Here's my heart. Take and Seal it.

This was in my sister’s devotional book for tonight. So good

Even if suffering is caused by the wrongdoing of others, so was our Lord’s. Even if there is no explanation, we accept and worship and humbly acknowledge that a sovereign, loving God does not have to answer all of our questions or give a reason for all that He does or allows into our lives.

Someone once said, “Christ didn’t come to take away all the pain and suffering, not did He come to explain it, but he came so that He might go through it with us.”

Triumphant suffering is a wonderful fertilizer for a beautiful character. Some of the most beautiful Christians I know have suffered much.

If for some reason God has appointed you special trials, special burdens, special weights, rest assured that in His heart, He has also reserved a very special place for you.

Often the weight we carry is the anchor for our lives. It anchors us to the Lord Jesus. It keeps us dependent on Him and His strength.

-Gigi Graham Tchividjian

So I finished reading Padre Pio: Man of Hope last night. One of the last chapters was about the miracles that happened after he died.

Backstory: my mom has been having cancer-related health problems for a year. We got the news that she is cancer free, but she’s having some awful side-effects from meds she was on. Even though she’s “healthy,” she can’t do anything. She can’t drive. She can’t grocery shop. She can’t cook. She plays bejeweled a lot and watches Rachael Ray. She’s in constant pain. She has had this pain for months now. I did a novena to St. Jude a few weeks ago about this and some other things and everything actually got worse. Gee thanks…

So I started a novena to Padre Pio. I begged that my mom could be healed. I said that in the course of this nine days, if her life can go back to normal, I will pray a rosary every day for a year.

I woke up and asked my mom how she was doing. Not good. But now, at almost 1:00, she’s talking about how good things are and how she wants to put on shoes and ride on the motorcycle. She has good days every so often, but then the next day is awful. I’m hoping this “good day” is followed by so many good days that it is normal. Please Padre Pio…Please Jesus. Gaaah.

Reality is a lovely place. I wouldn’t want to live there.

I re-opened by etsy shop

There’s only 3 items, but eventually I will add more when I have the money to buy materials to make stuff to sell.