Check out this song on YouTube: Reckless Love Song by Cory Asbury
Social media is a mask that only reveals a portion of reality. Be careful not to make assumptions against people using only the information shared with the public. I would also caution you against basing your self-worth, successes and failure on someone's edited highlight reel.
Featured Scripture:
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Romans 5:3-5
Here's a new video from last night. A written transcript is offered below the video.
Love you friends!
Jen
Hello Friends!
We made it through the day. It was a good day, but it was a day.
It started off well. It was an emotional day. I cried a lot. We had someone over to the house for the first time and Joy barked a lot. When she barked like that it triggered some seizures. They lasted about 20-25 minutes. People asked if there's medication, but the doctors can only treat the symptoms. They can't do anything more than that. I know he is hurting. After all this time, it still hurts to see him going through this. It's hard to watch someone give everything they have and still struggle. He gives everything he has every day. He is an inspiration. I am blessed. I have a wonderful life. I have a home of peace, joy, and love, two incredible boys, a church that I love, family and friends I love. My Josh.
I love my husband, my miracle.
You may be getting tired of hearing me say it, but years ago, we didn't know where all this would land. I didn't know if he could walk or talk. If he fell at the wrong place at the wrong time and was seriously injured. I didn't know how long I would have my husband. I didn't know if he would be around to help raise the boys. It was scary. Most of you went through this with us, and you know exactly what it was like.
So, I am blessed, even on the hard days. I am blessed and I would live this moment everyday with him by my side. He's never stopped giving his best even in his hardest days. He's not through the woods yet. There's still a way to go but I do believe we will get there. We're going to do this. He will receive that complete healing. Until that day comes, we will keep believing and hoping and just endure. We will endure those sucky days.
You can't build endurance without a trial. There's a Bible verse that talks about how endurance, character and perseverance is all connected. My husband, my miracle has really great character.
After our visitor left, Josh was able to rest, and things calmed down. Things didn't go away, but it got better. He was able to do the video with Pastor Mike. He was looking forward to making the video, there wasn't anything that would keep him from doing this. And he did a great job. Pastor Mike and Josh really complement each other. It's great to have a pastor who really gets invested in people. He doesn't just do it for us, but he does it with all our groups, children's, teen's women's, men's, evangelism group, Sunday School, praise and worship team. He is always there pushing us to be our best, but he does it with kindness and truth and a heart full of love.
Josh had such a good time and he was so good at it. This is a part of his recovery to find his place. He stepped out to make his footprint in this world and He did it. When he got home, he was cooling off and resting. When I went to check on him, he had a blank look on his face. When he has seizures, when he comes out of them, he has a deer in the headlights look on his face. His muscles are weaker, and he responds a little slower. So, I could tell he had some activity while he was cooling off.
All this got me thinking, if people only knew us by the videos we post (Praise and Worship on Sundays, or the silly videos we post in the kitchen, or the videos Josh makes with the pastor) you would never know what we live through. The video was posted just an hour before the seizure happened. If you just look at our lifestyle by the outside lenses portrayed on our social media accounts, you would never understand the struggles we still face.
I tell you, it's not been easy, and I've been struggling a lot. But we can't give up. Because the only time we will fully be defeated is when we quit trying. As long as you keep trying to live your best life despite what is happening, there will always be hope for a better day. There is always a hope for recovery. That's what we are doing now. We are recovering from the seizure.
If you saw us from the other side of the camera, things are good. But the reality in our home is changed from the reality form social media. Social media is a mask. You can't judge someone's lifestyle by looking at their videos. Well, except for ours. I'm an open book and you see everything. But I want our life to be real and raw.
Maybe your situation is not like ours, but maybe your reality changes. Maybe you're fighting depression and anxiety at home. Maybe you're experiencing domestic abuse at home and you're not ready to talk about. Maybe your struggle is with loneliness. We all have our battles. To you my friend I would say, don't give up. I wish we could all tap into our "inner Josh" and never give up. Everyday just do your best. Everyday your best will look different. Your best on a good day might not look the same as your best on a hard day. But your best is always enough. It's all there is to offer. What else can you give? No matter the results, it's admirable to give your best.
Sometimes I need to take my own advice.
The friends that I have that see things from the other side of the mirror I would say, be careful. The things you see are not always the full picture. I'm telling myself, have I made assumptions about people? I would hope not. I try really hard not to.
Life is hard. But- our troubles come, and our troubles go. Instead of focusing on the hard stuff, we are going to focus on the good stuff. We're not going to give up. The good stuff is right around the corner. We are keep going, keep reaching for it, keep fighting for it. Someday we will reach it. Someday things will be better.
I don't want you to think I do these videos for pity, or to spread sadness, but I do them because they're real. I want you to see real raw things people go through. If this is happening to me- it could happen to anyone. We just don't know because people are uncomfortable with sharing.
But- it is late, and I am tired and starting to ramble. I'm going to wrap up. I love you friends. I'll see you later.
Jen