"Blessing" redefined

I've always been sentimental, but after living through an extremely difficult year facing some very serious health problems with my youngest baby girl, I've begun to savor the moments of the day even more. Moments I'll never have with my children again. They grow up so fast and I find myself just sitting and watching them play, talk, run, giggle, pretend, smile.   I could sit for hours if I'm not careful, just taking it all in, trying to remember every little detail of the moments I have with these precious three gifts that God has given me.  

It was on a day like this that it hit me, and boy did it hit me hard!  The trials of life are actually blessings! That year, that horrific year we faced such uncertainty with my baby girl's future- it was a blessing.  As I sit here writing this post, tears streaming down my face, I can actually say it was a blessing and mean it whole-heartedly.  I never thought the day would come when I would be able to say that.  The year that I spent every day on my knees begging, pleading with God to heal my daughter, pleading with God to help the doctors figure out what was wrong, pleading with Him to make things "normal". . . .you see, all of that was a blessing!  For it was in that year that God drew us to Him closer than ever, He made His presence known to us in ways we would have never have imagined, He taught us lessons we will never forget, He gave us a new perspective on life that has forever changed us for the better.   He showed us what the faith the size of a tiny little mustard seed can do.  He showed us how He can move mountains.  He showed us how the "impossible" can be made "possible".

It made us realize that blessings and trials are often inseparable.  It is in the hardships that we are being handcrafted by our Maker into something more beautiful than we ever thought possible.  It is in these difficult times that we are forced to take account of the little joys that we find in everyday life.  It makes us stop and appreciate the beauty of the mundane, the normal we are longing for.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has faced a trial in my life.  Perhaps you are sitting here, reading this blog, struggling to find just one blessing in your life.   Perhaps you're looking at it the wrong way. 
What does a blessing look like anyway?  Can blessings be found in hardship?  Perhaps it's time you re-define "blessing" and take a second look.  Maybe if you look hard enough you will see that beauty reveals itself in the strangest of places.

The passion that developed in my heart to savor the fleeting moments of life has transferred into a longing to help other people discover, savor, and forever capture those same precious moments that they share with their own loved ones.

Here are a few pictures of my baby girl--the one that God used to help "redefine" the meaning of "blessings" in my life.   .