In its time...

In the fall of 2017 I spilled a container of beads. Sounds simple, but it ended up being pretty significant to me. You can read the original blog post I wrote HERE if you would like. The gist though, is that I had a large container that held all of my separate “seasons” for the Tree of Life jewelry I make and during a Holiday Fair I managed to drop the contents all over the floor. There was no separating things. All of the beads were gathered into one large bag in the clean up and when it was over I couldn’t help but notice how pretty the mixture was!

Inspired by Ecclesiasties chapter three I create a new tree design and named it every season. I wear those earrings like 75% of the time. I really love them and it’s always been a great symbol for me, of how no matter how bad things get, they can be really great too. It’s the cycle of all of it that makes life meaningful and wonderful.

Now its 2020 and when I reread that blog post last week I laughed out loud and thinking to myself, “I’m so glad that the grieving woman who wrote that didn’t know what the future held.” She would have been so discouraged to know that after two and a half years she would have two more babies in heaven and would still be waiting for so many things.

I wasn’t laughing out of bitterness (at least not entirely) but because how do you explain that while it’s been disheartening, it’s also been full of significance. The lessons I’ve learned, the moments of clarity God has given me, and the hard things I’ve done since then have all been so meaningful. Even this pandemic that we are currently living through has taught me more than I could’ve imagined.

Ecclesiaties 3:11 says “He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

I still have hope for a family of my own, for living children here on earth, so that my husband and I can have the joy of being parents this side of heaven. While I often get very discouraged that we are still waiting after all this time, I know that when it happens - it’s going to be so much more beautiful that I can fathom.

I don’t know what you’re waiting on, but please don’t lose hope.

In its time.

I’ve added a new bracelet to my Every Season Collection inspired by Ecclesiates 3:11. You can find it here in my shop.

Fall

I'm a planner.

My schedule has a tendency to fill up weeks in advance and while often that is a result of running my own businesses, sometimes it is because I forget to set boundaries. So when I started to think about a word of the year for 2018, my initial thoughts were circulating around Balance. 

As 2018 got closer though, it just didn't feel right. I was becoming more and more aware that white-knuckling my schedule wasn't exactly how God wanted me living out my year. While I was working through a Bible Study entry I felt strongly that that God was pushing me to let go of my plans & try to focus more on the things He was putting in front of me.

I was chatting with a friend over coffee and she was talking about her martial arts practice. One of the first things they learn is how to fall without hurting themselves. I was overwhelmed with the feeling that this - Fall - was my focus word. It took a couple more weeks of reflection to understand exactly why.

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The visual of letting go - falling - and trusting God to catch me is exactly what I want to keep in my focus this year. I'm pretty sure the more traditional word choice would be Trust, but it's so much more than that. It isn't just the concept of trust or the knowledge that God is looking out for me. It's the action of trusting Him that I'm striving for this year.

More than lip service. 

More than a word.

Choosing to let go. 

Fall.

Gratitude

My heart is simply bursting with gratitude today as I head out to mail these special necklaces to their new homes. The generosity and support of our friends and family made it possible for us to start work on James's memorial garden this weekend. This is such a healing process for me and Jason. The knowledge that our son's short life will not be forgotten and that he has touched so many makes the heartache a little easier to bear. 

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 says, "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God."

So many have answered that call to comfort and support us using their own experiences as a guide. We are so grateful to them and to God for sending them to us. I hope that in the future we might answer the call in the same way. For now I hope that these necklaces are a blessing to those who wear them as they have been for me. Creating these necklaces and building this garden is helping us heal. We simply couldn't do these things without the love and support we are receiving.

Thank you.