Right now I am working in a kitchen in Costa Rica, and yesterday a new guy got hired to be the dish washer.  Today he had to work from 6 am to 10 pm, and the entire time he scrubbed dishes and washed floors.  By the end of the day he was drenched in sweat and looked completely exhausted.  When the chef was around I told the dish washer that he was doing an amazing job, trying get the chef to acknowledge his hard work as well. Sadly the chef didn’t take the bait, and instead launched into a story about how many dishes he has scrubbed and how this dish boy has it easy compared to what he had to do.

I call this the ‘been there, done that’ syndrome.  When we go through challenging or even devastating circumstances, there are two ways to incorporate that into our lives. The first is to look down on others and say, ‘well I got through it so suck it up.’  The second is to allow the pain or frustration that took place to shape us into more compassionate people.

I can’t even begin to express my gratitude for people who helped me through my dating drama in junior high, through math class in high school, and through the death of my best friend when I was 20.  If these people had ignored me in my time of need because they had ‘figured it out and therefore I should too,’ I would have struggled alone.

So ladies, let’s not look down on other peoples’ troubles or hardship with pride that we got through it ourselves.  It is my hope that our circumstances shape us into women of compassion, empathy, and action.

Love from the jungle,

Michelle

I am barely keeping afloat through all of the busyness in life.

With all of my tasks and expectations at work, in my personal life and the always consuming thought “what does tomorrow look like?” It is like trying to drive a car while sitting in the passenger seat - it doesn’t work!

Busyness is a term thrown around that makes up some sort of excuse to not find a moment to sit and ask God what His plans are for my life. I let my thoughts of the future flood my mind hourly as if I have all of the answers. Picture this you and Jesus sitting down for a coffee and He is telling you what is next and you keep cutting Him off to offer your two sense. Are you more superior than Jesus?

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A couple days ago, my husband Jay tore up a picture.  And he did it out of love for me… let me explain.

We were in town at an internet cafe, and Jay had loads of work to do online.  I had just come down with bronchitis, and after a short time in the internet cafe I started feeling quite sick.  He was my ride home, and I asked him if we could leave early despite knowing he had important things to take care of for a few hours.  He had a moment of hesitation and looked frustrated for a couple minutes, but agreed to leave his work behind so I could rest.  And that was that, he did not complain about it for the rest of the day.

My very wise mother-in-law once said something to me that has stuck with me ever since: tear up the picture or tear up the person. We often get an image in our head of how we want something done, how we want something to look, or how we want something to go.  We have an ideal situation painted in our minds in most situations, and are disappointed when our plans do not fall in to place as expected.  In those times we must learn to tear up our ideal picture and paint a new one instead of hurting those we love out of frustration.  Jay chose that day to tear up his picture of an ideal afternoon getting work accomplished online in order to keep the picture of our relationship intact.

Do you ever tear down people when your ideal situation is compromised?  Are you good at painting new pictures when plans fail?  How do you do this?  Hopefully we can all get into a habit of practicing this more!

Michelle

Hi girls,

The other day I was brushing my teeth and a thought occurred to me: I should start praying for people whenever they happen to be in one of my dreams.  I have so many random dreams and I have discovered it is kind of fun to wake up in the morning, write down the names of the people that showed up, and pray for them.  I have already been able to email a few to ask for specific prayer requests.

If you struggle with being diligent in prayer as much as I do, maybe this would something different to try.  I do believe that sometimes God speaks to us through dreams, thought most dreams are probably just brain junk. Either way, prayer is a good thing, and any reminder I can get to pray more is beneficial!

Dream away girls!

Michelle

“Those who have traveled in the dark night have both very daring and, at the same time, very practical advice to give to new journeyers.  ’Stay in the darkness and emptiness.  Do not flee from the nothingness or try to fill up that hollow place with your own attempts to create new finite pillars on which to build your life…’ In the darkness, all reliance on our human efforts to bring salvation is shattered.  The old self dies. Into emptiness God brings new life. -Sandra Cronk

Through times of hardship, whether it be a break-up, losing someone I loved, being sick in foreign countries, or experiencing disappointment in school or work, I have learned that when  I am stripped to the core,  God reminds me that He is God.  Have you ever felt this way? Are you feeling this way right now?

Allow God to touch the deep parts of your heart and fill you.  Only He can bring healing and life into darkness and emptiness.

Michelle