And watched a lot of this...
And drank a lot of these...
Yep, I went to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico with some of my favorite girlfriends. This was trip #2 with my friend Lilly and I was so glad she was there, as she was the only one who spoke fluent Spanish.
THE GOODS: we went snorkeling, played on the beach, had the BEST massages of our lives, laid out by the pool, held iguanas, ate lots of yummy food, drank even yummier drinks, and just enjoyed the down time.
THE BADS: Let's just say I'm a walking liability! I was motion sick for the majority of the trip thanks to the crazy cab drivers and the winding roads. Had a shell inbed itself into my foot the first day and Lilly performed emergency surgery to dig it out. Got stung by a jellyfish on our snorkeling trip. Lilly had an allergic reaction to some shrimp and had bumps all over her. Oh, and Jennifer and I managed to fry ourselves to the point that we resembled the local lobster. And to save the best for last...after returning from Mexico, all of these lovely bites started showing up all over my body that itch like mad. The verdict is still out on exactly what they are...I'm hoping it's not some parasite that has take up shop in my body.***************************
After all of that drama, I was more than happy to get back to my crazy life in Dallas. Last Thursday I got to have a lovely biopsy of my cervix, due to some nasty little squamos cells that showed up on some recent tests. Very interesting procedure that I got to watch. Nothing better than having your insides magnified 30x and shown on a TV. Don't worry...I won't be posting any pictures from this little episode. :)
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This past weekend was spent with my sister-in-law and some of the ladies from her church at the Women of Faith conference here in Dallas. Honestly, I went into it exhausted. I hadn't had a day off to recover since my trip from Mexico and was questioning why I ever agreed to go. But God knew I needed to be there and needed the fellowship with other ladies who were seeking Him. The main theme of the weekend, or at least what seemed to keep glaring at me, was the idea of trust. In order to have a real relationship with God, we have to not only love him, but trust him.
This has been something I've always struggled with. I believe God loves me. I know He is good. But how can a good God allow such horrible things to happen to those that He loves. My question for so long has been: how can I trust someone who has allowed so much hurt in my own life? The answer is simple. Because He is God. He knows what is best for me. He is the one who works all things to the good of those who love Him. He never promised that our lives would be easy, without pain, without struggle. He simply says that if we trust in Him, He will sustain us, He will never leave us, He will love us. And that's enough for me. In hindsight, I can clearly see how he was allowing these hardships to strengthen me and build me up. I've spend a lot of uncomfortable hours/days/years over His refining fires. He's still molding me and teaching me what it looks like to love him and trust him.
I bought a few books at the conference this weekend and can't wait to dig in - especially one by Luci Swindoll titled "Doing Life Differently". She is one of those women that amazes me. She's 77 and not once in her life did she desire to get married or have children. She bucked the trend! She simply decided to dream big and do everything she wanted. Her book is all about living in the present and making the most of every second we have. She made a comment this weekend that has been lurking in the back of my mind ever since and will not go away: we need to stop WANTING and start BEING. The more I pine over the past or long for the future, the more of my present I allow to pass me by. So, I'm taking her challenge to start doing life differently.
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