March Devotional

  2 Corinthians 4:7 "We now have the shining light in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile jars of clay containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not ourselves.

As believers, we all have God's light shining in our hearts. Even when we are in a fragile state, God is still there. Today is day #148 of God's miraculous healing of my anxiety. I have learned today that I'm still fragile. 148 days seems like a long time, but it's not. It's been 22 weeks, which is a little over 4 months. I tell you this because something very anxiety provoking happened today. As I write this, I'm on day #2 a cruise with my mother. She woke up this morning not feeling well. The right side of her abdomen was cramping to the point it was unbearable and she wanted me to call 911. As it turns out, she had a little too much fun the first day and ate too many rich foods. She had a gastric bypass a few years ago and she is supposed to eat really small portions of foods that aren't very rich, which is a challenge on a cruise! I praise God that is all it was. 

Initially, the Doctor's told me that if they couldn't treat her that we would have to get off the cruise ship in Cozumel and go to a hospital there. They thought she could have a blockage or appendicitis. My anxiety was pretty well under control until they told me that! I had to reach deep in that jar of clay and use the tools I had been taught about anxiety. My mind was reeling, and I started to envision us getting stuck in Cozumel and getting left there. I was terrified I wouldn't have cell service to be able to tell my husband we were stranded there. My tools that I have learned are practicing mindfulness. Live in the here and now. Here's the facts... we weren't in Cozumel; we were still on the ship, and it wasn't confirmed they couldn't treat her. This calmed me down tremendously. When they told us she was okay and no hospital visit required, I wanted to cartwheel down the hall!

What we went through was scary, we were confined to the room while she rested, we missed enjoying the ship for the day at sea.  And yes, there is still light in our clay pots, and that light is from God and not us! After my mom rested in the room and I got her cleaned up, she looked radiant. She ate a small dinner in our room, and she was smiling. That is a treasure in a jar of clay. As I went to get our dinner that night, I put on my floppy vacation hat and a smile. I think I got more compliments on that hat and my smile than I ever have. That, my friends is only from God. Who would have thought a smile could come from a day that was scary, fragile, and broken?? 

There is a Chinese pottery called Kintsugi. This pottery is made from broken pieces of pottery and put together with a beautiful gold glue. The broken pieces of pottery are more beautiful than they were before they were broken. Remember, you may feel broken, but you radiate beauty with God's light shining inside of you. If you don't have a relationship with God and would like to know how to have this inner peace, please click here. This will send an email to me, and I will walk you through how to do this. It will be the best decision you have ever made in your life. I wouldn't have made it through this day without my relationship with God!

Prayer:

Dear God, please help me when I'm having a hard day and I'm broken and fragile. Please let me see the light you have shining in me and give me strength to be put back together again when I feel broken. Amen.