Lil Smith
April 21, 2015
0

2014-7Butterflies on Blue Daisies6

‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and do not lean on your own understanding.’

 Proverbs 3:5

I was thinking today about the many blessings I have been given in my life and God blessed me with a new insight.  Many of my blessings have come to me through living with Multiple Sclerosis over the last 37 years. I may not be able to walk tomorrow.  I may not be able to see tomorrow.  Tomorrow, my brain my not function like it does today.  This is the reality I have lived with for 37 years.

I decided early on to live a life full of gratitude for what I have been given instead of living a life in fear of tomorrow; to live a life in the sun instead of the shadows.

The MS episodes have brought me and my wonderful husband closer together.  He has always been there to hold me when I needed extra strength and when I was scared.  This melded us together as a couple until we have truly become one, as God intended.  What a blessing.

Another wonderful blessing I have been given because of MS is photography.  I call it “seeing with the eyes of God.”  Most of my MS attacks have affected my ability to see.  For example, I might wake up one morning and not be able to see out of one of my eyes.  An attack may have lasted only a few months, but I wouldn’t know that until my vision returned.  Photography has been a contemplative prayer way for God and me to communicate.  What a blessing.

I am so glad I choose to live in the sun!

(c) Bonnie Oden 2015

About The Author:

My simple life… is not simple at all. Yet it is so simple when I let God lead me. I have been married to Greg for 27 years and we have three wonderful children. My simple life is not simple at all. Yet it is so simple when I let God take control. I followed God’s call to begin seminary at Perkins School of Theology in January 2006. I graduated in May 2011. My life is not simple at all. Yet it is so simple when I listen for God’s call. I began the Degree in the Art of Spiritual Direction at San Francisco Theological Seminary in January 2009. I graduated in May 2011. My life is not simple at all. Yet it is so simple when I listen for God's call. I was ordained in the Presbyterian Church USA and spent three amazing years in Pastoral Ministry at Highland Springs Senior Living in Dallas, TX. My life is not simple at all. Yet it is so simple when I listen for God's call. My passion is the Christian Spiritual Life. As a spiritual director and retreat leader, I am so blessed to hear how God is at work in the world. How is God at work in your life?

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