**Update**

I have decided that I am officially THE WORST blogger EVER. Yeah. I totally cant keep up with the days that are flying by! So much has happened in the last few months. Here, let me tell...

1.) Prince and I have moved out of his parents house and are about 40 minutes away.
2.) We have a PUPPY! (Not exactly a puppy, she is ten months old and bigger than a horse...)
3.) I am teaching art at a learning center in town (Wooohooo!)
4.) My brother is getting married! What? Did I just say that? Yes. Here comes a winter dream wedding!
5.) Prince and I recently celebrated our 2nd anniversary. When did that happen?! Not sure where those two years went...I feel old.

So...I'm sure there are other things that have happened that I am not remembering at the moment. But, yeah....there is the quick update.

As always, I plan to be writing more in the days and weeks to come. I cant afford to promise you anything however. My summer is going to be crazy!

Love you all and pray that you keep your eyes fixed on Christ.

Blessings,
R

Knowing Him More In Loss

Wow. You never really know what you have until the Lord has decided to take it away. It is hard, but it is so good of Him to take the things that we idolize away from us.

 It is hard.

 It's is painful. 

It is raw.

It is a blessing in disguise.

May we ever praise Him for what He gives and for what He takes away.

Beloved, do not lose heart. Take courage, for the Lord is with you wherever you go. He is with you in the depth of sorrow. He stands in the midst of the storm holding you. He knows your pain. He knows your Loss. He sees your tears. Don't turn from Him, for He cares dearly for you.

In the loss of possession, health, or loved one, He knows it all. He has walked through the fire before you and you have nothing to fear.

So often I ask to know God's heart, but I am less than ready to bear the weight of this request. I have asked to know Him. I have pleaded that I might gain a glimps into the heart of my God and He has been gracious enough to grant this request. I can sympathize with the love of the Father as He bore the loss of His son. 

I feel it every day. I can feel the piece in my heart that has been ripped away with loss, but over that is a tender merciful patch of Christ's healing love. Though the wound is painful, the sting seems to point me ever more to the One who writes my story. It speaks to my weakness and my flesh. It whispers in the darkness telling me that the Lord is the one who holds me. It shows me that I need to hold tightly the One Thing that will never change and not to the things that shift like the sands of the sea. Even in the bitterness  of pain, I can see the blessings of the Lord disguised in sorrow.

Look for the blessings in your loss. If you choose to only see loss, what have you gained for your soul? Have you suffered well? 

Lord I pray that as your people we would suffer well and recognize that in loss we have even greater gain...the promise and hope of salvation.

With love,

Rachel