I'm back, friends!! Last week I missed our newsletter in a flurry of post-Relay clean up, quarterly cancer screenings, and the exhaustion of it all. 🤪
I'm so thankful for rest and reflection. After every big event in my life, this introvert is tuckered out! I usually crash at the end, sputtering a variety of questions like, “Did it go alright? Was it worth it? Should I ever do that again? Why on earth did I try to ______?” All I can usually see is the overwhelm in my heart and the hot mess on my dining room table. (haha)
Relay for Life was no exception! I chronicled my bouquet bar adventures in Monday's Still Good Co. Monthly- a once-a-month Monday newsletter with SGC updates, news, and resources.
(You can read it here if you missed it!) I won't replay the saga here, but I'll just say:
It's wild, exhausting, and oh so beautiful to have a front seat to all that God is doing in my life. I don't know when I started to really absorb this. Cancer journey? Newlywed life? Recalibrating after a career change? Starting a small business? Who's to say. 😂 But I know now not to give up or give in to the overwhelm I feel after big moments. I know that time, good sleep and good food have a way of gently clearing the fog. And when it does, I feel the Holy Spirit kindly revealing all the ways He was at work in the storm. Signs of His provision, tender care, and greater purpose- some I occasionally glimpse, others I'll never know. Here's one from my latest adventures:
A few weeks before Relay for Life, I lost my floral partner for the bouquet bar. I had not budgeted to buy, sell, organize or display my own flowers- let alone have any clue how to do that! I was worried it wasn't going to come together. After a few stressful days, I just said, “If it's in Your will, God, I trust You'll make it happen.” By closing one door, He opened another! I ended up getting an amazing deal, tender hugs, and a beautiful connection with Kim of
Unifour Floral Wholesale. She is a 17 year metastatic breast cancer thriver, and said she'd been praying for me for a long time. It was an honor to hear her story, connect with a local business I never knew, and witness God's provision at work in the unlikeliest ways. (Cue feelings salad here) 🤯 🥳 🥹 🥰
I don't claim to understand God's greater work in our lives, but I do know that there's value in every small moment He calls me back to Him. The practice of trusting and walking with Him can be a steep road. It can be scary and messy. (Notably, in mud of my own making- doubt, fear, self-focus, etc) And yet, the more I look back and say, “I see what you did there, God!” gives me hope for the future. After a few of these adventures in my scrapbook, I have pages of memories preserved forever. Moments to recall in times of weakness, or when I just need a good hug. 🩷
From big saves to small adjustments, God is with us and working on our behalf in every moment. Isaiah 64:4 says, “For since the world began no one has seen or heard of such a God as ours, who works for those who wait for him!”
I pray your life is a little less wild or exhausting this summer, but no less beautiful! Sometime when your toes are in the sand, your nose is in a good book, or even when you're just sighing in contentment of a lovely moment, look around. I invite you to note the good gifts. See His handiwork in the could-have-been-worse and the can't-believe-that-worked. Give thanks for the constant provision and love of our God above!
