And, yes, God does fit into all of this...

(photo)

I came across this art on Pinterest, and there were a few words on it that spoke to me:

Laugh Out Loud

&

Don't Whine

I wasn't in a good mood when I read it, because I was feeling sorry for myself for;  a) a bad haircut, and b) finding out that my eyes are only going to get worse. So I was finding it hard to laugh out loud but I was not finding it hard to whine, at least inside my heart.

The haircut came after the eye doctor appointment and it was like pouring salt on a wound, or so I thought. I mean, not only can I not SEE very well, but I don't think I LOOK very good, either! You see, my eyes have been effected by the chiari malformation/syringomyelia I have and the resulting nerve damage, as well as my years of having a low thyroid. I am having double vision problems that can only be helped by having prisms in my lenses, so I had to give up my contacts a while ago and get used to wearing glasses all of the time.
(That part is a vanity thing. Sorry.)

So , here it is, a beautiful SUNNY day, after all of the rain and flooding going on around most of the state of Montana, and I am feeling down in the dumps. Now, I know that God cares about my concerns as much as He does the people of the natural disasters we have been seeing, and so I am not dismissing my issues, especially my eyes. But His Word reminded me (just this morning!) that He desires me to:

"pray in the Spirit and on all occasions with

all kinds of prayers and requests.

With this in mind, be alert and always

keep on praying for all the saints."

                                                 Ephesians 6:18

Ah, yes, instead of grumbling, I am to pray in the Spirit (hard to grumble then!) and on all occasions (not just when I feel like it!) and with all kinds of prayers and requests (nothing is too big or too small for our God!). His Word also tells me to be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints, and I know that when I lay my needs before my Lord and clear my heart and mind of what is troubling me, I am free to pray for others' needs, even those I do not know. It releases me from the stronghold of self pity Satan tries to have on me so that I may move on, knowing and trusting in God's sovereignty and His great love for His people. 

The other words in the above art become easier to read when my heart is righted...

Love One Another

Be Grateful

Share

Say I Love You

...and this sunny day becomes one in which I feel the arms of my Lord and Savior wrapped around me, warming my heart as the sun warms the temperature. And with this, I am reminded of another art post I shared from Pinterest not long ago and I purchased it from a shop on Etsy...

(photo)

And He is!

Here is a video from Samaritan's Purse about the tragedy in Joplin, Missouri,
 a place where the people need our continued prayers.

P.S. The Laugh Out Loud art work is a free printable from the blog
Betty Crocker Wannabe. This was my first visit there, and she has a lot of
wonderful posts  as well as printables and recipes.