What I Can and Cannot do!

Tonight for Family Home Evening, the lesson was on... Doing verses Becoming. The point was, there are many things that we can do, but not be a better person because of it. We can do charity without being charitable, we can be kind without really loving someone, and you can put up with someone, without really forgiving them, so the lesson focused on more about BECOMING a different and better person. This topic struck home to me because lately I have been so focused on what I CANNOT DO! I have been feeling so sorry for myself and so needless to say, I haven't been a happy camper lately. Now I realize that this is suppose to be a motivational blog and hopefully somehow you have been able to find something good in it, even though I have had quite a few BIGGER THAN ME DAYS lately.

I made a list the other day about things that I cannot do...  ( this was not a good use of my time! )

Problem.... my back and neck....I cannot walk too far, lift my granddaughters without pain, sleep well, and I can't do most normal activities like exercise or bike riding with Jeff and the kids.I cannot sit or stand or walk for very long without a lot of pain.

Problem...my cancer and mastectomy... I now have lymphedema and I can't lift groceries, I can't lift my granddaughters,  I cannot let my left arm get hurt or cut because of greater chance of infection ( no lymph nodes). I cannot wear my prosthetic and bra, because of the pain in my chest from the pneumonia, there for I cannot go out in public much or at least without a puffy jacket.

Problem...my hands, I have arthritis in my both hands and I now hurt when I do any kind of crafts or even handwriting and typing cause great pain and aching.

Problem...bronchitis and pneumonia....I cannot do hardly any activity because I have no air, or if I do then I can't stop coughing. It feels as if someone is always sitting on my chest!

Problem...my knees... I just had surgery in both knees, I cannot kneel, I cannot squat, I cannot shop, I cannot do a lot of stairs and now I can't start PT for my knees because ...of my pneumonia!

Ok, you get the picture, I am not trying to get you to feel sorry for me-because I am already doing a good job of that myself. I just noticed that I  have been constantly focused on what I can't do, I can't take care of my family, can't write letters to my friends, and on and on.  Tonight I realized I have got to learn what I need to learn from all these experiences, instead of feeling sorry for myself and thinking about what I CAN'T DO all the time! 

My point of this blog has always been to share with you my life and lessons I am learning, in hopes that some of you will find great comfort in the fact that you are not alone. I hope that when you and I share some of the same experiences and lessons that life is giving us, that in turn... you will have a shared strength and hope too. Life is hard but I realized tonight, I have got to do two things...One...stop thinking about myself and see what I can do to serve others, even if it is a phone call, or a prayer. Second...I need to understand what it is I need to be learning, from all these challenges that I am having. I realize that will take a lot of patience on my part, and also faith. I know life brings us challenges for a reason. I also know that I need to trust that my Heavenly Father will not give me anything that I cannot handle. So continue to hang in there with me, as we continue to learn these valuable lessons from life! (Hard as they may be!)

Good night dear friends and thanks always for your constant support and love.

"If we're always looking in the rear view mirror it's hard to keep our eyes on the road ahead." - Author Unknown

"3 choices in life:
give up, give in, or give it you all."