Wonders of His Love

I’m really excited to share our Christmas card with all of you today. We took some pretty great family photos this Christmas! I was pretty picky when it came to the design and I searched a few different websites before deciding to create our card on Minted.com.

Why so picky?
I’m glad you asked! 2018’s Christmas card is more than just a few pictures on card stock. We never dreamed that 2018 would be as difficult as it was for us individually and as a family. This card is a celebration of how far we have come as a family this year. My physical and emotional health, our marriage, and in parenthood. I wanted every part of it to reflect that, and I was able to choose the most perfect phrase that encompassed everything I feel right now.

Wonders of His Love.

Those four words are sang a lot this time of year, usually out of tradition. But I have never actually stopped to think about what I was singing until now. Don’t get me wrong, I have thought about it, but today, as I reflect on the past year and all the different experiences and lessons it came with, those four words hold so much more meaning. This past year felt like one raging storm after another (and to be honest, we are still in the midst of some of those storms). From hospitalization and having to regain strength to walk again (without assistance), to navigating marriage and parenthood when I felt so broken and alone. There were so many moments during this past year where I could not see the light through the thick of the storm. I had no choice but the trust in God’s wondrous love for me and my family. I had to trust that God had a bigger plan for our family that went beyond my present circumstance, no matter how bad it felt. I had no choice but to lay it all down because I knew that He was and is working in and through me.

I remember early on in the year when my back injury was still fresh and I could barely get out of bed, I could not care for myself and worst of all I could not care for my son - not even to pick him up if he were crying. I recall so many nights waiting until the lights were out, the house was silent and dark and I would begin to cry. I would cry out to God begging and bartering for healing - “please God, heal me and let me just be a mom again”.
Even through all that pain and tears there was a peace and thankfulness that passed my understanding. I knew that God was in fact working in and through me - I just had to trust Him. I felt so strongly that although I was not seeing an instant miracle of healing, God and his wondrous love was showing up every single day in all different ways.

Being off work meant not earning a (full) income, and after awhile my short-term disability ran out and I was no longer contributing anything financially. At the same time my husband had just started his own business, which we anticipated would not bring in a lot of money in the first year(s), we just didn’t anticipate me not be able to work. There were months where I didn’t know how we were going to pay all our bills, buy diapers and survive off one small income. Somehow, each month, there was always enough. It wasn’t a coincidence, because each month I would pray over our finances - the little that we had. I had to trust that God knew the needs of my family and that He had not forgotten about us.

The Wonders of His Love.

I am healed/healing, because of His love.
We somehow never missed a bill payment, because of His love.
Our marriage weathered the storm, because of His love.
I was/am able to feel peace during pain, because of His love.

Friends, today I ask you to stop and think about the wonder of His love in your life. In joy and in sorrow, in chaos and in the simplicity of our day to day lives, God is showing up and showing us his love - and for that I am thankful.

I’d love to hear how the wonders of God’s love is showing up in your life.