Week 2: From Whom All Blessings Flow
Wednesday:
When my vision is fogged with self-pity and sorrow, may the blessings You offer shine through. Bonhoeffer once wrote, "Blessing means laying one's hand on something and saying, 'Despite everything you belong to God.'" Lord, my sorrow belongs to You. May it be a blessing. I thank You for giving me friendships that have endured years. I thank you for friends who lovingly remind me of who I am and what I am called to do. Thank You for a family that continues to point me back to Your heart. A family of faith, love, hope, and humor. Thank You for giving me an opportunity of higher education and a platform to positively change the lives of others. Thank You for creating a home in Manhattan, KS - a place I grudgingly resided in 4 years ago. Thank You for placing me in the lives of four 8th graders - to mold and nurture their faith in You. Thank You for placing me into a place of surrender and sorrow. May my growth in this place glorify You. My friends, my family, my education, my job, my sorrow - it all belongs to You. Thank You for abundantly blessing Your created.
When my vision is fogged with self-pity and sorrow, may the blessings You offer shine through. Bonhoeffer once wrote, "Blessing means laying one's hand on something and saying, 'Despite everything you belong to God.'" Lord, my sorrow belongs to You. May it be a blessing. I thank You for giving me friendships that have endured years. I thank you for friends who lovingly remind me of who I am and what I am called to do. Thank You for a family that continues to point me back to Your heart. A family of faith, love, hope, and humor. Thank You for giving me an opportunity of higher education and a platform to positively change the lives of others. Thank You for creating a home in Manhattan, KS - a place I grudgingly resided in 4 years ago. Thank You for placing me in the lives of four 8th graders - to mold and nurture their faith in You. Thank You for placing me into a place of surrender and sorrow. May my growth in this place glorify You. My friends, my family, my education, my job, my sorrow - it all belongs to You. Thank You for abundantly blessing Your created.
Thursday:
Lord, thank You for providing me a community of believers. I am surrounded by faithful people in my home, at school, at work, and in my friendships. Thank You for Maria and her introspective spirit. Thank You for her friendship - it has been a rock in times of sorrow and joy. Thank You for friends who drive down 10 hours to visit for a weekend. Thank You for Jake’s sense of humor and his conversing skills. You have provided the Bender sisters a “brother.” Thank You for giving me 4 friends at the young age of 16 who will be there with me in the retirement home. Thank You for the strength, encouragement, love, and empowerment they have and continue to offer. Thank You for roommates who look out for me and support me in every aspect of life. You have abundantly blessed me with loving hearts to love. They all belong to You - they are all blessings. When I step out of my place of despair and resentment, my eyes are open to the numerous people You have lovingly placed in my life. Keep my eyes fixed on the people I am able to love, rather than the people I’m not. May the blessings of these friendships continue to glorify You throughout the years. Amen.
Lord, thank You for providing me a community of believers. I am surrounded by faithful people in my home, at school, at work, and in my friendships. Thank You for Maria and her introspective spirit. Thank You for her friendship - it has been a rock in times of sorrow and joy. Thank You for friends who drive down 10 hours to visit for a weekend. Thank You for Jake’s sense of humor and his conversing skills. You have provided the Bender sisters a “brother.” Thank You for giving me 4 friends at the young age of 16 who will be there with me in the retirement home. Thank You for the strength, encouragement, love, and empowerment they have and continue to offer. Thank You for roommates who look out for me and support me in every aspect of life. You have abundantly blessed me with loving hearts to love. They all belong to You - they are all blessings. When I step out of my place of despair and resentment, my eyes are open to the numerous people You have lovingly placed in my life. Keep my eyes fixed on the people I am able to love, rather than the people I’m not. May the blessings of these friendships continue to glorify You throughout the years. Amen.
Friday:
Lord, thank You for heart to hearts over a cup of coffee on a Friday morning. Thank You for placing compassion in Emily's heart, for her wisdom, and anchored faith. Thank You for placing a friend in my life who tears up over my hurt. I am loved well by Emily. Thank You for laughter in the classroom and professors who understand my "sense of humor." Thank You for giving me a good day in the fog of bad ones. Thank You for sisters and friends who take time out of their Friday night to help me with 4th-6th graders. Their heart of service is a gift. You have blessed me today by opening my eyes to the love and joy that surrounds me. All good is of Your heart and Your will.
Saturday:
Today I struggled with focusing on the blessings around me. My mind wandered to places it shouldn't go, to questions it cannot answer, to situations that have not happened. You surrounded me with so many people who truly and deeply care for me today. Thank You. When my heart is stubborn and blind to the blessings around me, crack it open. Lord, I give my heart to You. Create it in Your image, no matter the amount of pain or sorrow it takes. Thank You for today. A day in which all friends, from different times of my life, came together. You have generously blessed me with encouraging and loving friendships throughout my 23 years. I am completely confident that our friendship belongs to You. May I also live in confidence that the pain and emptiness I feel belongs to you. Cover Your child in blessings. Wake Your child to freely live in those blessings.
Sunday:
Thank You for surrounding me with people who love me from afar. From Texas, Minnesota, Kansas City, Topeka, or Manhattan. Friends took time out of their weekend to be together. Thank You for their commitment to friendship. Their loving hearts belong to you - they continue to bless me. My roommates have been the biggest blessing this year. Thank You for putting us together in the same house during an exhausting transition in our young adult lives. Thank You for providing brief moments of peace and normalcy today. I pray those moments continue to grow in duration.
Monday:
Thank You for providing me parents who pray over me and remind of Your guidance. Thank You for an easy day. You have given me so many gifts in this lifetime. You have given me an education, a heart of love, friends who care. Thank You for opening my eyes to these blessings today. Lord, may I continue seeing the world in this perspective. I pray that You may grant me this perspective on lost blessings. May I look back on my sorrows and losses - and fully believe they belonged to You. May they bless my future.
Tuesday:
Thank You for providing me people to help. This morning I had my 4 year old client. Thank You for providing me the ability to help him and his family. May my passion to help others continue. In the past week, I have found it easier to be still in Your presence. Thank You for seeking my heart. May my spirit continue to stay still and allow You to rule over my past, present, and future. My past belongs to you - I pray for the ability to view my past as a blessing. The unknown belongs to you - I pray for the ability to live in the confidence that my future will be a blessing.
Lord, thank You for heart to hearts over a cup of coffee on a Friday morning. Thank You for placing compassion in Emily's heart, for her wisdom, and anchored faith. Thank You for placing a friend in my life who tears up over my hurt. I am loved well by Emily. Thank You for laughter in the classroom and professors who understand my "sense of humor." Thank You for giving me a good day in the fog of bad ones. Thank You for sisters and friends who take time out of their Friday night to help me with 4th-6th graders. Their heart of service is a gift. You have blessed me today by opening my eyes to the love and joy that surrounds me. All good is of Your heart and Your will.
Saturday:
Today I struggled with focusing on the blessings around me. My mind wandered to places it shouldn't go, to questions it cannot answer, to situations that have not happened. You surrounded me with so many people who truly and deeply care for me today. Thank You. When my heart is stubborn and blind to the blessings around me, crack it open. Lord, I give my heart to You. Create it in Your image, no matter the amount of pain or sorrow it takes. Thank You for today. A day in which all friends, from different times of my life, came together. You have generously blessed me with encouraging and loving friendships throughout my 23 years. I am completely confident that our friendship belongs to You. May I also live in confidence that the pain and emptiness I feel belongs to you. Cover Your child in blessings. Wake Your child to freely live in those blessings.
Sunday:
Thank You for surrounding me with people who love me from afar. From Texas, Minnesota, Kansas City, Topeka, or Manhattan. Friends took time out of their weekend to be together. Thank You for their commitment to friendship. Their loving hearts belong to you - they continue to bless me. My roommates have been the biggest blessing this year. Thank You for putting us together in the same house during an exhausting transition in our young adult lives. Thank You for providing brief moments of peace and normalcy today. I pray those moments continue to grow in duration.
Monday:
Thank You for providing me parents who pray over me and remind of Your guidance. Thank You for an easy day. You have given me so many gifts in this lifetime. You have given me an education, a heart of love, friends who care. Thank You for opening my eyes to these blessings today. Lord, may I continue seeing the world in this perspective. I pray that You may grant me this perspective on lost blessings. May I look back on my sorrows and losses - and fully believe they belonged to You. May they bless my future.
Tuesday:
Thank You for providing me people to help. This morning I had my 4 year old client. Thank You for providing me the ability to help him and his family. May my passion to help others continue. In the past week, I have found it easier to be still in Your presence. Thank You for seeking my heart. May my spirit continue to stay still and allow You to rule over my past, present, and future. My past belongs to you - I pray for the ability to view my past as a blessing. The unknown belongs to you - I pray for the ability to live in the confidence that my future will be a blessing.
//Praise God from whom all blessings flow
Praise Him all creatures here below//
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