splayed out around her on the hardwood floor as she tried to stand and I was reminded of when she was just a little puppy learning to stand and walk.
“Cozy, it’s been 16 years since you were just a pup. How did you come so soon to this place of failing health?”
Tears fell as I thought of how quickly life passes by.
I cannot waste a moment of my God-given allotment of time.
Even if I am not being used in big ways I will give what I can. A card, a hug, a text, a call. A message to you my beloved readers.
I have great hope in God. No matter what the circumstances, no matter what it looks like around me, I know that He is with me every step of the way.
“Hope builds faith. Faith trusts that God still moves and that He is good.” – Pastor Jeremy Havlin
Prayer: Father God, please be with each one who reads this post and bless them richly this Christmas season and beyond. If any are lacking hope please show them that their only hope is in You. Not in the provision, not in the healing of relationships, not in the whatever . . . but ONLY IN YOU. You are enough and in You we have everything we need. Amen.
And now, because I want to share this awesome new Bible by Joni Eareckson Tada with one of you, here is the Giveaway. There are three ways to enter and the more ways you enter the more chances you have of winning. 1. Answer a question 2. Follow me on Twitter (I’d love for you to follow me here too but that isn’t a requirement. 3. Tweet about the Giveaway. Let’s go!:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Good luck and may the JOY of the Lord be your strength this Christmas!
Blessings to you dear friends,
I’ve been known to link up to the following great parties!!!
Sunday:
TheDIYShowoff, LifeOnLakeshoreDrive, SilverPenniesSundays, SundaysAtHome, RusticAndRefined, Spiritual Sundays, GiveMeGrace
Monday:
IShouldBeMoppingTheFloor, TheDedicatedHouse, Dwellings, ProjectInspired, InspireMeMonday, BetweenNapsOnThePorch, CelebrateYourStoryMaking Your Home Sing Mondays, The Beauty in His Grip What Joy is Mine/Monday Musings, Darling Downs Diaries, The Art of Homemaking,SmallWonder, LifeGivingLinkup, MomentsOfHope, Glimpses, SittingAmongFriends
Tuesday:
TalkOfTheTown, HomeStoriesAtoZ, AStrollThruLife, CoastalCharm, CozyLittleHouse, CedarHillFarmhouse, KatheWithAnE,TuesdaysAtOurHome, TheWinthropChronicles, Rich Faith Rising Unite Linky, Testimony Tuesday,Cheerleaders of Faith,Tell His Story, IntentionalTuesday
Wednesday:
SavvySouthernStyle, TheBlissfulBee, Posed Perfection, A Wise Woman Builds Her Home, Woman to Woman Word Filled Wednesdays, ChristianBloggerLinkup, Whole Hearted Home, Mom’s Morning Coffee, Women with Intention, Coffee for Your Heart, MessyMarriage, ThreeWordWednesday
Thursday:
ShareYourStyle, ImpartingGrace, EmbracingChange, HaveADailyCupOfMrsOlson, MyRepurposedLife, ADelightsomeLife, KatherinesCorner, PrettyPreppyParty, The Deliberate Mom/Shine Blog Hop, I Choose Joy, Live Free Thursday, Thought Provoking Thursday, PartyAtMyPlace, 100HappyDays, SincerelyPaulas, ThankfulThursdays
Friday:
FrenchCountryCottage, TheCharmOfHome, RootedInThyme, TheDedicatedHouseAnythingBlueFriday, ShabbyliciousFriday, Sweet Inspiration, Faith’nFriends, Missional Women Faith Filled Fridays, Dance With Jesus
Saturday:
FunkyJunkInteriors, OneMoreTimeEvents, SaturdaySparks, TheInspirationGallery, Make My Saturday Sweet
