Have you Called Lately?

This was a week I have been dreading for a long time.  On Tuesday, I went in for foot surgery for a condition that has given me pain for almost a decade.  Though I knew it was time, that didn't make the surgery any easier for me.  Leading up to the surgery, I struggled greatly with anxiety and fear...."What if something happens to me?"  "What if the surgery doesn't go well?"  "What if I don't ever wake up?"  "How will recovery be with five young children in the house day and night?"  These fears may sound silly and unfounded...but they were very real struggles of mine.

On Monday, our family enjoyed some time outdoors, even in the frigid temperatures, doing some snow tubing.  It was a strange feeling to know that I wouldn't be enjoying any more winter sports after that, with the long recovery I'd have after surgery.

The day of my surgery, I sat calmly in my pre-op room, dressed in a hospital gown and tucked under several blankets to keep warm.  Though I knew not how the next few hours would play out, an unbelievable sense of peace flooded over me.  I felt the warmth of God's love for me...His tender care for me...His presence

I've had to accept the process....of making myself so vulnerable to the possibility of personal injury or even worse, of allowing myself to be waited upon hand and foot by family and friends...and having to rely upon the Lord, once again, so intensely for my help and my strength.  And in these hours of anxiety and fear, and then the intense pain of recovery, I have seen such beauty unfolding.  I have been the recipient of meals and help from some of the most unlikely people.  Two friends came bearing food who are struggling with terminal cancer.  One friend is bringing a meal who has 9 children of her own to care for.  One friend who is in a very difficult financial time brought groceries and a meal.  Another friend is bringing a meal just weeks after losing her father in law.

And here, I am humbly stopped in my tracks!  God has spoken through these friends.  He has asked me, "Have you Called lately? Because when you do, I answer in BIG ways." 

God, forgive me for succumbing to fears and doubts, and for allowing them to dominate my thoughts.  Just because of a surgery, nothing in your power or plan is diminished.  Just because my world has been rocked by this procedure, You are still the Rock of my salvation.

Have I really called upon God lately?  Have I leaned on Him, relied on Him, and trusted Him to carry me?   Is it my first inclination to reach out for, to cry out for His help when I suffer and struggle through life?  I'm limping along, quite literally, trying to do things on my own that I am quite frankly incapable of doing.  I'm having to lay aside my pride and my independence and my self-sufficiency and really CALL out for help!

CALL out to God. 
Pour your cares out before Him because He is a God who listens and cares. 
Let us put our hope in this!

Irrepressible joy...

I hung up the phone the other day with these words echoing through my mind, "God always wins."  I stood barefoot in my kitchen, looking out the window at my kids splashing in their blow-up pool on the deck.  Their laughter permeated the whole house...their joy at the coolness of the water on an oppressively hot day was undeniable.  I look at the yard as they play.  There has been a resurgence of summer for the past two weeks.  There hasn't been a drop of rain, everything is withered and dry, the grass is dead, the trees are losing their leaves.

"God always wins," said my dear friend Miss Sally.  How true a statement, yet do I live with that sort of mindset?  My friend Sally lives with an unquenchable, irrepressible joy, in spite of her many pains her seasons of drought, and her trials.  At almost 103 years old, she has the vitality of a woman decades younger.  Smiles come effortlessly to her lips, words of encouragement bubble out of her, you visit her with the expectation of offering her something, but always come away blessed by what she has offered to you.

Yesterday we spent an hour in the home of Miss Sally...shared some good stories and many hugs.  And again, as we drove away, I was encouraged.  I was encouraged to see how for so many years God has been so real to her, given her such a confidence and a joy so as to keep on keeping on, even at her astounding age.  "God always wins," she had told me...in spite of the chaos that ensues in this world, the pain, the trials and tests...we can be assured of that.  May the way that I live, victoriously, reflect the truths of God's promises to me.  May I claim that great victory I know I have...over sin, over death, over sorrow, over pain, and live out my years in that irrepressible joy only He can offer.  James 1:2 reminds me to "Count it all joy..."  And John 7:38  (BSB )reminds me that even in the midst of my droughts...my deepest pains, "To the one who believes in Me, it is just as the Scripture has said: 'Streams of living water' will flow from within him."

God is with her...

I met her when she was a spry 99...feisty, elegant, and ready to share a word of wisdom anytime she had the opportunity.  I never expected to forge a friendship with someone like her...so many years separated us...such different life experiences...but over the months I spent getting to know her in my Bible Study, something beautiful happened...we became good friends...Miss Sally and I.

We spent a precious hour with 102-year-old Miss Sally this afternoon to spread some more love and be blessed by her keen wit and sense of humor.

God is truly the essence of this woman's being...the very fuel that keeps her going, day by day. She inspired my children and I today in so many ways...the very first thing she shared with them as they leaned in toward her on the couch was this, "I need to tell you something very important. If there is anything you need, or anything you are worrying about, all you need to do is say, 'Help me, Jesus,' and He will!"

She has such a keen insight into each of the kids and their personalities, from telling me to "mind that third child...she is going to need some extra attention and cuddle time." (Spot on!)...to telling Carter, "It's OK just to be you...you don't always have to be the older brother." She also told Carter, with a twinkle in her eye, a saying her dad used to use when she was a child, "It's better than a kick in the face." That got him laughing...

As we were preparing to leave, she told the kids, "You study hard in your schooling. Always remember that knowledge is power!"

Sally has told me many times how she still manages to live at home by herself, even navigating a steep flight of stairs daily to get to her bedroom. She comes down the steps in the morning reciting the Lord's Prayer...and she walks back up them at night reciting Psalm 23. As I pulled the door shut behind us, I looked back a little wistfully...wondering if I will see her again. At 102, each day is a precious gift and I know my dear friend will one day soon be gloriously joining her Lord in Heaven.

A friend shared Psalm 46:5 with me yesterday and I thought of it again today after spending time with Sally...this truly encapsulates who she is:

So many days are spent worrying about things we cannot control, feeling like we cannot get ahead, no matter how hard we try, searching for true meaning and purpose. I came away from this humble and unassuming woman today, re-energized and encouraged beyond measure. The words of Jesus "Seek and you shall find" seem to echo through her house. Thank you, Miss Sally, for your friendship, for loving me and my family, and for sharing your tremendous wisdom with us whenever we meet. We love you dearly!

Non-stop...

I've been on a bit of a blog vacation the past couple weeks.  Not by choice, mind you.  The combination of Penguins playoff games, pregnancy exhaustion, and a "mini-vacation" our family took last week have led to some extra busy/crazy days.

We  (barely) survived our two-day (almost calamitous) trip to Ohio last Thursday and Friday to see Cuyahoga Valley National Park.  Let's just say the combination of pouring rain, getting lost multiple times, Derrick's bike breaking when we were 6.5 miles away from our car, me realizing Lawson had pooped at the moment Derrick's bike broke and that I had neglected to throw extra diapers or wipes in with our stuff for biking...that alone led to many hours of nail-biting excitement.  The kids did enjoy seeing a huge number of the 17-year cicadas and were even brave enough to hold a few...though you can see from Carter's expression it was rather terrifying.  They also loved riding on the scenic railway with our bikes and seemed rather unaffected by all of our mishaps.

The kids also enjoyed seeing our good friends in Cleveland, our hotel with a really nice pool, and visiting Lake Erie the following morning.

This past Saturday I was able to attend the Lantern Festival with a good friend.  It was really lovely to see thousands of paper lanterns being launched simultaneously into the night sky.

 Upon returning home we had a Grove City friends cookout...11 adults and 15 kids!!!  It was great to get everyone together for a fun evening.

 The past two days we've enjoyed catching up with our dear friends visiting us from Ohio.  The kids had so much fun at the zoo yesterday.

Summer hasn't even started yet and ...shew...I'm TIRED!  Here's to some more fun-filled (hopefully disaster-free) weeks ahead!

Christmas memories...

 I love the traditions of Christmas and making new memories together with the ones we love.  That is truly what makes the season so special.  At times I wish we made more effort to do these types of special things more often.









This week I was able to catch up with my Grove City friends for our annual Christmas Tea.  We paid a visit to the Natural History Museum yesterday with all the grandparents.  And tonight we took a drive up to Butler to see the Shadrack Light Show...it was awesome!

Endurance

We have had another very busy week, with lots of fun adventures!  Friday we were able to visit the Nina and Pinta replicas that are in Pittsburgh.  The kids and I managed to squeeze in an interesting tour of the ships JUST before  a HUGE storm rolled in and dumped a ton of rain on us.  We were all completely drenched.  But it was a lot of fun and we all agreed that we would never have signed up to said across the great unknown ocean in a ship like that!  Driving in my minivan seems way less of a pain from that perspective!  Ha!

My dear college roommate made the long trip down to visit me over the whole weekend and we enjoyed a lot of great time spent together, laughing with the kids and catching up on life.  I am so blessed to have dear Liz in my life!

 We were able to go see Carter play on the U10 soccer team on Saturday, on a gorgeous warm, sunny afternoon.  He even scored 2 goals...GO CARTER!  And tonight we had another Monday night play date with the neighborhood kids...enjoying all the nice weather and longer evenings for as long as we can!

When I am "in the moment" of parenting...so many days...it is just so tempting to want to throw in the towel at times.  Kids can be so very overwhelming and exhausting, no matter how many you are trying to parent!  I've had this verse echoing through my mind today

 Hebrews 12:1-3  "...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

I just ran a 10K a few weeks ago and endurance and perseverance are definitely a couple of words that come to mind when I think back on trying to make my body move (quickly) for that distance!  Comparing life to a race, at least to me, seems so appropriate.  We begin as youth, with boundless energy and are naive about the long and arduous journey that lies ahead of us.  We start out quickly and with so much energy, but gradually, life starts to slow us down.   As we age we begin to realize that we need to moderate our pace if we want to make it to the finish line.  We grow more and more weary as the years slip by, but there is always the hope of reaching the finish line.  For me, this finish line has increasingly been my motivation to "run well."

 Hebrews 12 ends in verse 28 by reminding us that we are "receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken."  Again and again when I feel that my world is turning upside down, this is my hope...this is what I long for...this is what keeps me pressing on toward the goal.

1 to 100

We had a very special visit from some of my Bible Study friends today and were so blessed to enjoy the company of Miss Sally who is well on her way to her 101st birthday.  The kids really enjoy talking with her and she always has good questions for each of them to answer.

We were sitting down for lunch and she asked us to pass the big bowl of watermelon down to her.  Sienna immediately piped up, "Don't eat the whole bowl!"  That got everyone laughing.

I hope that if I live to 100 I could have the same wit and humor and zest for life that Miss Sally has!

Summer is for this...

Extended nose

 We caught a close look at this butterfly moth yesterday...it's pretty amazing really.  It looks like a giant bee at first, then you see that the wings are more butterfly/hummingbird-like.  And finally you can see it's proboscis nose which it can curl up or extend into the heart of the flower to reach the nectar.

Curled nose

We had a blast playing with friends Ellie and Harper today too.  Yay for friends!  Lawson enjoyed seeing another little baby and Sienna was loving life, having another friend to go in the trampoline with her.

Tonight Derrick and I were actually able to escape for almost 2 whole hours to walk around the lovely streets of Sewickley and grab some delicious ice cream.  Yay for adult alone time!!  And when all was said and done and the kids were tucked into bed, we ended up bringing them all back downstairs for another 45 minutes so they could catch lightning bugs and shoot off some fireworks.  Were we not already exhausted from a long long day and a long long week??  Of course!  But, it was worth it and I thought as I was tucking them back into bed for the 2nd time, this is the kind of night they will think back on and remember for a very long time.  This is what summer is for!