What Are You Thankful For?

Surprise! I actually got around to making a blog today! I wanted to write a thankfulness blog since we are really close to Thanksgiving and I'm in the holiday spirit; here lately, it has been cold and the writing process has been very unsuccessful. I wanted this post to be well done and thought out. Perfection. Yet, nothing sparked any inspiration. Today, I had a thought: maybe I'm going about this thankfulness post the wrong way. What I wrote is in no way planned; it's just straight from the heart. Prayer works. Thank you Lord. 

I am so thankful for His love. My salvation. As I'm going along through life, I am learning just how great He is. I am aware that I also don't understand a whole lot. I don't understand why our lives go the way they go, or why sometimes we make wrong turns. I don't understand why God loves me so. I'm just a sinner. Saved by grace. Grace. One of the things I'm most thankful for. I am thankful that because of grace I can think of my past, but I don't have to carry what sometimes feels like the weight of the world on my shoulders. Do I get down and upset over things? Oh yes. Feelings come and go. His love never changes. I don't understand it all, but I love Him for how He's worked in my life and continues to work in my life. I've learned sometimes we don't understand. It's all about faith and trust with Jesus; I am thankful to be forgiven and completely sealed until the day of redemption. My struggles and missteps have worked to show just how great He is. Oh what a friend I have in Him. 

Throughout this journey, I've dealt with some major curve balls thrown at me. The devil has used just about anything he can to get me away from doing what God has called me to do. The blog is one thing I NEVER expected, but it has been such a blessing by giving me another opportunity to serve God and by giving me a purpose. The biggest evidence I have of Him working in my life is "Molly's Zone". I had reached a very low point in my life about two years ago, and I had just about lost everything I thought was important at the time. My life seemed to be over. Looking back, I see where the Lord was using that time to get through to me; He had and still has a great plan for me. I had prayed and prayed. I told Him I would do whatever He wanted me to do. I was broken. I was blessed months later with a second chance to live my life for Him through this blog; sometimes He uses our broken states to get our attention. Second chances are the greatest. No matter what happens, if you have trusted in Him for salvation He will stand by you through the good, bad, and ugly. His loyalty amazes me. I am thankful for the forgiveness that we have access to every day. 

I am thankful for my mom and my family. I am thankful for my church and all of the new friends I've made in my Sunday school class. I am thankful for my new home. I love being here. I love fixing it up. I love the peace it brings. February 20th will make a year that Mom and I have lived here. I can't believe it! 

I am thankful for the lessons I have learned through every turn in my life. I regret a lot, but I think that can be said about everyone. I don't think that I would be the person I am today without learning those lessons. I don't sit here and try to be the perfect Christian. I'm just thankful that each day makes me better than the day before. 

I have so much more thankfulness goodness I could write about, but I just wanted to put out this blog because I DO have things I am very thankful for, and I feel as though I couldn't go on a holiday break without sharing what I'm most thankful for. My only hope is that I would continue to get closer to Christ. I considered not doing a blog this week, but I decided that planning it out is why I was having so much trouble working. I am just posting my train of thought today. I love the Lord and I'm glad He loves me. He has done so much for Mom and I through the years. I can look back and see so many blessings. My biggest challenge is learning how to defeat feelings, and days that I don't feel so joyous. I am doing great today. Prayer always works.  I hope you all have a great holiday. I plan on stuffing my face full of turkey, dressing and all the fixings as usual! Love you guys! 

What to Do When A Loved One Is Diagnosed With Lupus (Original Version)

Autoimmune diseases are no picnic. I have watched someone I dearly love go through so much because of the nightmarish discoid lupus. Skin lupus. A disease that has reared its ugly head more than once and changed my mother’s world completely. When I first started college, my mother’s skin began to turn beet red; itchiness began to be an issue, and mysterious lung ailments that dangerously lowered her oxygen level began to make themselves known. The doctors could provide no answers other than psoriasis. The lungs always looked perfect on x rays. However, it was much later that we realized something more serious was upon us. The summer of 2014 was particularly terrifying for my mother; her health had been declining and on her body these round and yellowish white dotted lesions began to appear; itching became unbearable;  the beet red skin had morphed into blotchy, purple skin with the texture of leather. The only highlight of that year was my college graduation. Seeing my mother suffer broke my heart. A dermatologist trip and a biopsy later, she was formally diagnosed with lupus. As someone who knew of two family members who had passed away due to complications of the very same illness, I went to pieces because I automatically associated lupus with death. I cannot imagine what was circling through her mind. I cannot imagine living a completely normal life, and then one day having it turned upside down. Life with cerebral palsy, being “different”, and having to adapt to everything around me is the only life I’ve ever known. Our struggles don’t even come close in comparison. What I would say to a loved one of someone who deals with an autoimmune disease is to not make it about you. Don’t say you understand it. Don’t tell them to “snap out of it”. Don’t complain when you have to be the nurturer. I don’t know what it’s like to have lupus. I don’t understand. My mother doesn’t understand my battles completely, but she loves me and supports me 100%. I do just the same for her; we are a team. Our mother daughter bond is forever. Thanks to medications such as, Plaquenil twice a day, Doxepin at night to help the itching, along with the occasional use of steroid cream, her lupus has gone into a sort of remission. She lost a great deal of her energy, and slowly regained it back; apart from having to try to avoid direct sunlight as much as she can, she’s pretty much returned to being the woman I have always admired most. Just pray for your loved one and help them any way you can. I have applied sunscreen to my mother’s hands and arms as she was driving before. Don’t call them lazy. Mom has great days and bad days; That’s just the way it is. The most important thing is a support system. My biggest heartbreak comes from not being able to protect her from the enemy the sun is to her. My mother has defended and protected me a countless number of times; I want so badly to be able to return the favor. I look at the relationship we have and I see two people who both need and love each other immensely. I love my Mom, She is my most treasured blessing. I hope she knows she’ll always have someone to lean on in me.