Reason #424
My grandad had a knee replacement last week. A rough surgery, but he has been a trooper. He's having to go through therapy this week and is doing an excellent job. I really love my grandad to pieces, and I'll be extra glad when he's feeling back to his normal self again. He has been in good spirits every time I have seen him since the surgery, but that's just how he is. Always a positive guy with a sweet heart and a good outlook on life.
Both of my grandparents have battled through cancer, and truthfully, if you can get through that, I think you can handle pretty much anything. I remember when I found out that both of them had cancer. I was really young with my grandmother won her battle against breast cancer, and it was just a few years ago when my grandad beat bladder cancer. And, to top that off, these two have successfully raised 3 children, 9 grandchildren, and will be celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary in October. I think it's fair to say that I come from a family of fighters. I'm really glad to have their blood pumping through my veins.
People look at the circumstances in their lives and, for one reason or another, feel as if they've been slighted. They have received the short end of the stick or they are being punished. Maybe it's karma. What comes around goes around. Maybe it's just bad luck. Maybe they were dealt a bad hand. In church a few weeks ago, the pastor said "The key to getting through life is learning how to play a bad hand well." There's truth in that statement. But I think people look at things in their lives, or at their family's history, and it just seems completely unfair. Filled with bad things: devastation, disappointment, illness, bondage, vicious cycles, lingering sin, heartache, addiction, brokenness, torn relationships, abandonment, rejection, separation, disagreements, and the list doesn't stop there. The people in my family have been through a lot. Our journeys are unique and we've each had our own set of difficulties we've had to face, but we've faced them with each other. There is an old saying, my mom has said it often, that we each have our own row to hoe. But the thing about family is that we can help one another out. We've done our fair share of moving to one another's row when help was needed, and we've had more than enough help on our own row when we needed it. But here's what I see when I look at it all. The blessings God has bestowed upon us far outweight any difficulty He has allowed us. The bad things we have experienced pale in comparison to the goodness He continously pours into our lives.
If you ask me, the biggest blessing in it all is that we not only get to face difficulties together, we also get to celebrate the victories together. And because of that, we get to experience God in so many different forms together. We get to see His miracles, His healing, His comfort, and feel His peace. We have someone to lean on when we can't stand, and we share in the blessing of being a leaning post to help someone else stand. And so, really, when I look at my life and at my family's history, I see goodness. I see a lineage that has been blessed to know God, to walk with God, to share God's love, and to be living proof that He is love.
#424 - Because the blessings He bestows far outweigh the difficulties He allows.
"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." - 2 Corinthians 4:17
Both of my grandparents have battled through cancer, and truthfully, if you can get through that, I think you can handle pretty much anything. I remember when I found out that both of them had cancer. I was really young with my grandmother won her battle against breast cancer, and it was just a few years ago when my grandad beat bladder cancer. And, to top that off, these two have successfully raised 3 children, 9 grandchildren, and will be celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary in October. I think it's fair to say that I come from a family of fighters. I'm really glad to have their blood pumping through my veins.
People look at the circumstances in their lives and, for one reason or another, feel as if they've been slighted. They have received the short end of the stick or they are being punished. Maybe it's karma. What comes around goes around. Maybe it's just bad luck. Maybe they were dealt a bad hand. In church a few weeks ago, the pastor said "The key to getting through life is learning how to play a bad hand well." There's truth in that statement. But I think people look at things in their lives, or at their family's history, and it just seems completely unfair. Filled with bad things: devastation, disappointment, illness, bondage, vicious cycles, lingering sin, heartache, addiction, brokenness, torn relationships, abandonment, rejection, separation, disagreements, and the list doesn't stop there. The people in my family have been through a lot. Our journeys are unique and we've each had our own set of difficulties we've had to face, but we've faced them with each other. There is an old saying, my mom has said it often, that we each have our own row to hoe. But the thing about family is that we can help one another out. We've done our fair share of moving to one another's row when help was needed, and we've had more than enough help on our own row when we needed it. But here's what I see when I look at it all. The blessings God has bestowed upon us far outweight any difficulty He has allowed us. The bad things we have experienced pale in comparison to the goodness He continously pours into our lives.
If you ask me, the biggest blessing in it all is that we not only get to face difficulties together, we also get to celebrate the victories together. And because of that, we get to experience God in so many different forms together. We get to see His miracles, His healing, His comfort, and feel His peace. We have someone to lean on when we can't stand, and we share in the blessing of being a leaning post to help someone else stand. And so, really, when I look at my life and at my family's history, I see goodness. I see a lineage that has been blessed to know God, to walk with God, to share God's love, and to be living proof that He is love.
#424 - Because the blessings He bestows far outweigh the difficulties He allows.
"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." - 2 Corinthians 4:17