Monday Morning Thoughts

This weekend was a difficult one. Sometimes it seems like there is this unknown timeline of when a person should be done grieving. But then it seems like the more we get back into the "regular" routine, the more we grieve.

Yesterday, our very dearest friends lost someone very close to them. She was young, it was extremely unexpected, and now her husband and three children and family and friends are left trying to wrap their heads around everything. Although we didn't know her personally, we see that same face of grief on our friends' faces that we have seen personally for two weeks now.

Did you know grief has a face? A very distinct look. Its hard not to recognize it once you have seen it.

Life can be so ...hard. This is the third loss in the last six weeks of someone close to us. There are so many hurting around me. Unexplained pains and illnesses that doctors can not diagnose. I can count 6 off the top of my head that I know of. 6. in the past three months. 6 illnesses that can not be figured out. Shouldn't doctors have the answers? It doesn't seem possible that this can happen so frequently.

Through the pain, the hurting, the grieving, there is a great Healer. If it wasn't for my faith in God; His comfort, His hope... it would be so impossible to go through these trials. Yet, I know that God can heal the brokenhearted. That we can feel His arms around us. And it gives me peace. Psalm 147:3-5 says, "He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name. Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding is infinite."

I know that my blog hasn't been full of crafty fun lately. And for that, I apologize. I have several things going on here that I will be posting soon (and still hoping to launch the Etsy store before Friday). Don't bail on me now! And I have a lot of ideas spinning around in my head. I will talk about Thanksgiving menus, Christmas gifts, my new craft "room" set up, great inspirational emails from friends that thought of me when they read them, and scrapbooking projects, but today, I just want to think about how short our lives really are. How you spend your time is what matters most. What your focus really is.

Thank you friends for being here for me. For your comments you leave me, for the emails you send. For the texts and phone calls, and just for letting me know that you care. You mean so much to me and I appreciate everything. I hope that you know that I am here for each and every one of you if you ever need anything. A shoulder to cry on, a hand to hold, prayers lifted up, and an ear to listen. Even if we don't know each other face to face. I am here!

...so, thanks. :)