Tag: Praise

Revelation

by 4letsgetrealtogether1 Comment on Revelation
Revelation

There’s a beautiful blue sky and sun shining outside my window. I was briefly able to bask in its warmth earlier this morning. What a gift! It’s funny how much truth is in the adage “you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.” (Your welcome for that throwback Cinderella earwig.)

It’s days like today that I should marvel in my numerous blessings, yet here I am…ashamed of how I squander them. How I can go from gratefulness one moment to disparagement in what seems like the blink of an eye lends sight into my fickle heart. In the middle of my wrestle, I was able to encapsulate how I felt with this picture.

Our sweet pup, sitting on dead grass, next to a needs to be replaced fence, drenched in His glorious warmth as she lifts her head heavenward in a silent thank you. This is where I wish to reside. Unaffected by the absence of posh surroundings, yet unabashedly lavishing in His generosity.

“May He grant you your heart’s desire and fulfill all your plans. We will sing joyously over your victory, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners. May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.”

Psalm 20:4-5AMP

Thank you, Lord, for this revelation and victory over my circumstances. I praise your precious and holy name. Amen

Different isn’t Worse

by 4letsgetrealtogether1 Comment on Different isn’t Worse
Different isn’t Worse

Everyone loves an accent, especially a British or South African one. Longer vowels, truncated consonants. Mysterious in nature. Different cadence. Soothing, some might say.

I, however, do not hold this affinity. Unfortunately, I slip entirely too easily, unbeknownst to me, into this accent. Foreign Accent Syndrome. It is one of several inexplicable symptoms that I still sometimes experience…one year later.

It’s infuriating.

It’s humiliating.

It’s exhausting.

The accent, the delayed speech, the difficulty walking, the inability to translate what’s inside my head out to the rest of my body, the hyper sensitivity, the pain.

I ABSOLUTELY HATE IT!

And yet, in spite of it all, I am incredibly grateful. To be here. One year later. “Recovered.”

8/21/19 is my well date. I woke up that morning without any of the afore mentioned symptoms. Peculiar. Unimaginable. Remarkable. My husband couldn’t believe it. My neurologist couldn’t explain it. My friends couldn’t comprehend it.

I’d struggled eleven months. Endured speech therapy. In home therapy. Physical therapy. And then, literally overnight, I was well.

Against all odds, my “mysterious” illness left me. I was given back my life…well, sort of. Most days. It’s decidedly different now. But different isn’t worse.

I’m honestly not sure how to describe it, other than a gift. Though I knew with absolute certainty God would guide me through unwell, and back to health, I wasn’t sure what that looked like. How it would feel.

Employing sheer audacious tenacity, and copious prayer, I navigated my new normal. Return to normal? Different normal? Would this last longer than a glow stick? Or would I relapse, defaulting back to a reduced capacity? Didn’t matter. I was more “normal” than I had felt or sounded in what felt like forever.

“The Lord is my strength and my shield. My heart trusted him, so I received help. My heart is triumphant; I give thanks to Him with my song.”

Psalm 28:7 GW

And, oh how I sang! I distinctly remember joyous tears cascading down as I caught myself singing one of my favorite worship songs. Something I was utterly incapable of doing for those eleven months.

Save a small handful, you will never fully comprehend the roller coaster this has been; however, it may give you a glimpse into the unseen complexity of another’s life. We are all gloriously different. Life would be entirely mundane if we weren’t.

So today, one year later, I’ve decided to accept my difference. My new normal. It certainly beats continuing to futilely fight it. And because I’ve finally come to the conclusion, different isn’t worse. Different is simply different. By His divine design. Who am I to argue?

Praise

by 4letsgetrealtogether1 Comment on Praise
Praise

A year ago, I could not have done this: stand unassisted, loudly singing praises unto Him. For reasons I will never understand this side of Heaven, in less than twenty-four hours, I went from “doing all the things,” including running several miles a day, to suddenly not being able to hold up my own body weight, walk, or audibly talk. When I say this, most people’s reaction is, “Oh my word, what did you have?” It’s not the diagnosis I wish to share, rather the journey. His grace and mercy. His miracles. His goodness.

My days were filled with uncertainty, yet He was my constant. Eleven months of essentially relearning how to do all that comes so naturally to us, was unfathomable. Yet, this is what I did. And it is with absolute certainty, only through His “by design” intervention, that I am here writing this today.

I spent a week in the hospital, waiting for a diagnosis.

It took a month of waiting and three different neurologist before receiving a “one in a million” diagnosis.

Months of speech therapy and many more of physical therapy before I was able to function on a somewhat “normal” basis.

I waited. Daily, I sought Him. I prayed, “Lord, heal me whole.”

If you are in a season where nothing is going right, or according to what you’d planned, you are in a waiting period, my friend. I’ve been there, and it sucks. We want to hurry up, move on, get back on track. We want to grab the reins of our lives and forcefully maneuver it to our desired course. We certainly don’t want to wait. But what if you are in this “waiting period” because there’s something more? What if someone is waiting to show you a better path? One that you couldn’t have even imagined?

“So the Lord must wait for you to come to Him so He can show you His love and compassion. For the Lord is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for His help” (Isaiah 30:18 NLT).

In my wait, I started praising Him. I chose to believe He had something better for me. I knew He would heal me whole. I didn’t know how or when, but I leaned into His promises of making all things good.

And now, one year later, here I am. Writing, which is something I never fathomed. Sharing, which is outside of my comfort zone. Praising, which is all I can do. Because, my friends, He patiently waited for me. For which, I am immeasurably blessed.