Murky Waters, Chocolate, Cotton balls and Teeth

The past three days have not been our best. We're trudging through some murky waters all around. As a result, I've been a bit gloomy and stuck in a rut. Even after such a great weekend of celebration and truly being showered with love, I am quick to let my circumstances dictate my mood. I find myself longing for order, ease, and few complications or difficulties. 

I am figuring out how to snap out of it. Chocolate doesn't work. ha! Wallowing is for the birds. Here is where the Holy Spirit is leading me as I take the cotton balls out of my ears and truly listen:

1) God will never leave me and He will always listen. Nothing can separate me from his love. I don't need to figure it all out to come to Him. I can come to Him in the broken, sad, painful places and He will give me peace and strength. He wants to carry my burdens. I don't need to shoulder them on my own.  Do you ever find yourself holding onto those burdens like a badge of honor rather then laying them at your Father's feet? I might hand Him the burdens one day only to grab them back the next. He longs to be my comfort and support. He is worthy of my trust.

2) This hymn popped into my head tonight. True hope and joy does not come from our circumstances.

My hope is built on nothing less then Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus name.
When darkness seems to veil his face, I rest in His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale my anchor holds within the veil.
His oath His covenant and blood support me in the 'whelming flood:
When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.
On Christ the solid rock I stand; All other ground is sinking sand.
On Christ the solid rock I stand; All other ground is sinking sand.

3) It's time to keep a praise and thanks journal. I've done this before, but I haven't been doing it lately. Starting tonight, I am committed to writing down 3 things to praise and thank God for in my personal journal. I won't be sharing them here every day. This is between me and the Lord.

UPDATE on Irina's dental surgery:
Due to a variety of reasons, Irina's dental surgery was postponed until the end of March. I'm not going to go into the reasons on the blog. I have mixed emotions. On one hand, God led Darin and I to this decision and we have peace and unity. On the other hand, I want to just get this over with and move Irina onto the path of recovery and freedom from pain. It is still possible that the surgery will be moved up, but we are switching pediatric surgeons. In the meantime, we will treat Irina's pain as necessary. She has not complained about any pain for the past few days. Please pray for continued pain management and good communication as we explain the change in plans to her.
*Note: this is not at all related to our regular dentist whom we love.