focus
Well, I’d normally say it’s unfortunate that I’m already starting out the new year behind, but I’m trying to figure out exactly who told me this HAD to be done on New Year’s Day…so, here I am on the 3rd day of the New Year (my favorite number btw) and refusing to feel bad about it. My first attempt this year to show myself some grace. ;)
We’ve been struck with one sickness after another since before Thanksgiving, and while we missed some of our favorite traditions with some of our favorite people, God was merciful not to let us get terribly bad with our sickness with Covid, strep, and a really bad random cold. He also provided us with some of the greatest friends and family…some who brought comfort with food, and others with texts, calls, or prayers. The downtime ended up being a gift in itself, even though we missed making some of those fun, traditional memories. It also gave us a lot of time to be mindful of the season, as well as some great reflection of the past year.
I decided to journal while I was actually waiting on my baby girl in the hospital to have some testing done, not really knowing where to start. I prayed for Avery and for God to calm my mind, and I decided to just start writing. Before I knew it, I was consumed with so much peace and gratitude over the last year, seeing God’s fingerprints all over that chapter of our lives. While we anticipated being IN our new home by Avery’s 16th birthday(this past October), that plan clearly wasn’t the Lord’s.
We have prayed and desired God’s will over our own will and our home, but our flesh has most definitely had a solid lesson on patience. Some days we pass and some days we don’t. But when I was journaling, my eyes were open to all the provision and goodness God worked out. The blessing of selling our home the way we did to 2 of the most wonderful people, who we prayed for in advance, asking God to place the best “neighbors” in our home for our wonderful neighbors at the time. Proof He cares about the details. ;)
Also, the blessing of providing not just any home for us to live in while we build, but a familiar home full of wonderful memories with our McCain side of the family. This is most definitely a great gift that’s not been lost on me or my family. Reflecting on the milestones we’ve experienced here were honestly humbling and just made it that much sweeter. Grandma and Grandpa’s house has definitely softened the anxiousness and wrapped our family up in so much love & comfort in the waiting.
“Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever!”
Steven turned the big 4-0, Avery turned 16 and got her license, and Ross will become a teenager in 4 more days! It overwhelms me when I finally stop and take note of the fact that God provided us this special place to experience all of these huge moments…and that’s just to name a few.
If you’re in a season of waiting as we’ve been, I encourage you to hold steady and look for God’s fingerprints in your life. He’s always there blessing us in ways we can overlook if we’re not focused and searching. Another thing, this video was probably my favorite thing all year. It would’ve been easy to miss all the goodness God provided with the overwhelming distractions of division, anger, and fear in the world this past year, or in the frustrations and delays of not seeing the future as clear as we wanted to and still want to sometimes, but this is the stuff that’s worth having my attention. These are the things I have to remember to keep my focus on…all of His goodness, all of His promises and His kind provision that is so much more than I deserve!
As someone once said, “Life is like a camera. Just focus on what’s important, capture the good times, develop from the negatives, and if things don’t turn out take another shot.”
