Reflecting

You know, reflecting is a good thing to do once in a while.  This will not be a humorous post, but a post about God's goodness, which is something we should all think about.

If you are a new reader, you may have already figured out a few things about my life-the happenings from the past year.  I do not dwell on the negative of it all-the positive has outweighed the negative many times over.

This is a post about answered prayer.

It was March 3, 2009.  My children had just gotten on the bus, and I got down to pray in the living room.  I can't tell you all that I prayed, but one thing I do remember-I asked God to keep my children safe.

Sometimes you don't realize the weight of your words.  God knew when I was praying, that I was thinking more about keeping them safe from harm in the world around us.  But my prayer was still answered, as God also kept them safe from a tragedy that hit home.

March 4th, 2009, our home burned to the ground.  It was in the afternoon, while Elissa was at work, Amber and Kota were at school, and I was in town.  Dan was the only one home, with our cat, and both got out alive with no injuries.

On April 5th, Dan and Kota were overcome with carbon monoxide in our new rental home, but the Almighty hand of God helped them to get out of the house, and they both recovered after several hours of oxygen were administered to them, and over time.

Dan's fall from a tree 4 days after the poisoning could have been so much worse.  I could have been a widow, or I could be pushing him around in a wheelchair, having to feed him and do everything for him.  According to the doctor, it was a miracle that he wasn't already paralyzed, due to a very serious problem in his neck-one we didn't know was as serious as it was.

You know, God went beyond keeping my children safe.  My husband and I are safe as well, along with all of us looking back at the past 12 months, and seeing all that God has done for us.

I've said it many, many times-stuff is just stuff.  We may miss our pictures, our wedding album, and a few keepsakes, but we have each other.

Sometimes the painful things you go thru in life are to help you grow-sometimes they are to help you to remember that you need the Comforter.  I know there are other reasons as well, but one other reason might just be to remind you of what is really important in this life, and to remind you to be thankful for all that you have, even when you lose every material possession you own.

I can truly say that God has been so amazing to me, and I have no complaints to share.  It's been a year that cannot totally be explained or described.  Among other things, Dan learned what the feeling of complete helplessness is, I learned that life can change in a moment, and those you love can be taken from this life quicker than you think(even tho I didn't lose anyone, I could have widowed or lost my children, which became very real realizations to me), and my children learned that God can take something that seems so horrible and turn it into something more beautiful than they ever dreamed.  We were humbled by so many people coming out of the woodwork to show their care and offer their help.  And we now live in a new neighborhood and have made some wonderful new friends.

Thank you Jesus-you've been so very good to me!