Welcome to Spring!!!  Oh my, I can’t believe the lovely weather we have been blessed with here in northern Illinois.  IT is glorious.  The trees are blooming, the birds are singing and the animals are frisky.  All around me I see evidence of God’s handiwork and I am simply grateful.  

Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens. (Ps 148:13)

My view of God seems to expand during the spring.  I think it’s the change of seasons, from the dreariness of winter, to the vibrant colors of spring, I am reminded of new life.  In my heart, spring reminds me of the splendor of the Lord. Creator God, out of love for each of us, gave us such beauty that I am awed and reminded of Him everywhere I look.  Spring simply increases my gratitude to the one true King.

Take a moment, right now, to marvel at God’s creation and take a moment in prayer to thank Him for the glorious view of spring.  

Prayer, a conversation with God, an opportunity to thank Him for what He’s shared with us, how He’s blessed us and also an opportunity to lay our needs at His feet.  

I have begun reading 1 Samuel and am reminded of the importance of prayer.  I was quite taken aback by Hannah’s faithfulness in prayer.  She had prayed for years, asking God for a son and He had not yet answered that prayer. Though disappointed and distraught, she did not become bitter, but choose to continue in prayer, trusting God was listening and feeling her anguish. God reminded me, ever so gently, through Hannah’s example, prayer is foundational when disappointments come my way and helps bring perspective to my circumstances.  

God hears the deepest desires of our hearts and deeply cares.  He feels our anguish, even when we don’t know what to pray. The Holy Spirit will intercede for us:

…the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. (Romans 8:26)

Knowing the Holy Spirit is holding my needs in prayer, when I no longer know what to pray, has helped me to continue to see God’s goodness around me as we wait my next surgery on May 22nd.  (This will be the last surgery to remove any remaining tumor and will help us determine when we will need to remove my kidney.)  I have experienced God’s goodness in the love of so many friends, in my family and especially in the many ways God reminds me of His continual presence in my life, especially in nature.

God has shown me when faced with disappointment, by choosing prayer and gratefulness over bitterness, I will be blessed by Him and filled with peace. This has been especially true as we are now certain of the course before us.  Though God has not chosen to heal my cancer, He has already blessed me with a new life in Him.  There is peace in knowing I am secure in my Savior’s arms.  

Some days, I need to remind myself to choose gratefulness, and to put on the armor of God, and when I do, I am filled with the peace that can only come from Him alone.  Daily gratefulness to God, in the midst of our daily living, in the good and the bad, will fill us with peace in our circumstances. 

Whatever you are going through today, know God loves you, He sees your pain and He desires you to reach out in prayer.  If you don’t have the words, that’s ok, tell God you don’t know what to pray and let the Holy Spirit intercede for you. Let Him help you shoulder the burdens.  

Your sister in Christ,