Little Things

I so often take God's biggest gifts for granted: unconditional forgiveness, purpose to my life, and eternal life with Christ.  I have a much harder time trusting the Lord with my daily details.  I unconsciously feel little, petty needs are beneath God's dignity.  I avoid praying about daily concerns, feeling a bit ashamed that such superficial things are concerning me. I have often shared with other people Melissa's words: "God answers our needs with the little things, so we can trust him with the big things."  So I cognitively know I'm suppose to pray over trite concerns, but still feel pathetic doing it.  This week, God immediately answered my prayer for a special dress for a special occasion.  Now this is a really superficial concern, right?  But our Loving Lord made a point of rapidly giving me just the right dress in the perfect color to make a point: to show me how much He loves me.  After all these years of living with the Lord, I'm still learning to talk to Him about everything!  I hope you are, too.  Because there is so much of God's love for us to experience! Blessings on your day!~  JBM

Centered

I'm about to send my only surviving child to the farthest corner of the world by herself for the first time.  This is not a comforting feeling. Yes, she is in college and will be a part of a reputable program, but she will be far from my reach.  Any difficulty she encounters, she has to handle without me. I literally have to hand her over to God. As I was driving to New York to visit Melissa's grave site, I had an "ahaah" moment.  The light bulb went on over my head!  A verse came into my mind, "You will keep him (her) in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because (s)he trusts in you."  Isaiah 26:3.  I had to look up the verse, because I had no idea where this came from, but there it was in my head.  I remembered Melissa and the incredible peace she had even has her life came to a close.  I know that peace came from her constant praying. She stayed connected to the source of peace. She stayed centered, focused on God, and that gave her "perfect peace", just like the verse says.  So, what is my challenge during the next 7 weeks with my daughter not even on email most of the time?  I must keep my mind centered on Christ, because I trust God.  She is, after all, his child, not mine.  So, I hand her back to her Loving Father who actually is even more concerned about her well-being than I am, as impossible as that is for my pea brain to imagine!  I hand her over to our Faithful Creator, and keep my eyes focused on the invisible.  The God who loves her even more than I do will not fail!  Thank you for journeying with me!  Blessings- JB

Blinded

"We are called to walk blindly, living only in Your light, Guided by Your hand alone, Without our human sight"...  is the first stanza of Melissa's poem titled, "Blinded".  It's one of my favorites, of the 44 poems that she wrote, none of which were meant to be read by others necessarily. Melissa wrote her intense feelings in verse form for her own healing.  When cancer frightened her, she prayed.  Often she prayed by writing to God, not only in her Prayer Journal , but also in her cancer journal.  
- I thought of this poem today because I had a really tough week struggling to trust God.  I let the pressures of the circumstances stress me to the point of an incapacitating headache.  Even though I prayed, I had a tough time trusting.  Yet, I survived the week and I just have to leave the outcome in God's hands. All that worry and anxiety was pointless!  Melissa ends her poem: "But if we lose sight of You, It's like losing a map, there is no way out, We're nothing but trapped;   So I'll stick by You,  I'll hold Your hand tight, Trusting You to guide me, With Your glorious light."...  My goal this week is to hold on tighter to the Hand of our God, just like Melissa did!!-  Blessings to you all!

Encountering Adversity

Aversity- bad things happen to good people, both tragic and small.  We live in a broken world and stuff happens, sometimes awful things happen.  Melissa is my role model for handling adversity: She clung to her God.  She refused to feel sorry for herself or see her cancer as "bad luck".  She chose to trust her God; she chose to believe He had a bigger plan; and she chose to live every day in the light of the Lord.  And what impact did that have?  It changed everything!  Rather than be bitter and angry,  Melissa felt God's love every day in little ways, because she had chosen to put on the eyes of faith!  She trusted God, not because she understood His plan, but because she felt His grace. She trusted in Who she knew, not what she understood.  As a result, all of us around her marveled at her power, her conviction, her strength, her ability to feel confident, even as her body was being destroyed.  She told her friends, "Guys, I know where I am going."   She was not a victim of circumstance, but a precious daughter held in the hands of her Lord.  So, when things go wrong for me, I try to see them as part of a plan.  Rather than allowing circumstances to dictate my life, I choose to trust our Faithful Creator, just as Melissa did!   see Melissa's Faith

Days that Count

Melissa records a quote in her prayer journal: "Don't just count your days, make your days count" (p.32). Melissa understood that the quality of our lives comes from savoring each moment.  The time frame that keeps us hopeful is focusing on right this minute in light of eternity. So, rather than dwelling on the past year or coming decade, pay attention to the goodness of today, giving thanks for every little blessing of the moment, trusting God with the days ahead, and knowing that eternity with all its splendor and joy is yet to come!  Blessings and deep faith to you now and every moment to come.  See Melissa's Prayer Journal

Trust

"I trust you with all the dealings of my fragile heart and all the precious people held in it."  Melissa writes these words in her prayer to God as she talks about a relationship. Trust. One of the hardest things to do.  Melissa handed over to God the things she most wanted, and trusted that God would take care of her either way, no matter what happened.  Why did she believe that?  Because she felt God's love as she talked to Him.  The more we communicate with God, the more we begin to feel His love and peace. So, Melissa knew God was trustworthy and would never leave her. He would always be there for her. And He was and is and will always be....  May the peace of a trusting heart be yours this day! - 
Melissa's Mom.    More Thoughts on Trust

Smiles

Melissa loved to make people laugh and smile!  She saw the humor in everyday interactions and loved to tease.  She was quick to see the opportunity for a prank, like sending a naive friend into a clothing rack to try on pants--- and taking his picture!  Melissa created her own fun by keeping a Groucho Marx glasses with nose & mustache in her car.  She & her good friends would wear them riding around in traffic, enjoying the second-take looks from other drivers and the smiles and nods!   Melissa did her best to make every day a play day!--

So, take some time today to see the humor, laugh at your mistakes, smile at something silly, or even where a pair of funny glasses.... just to make someone smile.  What a great way to brighten the day! - Blessings... Melissa's Mom

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