Hard to believe this is my one year update, as I write this morning my husband is having his one year review at work. One year ago, we were packing up our earthy belongings into a moving van and heading out cross country to a place we had never known or could even imagine what was in waiting on this side for our family.
Rewind five years this month, and my husband and I were sitting in a Doctors office, me nine months pregnant with our third, hearing those words no human ever wants to hear. . ."You have cancer, and need to begin treatment immediately".
Spring is a time of remembrance for our family. This year we celebrate one year in TN, 5 years free of cancer!! And, our sweet Sophia Renee turns five, as well. She is our reminder of the good that comes from difficult seasons. We are so blessed and I felt a strong need, to share today, that the Our Lord is good and faithful, all the time!
As I have shared in past posts, Franklin TN is our home now. We have settled in quite well and love so many things about this wonderful part of the country, first off, being the people that live here. We have made many dear friends, some, even from the west cost. It seems a reoccurring theme that people migrate here and don't see any reason to leave. This area, (Nashville) is a real melting pot for folks all over the country. We love the Southern hospitality and how you never meet a stranger. We fit right into that culture. I don't feel awkward anymore when the gal/guy who checks grocery's at my Publix asks about my day and what I am cooking up for dinner. . . and really wants to know! Or when the next door neighbors extended family is is town for a visit, and when we meet for the first time,they hug me like we are long lost relatives too!
I am ever mindful of the Lord's grace and abundance over our family. The beginning of this year I was prompted to begin looking hard at all the abundance around me, in my home especially. I was very challenged, maybe convicted is a better word, by the "excess" in my life. I have been blessed with so much, yet I have a constant desire for more. So, when I began reading "7" by Jen Hatmaker, I knew I needed to take the challenge to a personal level. Being "trapped in the machine of excess" seemed to be a fitting description of my days. In short, she (Jen) takes seven things, one each month: food, clothing, possessions, spending, waste, media, and stress and looks for ways to eliminate the "excess in her life". I am finishing up month three, possessions, and it has challenged me and set me free of some of the ways I indulge in excess, but I know I still have a ways to go! In the middle of this challenge, Todd and I are looking forward to a trip to Haiti to see, learn, and experience, hands on, just how much we live in the land of abundance. I believe this is just the beginning of what the Lord wants to do in my heart this season.
Those who are "poor in spirit", who need God as they need their daily bread, those are the ones that know The Kingdom of Heaven. It's time for me to tear down the kingdom I have built in my own strength, my safety walls, and realize how desperate I really am, apart from the daily Grace of God.
We have so much to be thankful for, and I try to be in that place of "thanks-living" daily. . .but at the same time I am challenged with those word from Luke 12:48, "To whom much is given, much will be required."
As we enter this season of spring, and we see flowers and trees begin to bloom again, I am thankful for the winter to be past, and times like today to celebrate LIFE. To reflect and remember the Anniversary's of the Lord's favor and goodness on our family. To look forward to the days ahead with excitement knowing that the Lord IS faithful and his love never fails! Psalm 23:6-"Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life". God's blessings don't pursue temporarily --- but relentlessly." A.V.
Happy Spring Y' ALL!
