Blessings

It's Sunday, I love Sunday, but I will be taking the sacrament from my bed today.
I can't stand up and bear my testimony in the sacrament, but I can do it from my bed. I feel like I have so much to be grateful for. The Lord has truly blessed me, and recognizing those blessings is sometimes hard to do in the fast world we all live in. In so many ways, my world has slowed way down and allowed me to reflect on the things in my life that mean the most and recognize so many blessings the Lord has granted to my family. This process and journey that I am going through are refining me, refining my marriage, and hopefully showing my children that he is with you through faith in Heavenly Father, even in trials, complex trials. He will comfort and bless you. 
How nice it would be if we always made the right choices in our lives; if we were kind to others and shared what we have with others like the Savior did, we could be free from hard times or trials in our lives. I remember thinking earlier in my life when I was facing a severe problem, "this is it, this is my lifelong trial," and of course, because this trial was not my fault and was brought on because of the choices of other people, I will be blessed for the rest of my life and not be given any other trials because I have had to endure this BIG one. NOT TRUE.... the Lord loves me so much and wants me to live with him again someday that he is reassuring me with each trial that I grow and learn something from it, so I can teach my family about eternal life and staying close to the spirit, close enough to know when I am being taught and when I need to prepare. 
So as I pray, listen, and learn, I see blessings in my life that have been here all along, but I didn't recognize. My son's journey for the next 2 years,  I initially thought would be a hardship; it has been a blessing. Prayers that I thought should have been answered. I now see the meaning of those answers differently and understand the Lord's hand in them. I wanted to continue to train for a marathon and ignore the doctor's advice to get a hysterectomy; I now see that as a blessing. If I had not gone to the doctor, I would not have found The VILLAIN in my body. The VILLAIN itself is not a blessing, but because I have The VILLAIN, I can be more receptive to the spirit; I pray more intently and wait and listen for answers a little longer than I have ever before. I love life and want to live it to the fullest; I want to thank Heavenly Father for every breath I take, and every day I get to spend with the family I will be with forever. Yes, blessings sometimes come in ways we never thought we could handle, but they are what they are...blessings!!

LABELS: Blessing, Cancer, Spiritual, Prayer, Faith, Journaling, The Villain