Sonshine, Rain and Rainbows! (about the name of this blog)

This blog will be a place for me to process life.  I am finding lately that I am struggling to manage my feelings about things and to get them out in a healthy way.  Life gets to be heavy and I wanted a reminder that life is all about  Sonshine, Rain and Rainbows!

Sonshine - no that is not a typo - shining Jesus' love which continues to be my primary goal in life!  

Rain. . . yes, it's there, it comes, it sometimes hurts . . . .

Rainbow is the promise that we won't be destroyed - that God is always there and will never leave us or forsake us.

You may be asking yourself - what does she know about Rain?  Well, I know some.  Not as much as others but more than many. . . I have experienced death and death of dreams, health problems in our children . . .  . I recently read that sometimes the death of a dream is one of the most painful deaths you can experience -- almost as difficult as the death of a loved one or more. . Not sure about that yet. . that may be a blog in inself.  

I am willing to share a few of the specific times of rain I have gone through.  I don't want to share too much in my first entry ;) . . . the first difficult really time my hubby and I faced (that I am willing to blog about that is LOL) was when our beautiful sweet firstborn was diagnosed with a heart defect.  We thought the world had ended.  Sometimes I chuckle at this though. . . A's heart defect is benign right now - a bicuspid aortic valve.  It will eventually need repairing but it could be anytime now or in the next few decades. .. . 

I would say the most difficult time my little family has gone through was when our precious 3.5 year old son was diagnosed with cancer in 2005.   Almost 4 years ago he was diagnosed and as of today, he has been in full remission AND OFF CHEMO for 16 months! Praise God.

Right now, we are past the rain and in the rainbow phase of cancer.  But we are still clinging to the rainbow because life after cancer hasn't been all peaches and cream.  Nope, it's been tough in some ways but not all bad.  But we always have the reminder of God's promise and prescence.  When life gets tough, I just look up and remember that Jesus, lover of my soul is there and holding me tight in his hands.

Through the rain and the rainbows, one of my favorite sayings has become-- When life hands you lemons, don't just make lemonade, make lemon bars!