30 days of gratefulness *** Day 12

I am not normally an ice cream kind of girl, but oh my stars, this is fantastic! It has been ingeniously created without sugar, dairy or anything bad for you...and the taste is out of this world. After one bite, I unconsciously slipped my arms around the container, to keep it, to hide it. I have been sneaking bitefulls over the course of 5 days, allowing myself to truly savor every nugget of this pint of pure heaven.

I am grateful for being serenaded. I love to listen to my husband play the guitar while there is a fire roaring in the backround.

I am grateful for MOPS...what a great ministry, I am so honored to be apart of it. I had such a poignant moment Wednesday, with a mom from my table last year. I was never able to give her as much of my time as she wanted. I felt like I wasn't equipped to offer the instruction she needed, I recommended other avenues of counseling...all fell flat. Our walks were similar; her areas of weakness resonated with mine. When we would reach the point in our conversations where I felt like I had listened and processed and may have been able to offer some advice, I would lose her interest. I felt frustrated and impotent and spent a lot of time in prayer for her... I ended the year confused why God would have put her at my table, when I was sure I had not helped, encouraged or offered much in the way of friendship. This past Wednesday, she found me - from across the room I could tell something was different. She walked purposely toward me and embraced me in a hug so big and so filled with emotion, my eyes teared up without knowing why. She shared her journey from the end of the last MOPS year to now. Her life had changed drastically. She wanted me to know my part in it, I inwardly cringed cognizant of how I had let her down. I had let her down. But, God didn't. I gave my testimony during the March MOPS last year. I didn't want to. But, I knew I was supposed to and I chose to be faithful to the urging that God gave me. I have been blessed so much from that experience. But, I was unprepared for how she shared that God used my testimony in her heart. She bought the cd and listened over and over and over during the summer. She listened until she heard what God was saying to her and then she received the same hope that God offered me. She said that I couldn't know how dear I was to her, how much my boldness changed her life, how close she felt like we were now....sisters. She felt transformed this summer and took steps of faith to seek out the counseling help she needed to implement practical changes. When I saw her Wednesday, she had two successfull, beautiful weeks under her belt. I am still processing this situation, chewing over my unending gratitude to God for using me for His glory. I will not forget this lesson; I knew I had something to offer her, I knew so intimately the struggle she faced, but I couldn't get her to hear me. That was never my job. Oh Lord, I am so grateful for your grace and that you give us opportunities each day, each moment, to bear light for You.