What makes us thankful in our daily lives? Hot water, food in the fridge, a car that starts the first time? Those are all perfectly wonderful things to be thankful for but what do we really need to be thankful for? Being able to wake up each morning, being healthy, and having family and friends around you that make you feel good and are supportive is what I believe we should be truly thankful for. I am extremely thankful for all of those things and so much more.
Life is not always easy, is it? We are all put through trials and sometimes it seems like we are forced to endure more than we are able to. Sometimes we suffer because we are sick with physical ailments that bring us down. Other times we go through trials that include things like our job or our families. It is never easy and every once in awhile it brings us down so far we can longer see the light at the end of the tunnel. What do you do when you get to that point? Where do you turn? Who do you turn to for help when you feel like there is no help? I will tell you where I turn when I get like this: I put my worries, cares, and self in God's hands. I give him all of me and my cares when I can no longer carry them and I allow him to take them and let him guide me where He feels that I need to go.
Let me tell you how He has helped me and my family.
In 2003 I had gastric bypass surgery and was in ICU for two weeks because of complications. My parents and sister sent out requests for prayers for me while I was so very sick and because of the Doctor's help and God's answers to so many prayers I am still here. After I recovered from this surgery I realized I had a large abdominal hernia that needed to be repaired so I went back to surgery. Fortunately the surgery went fine but when I got home my incision opened and left with me an infection. I had to return to surgery 10 times over the course of the next five years in order to repair the hernia that I had acquired from the initial gastric bypass. Many prayers were said for me and my family during this time and although I know God was listening I sometimes felt like I was all alone and that I would never be healthy again. Last summer I got down on my knees and prayed for God to carry me. I prayed that I could no longer carry this burden alone and that I needed some help and He answered. A friend of my Mom's is a nurse in Dallas and knew of a surgeon that she thought would be able to help fix my abdomen once and for all. Thankfully my parents were willing to help me get from Missouri to Dallas to see the surgeon and I was once again in surgery and then in ICU for just a few days this time around. But, all to the glory of God, I have been hernia free for almost an entire year. I did have to have a small 11th surgery in January because I had a large pocket under my skin that would not close but it is now almost healed! I only have to wear 1 small bandage now which is so much better than the 7 large bandages I had at one time. So to say that I am Thankful to not only be alive but to be almost completely healed is an under statement!
Because I have been so sick for so long my ability to work has been pretty much nil and void. I worked for the first couple of years out of determination not to admit that I was sick and that I really had something wrong going on. Then when it got so bad that I couldn't work any longer I went into a depression that I was afraid I was never going to be able to come back from. I tried teaching for a year and although I really enjoyed it I was not able to continue because I was still in a lot of pain. I tried going back to school to work on my master's degree so that I could teach full time when I got better but because I was not working I could not afford to go back to school full time so I was kind of stuck.
I have spent the last several months reading and writing blogs and reviews for new independent authors that I have met on my many hours spent on Facebook. I have met so many wonderful people and have made some really awesome friends. Friends that have encouraged, inspired, and lifted me up with words of optimism and advice on what I might do for the next adventure in my life.
I met a friend that I started helping by editing a book that she was getting ready to self publish. She really appreciated my help and made the suggestion that I should look into helping other independent authors that might need editing help and so I talked to my husband and my family and we decided that it might be a good business for me to start. So after some research and talks with other online editors I decided to start my own online editing business. I posted about the possibility that I was going to start this venture and was rewarded with lots of love and support from friends and family and I really felt good about the way it all came together. I had not had my website up for a whole 24 hours before I was approached by several people about the services that I offered.
This was definitely a God send. I will be able to stay home and continue to heal, help my husband take care of his grandmother and mom, and be around for my family if and when they need some help. I am truly blessed and feel excited about the new chapter that I have started. You know the saying when God shuts one door he opens another or a window. I finally feel like I have found the door or window that God had ready for me. So I am thankful for all of this and so much more!
to be continued...
Life is not always easy, is it? We are all put through trials and sometimes it seems like we are forced to endure more than we are able to. Sometimes we suffer because we are sick with physical ailments that bring us down. Other times we go through trials that include things like our job or our families. It is never easy and every once in awhile it brings us down so far we can longer see the light at the end of the tunnel. What do you do when you get to that point? Where do you turn? Who do you turn to for help when you feel like there is no help? I will tell you where I turn when I get like this: I put my worries, cares, and self in God's hands. I give him all of me and my cares when I can no longer carry them and I allow him to take them and let him guide me where He feels that I need to go.
Let me tell you how He has helped me and my family.
In 2003 I had gastric bypass surgery and was in ICU for two weeks because of complications. My parents and sister sent out requests for prayers for me while I was so very sick and because of the Doctor's help and God's answers to so many prayers I am still here. After I recovered from this surgery I realized I had a large abdominal hernia that needed to be repaired so I went back to surgery. Fortunately the surgery went fine but when I got home my incision opened and left with me an infection. I had to return to surgery 10 times over the course of the next five years in order to repair the hernia that I had acquired from the initial gastric bypass. Many prayers were said for me and my family during this time and although I know God was listening I sometimes felt like I was all alone and that I would never be healthy again. Last summer I got down on my knees and prayed for God to carry me. I prayed that I could no longer carry this burden alone and that I needed some help and He answered. A friend of my Mom's is a nurse in Dallas and knew of a surgeon that she thought would be able to help fix my abdomen once and for all. Thankfully my parents were willing to help me get from Missouri to Dallas to see the surgeon and I was once again in surgery and then in ICU for just a few days this time around. But, all to the glory of God, I have been hernia free for almost an entire year. I did have to have a small 11th surgery in January because I had a large pocket under my skin that would not close but it is now almost healed! I only have to wear 1 small bandage now which is so much better than the 7 large bandages I had at one time. So to say that I am Thankful to not only be alive but to be almost completely healed is an under statement!
Because I have been so sick for so long my ability to work has been pretty much nil and void. I worked for the first couple of years out of determination not to admit that I was sick and that I really had something wrong going on. Then when it got so bad that I couldn't work any longer I went into a depression that I was afraid I was never going to be able to come back from. I tried teaching for a year and although I really enjoyed it I was not able to continue because I was still in a lot of pain. I tried going back to school to work on my master's degree so that I could teach full time when I got better but because I was not working I could not afford to go back to school full time so I was kind of stuck.
I have spent the last several months reading and writing blogs and reviews for new independent authors that I have met on my many hours spent on Facebook. I have met so many wonderful people and have made some really awesome friends. Friends that have encouraged, inspired, and lifted me up with words of optimism and advice on what I might do for the next adventure in my life.
I met a friend that I started helping by editing a book that she was getting ready to self publish. She really appreciated my help and made the suggestion that I should look into helping other independent authors that might need editing help and so I talked to my husband and my family and we decided that it might be a good business for me to start. So after some research and talks with other online editors I decided to start my own online editing business. I posted about the possibility that I was going to start this venture and was rewarded with lots of love and support from friends and family and I really felt good about the way it all came together. I had not had my website up for a whole 24 hours before I was approached by several people about the services that I offered.
This was definitely a God send. I will be able to stay home and continue to heal, help my husband take care of his grandmother and mom, and be around for my family if and when they need some help. I am truly blessed and feel excited about the new chapter that I have started. You know the saying when God shuts one door he opens another or a window. I finally feel like I have found the door or window that God had ready for me. So I am thankful for all of this and so much more!
to be continued...
RSS Feed