Sunday, April 11, 2010

Nothing is Impossible

It is 9pm here, I should be getting ready for bed considering I have to be up at 4:30 in order to make it to my adoration hour by 6am, but instead I'm writing. Hopefully, I'll get up on time tomorrow morning despite my late night foray into writing. Like my title says, nothing is impossible ...

Of course, I'm not sure getting up on time is really the kind of impossibility I was thinking about when I decided to start writing. No ... it most certainly wasn't. Okay, so back to the matter at hand ...

Nothing is impossible. That's a quaint little phrase, one that we often here growing up: nothing is impossible, you can be whatever you want to be, etc., etc. I know I heard it a lot and it certainly is a great motivation to work hard, do well in school, go to college and so on and so forth. Not a bad thing and I'm sure I'll do it with my own kids as well.

More recently I have often heard this phrase with the addition of two little words. Two words that make a huge difference in the meaning of that phrase.

Nothing is impossible ... with God.

I've seen evidence of that just recently in my life. And it is an amazing thing. First of all, thinking about that phrase in the context of God makes me realize that in many ways we are not in control of our lives. Often even the things we think we have control over we really don't. The only one who truly is in control is God. No matter how much planning we do, sometimes things just don't work the way we want them to. Things have to happen in God's time.

A friend of mine has been married for about 3 and a 1/2 years. They waited a little while after they first got married before they started trying to have kids, but not too long. Like most young couples, they thought they'd get pregnant when they wanted to and have a baby when they wanted to, and future babies in the same way. Unfortunately that is not what happened. After many struggles they just did finally get pregnant! What a complete and total blessing for this wonderful couple!! I'm super excited for them. The baby is due about four months after their four year anniversary. Not the plan they had in mind.

But I'm sure that it was a plan in Someone's mind. God knew the proper timing and nothing this couple (or any of us struggling with the same issues) could have done could have changed that.

The amazing thing is that this couple's struggles turned into some wonderful blessings for many other couples. This friend of mine started a blog that for the most part documented her struggles with NFP, insensitive OBs, experiences with NaPro Technology and all sorts of medical tests and shots and the list goes on. Through that blog she met others facing the same struggles and some of them learned things from her that helped them eventually get pregnant. In addition, she started a Catholic Infertility Support Group in my area. Through that other women have been able to come together and offer each other support and help as we all struggle through similar things.

And through all of this we know God is with us. Even when it doesn't feel like He's there, He is. And one of the most important lessons we all have to learn is that everything is in His timing. But more importantly, nothing is impossible with God. We must keep Him by our side, pray for His help, and know that He has a bigger plan than we could ever imagine.

My friend, the mother-to-be, is a great example of this. Through her so many other people have benefited from her knowledge and help and her willingness to share her story.

God, we come to you with our sorrows, our pains, and our grief. We pray for healing from our doubts, help in following your will, and the patience necessary to be open to your plan and not our own. Amen.

Tuesday, April 06, 2010

Spring in the Bluegrass

It's spring!! A little early for the Bluegrass, but I think the 80 degree temps today are just a taste of what's down the pike in another couple months. We'll be back in the 60s again before too long. But it's great to see flowers coming up and trees blooming, to sleep with the windows open, and to see the sun when I leave for work and it's still there on my way home!!

Now is also a good time to review those New Year Resolutions I made!

Posting on the blog more: well, I'm attempting and not doing too bad. I don't want to overwhelm the blog, but I don't want to lose readers either because I'm so slack on posting. Not sure if I have found that balance, though I'm sure I'm nowhere near being overwhelming. Anyone care to comment??

Daily Rosary: Doing good!! We've missed an occasional night here and there, but otherwise, we manage it almost every night. And we've gotten to the point that I'm not the only one remembering that we have to do it. I consider that an accomplishment!

Read more: I have finished four books this year. Not too bad in three months. Of course, I had a list of six to read during Lent and that didn't happen. Obviously I sometimes set out-of-reach goals. (Who me??) I'm also very close to finishing book number 5. Look for a post on that coming soon.

Healthier Lifestyle: This resolution was made in the hope of losing some weight, though that wasn't really the overall goal. However, I have lost about 5% of my body weight since the beginning of the year. Overall, I think I'm making some wiser choices and doing well. We currently have quite a bit of Easter candy in the house, but hey, it's the Octave of Easter, these are feast days! Seriously though, haven't lost much in a while, but I'm holding steady. I'll take that for now.

So that's it on the resolutions. Anyone else still keeping track of the resolutions you made in January??