Overwhelmed

There is no other way to describe this past week except to say that it was completely overwhelming. I've never been as sick in my life as I was this past week. At one point in time I remember thinking that if anything got even slightly worse I simply wouldn't be able to handle it. But God only gave me the grace to endure what He brought to me through His sovereign will. While I considered my own pain, I was reminded of the suffering of my Lord. It's never easier to imagine pain and agony then when you're experiencing some of that yourself. Oh, what the Lord Jesus went through for me was so incredibly excruciating that I can't even begin to fathom it. Yet He did that for me so that I wouldn't have to go to hell, where I so rightly deserve to go. He did that so that I could have the unspeakable joy of fellowship with Him. When I was sick, I still had my relationship on the Lord to lean on. But when Jesus hung on that cross, He had nothing. He was stripped of everything. For me. I've been so overwhelmed by this simple truth all week long. Have you ever considered God's work in your life and then whispered "thank you Lord" only to feel as though your words of feeble thanks were not worthy to be heard by almighty God?

I was also overwhelmed with how blessed I am to have such thoughtful and caring friends. All the phone calls, cards, flowers and prayers. I was just totally blown away by how blessed I am. That isn't mentioning my own family who helped me in every way they could. Oh, and a special thanks to Lara for listening to me complain and freak out.

Tonight I was once again overwhelmed as my mom and I talked for forever about everything and nothing at all. Ah, the incredible blessing of having parents who love the Lord and love me enough to lay a Scriptural foundation in my life for all of the convictions that I hold today. We share the same vision and serve the same God. I pray that I'll never take this for granted.

All in all, I guess you could say that I've had an uneventful bummer of a week. But I wouldn't trade it for the world. If we never went through the vallies we'd never cry out to God and allow Him to carry us to the hilltop where we can be overwhelmed with His sovereignty and goodness.