life

When God Sees What Others Don’t

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

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Backstory:

So a few years ago my health started going downhill. I started feeling a lot of fatigue when I did little things and my body started having pain that I hadn’t felt before. There have also been many other symptoms through the last few years. I have an autoimmune disease and no one can really tell me what is going on in my body. Having to live this way is a lonely road sometimes. I feel like no one really understands how I feel and that no one will ever understand. But I just need to remember that my loving Heavenly Father and my Savior Jesus Christ always understand and they will always be there for me when I feel like no one understands.

When God Sees What Others Don't

Sometimes I wonder, “does anyone really understand how I feel?”
Some days I just can’t imagine that anyone can understand and this struggle is real.
I have amazing friends and family in my life and that is a big deal,
But even though they are very caring and supportive, no one can really understand my ordeal.

I have days when I can barely imagine getting up and facing another day,
Some days I feel so much pain in my body and it’s more than I can say.
Then on those days when my body is weak and my emotions are at the surface I wish that I could live another way,
And it feels like all my emotional skies will be permanently gray.

Then I have better days emotionally and it feels like the sun will come out,
And then I feel like I will make it beyond a shadow of a doubt.
I feel like my mental health has been in a figurative drought,
Then the sun comes out and emotionally I feel so good and that feeling I don’t want to be without.

When I feel like no one will ever understand me,
I just need to remember that even though I may feel alone then I just need to get on bended knee.
And then I feel better and I am better able to see,
That my Heavenly Father is always there to hear my every plea.

I should also remember that my loving Savior is always there,
To hear about everything I’m going through and He will always care.
And even when I feel that nothing in my life is fair,
He will always be there for me to help my heart repair.

The Takeaway: We all go through times when we feel like no one understands what we are going through and we might feel alone in our struggles. But we just need to remember that our Heavenly Father and our Savior always are there for us and they always understand how we feel. So we should never feel alone.

Christ at the Heart of Christmas

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

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Backstory:
Like most people, I have always loved the Christmas season. I remember the excitement I felt as a child at that time of year. I am the youngest of my parents' 3 daughters. We would come down the stairs and into the living room, usually oldest to youngest on Christmas morning to see what Santa brought for us. But some years I remember that my parents let me go first and that was always super exciting for me. For most children, Christmas is mostly about the presents Santa brings them. But as I have grown older, I have found a better meaning in Christmas than just the presents. There have been a couple years like last year for instance when I haven’t been very excited about the Christmas season. But most years I am more than ready to decorate my home for Christmas.

Christ at the Heart of Christmas

Growing up in a great Christian family, I always loved Christmas, but mostly because of what Santa brought me every year,
I think that most children are more focused on the presents than on the reason why this time of year is so dear.
I think that’s only natural for children, but as an adult my mindset has changed to something more sincere,
And now I want to talk about what Christmas means to me as I have put my mind into gear.

Instead of focusing on gifts, I like to focus more on who the Christmas season is about,
Christmas is supposed to be about the birth of my Savior, but sometimes in this material world, this important birth we seem to leave out.
I love to put up my Christmas tree and decorations probably because of the memories this reminds me of beyond all doubt,
I also love the feeling of love and kindness that we all feel this time of year when it feels like sometimes with kindness the world has been in a drought.

Yes I am human and I also get excited when people give me presents at Christmastime,
I think that feeling is normal and is not a crime.
But if that’s all I focus on then I should probably listen to the beautiful sounds of a bell chime,
For the “most wonderful time of the year” should be more about the birth of my Savior than about what I can get for a dime.

I love reading Christmas stories around this time of year about people being more kind,
They help me feel my mind unwind.
Then I feel better about the future of mankind,
But the greatest Christmas story ever told helps my mind and body feel more aligned.

Because Jesus was born and lived on the earth, the world around us can feel more peaceful,
Even when the world is all crazy and all we feel around us is evil.
During Christmastime and all year round we can be happier people,
And because of Jesus we can feel more cheerful.

The Takeaway: We all like getting gifts, especially at Christmastime. But we should focus more on the wonderful gift of our Savior and how we can be more like Him. We should learn from His example and try to emulate Him.

The Heart of Sacrifice

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

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Backstory:
I have been married for over 17 years. My husband has always been so hardworking. He never complains about anything. He fixes our car mostly by himself. And growing up, my parents sacrificed so much and they never complained either about what they had to sacrifice. And because I’m not a parent, I can’t imagine the sacrifices that my parents made for me. But even more than that, I can’t imagine the sacrifice my Heavenly Father made to sacrifice His Son. Then I also can’t imagine the sacrifice that my Savior made to sacrifice himself for me. But knowing those things makes me feel very grateful for all of those sacrifices of all of those people. And it makes me feel very blessed and it makes me want to treat the people in my life better because of all they sacrifice for me.

The Heart of Sacrifice

I have been thinking about sacrifice lately,
And I thought about those people who sacrifice for me daily.
So first I thought about my parents of course who have sacrificed for me so greatly,
They sacrificed what they wanted so I could go through my life happily.

Then I thought about my amazing husband who sacrifices for me,
He works very hard so that we can have money.
He never complains and his attitude helps me feel free,
He is such a hard working person and he will never from me flee.

Then I thought about the Ultimate Sacrifice of my Savior,
He sacrificed so much and He didn’t do it to find favor.
But because He made the sacrifice, I don’t need to feel like a failure,
And because of that I can have a chance to change my behavior.

Then I thought about my Father up above,
And how He sacrificed His Son in the most amazing expression of love.
He will always be there for me because he is stuck to me like a cold hand to a glove,
He loves me in a way I can’t even imagine but because of that I can always feel beloved.

I feel very blessed to have the love of such loving people,
Because of that love my life can feel peaceful.
I know they will never leave me and for that I don’t need to be fearful,
Knowing that makes my heart feel cheerful.

The Takeaway: We all know wonderful people who sacrifice so much for us. We also have a Heavenly Father who loves us so much that He knew we would be human and we would need to be redeemed. So He sent His Beloved Son into this fallen world to redeem all mankind. Jesus sacrificed Himself so that we can always have a friend and so we can return to our Heavenly Home after this life.

When It Feels Like No One Cares

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

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Backstory:
I think as a woman I care too much sometimes about what other people think of me. When I was a teenager I felt like because I wasn’t in with the popular crowd and I wasn’t what the world would call beautiful that some people thought I wasn’t good enough. And in this modern world in magazines and in the secular culture outward beauty is too important. So sometimes I just have to tell myself that it doesn’t really matter what other people think of me and their perception of me doesn’t matter. I am always enough to my Heavenly Father so it doesn’t matter what other people think of me.

When It Feels Like No One Cares

I think most of us as humans care about and worry about what others think of us,
But most of the time about this subject I try not to make a fuss.
Not worrying about it can definitely be a plus,
But this is a subject that we should sometimes discuss.

I have tried over the years to not compare myself to other people,
Because sometimes I feel like to other women I will never be equal.
But dwelling on this does not make me feel peaceful,
And it can at times make me feel fearful.

In the eyes of the world I will never be enough,
But not thinking about this can at times be tough.
Sometimes all that matters to the world is getting more stuff,
And feeling like I need to keep up sometimes is rough.

Then I also think that I never really know what someone is going through,
And someone’s life might seem easy from my point of view.
But we all have our problems and things we have to do,
And the view from my lens might be untrue.

So I try to not focus on this and just focus on what my Heavenly Father thinks of me,
Who cares what other people think of me for that really doesn’t matter and on this I think we can all agree.
For in my Father’s eyes I don’t have to prove myself and that is a guarantee,
He will always love me no matter what and remembering that is definitely the key.

The Takeaway: We all get caught up sometimes in what others think about us. But it doesn't really matter what others think of us. It only matters what God thinks of us and He loves us so much because He created us. This knowledge could be life-changing for each of us.

Finding Light Beyond the Clouds

/ Christine Maynor / Leave a comment

Thank you for subscribing-may these words bring a quiet moment of peace and reflection to your day.

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Backstory:
I am prone to depression sometimes. Being sick makes my body feel so sick and weak but it also makes me feel weak emotionally. I have noticed when I am sick or when my body feels awful because of my chronic illness, it is hard on those days to not get down on my life and feel happy. My therapist has taught me that it is ok to feel down and depressed sometimes. It is important to acknowledge those feelings. But I need to get myself out of those feelings as well. I need to be happy and grateful for what I have. Some days it is easier than other days to get out of those depressed thoughts and feelings.

Finding Light Beyond the Clouds

This week I had a terrible cold and I was really tired and sick,
Feeling like that for about a week is something I wouldn’t pick.
I was wondering if this sickness I would ever kick,
And I just felt like I had been hit with a huge brick.

Then today I woke up and felt so much better physically,
And once that happened I also felt better emotionally.
I think those two are connected and when one is out of whack it affects the other one pretty significantly,
This made me think that when I was sick I felt like I had a big cloud over my head literally.

Some days when it is cloudy and rainy outside it makes me feel gloomy with myself inside,
Even though I try to be happy on those days I think these things coincide.
I also know that how I feel emotionally I can definitely decide,
Every time I feel like that then it’s quite an emotional ride.

When I felt better after being sick it was like the sun had come out to shine just for me,
It had been a rough week and it was like I was blind and I was finally able to see.
And yes I know that I am human and I will get sick again and I might want to flee,
But the sun always comes up and I just need to remember that this is the key.

I also know that my soul will have days when things feel kinda bleak,
And then I will have times when more sunshine in my soul I will seek.
But I think that all of us have times when we feel emotionally weak,
And then we can also have times when we can see clearly like we are high on a mountain peak.

The Takeaway: We all have days when we are sick physically or we are having a hard time. We just need to remember that the sun always comes up and that there is always hope even when we are feeling down or depressed.