Two Lists

Many of you who read my blog have been following along with our lives via Facebook.  I will spare all of the details that have been the constant turmoil that our lives have been in since we made the decision to move down here.  We often get caught up in all of the negative.  It has been A LOT!!!  Really, we have earned the right to look over the past, especially the past year, and hang our head in defeat.  We have suffered significant loss, significant parenting stresses, significant health issues, and significant financial hardships.  We were driving to meet a friend for lunch a few weekends ago and we were discussing all of the things that we have come up against.  The more we talked, the more we couldn't get past the all consuming heaviness of what we have been walking through.  That's was when we had a fantastic idea.  On the long drive home from lunch, we decided to make two lists.

One list was a comprehensive list of all of the incredibly painful/stressful/costly things that have happened to us since God asked us to move to Florida.  We captured everything we could think of.  Every single thing that broke in and around our house to include every flat tire, every pool pump, every septic pump, every damaged fender.  We captured every trip to the ER, imaging center, appointment with specialists, and every minute wasted sitting with a heating pad for us and for those we deeply love.  We captured every vet appointment, doggy surgery, and cancer diagnosis.   We captured every tough conversation with one of the kids.  We made an honest attempt to get it all on paper.

Then we did the best thing that we could've ever done.  We made a second list of all of the amazing things that have come since God asked us to move to Florida.  We counted numerous healed relationships where distance had allowed perspective.  We counted the fact that not one of the broken things had to go unfixed because we didn't have a way to pay for it.  We counted us being able to meet the Hatmakers and get involved in the work they are doing through the Legacy Collective.  We talked about how we are learning to stretch outside of our comfort zones and ask others for help.  We have learned to not  allow "busy" to control our lives.  We are learning that time in the hammock with a good book is just as important as an evening of bible study.  

I cannot begin to tell you what making those two lists did for us.  It took the focus off of every bad thing that has happened to us and put our eyes back on the blessings. The heaviness lifted and we found the strength to keep fighting.   It reminds me of a line in the song "Just Be Held" by Casting Crowns.  "If your eyes are on the storm, you'll wonder if I love you still, But if your eyes are on the cross, you know I always have and I always will."

If you are struggling with the weight of all that is coming at you, let me encourage you to take a minute to make two lists of your own.  The first list shows you in black and white that you aren't going crazy and  you have a right to feel a little frazzled.  The second list shows you that God is still working, even when you can't see Him.