Well, this blog post comes late in the week and from a resting position, because unfortunately, or actually fortunately… I am recovering from Gallbladder surgery.

No, this is not how I thought my week would go! I woke up Monday morning just like any other day and by lunchtime I was having pain like I have never experienced before. I’ve had stomach issues the last couple years and thought I was having a reaction to something I ate, but the pain was brought on so suddenly it was scary. I took some Motrin and tried to wait it out but the pain got worse and nothing I could do would help. Rebecca called Lance and he came home from work and they called 911 and the ambulance took me to the hospital. Low and behold I most likely had passed a gallstone at home and the scan they took revealed several more, as well as a thickening of the wall of my gallbladder. So I was in for emergency surgery to remove the whole thing by Monday at 9pm!

Now I am home and recovering from surgery a week before Christmas. Not exactly what I would like to be doing right now, but I know God is in control and He knows this is exactly where I need to be. The whole time I have felt His peace and the prayers of so many people and I appreciate it all so much. I am learning to let go and will share a few thoughts I posted this morning on IG at the end of this post.

I did want to share a little from this weeks Traveler’s Notebook, and if you’ve been following along I have been using the Vintage Christmas Daily Kit and my green leather TN to document this Christmas month. I haven’t had a chance to do very much this week, but I did have a little energy to create a page and thankfully the night before this happened I spent some time working in my journal.

Here’s a few photos from the pages I finished this week:

And here is the Weekly Planner I am using as well. The week obviously didn’t go as planned, but that’s how life is sometimes. Behind that tag are a couple photos from the hospital… not really the greatest photos but did want to remember this week so in they go. If you are using your TN as somewhat of a “scrapbook” of this month, then one of the ways to add more photos is to put a tag on the page and fill the tag with these small polaroid pictures. It will be fun to look back with your kids or grandkids and take the photos out to share with them. I’ve noticed Adeline is getting to the age where she remembers things if you show her a photo and she absolutely loves to look at our old videos and photos on our phones!

She has been coming over to visit Grammie this week and even though I can’t hold her and she keeps pointing at me to pick her up, she brings so much fun and joy to us right now. Here is a beautiful page I did of her in my journal, and it reminds me of my scrapbooking days… and now I want to make a scrapbook of her!

I know you may have had life get in the way of doing your journal each day as well, but I want to encourage you to do what you can. It doesn’t matter if it’s not every day because you will look back on the things that you did document and the thoughts you did share in your journal when reading your Bible or a devotional this month, and you will be thankful for those. It’s not the whole picture, but a snapshot of this time in your life and that is GOOD.

I will leave you with my IG post from this morning as a little encouragment, and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend as you head into Christmas week!

A weary world rejoices...

I don’t know if it’s just some post surgery ramblings, this strange year we’re all living through, or my age... but this familiar phrase from “O Holy Night” is bringing on the waterworks for me. 😭

This Christmas Carol is one of my favorites and I can barely get through singing it in church without crying, but now, just seeing these few lyrics have done it for me. 

I am weary... 

yet I also rejoice! 

And it’s ok to feel one or the other, or both. 

Right now, for me, some days weariness is dominant and other days joy is... and I’m learning to let go of having to be ok. Sitting in bed with your family pretty much doing everything for you makes it a reality that you have to ➡️ Surrender.

Even when it’s not in your nature. Even when this year hasn’t looked anything like you imagined it would. Even when our sense of peace and security looks dim. Even when Christmas is a week away... and family is coming. 

Yes, this year has been weary...

But God still wants to remind us that He, in His infinite love for us, is right where our hearts and minds can rejoice in surrendering everything! Everything.

Because:

❤️ We have a Savior who surrendered EVERYTHING for us, and was born as a baby in a stable on that beautiful “Holy Night.”

❤️ That same Savior came to bring the whole world the “Thrill of Hope” in His redeeming love, sacrificial death and soul saving resurrection. 

❤️ We can “Fall on our Knees” and surrender in these weary moments of 2020 and see the miracles and sovereignty of God so much clearer.

Maybe God is reminding us of ALL of this in 2020.

This weekend the display of His Heavens will be seen with a rare alignment of Saturn & Jupiter, (referred to as the “Christmas Star”) not seen since the 1200’s.

O Holy night! The stars ARE brightly shining, to light the way to Jesus... and this weary soul is rejoicing. 🌟

Have a blessed weekend everyone!

Hugs,

Laura McCollough