In All Things

Hey sister talk family, Sorry I've been MIA, life is happening and I've been trying to catch up 😅

Just recently the Ortega sisters all had the chance to be together in Florida while my sister's came to love on their dying grandfather from their mother's side 😔. It was a hard trip as I navigated mourning with those who mourn while also trying to help lift up my hurting family. Just imagine how hard it was for them.

The trip reminded me of the journey grief and pain takes us on. Shoot, I am still on the journey of grief from losing my third child through miscarriage in December, so I wasn't even sure how stable I'd be to be there for them but Gods grace 🙌🏼

Ok let me get to the point, in this season I have been learning why it's important to be thankful in All Things. I think one of the hardest things to do in times of despair is find a reason to be grateful for the good things we have. It's almost as if we fall into a ditch and a dark cloud hovers over us, raining and pouring on us and no matter where we go, the ditch gets deeper and the cloud follows. What's worse is that it affects everything and if someone gets too close they can find themselves under that dark cloud too.

How do we get out of that? How do you not drown when as soon as you wake up the rain is already a downpour over you? Why does this place of pain feel so lonely? Where is God? Why doesn't anyone else understand? Will I ever come out of this? These are the questions screaming at us with no response. How frustrating!!

But still, regardless of how deep we get there are reminders constantly trying to helps us be thankful for what we do have - God, family, a home, clothes, food, provision, health, the blue sky, think of whatever makes your heart smile, yeah that.

So how could we use those reminders to pull us out of that dark ditch we fall in? Well firstly, we need to be aware that ingratitude has the ability to harden our hearts and make us bitter and cold. It's so powerful and can single handedly destroy our lives, our relationships and even separate us from God.

But we can fight back, in moments of despair we have to look up, look around and find those things that we can thank God for, even if we don't feel like it, practice it and watch the power of gratitude. In the Bible, the apostle Paul (former murderer turned minister for Jesus) was in prison and constantly being persecuted. He said be thankful in ALL THINGS. This dude had been locked up, bitten by a poisonous snake, ship wrenched, abandoned and still had the supernatural ability to say thanks to God for all those things? Yup! See, Paul understood that even in the hard things, God is working together for good and even in the hard times God gave us breathe of life (which means we have purpose) and God gives us knowledge that regardless what happens, He loves us and never leaves us.

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance” James 1:2-3

See your maker is working ALL THING for your good, so in times of despair don't hide, share your struggles, look around and thank God for all that is going well, knowing that although you can not see it you can still believe and trust Him for the rest.