Lord, increase my faith!

I'm a bit speechless today. Rare occurrence, I know. I'm not sure if it is the shock of friends' tragedy or my own selfish realization of how blessed and taken for granted my own life and blessings are. My best friend's parents' house was recently hit by a tornado in Illinois. New Year's Eve day to be exact. Janelle, my bff, immediately drove to her parents' aid, and photographed the devastation. The tornado hit her parents' bedroom and took off the roof completely. Thankfully, the tornado occurred in the afternoon so her parents had enough warning.

Today, I read that one of my favorite bloggers Life in Grace recently experienced tragedy 4 days before Christmas. At 4 a.m. on Tuesday morning, they awoke to a house filled with smoke. Within minutes, the house was engulfed in flames, but all family members were safely evacuated from the house, even their 2 pets. Unfortunately, the family loss everything, and were left with only the clothes on their backs. Here is the full story.

Edie, the author of Life in Grace, is a beautiful soul, wife, mother homemaker and follower of Christ. Her strength and wisdom are evident in her blog, as well as through her actions and thoughts as she deals with her current trials. Such faith!

One of my favorite posts was written about her daughter turning 18 and going away to college, and how she dealt with the pain, loss and brokenness of her daughter leaving home. Read it here with a box of kleenex...


An excerpt from "Stitched in blue and broken for you"
...How we labor so diligently for days and weeks and years,
and wonder if it matters at all?
Will it ever be more than a heap of yarn?  Will food and laundry nourish a life?  Can bread be His body broken?

And finally, mercy gives way.
Heartache becomes forgiveness.
Stubborn melts to grace.
Tangles of yarn slowly take form of a sweater.
Years of meals nourish a body like years of love nourish a heart.
Redemption rushes in and finishes the work.

And it did matter.
Every little stitch. All the countless hours.
Every kindness. Even every tear.
Hoping, begging, praying that she knows—
just how very much she matters.
And that she will feel in the blue-— the warmth of  a mother who loves from the broken place
and the peace of a  Father who forgives.

Today is Edie's birthday. Happy Birthday Edie! Wishing you joy, peace and of course, grace.

Please pray for my friend Janelle and her family, as well as for sweet Edie and her family, as both families begin to pick up the pieces and lean on God for strength.