This morning as I was trying to motivate myself to get out of bed and face another day caring for a painful shoulder injury that resulted in major surgery, I struggled. Then I thought about something my sweet Daddy used to always say. “When you get up in the morning just say to yourself, today is going to be a good day and tomorrow is going to be even better.” I couldn’t help but smile, put both feet on the floor and pray that God would give me the strength to do just that. I thanked my Daddy for “seeing” me from heaven this morning and sending me the encouragement I needed.

As I begin to recover, I feel it is important to remember the struggle so I won’t forget all it took to get me to a place of well-being.  I think if we forget, we don’t learn the lesson of the battle we faced. Every day either brings a new challenge or a positive step forward. I want to be prepared for both understanding that tomorrow just might be better.

Who in your life needs encouraging? Who needs to be seen and understood? I have received so many cards, texts and phone calls over the past few weeks from people just to let me know they’re praying for me and thinking about me. Every single one makes a difference and gives me strength. Thank you for understanding that I need you. Today and tomorrow.

Blessings, Cindy J

With my latest accident that happened when I fell and broke my shoulder I’ve asked this question a lot, how much more? Just how much more can my body and mind take. Ironically, my daily devotion right now is the book of Job in the Bible. Job faced heartache after heartache, even lost his children and his health but he never doubted or cursed God. Do I have that kind of faith? Can I trust God enough to know that He’ll walk with me through each and every thing that comes along? I want to but I have to admit that I am woefully human and doubt.  

I received a little book from a friend titled Tears and Tossing: Hope in the Waves of Life by Sarah Walton and another one from my niece and her husband titled Walking with God through Pain and Suffering by Timothy Keller. Both books have helped me put this whole pain and adversity thing in perspective. I am not the only person that has suffered. Many people have suffered way more than I have. That in no way diminishes everything I’ve been through, it’s just a reminder that I am not alone. Other people see and understand my struggle. They reach out to hold my hand, encourage me and walk beside me.

How much more? I don’t know. All I can tell you is that I’ll take each day as it comes, deal with that day’s pain or challenge and reach out for those hands that are offered. I pray my faith will continue to grow and I’ll come out of this stronger than before.

Blessings, Cindy J

From the worst to the best, that’s how we deal with adversity and let God take control. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard people say, “Well if God is such a good God, why do bad things happen?” It’s true, God is all knowing and in total control of the universe and our lives BUT He also allows us to have free will. Sometimes it’s because of the free will and actions of others that bad things happen. Other times, things like sickness and death just happen through no one’s fault. They’re just a part of life. What really matters is how we take those adverse events and turn them into a situation that shows just how mighty and powerful God can be.

All of us have a “worst” thing of some type in our life. One of my worst, being diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer. My best, writing about my feelings in this blog in hopes of encouraging others. How can you make your worst thing a best thing? Please don’t waste all that pain. Turn it into something full of beauty and grace. It’s the struggle that makes us stronger.   I never said it would be easy. All I ask you to do is think about it and make a choice for better.

Blessings, Cindy J

“We need to sprint towards compassion and crawl towards judgment.”

I can’t remember where I heard this quote or who said it but it resonated with me. If we are honest with ourselves, most of us get this idea all mixed up and sprint towards judgment when we should be taking a step back and crawling instead. The point is, we need to take our time before jumping to conclusions about a situation or a person.

I’ve written a lot about this topic recently. I’m not sure why other than I have been giving it a lot of thought and wondering how I treat others. I find I am losing my patience more often with people who judge and I am working hard not to be one of them. It could be that in the past I know I have been the sprinter and I want to change that. The older I get, the more my heart hurts for those who just need a little kindness and patience. It could be that as I age, I find I need for others to show me that same courtesy from time to time.

Or maybe it’s because I finally am understanding how much God cares for me and wants me to follow His example by caring for others who need a little compassion. All I know is that I’m learning to crawl again and I’m the one receiving the blessings.

Blessings, Cindy J

What is community? Google says it is “a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.” Don’t laugh but in the past year I have just started going to our local senior center for exercise classes. The other day at class during a water break, I noticed how people were connecting with each other, laughing and talking together, and just having a bit of social time. They’ve found community with people their own age who are doing their best to stay in shape and age gracefully.

Another class I like to attend is yoga. The whole concept of yoga is about creating community and drawing strength from the energy of others. Yoga has taught me to let go of myself and just be in the moment. It’s in the letting go that you learn how to connect with others.

We all have other places and ways we find community whether it’s the neighborhood where we live, the church where we attend and worship with others or the friends we connect with for life. I just recently returned from a bucket list trip to Greece with two of my college friends who’ve known me for over 40 years. They’re my people, my community, and they know me and love me anyway. Community is a blessing; I pray you find yours.

Blessings, Cindy J

As defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word misunderstood means wrongly or improperly understood. Boy what a powerful word that is! So many times, we get upset with people because of how we perceive their actions. We find them to be rude, possibly offensive or just plain uncaring. I have found many times that people I didn’t think I like usually have a story that makes them act that way. I admit that even when I know their story, I still may not like them but I do have more patience and tolerance for them. My reaction to them was based on the fact that I misunderstood them.

As an elementary school librarian, I learned that the worst behaving kids were often the ones with the most dramatic stories. You can’t excuse their behavior but you can have more compassion when you understand the why of the behavior. We can all do a better job of being tolerant of those who are misunderstood. That will help us get through the times when we ourselves are misunderstood.

Compassion, Tolerance, Patience…. these words are the key to change in our society.

Blessings, Cindy J