Reflecting...

Someone gave us some hand me down Thomas the Train shoes for d a while back. They were way too big since he was only a size 2 when he came home. It will be a year August 23rd from the day he became ours and he is now wearing a size 8! (Had no idea feet could grow 6 sizes in 12 months!!) He can finally fit in his Thomas shoes. 

I remember looking at him struggle through it all at the beginning. I remember longing for the day that I could see him do healthy toddler things, like wiggle away from me during diaper changes, eager to explore, or show me something he's discovered, or fall in love with a super hero. 

The last couple months it is evident that he is shedding his fear and embracing his home. He is flourishing today. I showed him his Thomas shoes the other day. His reaction was exactly what I've been longing for. Fearless, confident, eager and responsive. His eyes grew 10 sizes when he saw those shoes. He gasped and screamed "DAAAAHHHDDDDIIIIISSSS!!"

RUNNING to me, he jumped high in the air and plopped his butt down on the floor! He threw his feet at me as if to say "LAY UM ON ME MOMMA!" 

Then....... He noticed that with every step, his shoes flashed red..... 

Staring at his feet, he beamed as he RAN and JUMPED and CHOOOO CHOOOOOOOed with his hands straight up in the air and SPUN and LAUGHED and fell over from giggles of joy. He hugged Seesee and Yaya (Selah and Olivia) and then me. Over and over and over again. Bliss. 

There is redemption in loss. There is hope in suffering. There is joy in mourning. Thomas the Train light up shoes would not have made this boy "choo choo" and hug "Seesee and Yaya" 6 months ago. But long days and nights of holding my son, meeting his needs thousands upon thousands of times, reassuring him that he is safe, loved, forever.... got him here. His history was horrific, but oh sweet relief came to my son when we listened and said yes. 

 There is GREAT GAIN in sowing our efforts into something other than ourselves. There is great gain in listening to the Spirit of God. In my experience, it's painful to give up what I think I need for the sake of my kids. But man oh man, look at the fruit .... we are beginning to see a confident, talented, hilarious, adventurous little boy who is starting to see past (I would even say, forget) his fears and trauma and find joy in things little boys should find joy in, like super awesome, light up Thomas shoes.

"For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life." (Galatians 6:8)

JOY! In my Creator!

JOY IN MY CREATOR

This is just a really cool picture of a Ylang Ylang plant which is awesome for balancing hormones. Did you know God made this for humans? He is so good to us.  

Ive been thinking. So we all have pineal glands.... Pineal glands are in our brain. 

Believe it or not, God made you with a pineal gland and it regulates how you feel everyday. It is the maker of the hormone melatonin and depending on how much sleep you get depends on how well this hormone is functioning. This tiny organ regulates your daily and seasonal circadian rhythms (basically the sleep and wake patters that determine your hormone levels, stress levels and physical performance!) So when your pineal gland deactivates, you are more prone to feelings of stress, sadness, anger, anxiousness etc that ALREADY dwell in our depraved, needy, little, human bodies. As a mom, this is devastating on my days trying to speak lovingly at every moment. Im already struggling with my selfishness, but now, due to motherhood, I’ve got a deactivated pineal gland a lot of times! Craziness.

But you know what?! Jesus is stronger than the oceans and far capable of moving mountains and even more capable of opening your pineal gland and changing your ugly attitude!! What’s also AWESOME is that he has given us things already here on this earth to that LITERALLY open the pineal gland. The sun, sleeping in complete darkness, healthy gut flora from fermented foods (aka probiotics) and ESSENTIAL OILS. All of these things have the capability to ACTIVATE your pineal glad. God made this so! God made all of these things to do just that in our bodies! It all brings us back to an incredible, loving creator from WHOM I find my most JOY!

Only 1% of plants (that’s crazy) produce an essential oil…. And the ones that do, do this…. stimulate the immune system, aid in cell growth, help eliminate toxins, kill bacteria and viruses, balance hormones and more.  Even cooler is that these (1% of) essential oils have a perfect combination of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen which are THE SAME COMPOUNDS THE HUMAN BODY IS MADE UP OF, and some oils can penetrate through the blood/brain barrier!!! (that’s freaking cool and clearly intentional) 

The body is like “HEY!!! I KNOW YOU!!! Come on in!” Then what we see happening is these things literally working to heal, improve function and balance, OPEN PINEAL GLANDS and a million other things! You guys, this is not hippy, new agey stuff!! (although some people distort Gods gifts!) Its not against biblical truth or causing me to run to oils for relief from hard days that ONLY Jesus can heal, this is simply a means to which I cry out ABBA FATHER, THANK YOU!! The sun, darkness, probiotics and essential oils were all created by a good loving Father who knew EXACTALY what our physical bodies needed to thrive! 

This picture is from a study done that took 14 people and had them think of things that made them have a specific emotion for an amount of time.Then they took pictures to show what your physical body looks like under the pressure of your emotions. Just an interesting picture and I thought it was fitting here. Thank God, this is not all a surprise to Him, since he made us this way and always gives us what we need in Him and through Him.