Grateful for...

COLORS.

I have a dear friend who shared her heart on her blog the other night.  Real and true.
Knowing a bit of her back story and some of the pain she's been up against over the past months breaks my heart and warrants many prayers on her & her family's behalf.  I won't share her details, or even who she is, out of respect for their privacy.  Just know that she is one in a million!  And she most definitely can use your prayers, if you've got any to spare.  Thanks!

Anyhow, back to her heartfelt post.  Throughout all of the adversity she's facing, she's still able to identify & offer her gratitude for the power of a loving Heavenly Father in her life.  He's central to it all.  Even the trials = blessings in the long run, and I love that she can see that aspect as well.  She taught me something with her post as she closed it by saying that God "is most certainly full of awesomeness."

Her simple declaration did something to me.  I suddenly felt aware of all the baby hairs on the back of my neck; the way it feels each time the Holy Spirit impress upon my heart matters of truth.  I couldn't hold back, with my heart being so full & open.  All I could do was share.  So the following comment is the testimony revealed to me by the Holy Ghost.  It is true.  In every aspect.

"He’s full of awesomeness…. and don’t you just find that He’s spilling over in colorfulness too? You know, different temperatures of colors in our lives? The cool shades of blue that tug at our heart, and sometimes feel a bit lonely, so much so that they start to seem more of a vintage gray? Though they feel like a curse, in fact they are a blessing. Without the blues & grays, we’d not be able to comprehend the value & depth that super rich, enveloping-ly warm, rusty shades of weathered love truly feel like in our lives. And when the red overtakes the blue, it is oh so liberating! Then there’s the crispy, zesty greens of envy every now & then. Splashes of green over what used to feel perfect… or what just feels slightly out of reach, for some reason or another? Occasionally the green hue of irritation comes along, and my- doesn’t it sometimes just feel consuming? Those greens definitely keep us on our toes. Shifting the balance from them blues & greens to the over-the-top, ferris wheel-worthy yellows of happiness that we long for is sometimes a tricky task indeed. But when we step back and look at the canvas of our lives, every stroke of each color, no matter it’s contrast against another, or blending with it’s neighbor is beautiful.  It’s beautiful because we created it with the Master. His controlled hand is what brings it all together."  

This is not meant as a means to toot my own horn.  No.  After re-reading it, when her response came in my in-box, I fell even more in love with what better understanding I gained in that moment.  So much so, that I wanted to share here as well.  That all of you, my dear friends, may have the opportunity to know, without a doubt, that Heavenly Father's hand is in all things.  Opposition is a necessity to this mortal experience.  Without the dark, we'd not understand or appreciate the value of the light.  It is with great purpose that we are dosed our trials.  Much is to be learned on our parts, and great thanksgiving for this Heavenly education should be offered from our lips. 

May your weekend be blessed with COLORS of your own; custom-blended just for your needs.  ::hugs::

(Google Images)

"Every life has peaks and shadows and times when it seems that the birds don't sing and bells don't ring. Yet in spite of discouragement and adversity, those who are happiest seem to have a way of learning from difficult times, becoming stronger, wiser, and happier as a result."

~Elder Joseph. B. Wirthlin ("Come What May and Love It," Ensign, November 2008.)