God of All Comfort

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort which we ourselves are comforted by God." 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Merriam-Webster defines comfort as: 1) to give strength and hope to, and 2) to ease the grief or trouble of.
The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia defines comfort as: to call along side of i.e. to summon for assistance....to cheer and encourage....it indicates the dispelling of grief by the impartation of strength.
God IS all of the above, and not only that, He wants US to be all of the above, but we can't be a comfort unless we let HIM be our comfort...."that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort which we ourselves are comforted by God". We can't give something we don't have...you have to have possession of something before you can give it to anyone....you can't give love, if you don't know what love is, or feels like, you can't forgive unless you know what forgiveness feels like...on and on...
We want to be a comfort to people we know and love and clearly need comforting, but I think sometimes we hesitate because maybe we don't know how to comfort, we are afraid comforting will require sacrifice (by the way, it does), we are afraid our attempt to comfort will be rejected...etc. etc. I think, clearly by scripture, we need to recognize how God comforts us...that is our pattern. 
How does God comfort ME? Well, as cliche and it may sound, the best most rewarding comfort comes from His word, I gain comfort from praise and worship, I gain comfort from the fellowship I have with my friends, and there are times, that I need His comfort so badly that when I cry out to Him (with groaning which cannot be uttered) I can practically feel His arms around me. So what does that mean for me comforting others? Well, I would say, most of the time, comfort comes in the form of "touch"....I mean, put your arms around that person and tell them you love them and you are there for them...pray for them, we by far underestimate the power of prayer...maybe send them a little card in the mail, add some comforting scripture....I would say, think about how you are comforted by the God of ALL comfort and use that as your pattern.
Have a truly blessed day!!

Duty Calls

I guess for the most part "Duty Calls" is more a Thomas thing, than mine...going into the Army and all, however, I am struggling with my duty call at being his mom. Don't get me wrong...it's not a struggle to be his mom...well, not always...but it is a struggle watching him turn 18, and knowing he is graduating soon and going off to start his life as a U.S. Soldier. I am so proud of him, and yet....fighting an overwhelming sadness at the same time.  I was NOT prepared for how him turning 18 was going to shake me up as much as it has....I can only imagine what will happen when he is actually gone?!?!?!?!!! It has been hard, at times, being a mom...and yet an overwhelming joy watching him grow into the young man he has become.  It's like I blinked and we went from talking about Hot Wheels to talking about his future plans for life....and by future, I mean a month from now...A MONTH FROM NOW!!! It has all reminded me to savor every moment with my other two at home.  We still have quite a few years before they are off and running, but again...try not to blink, cause that IS how fast it goes. Ahhhh...well, that is my rambling for today....a woe is me, my baby is not a baby anymore...grrr....
Hope everyone has a great day!!