It saddens me to know that it has been 26 days since my last blog. It seems as though when my appendix was removed, a big part of my life that I thoroughly enjoyed was removed as well. I lost a piece of my soul and my zeal for life. I am just now starting to feel like my old self. Yesterday, I said good bye to a job that nearly killed me. I’m sure one day I will look back and realize how valuable the experiences were, but I am just so thankful that the nightmare is over. I have two months to rest, relax, and search for the job that will bring me ultimate joy.

A friend of mine gave me a card titled “The Oak Tree”. I would like to share the message of the card. “A mighty wind blew night and day. It stole the oak tree’s leaves away. Then snapped its boughs and pulled its bark until the oak was tired and stark. But still the oak tree held its ground while other trees fell all around. The weary wind gave up and spoke, ‘How can you still be standing, Oak?’ The oak tree said, ‘I know that you can break each branch of mine in two, carry every leaf away, shake my limbs, and make me sway. But I have roots stretched in the earth, growing stronger since my birth. You’ll never touch them, for you see, they are the deepest part of me. Until today, I wasn’t sure of just how much I could endure. But now I’ve found, with thanks to you, I’m stronger than I ever knew.”

I am so thankful, grateful, to be planted in the Lord. For if not for Him, I would have never survived surgery and this job. As I head for the beach in the morning, I hope I can find myself again and regain the part of my soul that was lost. I want nothing more than to spend time with my Father and to be fully restored. I want to stand tall like an Oak Tree and see myself as others have seen me. I’ll leave you with a piece of one of my favorite scriptures (Isaiah 61:1-7). “Rename them ‘Oaks of Righteousness’ planted by the God to display His glory.”

Love in Christ,

Nichole