On any path that we are on, we have to take time to stop to smell the roses. Basically, God doesn't want us on a journey where we don't take the opportunity to slow down and appreciate the wonderful gifts that He has given us. And oh my! With spring here, His gifts are certainly in full bloom.
He has given us so many other roses, too. Not in the form of flowers, but in other things...your child dancing in the sunshine, the funny way your spouse looks at you in the morning when your hair is a mess, the phone call from a friend who just wanted to touch base with you to see how you were feeling today. Those are just a very few of His amazing gifts. Being able to realize those gifts can sometimes mean the difference between life and death.
Depression is the ultimate way to have His gifts concealed from us. I can speak of what depression is because I have battled it for over 12 years now. Even those who are absolutely in love with our Father can still suffer from depression. It is not something that we can avoid just because we want to. We have to learn to let God pull us out of it. If we can't do that, then we have to learn other ways to do so. Some take medicine. Some just force themselves to go on, perhaps finding something to occupy their minds in order to forget the negativity. I believe with all of my heart that depression is satan's way of destroying a fragile mind. He has done that with two of my cousins already. He has tried to do it with me. I'm determined that I won't let him do it, though. I wish that I could have given my cousins some of that determination.
Family is definitely one of God's gifts that we tend to really take for granted. I realized that more than ever today. I was surrounded by aunts, uncles, and cousins that I haven't seen in years. It was so wonderful to see them. I had really missed them. But we gathered at a funeral. I don't want the next time we all get together like that again to be at a funeral. We stopped having family reunions years ago, probably because we were all busy with our lives and didn't want to take the time out for family that we didn't see all of the time. Quite a few of us today remarked how it was sad that we were all gathered as we were and it had to take a funeral to get us all together. I pray that my dear cousin's death will at least bring the realization to my family that we need to gather together more often. I will definitely be planning a reunion this year. I hope that we are all able to attend. We need family. Our family needs us.
One gift that we receive every day is forgiveness. Yet, with receiving that gift, we fail to give it to others. We EXPECT God to forgive us for anything. And He pretty much does. Yet, we can't forgive someone for saying something ugly to us or for not behaving in a way that we expected them to do so. How dare we?! We get our feelings hurt all of the time and get mad about it. Our spouses may do something to break our trust and we never forgive them for it. But isn't it funny how with ALL of the bad things that we have done in the past, we expect God to forgive us, and yet we refuse to extend that courtesy to others. A couple we know who had managed to survive a troubled marriage said to us in our Love Dare class "We don't choose to forget, we choose not to remember." I like that. It is hard to forget things. But we can most definitely choose not to remember them. We choose whether or not we are going to dwell in the past or move forward into the future.
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs." 1 Corinthians 13:4-5
Tonight, as you get ready to go to sleep, I pray that you are blessed with God's hand touching you and releasing you from the past. I pray that you are open and eager for His blessing.
I hope that you have had an incredibly blessed day. And I pray blessings over you so that you may slow down and stop to smell the roses.
