Several years ago, in the midst of Cameron's battle, someone gave me the book Jesus Calling. It has sat on my desk since then but for some reason, last night I picked it up and turned to the devotional for the day which read:
"I am nearer than you think, richly present in all your moments. However, you may feel alone sometimes because your union with Me is invisible. Ask Me to open your eyes so that you might find Me everywhere. The more aware you are of My presence, the safer you feel...Faith is the confirmation of things we do not see and the conviction of their reality, perceiving as real fact what is not revealed by the senses."
It was interesting to read because over the past few months, this has been a real conviction of mine. Not focusing on the negative but getting up every morning and asking God to open my eyes to the blessings around me...being thankful in everything that I do have. It's a task...it's a BIG task. Some days it is easier than other. Others not so much. But what an amazing difference in a day when you focus on the positives and not the negatives.
Just this week, one of my best friends was coming to meet me for lunch. She got lost...lived here for years but still got lost. So I said, stay where you are, I'm coming to you. After giggling (ok, I confess, making fun of her directionally challenged self) we enjoyed a nice lunch and then I looked up and saw someone with the biggest smile walking towards me. It took a moment to register who it was, another dear friend of mine who I met at Duke...her son was in the room next to Cameron. We have kept in touch over the years but I haven't seen her in months and months. What a wonderful surprise! What added joy to an already wonderful lunch. So getting lost and a change of plans actually turned out to be such a blessing and such a reminder to me that sometimes, we just have to keep our eyes open for all the little reminders God has for us that get us through each and every day.
