Only by God's Grace

Yesterday marked the 5th month. I was able to go to church and be blessed by many friends giving hugs and listening to my oldest play "It is Well With My Soul" for the offertory.  I had a few tears, but I made it through the morning, only by God's grace.

Today is my mothers 83rd birthday. I talked with her this afternoon for awhile. She has experienced the death of a daughter, as my sister, Erin, passed away from melanoma when she was 41 years old. Mama says she pictures Erin and Amy running and singing together. She is older than me by 8 years and so she was like a second mother to me. I picture Erin brushing Amy's hair, teaching her to do some of those crazy 60's dances and both of them laughing together. 

I just read one of my favorite blogs. It ended so perfectly. With a butterfly on a thistle bush.
My life is sure different than Ann's, but I have still have pain as we all do.
These words jumped out at me.

"God only allows pain if He’s allowing something new to be born."
  
"Drink the thankful sweet out of each thistle —
because this is how you fly."

"And it’s right there at the beginning….
and it’s quite something….
how even at the sharpest edge of things –
there are wings."

Read the whole post here:
  How to live through the hard weeks

Picture by Ann Voskamp

And this was my favorite quote of her writing today:

"Christianity is the only hope for this broken world because there’s no other way for the broken to get the Nails they need to rebuild."