Counting Blessings

Life has been kind of crazy for the past....... month or two months.... As you can see from the picture above. My family went on vacation the last of July and was gone for just over two weeks. All six of us drove up to the Portland area to visit with family there. It was probably the last time that us kids will have see Grandma Close. We knew that at the time but this became a reality when she went into hospice two days after we left. Here is a picture of us with Grandma Close our last day:

It really was a great family vacation. I loved every minute of it. It was so nice just to be with the fam and relax. We were also able to see family in the Minnesota and Iowa areas, as well as, making the trip all the more fun. We went through like 11 states during the trip. Here are some of my favorite photos of the trip:

I can find something Russian just about everywhere I go. And I did several times on vacation. This was at an outlet mall:)

But yes, vacation was a blessing just because I was able to see how many blessings I HAVE in my life. My immediate family for one. My dad, mom, sister, and two brothers are my best friends. Spending those couple weeks with them was a blast and such a learning experience because they all teach me something everyday.

Another one I recognized on vacation was what a blessing it is to have family (aunts, uncles, cousins, grandmas, grandpas....) that believe in God. It is always amazing to me to hear about what God is doing in their lives. I have quite a few cousins who have gotten married in the past couple years and I am SO thrilled that they also married believers!! So so so exciting!!

There were many other blessings that I discovered like reading, just looking at Gods wonderful creations, time off from work, a job to go back to, the internet:), cameras, and factory outlet malls. I had such a wonderful time that I really didn't want to think about the blessings of going back home to life and classes starting a few days after getting home. But obviously I had to get over that:)

I actually had a rough time once getting home and starting school because I started not feeling well. I had severe headaches, muscle soreness, sore throat, and a cough that developed. I was exhausted and had to take naps to get through the day, then couldn't sleep at night or had nightmares. By the end of two weeks my symptoms had grown worse and I developed even more, including a deep cough. Two weeks after being in school, I finally broke down (literally) on my way home from work. I walked in the house hungry, bawling, with a fever, and so incredibly sick. My parents almost to me to the emergency room but decided to wait to bring me to my doctor the next day. Even thinking of that night makes me feel sick. I literally thought that I was going to die that night. My throat was so swollen it felt like it would close and then I wouldn't be able to breathe.

I have never felt fear so close to me and so real. I felt like I was going to sufficate from the darkeness closing in on me. My fear became almost overwhelming... Until a voice said "So what if you die?"

Silence. "Where will you go if you die? Do you know?"

Well yes, I will go to heaven.

"So what does it matter if you die? Heaven is.... heaven. You will be with your Father God. The best possible place you could ever be. Your troubles will be over. You will be in the arms of your Savior."

And incredible wave of peace washed over me. I didn't have anything to fear. Sickness. Disease. Even death. The fear that holds so many people (if not the world) in its clutches, Father God conquered long ago.

The end of the story with my sickness is that the doctors think it was Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever (if I wouldn't have had a fever of 102 I would have laughed when they said the name). I'm pretty sure thats not what I had. In fact, I know its not. So it is a HUGE blessing that I got better because what they gave me probably wouldn't have done the trick. And a few weeks later I finally feel normal. Well, as normal as I get:)

Count your blessings. Not literally (well you can if you really want to), but notice and thank God for those things that you take for granted. Like your health, family, house, Starbucks, and your cell phone. And if you don't know where you will go when you die... or don't have that kind of peace... talk to God about it or me. Not like I'm God or anything but I would love to talk with you.

Praise God from whom all blessings flow...