Dear Friends,
I know some days it seems I talk about such random topics that really don't relate to Millie at all. However, under the surface my life, my reactions and decisions all circle back to things I have learned on this walk as a mama...Millie's Mama, but also the other kids mama. My experiences as a wife also play part of who I am. But above all, my experience as someone who loves Jesus guides my heart, mind, and prayerfully my lips...or in this case my fingertips!
Today I am going to talk about some hot topics and current events. Not politically, but how we view the things that we are going through. What lens or filter do we use? What filter I have tried to use during this extremely HARD year that just ended.
First a few funnies…
• If 2020 was toilet paper, it would feel like a cheese grater.
• If 2020 were a pinata, it would resemble a hornet’s nest.
• If 2020 were a book, the author would be Stephen King.
• If 2020 were crossing the street it would be like looking both ways and then being hit by a plane.
• If 2020 filled your Easter Basket, you would get disposable masks, sanitizer, and zinc lozenges.
• If 2020 were a drink, it would be a colonoscopy prep.
• If 2020 were a boat, it would be TITANTIC II.
In all seriousness, I found most of those on Pinterest. I laughed at most and cringed at a few more. The year 2020 was a force to be reckoned with for sure. I have heard it termed as a “Dumpster Fire”. I know many people could not wait for it to end. It has been packed with lots of heartache, job loss, separation, loneliness, financial problems, and even death. That amounts to lots of PAIN! According to an article I found on US NEWS the rise of depression, addiction, and suicidal thoughts is on the rise, especially in our younger generation. That is not surprising as this pandemic, the constant fear, and the isolation hits us all hard. Was it what any of us expected on December 31, 2019?
At that time, the world looked like a friendly place filled with smiling people, generosity, and goodwill. People were capitalizing on the “2020 being a year of clear vision”. Was it? Maybe so. It definitely gave a clear view to the secret parts of our hearts. It laid wide open our fears. It brought forth our prejudice, not just racial, but even just towards other people’s opinions. It divided us into good and bad people…except no one could quite tell what side they landed in as the accusations flew back and forth. All in all, it seemed like nothing good came from 2020. I mean in my family it felt like a pretty wretched year! What about in yours?
What if we could reach into our camera bag, take out a new lens, one that blurred out the ugly and let only the blessings shine bright…
What if the isolation of quarantine became more time together as families?
What if virtual school became the opportunity you always wanted to try homeschooling the kids?
What if being forced to stay home meant you had time to get that closet decluttered or the house repainted?
What if working from home gave you to opportunity to see if you and your spouse could really work together and survive it?
What if eating at home caused your family’s health to improve and your pocketbook to grow…all because you could not eat out?
What if you were able to reconnect with old friends as you sought prayer on social platforms?
What if a horrible illness allowed you to spend days, no months beside a hospital bed with your loved one?
What if walking through pain allowed you to see much more clearly the pain those around you live with?
What if you this year was horrible, your baby died, but your faith was able to hang on even through the grief?
What if the worst came and you survived?
What if you could use the worst thing in your life to be a blessing to others and in turn receive the blessing they offer?
What if you chose to see if you have that lens in your bag? Dig deep… it is the lens of gratitude. We all have it, but some of us have forgotten how to use it. We keep it tucked away because it is easier to focus on that big lens that blow up our problems, magnifying them so as to steal all the attention.
When I have pulled out my gratitude lens, it looks like a pen and a journal. It is a place that I write under the title “Finding my Joy”. It is the list of things that bless me so much that I know I need to give thanks, but also the little things I would forget by the end of the week.
• A prayer my child said.
• A tiny flower from the yard
• A phone call from my mama
• Coffee with a friend
• A hug from my spouse
• A card of encouragement
• A sweet comment left on a post.
There are so many things…little things…to be thankful for. I pray I will be filled daily with gratitude to see life though a lens that I hope never gets dusty.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 “In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
Blessings sweet friends…
｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ ｡･:*:･ﾟ★｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
I still believe in Millie’s Miracle
｡･:*:･ﾟ☆ Hebrews 11:1 ｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
︵‿︵‿୨☆୧‿︵‿︵
#MilliesMiracle
#Forever3
#WithJesus
#Neuroblastoma
#ChildhoodCancer
*** Levels of Anxiety, Addiction, Suicidal Thoughts Are Soaring in the Pandemic,
US News.com, Aug. 13, 2020
This sums up how the beautiful filter of life can be clouded by a rotten year. This little girl fought hard, she was brave, she led the journey in her timing. She was such a beautiful warrior, yet her battle was not won on earth but in heaven. Sweet Millie, I will always remember... until Heaven!
I needed to share all three of these pictures together. They tell a story of three individual families who were blessed by three little girls who each had a battle to FIGHT. One finished her battle as she closed her eyes last summer and opened them in heaven. One finished her battle this month as she took her last medication Lord Willing! One continues her battle as her treatment will last another year or two. Each girl is STRONG, BRAVE, and BEAUTIFUL! Each has a different purpose to fulfill in their journey. Each one has a special place in my heart...a place of GRATFULNESS, LOVE AND HOPE.
Levy, Ady, and Millie
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