I woke up this morning quite early. It was 5:15 on my clock when I rolled over after laying in bed for what seemed forever. I finally decided to get up and go have some "quiet" time. I know a lot of you are thinking, "Why in the world does she need quiet time?! She has no children!" but for me my quiet time is when it's still dark outside, I can open my windows and smell the fresh air, have my morning cup of tea, and just reflect on my life. (That sounds a little deep huh? I like to pretend I have depth sometimes.)
Last night I went to "Girl's Night Out" with a friend of mine. I was really excited about it because Stephanie Nielson was speaking. I have read her story in local magazines, and heard a lot about her, and knowing that I have a speaking engagement coming up in a month I wanted to hear what she had to say, and what I could take away from her speech.
She spoke on hope last night, which is something that is very close to my heart. Hope is what kept me alive these last few years. Hope that my food would go down, hope that the scar tissue would stop hurting, hope that I would survive another surgery, hope that Dave is staying focused on school instead of me, and hope that God would grant me another day to wake up to my sweetheart's face. So when she started by saying she was speaking on hope, I connected.
As she spoke I realized that everyone has trials. Whether big or small it doesn't matter. Everyone's trials are huge to them in that minute, and that is all that matters. It doesn't matter if it's a 2 year old who has stubbed his foot and his world's collided and all he wants is for his Mommy to kiss it better, or if it's me laying on a surgery table praying that I open my eyes when they doctor's are done with me. Trials are trials, and no matter what, they are hard.
Trials are uncomfortable, no fun, sad, time consuming, thought consuming, draining, exhausting, crushing, and miserable. But I guess the one thing that can help, is to realize that everyone has them. No one in this life gets to say, "Um, no thanks, I'll pass on that part of life. I don't really want any trials. Thanks though." None of us get that pleasure. And because we don't get that joy of having no trials, we have a Savior who was willing to die for us and let us know that, "Hey, I know your trial is hard. I know because I have been through it before, so turn to me. Let me make it better. Let me hold you in my arms and "kiss you better". Let me help you through this hurt and this pain. Let me carry your burden with you, and together we'll get through this trial."
Our Savior is amazing. He has been through it all, and the amazing thing is that he didn't have to. He didn't have to suffer for all of us, but he did anyway. He did so that he would understand our every pain, our every heartache, our every crushing feeling, our every sad day, he has done it all. He died because he loves us, and he wants us to know that when we feel like we have absolutely no one that understands, that he does, that he's there, and that he loves us. He's been through it all, and he'll he there with us through it all.
I feel so lucky to have my life. I feel so blessed to have every second of every day. My life is far from perfect. I have my struggles, but I am thankful for each one of them. Does that mean that I enjoy them? HECK NO! But I am thankful for them, because at least I am alive to go through them. I don't take anything in this life for granted because each experience is beautiful because I'm alive to live it. I can make it through anything as long as God will give me the chance to live it.
Thank you Stephanie for speaking on Hope, and reaffirming my belief in that simple word. I live because I have hope, and that's all that matters.
I hope you all have an amazing weekend! Thanks for reading! I think I have the greatest readers on the planet, and I love each one of you so much!
xoxo
Jilly
Last night I went to "Girl's Night Out" with a friend of mine. I was really excited about it because Stephanie Nielson was speaking. I have read her story in local magazines, and heard a lot about her, and knowing that I have a speaking engagement coming up in a month I wanted to hear what she had to say, and what I could take away from her speech.
She spoke on hope last night, which is something that is very close to my heart. Hope is what kept me alive these last few years. Hope that my food would go down, hope that the scar tissue would stop hurting, hope that I would survive another surgery, hope that Dave is staying focused on school instead of me, and hope that God would grant me another day to wake up to my sweetheart's face. So when she started by saying she was speaking on hope, I connected.
As she spoke I realized that everyone has trials. Whether big or small it doesn't matter. Everyone's trials are huge to them in that minute, and that is all that matters. It doesn't matter if it's a 2 year old who has stubbed his foot and his world's collided and all he wants is for his Mommy to kiss it better, or if it's me laying on a surgery table praying that I open my eyes when they doctor's are done with me. Trials are trials, and no matter what, they are hard.
Trials are uncomfortable, no fun, sad, time consuming, thought consuming, draining, exhausting, crushing, and miserable. But I guess the one thing that can help, is to realize that everyone has them. No one in this life gets to say, "Um, no thanks, I'll pass on that part of life. I don't really want any trials. Thanks though." None of us get that pleasure. And because we don't get that joy of having no trials, we have a Savior who was willing to die for us and let us know that, "Hey, I know your trial is hard. I know because I have been through it before, so turn to me. Let me make it better. Let me hold you in my arms and "kiss you better". Let me help you through this hurt and this pain. Let me carry your burden with you, and together we'll get through this trial."
Our Savior is amazing. He has been through it all, and the amazing thing is that he didn't have to. He didn't have to suffer for all of us, but he did anyway. He did so that he would understand our every pain, our every heartache, our every crushing feeling, our every sad day, he has done it all. He died because he loves us, and he wants us to know that when we feel like we have absolutely no one that understands, that he does, that he's there, and that he loves us. He's been through it all, and he'll he there with us through it all.
I feel so lucky to have my life. I feel so blessed to have every second of every day. My life is far from perfect. I have my struggles, but I am thankful for each one of them. Does that mean that I enjoy them? HECK NO! But I am thankful for them, because at least I am alive to go through them. I don't take anything in this life for granted because each experience is beautiful because I'm alive to live it. I can make it through anything as long as God will give me the chance to live it.
Thank you Stephanie for speaking on Hope, and reaffirming my belief in that simple word. I live because I have hope, and that's all that matters.
I hope you all have an amazing weekend! Thanks for reading! I think I have the greatest readers on the planet, and I love each one of you so much!
xoxo
Jilly
