Life is...
busy. messy. chaotic. ever-changing.
fun. challenging. stressful. crazy.
wonderful. unique. a gift.
The day is winding down and night is beginning. The house is opened up to allow the cool evening breeze flow through. I hear the crickets and my daughters quiet chatter as they head to bed. The noisy chaos of the daytime has lulled into a hushed stillness. The boys are calm and sleeping.
My thoughts wander through the day's events. Grocery shopping with my mask and hand sanitizer. I miss making it an outing with my children. Trying to balance playtime with my sons and still accomplishing some laundry. I've been trying to prepare for moving our boys into the same room together as I work. Cooking supper with a daughter as my sous chef. My distracted brain resulted in a tasty dinner, but not the one I originally planned to make. Enjoying a new movie with my girls for our weekly 'girls night'.
I look around and see a lone, empty hamper in the middle of my living room. It is surrounded by haphazardly strewn about baby toys. In one corner of the room is a pile of hangers, so quickly pulled down off a stool from where I had been working on folding laundry by my littlest.
Three kiddos was busy. Four is distractedly so. In part due to their ages, but I often wonder how I ever accomplish anything. With all the busyness of the day, the important things cannot be seen, only remembered.
A soft touch from my hubby. Smiles brought on by watching my youngest walk from one end of the kitchen to the other while shaking maracas in both hands. He really had to use his balance carefully not to fall down! Giggles and glee from my older son learning to wash his hair under the shower stream at bath time. My younger daughter snuggling close during the movie and leaning in during a cliffhanger scene. My oldest pondering life and asking which of her drawings I like best. Text conversations with my family. Life is made full with such things. None of the tasks or accompishments I work towards fulfill life in the same way as time spent with those I love.
Friday, May 22, 2020
Thursday, May 14, 2020
Cancer
May 13, 2020. Wednesday. The day I learned my father has cancer.
Here we are again. Facing that dreaded word. I was thankful he called to talk to me personally about it. I wish I could have been more encouraging or comforting. My practicality pushed aside my emotions and I took the news rather well, I think.
Our shared faith in the one, true God is a foundation of peace and comfort with news like this. Even without fully realizing the ramifications of a cancer diagnosis, he and I both know and discussed that God's hand is in this and His will be done.
My thoughts swirl around. I'm not buried in them, but they are there. I return to the early posts of this blog when I went through cancer with my hubby. I remember the emotions and the fears. The hours of researching and the amount of energy and time my emotions and thoughts consumed.
I remember the lessons I learned through that experience. I wish I had a book I could hand my parents and tell them, "This is everything you need to know and understand to make it through cancer." But, alas, no such book exists and none ever will. Each individual must learn their own lessons in their own way. My experiences and lessons may comfort or encourage. There may even be a light-bulb breakthrough here and there, but my parent's journey of faith by trial will be theirs. A valuable, refining fire like no other. They will emerge, hopefully with a stronger, deeper faith.
Here we are again. Facing that dreaded word. I was thankful he called to talk to me personally about it. I wish I could have been more encouraging or comforting. My practicality pushed aside my emotions and I took the news rather well, I think.
Our shared faith in the one, true God is a foundation of peace and comfort with news like this. Even without fully realizing the ramifications of a cancer diagnosis, he and I both know and discussed that God's hand is in this and His will be done.
My thoughts swirl around. I'm not buried in them, but they are there. I return to the early posts of this blog when I went through cancer with my hubby. I remember the emotions and the fears. The hours of researching and the amount of energy and time my emotions and thoughts consumed.
I remember the lessons I learned through that experience. I wish I had a book I could hand my parents and tell them, "This is everything you need to know and understand to make it through cancer." But, alas, no such book exists and none ever will. Each individual must learn their own lessons in their own way. My experiences and lessons may comfort or encourage. There may even be a light-bulb breakthrough here and there, but my parent's journey of faith by trial will be theirs. A valuable, refining fire like no other. They will emerge, hopefully with a stronger, deeper faith.
Friday, May 8, 2020
Christians vs Israelites
My bible reading as been in Ezra and Nehemiah lately. Israel is slowly returning from Babylon to rebuild the walls around the city. It occurred to me today that the culture, the way of life for Israelites was centered and founded on their faith and religious beliefs.
I've often pondered how Jewish people have kept their culture and their beliefs in the midst of being immersed in other cultures and societies as they have been scattered throughout the world away from their home.
As Christians, we are often able to relate to Israel's stubbornness and repeated failures in their walk with the Lord. We have similar moments and mistakes as they did.
But the lightbulb hit this morning that everything they do, their cultural norms and expectations back then were very much built upon the foundations of their faith. Sabbaths, traditions and rituals that they followed permeated their entire way of living.
How closely can we relate to them in that way? How much of our lives have we built centered around worship and pleasing our Lord and Savior? What precedent to we give to God in our everyday normal lives?
Definitely something to ponder and reflect upon. I pray God impresses on your heart His desires for you and leads you closer to Him!
I've often pondered how Jewish people have kept their culture and their beliefs in the midst of being immersed in other cultures and societies as they have been scattered throughout the world away from their home.
As Christians, we are often able to relate to Israel's stubbornness and repeated failures in their walk with the Lord. We have similar moments and mistakes as they did.
But the lightbulb hit this morning that everything they do, their cultural norms and expectations back then were very much built upon the foundations of their faith. Sabbaths, traditions and rituals that they followed permeated their entire way of living.
How closely can we relate to them in that way? How much of our lives have we built centered around worship and pleasing our Lord and Savior? What precedent to we give to God in our everyday normal lives?
Definitely something to ponder and reflect upon. I pray God impresses on your heart His desires for you and leads you closer to Him!
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