Oh my....

Oh my, oh. my. There has been so much going on and I can't even know where to begin.

But, I guess instead of giving the normal "in a nutshell" or "long story short", I'll just share with you some pieces of my heart.

Nathan is doing much better, thank you for the prayers that spread like a wildfire! Only by the grace of God is he doing as well as he is, nothing is impossible with our Everlasting. It's so amazing how much the Lord taught me from the other side of the country. Here I am worried sick, being a complete control freak and basketcase while Nathan struggles in the hospital. After about a week of that nonstop sick feeling in my stomach I finally got the message. In order for anything good to come out of something bad, we have to let go. Just let go. It doesn't matter if I'm stuck in traffic and now late to my destination, or living 2,000 miles from my best friend and I literally can't do anything to help him but to pray. God can't work in me if I don't let him. That's basically all it comes down to. And he's really beaten the heck out of my control issues, because it's not about down here:)

Philippians 4:7 is one of my favorite verses, "And the peace of God that transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." When God is finally "given" control and we learn to rest in him, there is a peace that no one can understand. Other versions of this verse say "the peace that surpasses all understanding", you can't understand it! You can't hold it, you can't touch it, you can't see it. You can be more spiritual than our friend Billy and not understand someone's peace in Christ. But that peace does not mean that everything is great and I feel no pain, it's that this experience is difficult, but I'm okay with it being difficult, and I'm living in the Will of the Lord.

Transcend: To pass beyond the limits of; To be greater than, as in intensity or power; surpass.

Guard: To protect from harm by or as if by watching over

Peace: a state of stillness, silence, or serenity

"And the state of serenity that passes beyond the limits of your understanding will protect and watch over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." Yes! Sign me up:)

I feel like every time I finish a battle, whether it be in a relationship, at home, at work, something spiritual with a struggle, or with the Lord, something else always comes along. No breather, no intermission. But the Lord disciplines those he loves and I'm trying to take every trial as an outpour of God's love. Not a punishment, but a refinement.

So there's a piece, I hope it made sense. My little sis Megan turned sixteen yesterday, and I'm looking at her now like, "I was just sixteen, and I thought I was so grown up!" Let me tell you, I don't think that anymore, I'll never be "grown up".

Peace in Christ,

~Laramie