It's been a long thirteen and a half months and I'm not sure how we made it through but we're excited about the good news and are looking ahead hopefully. The thing is, I know there are plenty of you out there who are still facing down troubles and I'm sure we'll still have plenty more to come (life has a way of doing that to you, doesn't it?) so I thought I'd share something that touched me and helped us get through.
I don't share too many "churchy" things here but honestly, that's one of the things religion does so well: help you through tough times. The message is thoughtful and hopeful. If you'd like to see the complete transcript of the sermon the video clip came from you can find it here.
What helps you find comfort? Anything that has given you strength you lately?
Well have a good weekend. We'll be celebrating.
30 comments:
Congrats to Andrew on the new job (and to you for making it through these months). I know all too well the "whew, gasp, wheeze" sequence, having had similar months ourselves recently. Enjoy your celebration. Troubles to come or no, those first moments/days after long-awaited good news are really sweet.
I share 'churchy' things all the time; faith and God's faithfulness are definitely what gets us through those times.
On a simpler level though, on a day-to-day or moment-to-moment basis, my kids' innocent joy and complete lack of pessimism makes it easier to endure hard times. If I can set aside my own anxiety and live in their world (or even just visit), I get to the other side of the trouble much less stressed.
Mary Hampton
I am so happy for you all, Michele, especially Andrew. What a blessing. Congratulations!
And who or what gets me through the tough times? Well.... without a doubt it is my faith. And I take the command to find joy in everything really seriously. Believe me, the times have been tougher than you can imagine, and continue to be dire. But with family and friends (all the "fs" here!) I am surviving. And I still grin and am so incredibly thankful for the small things in life.
One thing I have written about many times, but it bears repeating.... I wake in the mornings, and as I lie in bed, I list 5 things I am thankful for. They can be trivial like hot coffee, or immense, like my kids, but I try to have new things each day. 5 things. You cannot be miserable when you are thankful, and no matter how bad things get, there are ALWAYS things to be thankful for.
I told you so, is all I am going to say.
I am so happy for you guys.
ANd I am soooo happy for me because one day soon I am going to have an employed husband instead of a self employed husband.
And I can't wait for this to be over.
I e-mailed this video to my husband a while back. He cried. Such a share worth sharing.
Congratulations! I'm glad there will be less anxiety in your family's lives.
Yay! Congratulations! Did things not pan out with the start-up home business, or was that only ever intended to be a stop-gap?
So glad for you. I know this has been a long journey. Congrats to your family.
Oh HOORAY!
That is fantastic news. Congrats to Andrew, and to you.
I love Elder Holland's message and that video. Thanks for sharing it. And congratulations on the new job!
Yay! What wonderful news!
(Great video, BTW--thanks for the cry this morning!)
this talk was given while i was on my mission. i was sure i would never speak french, it would never stop raining, and that my butt would never stop hurting from riding my bike. it's a great talk, and i kept a copy of it with me for the rest of my mission.
hooray that your husband has a job! i hope you feel like you can breathe now. (as well as him, too!)
Yay! And thanks for the video.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!! I don't share churchy things, but having faith in yourself, your family and friends, well, that IS a whole 'nother matter, entirely!
Yay!!! And praises for God's faithfulness. Enjoy your celebration. You deserve it!
Congratulations on your hubby finding a job! I can hear your sigh of relief over the internet waves!
I'm sure this was a very hard,stretching, growing time for you, probably a lot more so than you share here. I'm very encouraged by your example of pressing on anyway and enjoying your family and life.
Blessings,
Trixie
I am so happy for you and your family. I am so happy you decided to share your churchy message today. I believe that if Christians don't start speaking out, we will lose our country.
We are not out of a job, but our concern is for our son and his girlfriend. They are expecting a baby boy next week and although they were not planning on this child, we are welcoming this baby as a gift from God. Our son is 31 and Hs no plans to marry or settle down. Now those plans had changed and we pray that a deep committed love will grow and that this child will grow up knowing Jesus as his Savior. Please keep this your family in your prayers. I know many have been praying for you and your family, too.
I know we don't know each other but a friend of mine told me about your blog some time ago and I've been following it ever since. I'm so happy for your family. Mostly, I'm grateful for your example. I knew when I started reading your blog your husband was without work. I've wondered a few times whether or not he'd found work again because of the constant positive attitude you portray in all of your posts. You could've complained every day or every week of your trials, but you didn't. How awesome is that! Congratulations you guys, and good luck! :)
Congratulations! So happy for Andrew and your family!
Very Glad to here that has happened for you. We're still hanging in there, and that video helped me a lot. I'm the one who go the new job, though.
So happy for you guys--congrats on the new job!
Oh, what a relief! I was so hopeful when he started his own company, and yet scared because it's SUCH a bad environment for that.
As an atheist, I can't find comfort in God. I confess that I thought it would be nice, that it would be wonderful to have that comfort when my mom died. But I can't just change my belief system any more than the next person. I mean, if someone told you there was more comfort to be had in polytheism or Catholicism, you wouldn't just switch. There has to be a real leap of faith, and that never happened for me.
So where do I find comfort? In the good things that people do for each other. In family and friends. In sunrises and trees and the ocean. The ocean is so big and wide and wonderful...it can help a lot.
AND, looking through your comments, I agree with Linds...spending a bit of time every day concentrating on what I am thankful for. It's actually how I go to bed most nights. I lie there and think of 10 things for which I am thankful. Usually it calms me and comforts me so much, I can't get close to 10 before falling asleep.
I am so, so, SO pleased and relieved for you and your family. xoxooxxo
That's so wonderful! Congratulations for sure!
For me it's music, that can lift my spirits to no end. Poetry and books work as well and I also need a healthy dose of rambling nature walks with my kids.
Michelle,
I knew that God would provide for your family, it's the time table that frustrates us most times because we want the solutions now for our storms and yet there are things to be learned by taking that walk of faith however challenging, but in the end, with faith in God, we will rise out of the valley and stand firm in having weathered the storm with our faith that much stronger. He will always provide to those that genuinely seek Him.
Love and Hugs ~ Kat
Congratulations, so happy for your family!
I am happy for you. Really really happy. Bill is still not working. It's been about 13 months. Now we are considering whether school should be an option for him.
Once again, I am very happy for your family. It's tough living through this. On everyone.
Thank you. That message was beautiful and made me cry. Thanks.
I was hoping this was the good news you hinted at in an earlier post! Such a great feeling to be at the end of a challenge and look back at the ways you grew and were blessed. Thanks for posting the video--that's a great one. Also, I learned while living in ND that I need to be less hesitant about discussing my beliefs--everyone else was so open about sharing their feelings and religious convictions, why couldn't I? I'd like to say I'm much better at it, but it seemed to get harder when we moved back to Utah. Hmmmm.
I'm not LDS, but this message encouraged my heart tonight. It's been a tough week on the relationship front, and I was feeling discouraged. Instead of doing something responsible like reading my Bible or just going to bed at a decent hour, I decided to visit my favorite blogs to distract me from how I was feeling. For some reason, I decided to click on this video link and I'm glad I did. It was good to hear "don't give up...keep on walking." That's exactly right.
Congrats to Andrew on the new job. And congrats to the entire family for making it through a tough time. I'm sure that's not quite over, but at least you have an end in sight.
Is he going to let the business idea go or will he try to do that on the side?
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