Posted Aug 7, 2009 ~ (Three months into widowhood)
We have all heard it said, "Life is what you make it". Although we often have little to no control over what happens throughout our lives, we do have control over how we react to our personal circumstances. I have heard this philosophy from many different sources, but it has never been as meaningful to me as it is now. Life produces many opportunities for us to be sour or sweet, bitter or better, stunted or growing.
God is teaching me a lot about trusting Him, and most importantly, about being aware of His presence. He is always with me, but unfortunately, I sometimes forget. Since Buck went home, I have made some changes in my lifestyle, to help remind me. I regret that I wasn’t more disciplined in purposing to spend time with the Lord before now. What has worked best for me is spending time with Him first thing, before I start my day. Many years ago, a friend chided me when I said I didn’t have time to do something that I enjoyed. He wasn’t referring to anything even mildly related to a spiritual mindset. He was however, the first one to ever say to me, “there’s always time for whatever you put first”. He was right, and I have been so blessed by making my one on one time with the Lord a priority.
I once went to a spiritual retreat where a speaker coined the phrase, “no Bible, no breakfast”. This is working for me and the Lord uses this time to speak to my heart through several devotionals and reading the chapter in the Bible that the devotional used as a reference. So often, God speaks to my heart as though that devotional was written just for me for that particular day. This is one way, that He lets me know He is real and that He knows and cares all about me and is aware of all that is needful: the love of our heavenly Father at work. Amazing!
Relationships with anyone that we want to get to know well, require a commitment of time. It is no different with having a personal relationship with the God who made me to know, love and serve Him. It has become my favorite part of the day. I am so thankful for the spiritual growth that has taken place this year. It has been one of the most difficult years of my life, but in many ways, also the most precious time of my life, as the reality of the Lord’s presence has never been so evident to me as it has been since New Years Day!
In addition to my devotional time, I have also decided that I needed to be more disciplined about getting some exercise on a consistent basis. Buck and I always enjoyed walking and hiking and we were very blessed to have a safe, pleasant place to walk near our home. We looked forward to making walking an important part of taking better care of our bodies, after we got moved and settled into our new home.
I asked my sweet neighbor, Joannie and my dearest, long time friend, Pat, if they would be interested in being my walking partners, several days a week. They were thrilled and I am excited to have the opportunity to get to know them better. They will join me whenever they can. I walked three times this week, averaging about three miles on each outing. It feels good to be doing something good and healthy for myself and building friendships at the same time! I know I will be much more motivated, sharing this time with my friends.
Although I often feel sad, and the tears come regularly, I am starting to understand that I can still choose to be happy. I have the power to control my attitude and I have choices. Buck would want me to choose joy! He would want me to move forward and be blessed by all that life has to offer! With God’s help and the love and concern of friends and family, I plan on doing just that!
God is teaching me a lot about trusting Him, and most importantly, about being aware of His presence. He is always with me, but unfortunately, I sometimes forget. Since Buck went home, I have made some changes in my lifestyle, to help remind me. I regret that I wasn’t more disciplined in purposing to spend time with the Lord before now. What has worked best for me is spending time with Him first thing, before I start my day. Many years ago, a friend chided me when I said I didn’t have time to do something that I enjoyed. He wasn’t referring to anything even mildly related to a spiritual mindset. He was however, the first one to ever say to me, “there’s always time for whatever you put first”. He was right, and I have been so blessed by making my one on one time with the Lord a priority.
I once went to a spiritual retreat where a speaker coined the phrase, “no Bible, no breakfast”. This is working for me and the Lord uses this time to speak to my heart through several devotionals and reading the chapter in the Bible that the devotional used as a reference. So often, God speaks to my heart as though that devotional was written just for me for that particular day. This is one way, that He lets me know He is real and that He knows and cares all about me and is aware of all that is needful: the love of our heavenly Father at work. Amazing!
Relationships with anyone that we want to get to know well, require a commitment of time. It is no different with having a personal relationship with the God who made me to know, love and serve Him. It has become my favorite part of the day. I am so thankful for the spiritual growth that has taken place this year. It has been one of the most difficult years of my life, but in many ways, also the most precious time of my life, as the reality of the Lord’s presence has never been so evident to me as it has been since New Years Day!
In addition to my devotional time, I have also decided that I needed to be more disciplined about getting some exercise on a consistent basis. Buck and I always enjoyed walking and hiking and we were very blessed to have a safe, pleasant place to walk near our home. We looked forward to making walking an important part of taking better care of our bodies, after we got moved and settled into our new home.
I asked my sweet neighbor, Joannie and my dearest, long time friend, Pat, if they would be interested in being my walking partners, several days a week. They were thrilled and I am excited to have the opportunity to get to know them better. They will join me whenever they can. I walked three times this week, averaging about three miles on each outing. It feels good to be doing something good and healthy for myself and building friendships at the same time! I know I will be much more motivated, sharing this time with my friends.
Although I often feel sad, and the tears come regularly, I am starting to understand that I can still choose to be happy. I have the power to control my attitude and I have choices. Buck would want me to choose joy! He would want me to move forward and be blessed by all that life has to offer! With God’s help and the love and concern of friends and family, I plan on doing just that!
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