A dear friend of mine today asked... WHY?

We see so many horrible things. Misfortunes, financial strains, illness, death... sometimes its hard to understand WHY. I have stopped trying to figure that out. The past three years (yes we are going on THREE years of this "new normal" life now!) have lead me on a journey that has forever changed me. I will never be the same and hopefully I will be able to reach out to others and help them on their own journeys!

If you haven't seen the movie Evan Almighty... go rent it tonight! I think there were some amazing profound thoughts amongst the adorable comedy!

At one point God (Morgan Freeman) says:
Let me ask you something. If someone prays for patience, you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If he prayed for courage, does God give him courage, or does he give him opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for the family to be closer, do you think God zaps them with warm fuzzy feelings, or does he give them opportunities to love each other?

I truly believe that one must weather the storms to see the rainbow. If we were given the rainbow without the storm we might walk right past it and think "oh that's nice". But after weathering the storm we see the rainbow and the colors are brighter than we imagined, the sky is bluer, the flowers smell better, and life in general is a much nicer place to live in.

Each time something comes along that I feel like I cannot deal with instead of breaking down I thank God for the opportunity he is giving me. Now that is not to say that God and I have not had our differences... we have those on a daily basis and I have questions that may never be answered...but I know that the opportunities we have been given and the experiences we have had are things that I wouldn't trade. I would trade the pain that my child has been through and would have gladly taken that for myself... but I am incredibly blessed to be sharing this journey with so many .... I am a very different person than I was three years ago and that is a good thing!

I believe more than anything I am being SHOWN things I NEED to experience and see to be able to say... "I've been there". I have been where YOU stand and you will make it. I promise. The only way to truly be able to say these things is to have experienced them.