The Original Because of Love

It hasn't really been an easy week around here lately. Josh and I have both been having "not so great" days.

Some things have been small "bad" things. (Like Alyse dropping one of my dishes and breaking it. Forgetting about an appointment that I was suppose to go to. The dog being sick. The other dog running away.)

Some things have been pretty big BAD things. (Like a family matter that I can't open up to the whole world - Sorry. Josh getting let down about a situation at work, Bills starting to add up- Going on so many vacations at one time is fun, but hard on the budget. The computer crashing. And of course this:
That would be my bedroom carpet. When I came home yesterday I walked in to find it torn to shreds. The culprit would be a 10yr old Golden Retriever named Zeke. Not sure how. Not sure why. All I know is that I wasn't ready for that surprise.)


Anyway, all this "bad stuff" has made for a pretty bad week.


Last night Josh and I were laying in bed talking about everything. All of a sudden, Josh threw himself back onto his pillow and yelled, "Why? Why does it all have to happen all at one time?". My reply was, "I don't know, baby! Trust me. I feel the same way." We then agreed that some ice cream would make everything better, but we decided to fight the temptation and just go to sleep.

When I got up today, it seemed like the bad kept on coming. After trying to fix some stuff myself and then some not so great phone conversations, I was getting more and more upset. So I decided that I needed to stop and really talk to the One who could help me.

This is part of my conversation that I had with God today:

Lord,

I need you. You know everything that is going on right now. You know about the big things and the small things. You know that I am just not in a happy place the last few days. Lord, I pray that you would take all those things. You have told me that you will supply all our needs, and I am trusting in you. I pray that you would not let Josh and I stress out about them. I pray that you would help give us wisdom so that we would know what to do in each situation. You tell us to cast all our cares on you, so that is what I am doing.

I pray that you would help me to see the good in things. I thank you that you have blessed us with so much. I thank you that all of these "bad" things really are so small in the eyes of so many who deal with so much more than that I have to. You have always taken care of us, and I praise you for that.

I pray that the hurt, frustration, and worry in my heart will be filled with love, hope, trust, and understanding. I know that you are there and you know the why and the how for all of these issues, Lord. Help me to rely on you.

I also ended up thanking God for these things that I have been stressed about. I know that sounds crazy, but I know that all things work together for good and that God does have a plan.

I know that I am going to learn something out of all of this. Maybe it will help Josh and I develop a better spending plan. Maybe it will help me have more patience. Maybe it will help me get off the computer and spend more time with Alyse and God. Or maybe there are other lessons that I don't even know about yet.

I also realized that as much as I want a Diet Coke or maybe some Oreos to munch on to "make it better", I am so glad that all of this happened while I am Daniel Fasting. It really puts into perspective how God is the one who supplies me with what I really need and he is the one who can help me, not food. (Even though, yes, I am looking forward to Sunday night!)

I don't know what the solution to everything is, but I do know I am so glad that I have God to vent to, pray to, and trust in. It doesn't matter if it is a big bad thing or a small bad thing, he is ALWAYS there loving me and taking care of me..... even if everything does happen all at the same time.