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Today we are celebrating another beautiful month with our little guy. It has been over ninety days since Blade was diagnosed with "Lymphoma" and had "about a month to live."
I have said it once and I will say it again with a loving tone, "Sorry doc, but you don't know my Savior, He is a Healer."
So, here we are three months later and we are all full of joy!
Not only has this entire experience been a training adventure, it has also put into light how much I had my priorities in the wrong order. I noticed my focus was more on training for the MS150 rather than God. I found that my inner complaining was coming forth and most importantly, I was not talking to God the way He deserves.
My priorities needed to be put in check because
God Was Not First.
When my feet hit the floor in early January, God was not the first thing I thought about. In fact, it was more of a sigh and "God, do I have to go to work?" Around hour two or three, after a hot cup of tea, I would finally have a pleasant conversation with my Heavenly Father.
This was NOT good.
Thankfully my Pastor offered the congregation a prayer challenge in the most opportune, time. He asked us to recite Psalm 143:8 every morning and it says,
"Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, For in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You."
Within a week my life had already shifted. My complaining had subsided and if I forgot to say the scripture, the Holy Spirit said, "Seriously Carolyn, we're going to start off with complaining?"
And there I was, repenting and reminding myself God WILL be the FIRST thing I think about in the morning.
Another issue that become apparent was
My Family Was Not Second.
Daniel and I (mostly me) spread ourselves so thin. I say 'yes' to everything. Though I believe this to be a good thing, I realized finding time with just my husband was very rare. Being in the second year of our marriage, is NOT good.
So, I went back to my trusty Psalm 143:8 and reminded myself of part "b" of the verse,
...Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You."
If the Holy Spirit can change my morning habit of complaining to praising, He definitely can change my walk!
Guess what, if you ask, you shall receive.
The Houston weather began to clear up and Daniel and I began taking romantic walks throughout the city. Though we thoroughly enjoy cycling, we decided to walk instead. Whether it was Memorial Park, Hermann Park or just to get coffee at Retrospect, we walked together, hand in hand along with our little shadow, Blade.
We began scoping out as many dog friendly places around town and let Blade tag along. He was a brand new dog, enjoying new sights and sounds. Blade's energy level sky rocketed.
In fact, one Saturday morning we woke up, packed a bag and drove out to Austin. We had lunch in La Grange, and took him to Zilker Park. To my surprise, Blade took a liking to the game of frisbee!
Not only was this good for Blade, it was such a blessing for our marriage.
Sadly, I did not realize how busy I let myself become but thank God for giving me the opportunity to reprioritize and learn how to celebrate life!
Countless lessons and blessings have come over the last ninety days and my heart is enterally grateful for the mercy and grace my Heavenly Father has for me.
We are still believing and praying for the manifestation of healing over Blade and we will not stop praying.
Thank you all for your continued prayers for Blade. Thank you all for bringing him treats and loving on him as if he were your own, you have no idea what this does to my heart and I can only imagine what it does to his!
Hugs,
Carolyn & Blade
