A Steel Magnolia

I hate to be a downer. I know that no one likes a whiner. We all have our struggles... the last few days have been tough though! Who am I kidding it's been more than days. God never promised us that life would be easy and honestly I don't want it to be.  I just need a reprieve...

"Have you not heard? Do you not know? The Lord is the Everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He does not faint or grow weary; his understandding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.  Even youths shall faint and be weary and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who hope in the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up on wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:28-31

I know that when are weak He is our strength and when we need help He is there.  We simply must call out to Him.  We have to let go of our own self and allow Him to carry us.

"Fear not, for I am with you be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you." Isaiah 41:10 

You see, I had a plan. I had an idea of what my life would be like, but it's not me that created the plan... not really.  There have been turns in the road that I didn't expect and there have been bumps. Sometimes there were small pebbles that caused my feet to slip only slightly, but other times it seemed that there were boulders too big to see around much less get over.  Despite what I though I couldn't manage, He made sure I could.  When I thought my legs couldn't hold the weight of my body  anymore, He picked me up. No matter how horrible the day, He provides me with a new sunshine tomorrow.

Tonight I was talking to a good friend and she said to me... "You are a steel magnolia." Wow! What an amazing compliment.

Steel Magnolia-  refers to  a woman that exemplies the strength and independence of steel, yet has the incredible beauty of a magnolia flower. 

I pray that God gives me the strength to be a steel magnolia...  Capable of intense strength, yet the ability to bend and not break while standing beautifully for the world to admire and smile upon.

                                                        

   

Keep Swimming

We all have times in our lives when we want more than  we're given... when we want to be loved, to be respected, to be cherished and to be told how great we are.  We all have times in our lives when we pray that we'll get more than we've been given... to be loved more, to be respected more, to be cherished and to be held more.

It is in these times that we must remember to keep swimming.  Keep pushing forward. Keep going.

                                         

     

"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and II will give thanks to Him in song. The LORD is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his annnnointed one." Psalm 28:7-8

                                 

    

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."  Galations 6:9 NIV

Somedays we all need to be reminded that we can 

    "spend our whole life building something for nothing and one storm can come blow it all away"

       BUILD IT ANYWAY!

   "can chase a dream that seems so out of reach and know it might not come our way"   

      DREAM IT ANYWAY!

   "love someone with all our heart and in a moment they can choose to walk away"

      LOVE THEM ANYWAY!

   

     GOD IS GREAT, but sometimes life AIN'T GOOD. 

    When I pray it doesn't always turn out like it should.. but 

     I DO IT ANYWAY!