bible verse – Hand Me Downs

You stand and wait, glancing around the room. Maybe you tap your foot just a bit and shuffle your weight from leg to leg. You hear a bell chime and you watch as the doors slide open with a swish. Without hesitation you step on and select your floor. The doors swoosh shut and you feel the pull through your body as you’re lifted up through the elevator shaft. Stepping onto the elevator is kind of an example of how faith works. You can’t see the cables that hold the metal box of death, but you know they are there and you trust them.

Hebrews tells us that faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. You know the elevator is going to take you to the floor you select without crashing to the ground even though you can’t see the cables and pulleys. But what happens when you’ve gotten on the elevator and it’s crashed. What do you do when your faith has been shaken. When you struggle to ‘see’ past what your eyes see?

Over the last four years I have had to fight hard for my faith. Sometimes harder than I ever expected. There have been times that my vision has been so trained on what I’m seeing in the natural that it can be challenging to refocus my sight on what’s happening in the supernatural. In other words, it’s hard to trust what I can’t see and trust in Gods plan, when things around me look and feels terrible. Does this make me, or you if this is your struggle too, a bad Christian? No, it makes us human. God knew that we would have times where we would struggle to keep our eyes on Him and off the circumstances around us.

This exact situation happened in Matthew chapter 14. The disciples were in a boat in the middle of a lake and they were struggling against the wind. The boat was rolling about on the waves and when they looked out across the water they saw Jesus walking ON the water toward the boat! Initially they were scared and still not reassured when Jesus told them it was him. Peter called out to Jesus, “If it is you, call me to you” and Jesus did. Peter stepped off the boat out among the waves and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.

He was doing great at first, step after step, he got closer and closer to Jesus. Then, he glanced around at the storm swirling around him. He saw the waves crashing beside and behind him, he felt the wind rushing against his cheeks and he started to sink. His faith floundered and he began to sink. He thrust his hand up and cried out to Jesus “save me”! Jesus took him by the hand and together they made their way to the boat and climbed in.

So what do we do when all we can see with our eyes are the waves? When we can’t hear Jesus through the roar of the wind, when our bodies are being pummeled by the storm? We have to choose to look back at Him, reach out our hand and call on His name. And sometimes that’s hard! It can be SOOO hard! When I look at the things around me reminding me that we are four plus years into the journey to grow our family and we still do not have our child into our arms, I can feel myself sinking deeper and deeper into the water. I feel the sting of the salt water in my eyes and feel the burn of it in my throat. My body feels heavy with the weight of the stormy waters around me.

2 Corinthians 5:7 says that we should walk by faith, not by sight. I, or maybe even you too, have to look past the physical, the damaged elevator, the wind and the waves, and trust what can’t be seen. I have to make the same choice Peter made; reach up, cry out and get rescued. And I have to do it time and time again when I start to sink. Im making my choice, to walk by faith and not by sight, because let’s be honest, what I can physically see can be enough to cause me to start to sink.

Tonight my eyes see an empty crib and clothes with tags still on. But my faith sees a bed that’s ready for the child God has for us, clothes that are soft and comfy prepped and ready to keep that child warm. My eyes see a still rocking chair with no one to cuddle in it. But my faith sees a place where stories will be read and lullabies sang in the glow of a nightlight. My eyes the unanswered prayers of a big brother and a big sister. But My faith sees the love that has grown in their hearts for this little sibling that they have prayed diligently for over the last four years.

What are you going to choose? Are you going to get back on the elevator? Step out onto the water? What are you going view your surroundings with; your eyes or your faith?

It’s Thanksgiving, the one day of the year that we are specifically challenged to show our appreciation for the blessings in our lives. While I’m sure that we are all thankful throughout the year, this holiday is an excellent reminder to celebrate and promote thankfulness. All month long I’ve seen people posting about what they’re thankful for; their families, their jobs, their friends, their children, their satisfaction. Each person taking time to recount the blessings in their lives and saying “thank you” for them. My children have brought home hand made projects that express their gratitude for their mommy, daddy, sibling, suckers and even water.

Reading through everything through this month got me thinking; almost everything that everyone is thankful for are things they like. It’s easy to be thankful for those things; suckers are delicious, how can we not be thankful for them?! But, what about the things we don’t like? What about the things that happen throughout the year that aren’t delicious, aren’t so fun, aren’t so wonderful. What about the things that happen that may make you feel frustrated, or disappointed, or even angry? The events that occur that may leave you shaking your head and throwing your hands up in mock surrender; “I just can’t do it anymore, I give up”?

Why do we have to be thankful for those things? 1 Thessalonians 5:8 says; “In everything give thanks”. IN everything, it doesn’t say you have to be thankful FOR everything. I mean, if you stub your toe you don’t have to do a happy dance and shout, why thank you stupid couch! It friggin’ hurts! But, this verse challenges us to be thankful IN everything, in every moment of our lives, whatever season we happen to be in, the good and the bad, in the happy and sad places; give thanks.

How are we supposed to do that? It’s really easy to be thankful when we’re happy, when things are pleasant, when things are easy. But when things aren’t, it can be difficult to be appreciative. Just like it can be hard to see the sun through the clouds, you’ve still gotta try. Try to find the “silver lining”, if you wanna call it that, try to find the things you CAN be thankful for IN your current situation, or season.

I am not an eternal optimist, it’s hard to be thankful when things are tough, but I know what it’s like to not be thankful. To seek out and focus on all of the bad stuff, to only be concerned with what isn’t and what might not be. It’s a sad, frustrating and lonely place. When your focus is solely on those things, it can be hard to see the positive and to find anything to be thankful for. It’s hard, I get it, but here’s the deal: “if you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself” (Techumise).

I’m not always thankful for Gabe’s extra chromosome. I don’t like how it makes him have to work even harder to accomplish tasks that other children seem to breeze through. I don’t like seeing him frustrated because he cannot convince his mouth to make the words he wants to say. I don’t like that he lives in a world with others who may overlook his incredibleness because their focus solely on his lack of ability.

But I am thankful for what has come with it. The community that we have been able to become a part of and the friendships that have blossomed because of it! The understanding that milestones don’t need to occur on a time line. The ability to slow down in life and appreciate the accomplishments of each of my children in a new way. I am thankful for that extra chromosome for showing me a whole new side of ability and with it a different way to view to world. It has taught me about unconditional love and how to be an advocate for both of my children.

You don’t have to like the bee sting to appreciate the honey. I can’t guarantee that I will always be thankful in the moments that are hard and that I don’t understand, but I till always try to find the things I can thankful for. If I ever feel like there is nothing around me that I can appreciate then I’ll look into the past and be thankful for where I’ve been and I’ll look to the future and be thankful for where I’m going. I hope you can do the same.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Follow Hand Me Downs via

Facebook or Twitter

Tag: bible verse

Not By Sight

You don’t have like it to be thankful