"Inch by Inch, life's a cinch. Yard by Yard, life's hard" ~ John Blytheway

A few weeks ago I ran across this quote and it stuck with me. It is so true! We cannot attain a goal over night. Things take time and it all depends on how hard we work and how focused we are to determine how quickly we achieve the goal OR if we even achieve it all.

As I have mentioned before God Is #1. I wish I could say it was always easy to say He is #1. I wish it was easy to say that He takes care of all my needs, that He is in control. Relinquishing control isn't always as easy as it seems. Especially for us Type A individuals. Thankfully I have a hubby who is learning to hold me accountable in my faith!

John 14:6 says "I am the way the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except thru me."

What that tells me is if I don't turn to Jesus, then how will I connect with God?

Exodus 3:14 says " I AM WHO I AM"

God and Jesus are who they are. They will NEVER change.

1 John 4:4 says "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world."

This reminds me that because God is in me, I can overcome anything.

Faith is messy!

There is a devotional in my Everyday Bible for Women Bible that I turn to a lot called "Untidy, Mysterious Faith". I can connect with this so much because life is hard, having faith in what God is doing is not easy to do. Yet when life IS messy God will clear the path but only if you let Him. He designs everything for a reason, or allows everything to happen for a reason and we are to be thankful thru it all. Paul talks in Romans 11:33-34, 36 about how we are to celebrate everything that happens the good AND the bad - always glorify God. You will also find this in the James 1:2 "when trouble comes your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy". This is NOT an easy task. The older I get the more anxiety I battle with. Satan knows this and he uses it to get to me... I am extremely blessed to have beautiful friends who pray for me, love me and even mentor me when the storms hit. My pastor once said that we are to "chew" on God's Word, so I surround myself with scripture to remind myself whose child I am.

The first week of April, life thru our family a curveball. God never said being His child would be easy. We should expect the world to try to shake our foundation. Why is it always so unexpected?! Why does it happen when it seems like life is finally getting easy! Initially, I cried, and cried and cried! After I got the news I drove home sobbing (I know I should not sob & drive) and I said "Ok God! What do you have in store for us?? I know you didn't close this door for no reason, show me what's next". I am so grateful I had the afternoon off to cry, talk to my husband, cry some more, pray, read my Bible then really cry some more. My Jesus Calling Devotion was right on the nose and the scriptures I read in Proverbs hit it on the head too. It's funny how God leads us to what we need to hear from Him. He is my provider, He will sustain me, He will carry me... all the promises I needed to hear. We are getting thru these changes because of our faith. We are trusting, praising, worshiping and being thankful for all the good that is and will come from this change for our family! One step at a time we are making our way... like the quote above - "Inch by Inch, life's a cinch. Yard by Yard, Life's hard." Always making change.

Some things I am thankful for:

My Family - My husband, my girls, son and extended family members! All the love, support & prayers they give!

My Friends - for standing with me in prayer. For always loving me, even when I screw up. For listening.

My Job, My Business and all New Opportunities.

For the Freedom and Balance that is to come.

What do you do when life gets messy? Do you run? Do you hide? Do you call on family & friends? Do you all on God - the One & Only? Is He your Center holding you together?

Do you have friends that not only love you but hold you accountable? If you don't have these special friends, join a small group at a church. Connect with others developing their faith.