Take 5

This last week has been a complete gift. Unexpected joys. Laughter. Hugs that fill you inside and take up any space that feels even the slightest bit empty.

So.Thankful.

1. Someone whom I love, currently serving overseas on a short term mission, is headed home soonly. She's been able to effectively communicate the word and show love HIS LOVE to those who desperately need it. She's been spreading hope and joy into other's lives. She's invested. I've been honored to partner with her in prayer, and she's returning stronger than when she left. I can't wait to have her rejoin our lives and see the changes in hers.

2. The professor is an amazing guy. He chooses every day to love us, to stay committed to me, and to take time off from his research and crazy busy schedule to drive halfway across the country with the girls and me. He pretty much just rocks.

3. My sweet chickadees spent fifteen hours in the car at the beginning of the week and in about 24 hours will do it all again. No whining, no complaining. Best travellers HANDS DOWN. They are amazing.

4. I made it all the way to IA and can still move. A miracle in and of itself.

5. I chose to save my favorite for last...I was given the gift of friendship from possibly the most incredible woman in the universe. She's beautiful, strong, hilarious, joy-filled, gracious, compassionate, giving, loving...the list goes on infinitely. I've been able to spend the last 48 hours with her and my heart is full. Sara doesn't just write about joy, she lives it. Chooses it. Spreads it.

SO. THANKFUL.

Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 30, 2010 at 3:22 PM

    i am SO glad you are there. you are all kinds of wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gitz 'n JoAugust 4, 2010 at 1:22 PM

    6. We redid your blog... OH WAIT. We didn't get to that!!! :) Darn it anyway.

    Have I told you how much I love you? Because I just can't say it enough. I am so very very blessed.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Loving Well

It's as much a part of me as breathing, this friendship she and I have woven together.  In and out, up and down, encircling us. Never ceasing. Never slowing. None of the breaks, skips, or hiccups that usually occur in relationships. Not a one. We came together so seamlessly I don't  remember what my life, my days, my moments felt like without her beside me, even in a figurative sense. I know it sounds odd, the stuff of science fiction movies and creepy music, but our relationship has been like that from the beginning. I wake up when something happens to her or when she dreams and cannot bring herself out of it. She knows when I've hit my bottom and swoops in to scoop me up.   Even our night times overlap. That silly red sports car she drives in the non-waking hours? It shows up for both of us. I tell her geniuses choose green and she laughs. I am thankful to hear it so strong, so clear. Her laughter is the mix of all things beautiful; soft undertone...
Read more

Lonely Eyes

Today I took the time to gently lift her into my arms and sway around the kitchen.  Laying aside all of the I have to's   and instead looking her in the eyes and noticing the lonely. Wondering if my eyes look the same I stopped cleaning up dinner and unloading the dishwasher and pulling out the vitamin regiment for the 'morrow. I started listening to the quiet of her heart.  The place that was calling out for more of me in the regular moments. Scrolling through the music on the phone, I found her song. The one I've sang to her since her NICU days. Choosing it carefully, pushing play, watching the wonder in her eyes. She  did not realize it was on our devices. Wonder replacing lonely My little is still small enough to fit on my hip, even at seven. I tell her it's God's gift to me, being able to tote her when she gets tired or hurt or just plain lonely . Growing up isn't easy. Neither is being grown up. Knowing this, I hold her tighter and we glide aroun...
Read more

The Power of Words

Before Sara died, she asked me to speak at her wake. She didn't desire that I share with others memories  of  her. Rather, she asked that I speak about who she was in this world. She told me that she wanted people who came  to see her  as I spoke.  She also told me I wasn't allowed to cry. It would, she stated, "Make things less effective."  Love her.   A friend who was present asked that I  ( Shannon )  put it up for all of you, who were unable to join us at the service, to read. .  .  .  .  .  .  . Gail Caldwell wrote:  "It's an old, old story. I had a friend and we shared everything, and then she died and so we shared that too."   Words are powerful. Uniting. They shape our view of the world, ourselves, each other. Words, in the best cases, make us immortal. Words are how I found her. Faith is what brought us together. A friend send me an email, asking me to pray for a mother wh...
Read more