Victory in Jesus

            Stress-wise, the last month or so has been rough.  I was working more than normal and I only had about two days to myself during the last month.  Every other day was spent at work, at church, or out shopping; not that I consider the latter two items to be strenuous, but as an introvert, I still need “me” time alone at home.  When I don’t have enough time to recoup and revive my energy, I don’t feel like doing much of anything, including writing.  I was having a particularly bad day at work yesterday, but all the burdens and anxiety were instantly wiped away the moment I walked into church last night. 

As I walked into the sanctuary, my eyes immediately found my dear friend Lauren, and sitting in her lap was her daughter Victoria.  If you have not seen my other posts about Tori, you can find them here: Prayer and Encouraging Updates.  I knew that she was due to come home that day, but I was not sure on the time or if she would be able to come to church, but there she was, the sweet, little miracle girl!  She still has to be on oxygen and a feeding tube at night, but she was walking and laughing, and even singing with her dad.  This little girl who was on an ECMO machine for too long and the doctors didn’t think she would make it was sitting with her family at church again!  There truly was victory for Victoria!  The trials of my day were dissolved and forgotten when I got to see this living, breathing miracle in front of me.  It was encouraging for those of us from my church who did not get a chance to visit her in the hospital to finally get to see her after nearly four months.

Photo from Pray for Tori and Sam Facebook page

 

This post was practically writing itself every time Tori turned around and smiled, and I’m glad to finally have inspiration and another day to myself again.  I said in my last post that I had hoped to get back on a normal work schedule last week, but I still felt strained.  Now, things are getting back to the normal level of stress and routine that I have grown accustomed to, so I’m hoping to get back on track with weekly blog posts.  I know not everyone can find such a victorious answer to prayer in their lives, especially not on a regular basis.  Sometimes we have to look to the little things, the whispers of encouragement that God provides through nature, a kind word, or a Bible verse.  I’m speaking to myself when I say that it is much better when we look for the positives in life instead of allowing the negatives to drag us down, and by the end of the day, we can feel much more inspired and motivated if we just shift our focus.