No time for why's

I believe in the sun even when it is not shining.

I believe in love even when I cannot feel it.

I believe in God even when he is silent.

(Found written on a cellar wall in Cologne, Germany during WW II)

It is in our deepest struggles and times that we must trust in God above all else.  When we are lower than low, hiding in the shadows, and have lost all hope…this is when we need to let go, and let God.  I am not one to make a public scene out of mine and my family’s lives, but the past years have not been easy ones. 

My mom celebrates 39 years of teaching this year.  What an amazing accomplishment.  She loves teaching with her whole heart and soul.  Touching lives and hearts of children is what she lives for.  I remember sitting down for so many meals, laughing about the things her students said.  The summers were filled with phone calls from students that missed her, and envelopes in the mail, filled with artwork they created.  My sisters and I were all beyond blessed that she was our teacher for both 1^st and 2^nd grade.  School was my favorite thing, thanks to my mom teaching me to read by the age of 4. 

I struggle with so many whys.  Why does this illness have to take her away from her classroom?  Why does the cold hurt her skin so much that she must stay inside to be comfortable from the cold days?  Why does she have to continue to take chemo, year after year?  Why can’t God take it away the bad cells in her body and replace them with good?  Why does God allow for disappointing doctor appointments and deflated hearts?

My mom and dad are the two strongest people I know.  They have never lost their faith, ever.  They are true examples of the individual that I want to be, and I want my children to be.  They smile through their tears; and they love their daughters, grandchildren, son-in-laws, and families with all their hearts.  God is working through them, each and every day, to show us how to never lose faith. God will grant us an answer to our prayers…we must never cease.

I have to remind myself, almost every day, that there is no time for why’s.  God put us here to accomplish a purpose.  Find what your purpose is, and find how God wants to use you to better our society.  Use your talents, and most of all, trust in Him.  Don’t waste time wondering.  Take time to brighten the day of a stranger, a friend, or a neighbor.  We are all getting so caught up in our own worlds, and forgetting to see the beauty of God around us. 

And don't forget...to believe.

(a few pictures of what I find beautiful...family, home, beautiful landscaping, green grass after the rain...what do you find beautiful?)