Reflections of God's Calling

We often wonder what is our purpose...what are we doing with our time here...

I knew several years ago that truly God had a calling on my life that I would have never had guessed.  I knew that I was meant to care for the ones who were suffering...I was meant to play a part in easing that suffering and to prayerfully  shine the light of His grace and glory even through pain and hopelessness.   There have been times that I have questioned...why me...why would you chose me Lord...I am so flawed and so prideful at times.   Why would you chose this flawed women to play any part in the story of families who are aching and hurting and longing for purpose in a story that so strongly reflects dire pain and agony?  This is where faith comes in...faith in a purpose so much bigger than me...so much more than anything I could ask or imagine.  I have humbly walked alongside parents who have watched their precious babies be welcomed into the arms of a Savior in heaven.  They have cradled and cried...they have embraced gratitude in the face of the release from suffering.  This is grace...this is love...this is faith...this is a love beyond all understanding.   

I often stand in the early morning hours and stare at my girls.  I stare at them sleeping and think how blessed am I?  What did I do?  The reality is I didn't do anything.  I was blessed.  There are many times that I have stood in that sacred space with a family that is releasing their child into the arms of our savior and wondered...what makes them different?  Why them...why not me?  There isn't an answer.   This is where belief in God's divine plan comes into play.  He knows...He knows what I cannot even begin to wrap my head around.  So in this reflection of a calling I say thank you....thank you for allowing me to occupy the space.   Thank you for trusting me...thank you for trusting Him.  You...your sweet precious angel...your family...your story has impacted me more than I could ever express.  So a simple thank you is all I have.  

#blessedandthankful #calling #morethanaprofession #hpm

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Gifts

Who doesn't love gifts...I think most people are surprised to learn that my love language is actually not gifts.  Now I am not going to lie, I don't mind a good gift...especially ones that come in pretty little blue boxes with white ribbon...oh wait that's not the point of this post so let me not digress.  My love language is actually words of affirmation and time.  In this season of my life I have learned to get those cups filled with time spent in the word and letting my sweet Lord speak words of affirmation to me through that precious word.  I have been on a journey of finding a quiet place in my heart where I know my worth lies with Him and no where else.  There is such freedom in that.  I know that no matter how good the things I do in this world are, how great the accomplishments, I will never find a place with more solidified love then on that cross where the price was paid and the sin was washed away.  There is no better love language than that. 
But my Father knows me...He knows that I need people in my life that will take the time and make the investment to fill those as well.  He has given me some amazing women (and men...I won't leave my sweet Dennie out) who have blessed me personally and professionally...and many times a combination of the two.  In a season where I was trying to figure what it was God was calling me to next when my soul needed rest I was reminded of how well He loves me by placing me right where I need to be and who I need to be with.  He gave me Dennie right when I needed him those 22 years ago...He gave me Jena right when I needed her to be the sister I never had...He gave me my sweet Diane over 3 years ago to light a passion in my heart for hospice and more specifically pediatric hospice...then He brought her back to me when that fire needed to be lit again...and most recently He gave me a kindred spirit who knows the struggles of being a coach's wife and professional all in the same breath...someone to laugh with, pray with, drink really good wine with, and share a passion for a healthcare movement that more families and patients need access to.  Diane and Dawn Michele are two of the most dynamic women I have ever met.  They love their families, they love our Lord, and they love this work that we are so blessed to be a part of.  This sacred space that these families allow us to come into is a privilege and a blessing and I am humbled everyday to walk beside these two women and move those mountains through His strength and for His glory. 

These two women know my heart...they love so well through pruning and encouragement...they spur growth and maturity and I.am.so.thankful for them.  When I was questioning what I could bring to the table and feeling very defeated they wouldn't hear it.  They knew there was a passion and where there is passion there is a mission led  to a place without borders.  They are not overbearing...they don't micromanage...they chose athletes and stand back and watch them do what they know they are capable of doing with guidance when needed.  There is trust and respect...there is constructive feedback...there is truth spoken everyday without fear and there is love.  Not many people get to be so lucky to work with someone that they relate to on many different levels professionally and personally and I am forever grateful to a Father who knows what I need right when I need it.  

I am so thankful that I now know what it was the Lord was pulling my heart towards and that I was obedient and patient.  (I am not very good at those two things and it wasn't fun...but the payoff was ten fold.)

Diane has been my mentor from the moment I heard her story and passion surrounding hospice and palliative care.  I knew that she embodied what I wanted to be professionally.  She is driven...and not by the gain for herself...she is driven by what she can accomplish for others.  She loves like Jesus...she wants to see her "babies" succeed and she loves you through the pruning to make that happen.  She is the shoulder to cry on...the shove in the back you need...and the best teacher of lipstick application I.HAVE.EVER.SEEN!  I love her like she were my momma and I am so blessed to have her in my life.  God is so good!

Dawn Michele was the best surprise of them all.  I knew she was dynamic...I knew she was driven and smart...and I knew professionally I would learn so much from her.  What I didn't know...but HE knew was that on a personal level we would have so much in common.  We both love men who love football, we both love our girls passionately, we both love what we are blessed to do everyday fiercely, and we love our Lord with all of our heart and how much He loves us through all of our flaws.  Oh and we LOVE a good glass...okay bottle...of wine.  It has been so fun to learn who she is...where her heart is...and I am so thankful that my sweet Father loves me enough to know how much she would enrich my life.  I have never doubted how much He loves me...maybe thought a time or a thousand whether or not I deserved that love...but when I look at these precious people in my life there is no doubt that my sweet Father knows His girl and He loves me with a passion that has no comparison. 

Thank you Father for loving me...for knowing me...and for ALWAYS providing exactly what I need when I need it.  You are a good good Father!  May all the glory be yours and yours alone!


Philippians 4:19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.


#mypeoplelovesowell #myGodalwaysprovidesabudantlymore #lovewhatyoudo