A Life of Gratitude

There are times in life when we’re just trying to survive. Maybe you’ve lost a loved one, experienced health challenges, been rejected, faced financial problems, been deceived, or discovered that a situation isn’t what you thought it was. In those moments, it’s easy to feel as if we have been shattered. While those are some of the hardest times of our lives, we typically move through those experiences with the hope that we can be glued back together. But what happens when we’re shattered over and over again? For me, that’s when the shattered pieces begin to feel more like dust, which is impossible to glue back together. As I sat at the beach last week and ran my fingers through the sand, I was reminded that when we feel like we’ve been crushed into dust, we can trust God, even then, because dust is one of His favorite materials. Genesis 2:7 says, ‘Then the LORD God formed the man out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living b...

This morning I woke up at 5:45am so I could walk to the beach to watch the sunrise. I almost went back to sleep, but I felt God nudging my spirit to wake up and get out to the beach. We’ve never been to Oak Island before, so I just went to the closest beach access and found a little spot to sit. I had the entire beach to myself. As I awaited the estimated sunrise time, I began to realize that the sky was being filled with beautiful colors behind me. I kept waiting but my view, while beautiful, still showed a darker sky with just hints of color and light. Apparently, since we’re vacationing on an island, I picked the wrong side to watch the sunrise. I plan to go to the other side tomorrow but as I sat there this morning, God reminded me that even when I can’t see it, the sun still rises. I didn’t get to watch the actual sunrise, but I did see and feel the effects of it. As the entire sky began to light up and the temperature increased, I thought about the different situations in my ...

As I drove through a local neighborhood today, looking at all the beautiful homes, I began thinking about the attics these homes possess. had no reason to ponder the storage areas of these homes, but I just kept thinking about how much stuff must be packed in each house. Some people probably have nicely organized, clean attics but the ones I’ve seen throughout the years have been a chaotic mess filled with an assortment of things. Many contain numerous storage bins and boxes that are stacked haphazardly around the space, making finding something a guessing game because the boxes aren’t labeled, and no one remembers what’s in them. Whether the space is beautifully arranged or terribly cluttered, every home probably has a bunch of stuff stored somewhere within its walls. As I thought about this, God reminded me that the same is true for people. All our experiences--victories and defeats, good times and bad times, relationships, memories, education, and every season of life--make up who w...

I was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis in July of 2018. It took so many years to obtain this diagnosis and then several months to figure out the right "cocktail" of medications to help manage my pain and prevent further damage to my body. Today, five years later, as I get the infusion I get every six weeks, my heart is filled with gratitude for modern medicine.  There are some people who believe it would be best not to take man-made medications but I firmly believe God gave man the wisdom and ability to create medicines. When I first got diagnosed, I could barely walk because my entire left side was in so much pain. I spent years waking up with muscle stiffness and whole-body achiness that lasted hours. I've dealt with pain and fatigue that kept me from enjoying life or being the wife and mother I want to be.  These infusions, along with my other medications, have given me my life back. I still have symptoms and bad days, but overall, my quality of life has improved ...