February 16, 2017

Greetings My Friend, Junior had to take Red back to the Vet, his wound is not clearing up like it should. We have had problems with the cones we put on him, someone seems to be taking them off of him. When the cone is not on he licks his wound which reinfects the wound and makes it worse than it is already. I am afraid he may now need stitches which means we will need to keep him from tearing out the stitches. Whatever he needs we will do the best we can. It is like having a young child around, you want to do what is right for the child but they are going to fight you because they dislike the discomfort of the situation. When I run into situations like this I almost can understand stand God's frustration with us. He knows what is best and points us to it but we think we know more and refuse to listen and obey. I don't know how many times I attempted to get God to change His mind and I pointed out all of my logic which seemed so right to me only to give up and do it God's way. In the end I was grateful for God's insistence I do it His way. After more times than I would like to admit to I started to let go of my thoughts about things and worked at doing life God's way. I am learning that the struggle will end and at the end of the struggle I will be amazed that I was able to walk through it with God's love and guidance. It seems like a major part of a faith journey is learning to trust and obey. Today my goal when facing huge hurdles of struggles is to realize there will the other side where the struggle will go away and I will have grown profoundly. I have a strength and courage in me that I never knew I had, although that inner strength is not my strength but God's strength in me. Since I began my journey of faith I am amazed at what I have had to deal with and lived to tell about it. Divorce was about the most difficult situation I had faced at that time. I was beside myself and I started talking to God, one day at a time I found myself growing and living and eventually I knew I would be okay. Cancer was hard, so was my health issues but I have moved through all of them with God's help. Prior to my diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease I was anxious and since I found out I am accepting the diagnosis, living life and enjoying life. I have been on a journey to live a simple life which God has pointed me to and I find that I love it. Instead of piling up places to go, structured ministry endeavors I have learned to bake bread, dehydrate food for the next year, to sew again and make a few quilts, skirts etc. and I am enjoying it. If we loose power we are able to survive and that too feels rather nice. We have food for about six months to a year so again we are able to sustain ourselves in the Lord. I am able to minister to others at a less hectic speed. I am able to teach the lessons I have learned through writing, friendship with people in my community and on line. I wanted to stay social because I am a social butterfly, but my health has not allowed me to do so. I believe God has been in the process of slowing me down so that I am more dependent on Him, I am not wore out from frantic activity or not available to minister to those He has in mind for me. It is not about how fast, how many or how often but about where God wants me to be. May God bless you and keep you make His face shine on you. Love Janet