Moments with MarLo

Sometime shortly before Christmas a local jeweler put up a new billboard. It wasn't the diamonds that caught my eye, it was the message, "Because she's a gift, not a given." Now that's something I need to apply! No, not as an excuse to purchase extravagant gifts; rather to remind me how precious each family member and friend is to me. To help me keep perspective when I'm grumbling over daily tasks. And to grow in deep appreciation for the gracious gifts given to me. Will you join me today in appreciating our very special gifts, our family and our friends. They certainly are not a given!

I have never had an issue with hanging my thoughts out for others to read. That is until recently. My family has experienced significant change over the past several months  causing me to take a fresh look at me. Truth is I have been afraid to write out my feelings, until now. When January 2009 approached I made the decision to focus on trust rather than some alternative New Year's resolution. Turns out it was the very thing I needed. I leaned into a deeper understanding of what it means to have hope. Opting to cling to knowledge instead of feelings. To grasp expectations with open arms knowing God was fully in control despite my lame attempts to steer my own course. I found I don't really like control as much as I thought I did. Life sure is simpler when the Creator of the Universe is given the reigns. I'm still discovering how not to be a backseat driver, to take directions rather than give them. I found out I'm a much calmer me when I do. A few months shy of 2010

I never knew I was blind considering I could see. Guilt, stolen innocence, and abandonment defined me. No one knew I held secrets. Very few saw what I did and no one, not even my husband, knew the real me. “We’re starting a bible study if you’re interested.” Interested? Me? Not in the least. I was raised in the church. Raised and rejected. I was done with God! I feared He knew my secrets. I believed He was watching and waiting to get me. Clearly this was not for me. I still don’t know why I went. I’m sure it was to stay in the inviter’s good graces. The grace, however, was for me. Love, they exuded it, I wanted it! Never had I desired something more. How could I get it? I wasn’t worth it. And yet I was. One simple prayer of repentance and acceptance of Christ transformed my life. The prayer seeped from my heart and out my lips; the weight of my past fell away. I was transformed but I held one old friend, bitterness . I learned the only way to get rid of it is to give it to