The highs and the lows...........

Just had to start this blog with this adorable picture that Gwen just posted of my four little sweeties!  I guess every Grandma has the right to brag, and I am going to brag about these cute adorable faces.  I love that their personalities show in this photo.  I just want to hug them!  How can you feel bad when you look at these faces?

I am still sort of voiceless.  It has been a long, long week, but I am believing that I am getting over this stuff.  Let's face it.  Most people know that Chicago has had some wild and wacky weather this year and this week has been CRAZY!  We had a major dump of snow on Monday (about 6-8 inches), then on Tuesday the sun came out and it was actually "pleasant" (or so I was told. I never left the house).  Then came Wednesday and it seemed fine at first, but then it started raining.  By nighttime there was thunder and lots of rain.  Thursday was so awful.  It just rained - really POURED and the roads and the parking lots were flooded.  The snow was melting but there was no where for the water to go.  And then the wind started.  There was one point when our entire house was shaking.  Today I got an email that really brought clarity to the crazy wind last night.....

This is a picture of the church where I worked for 13 years.  Both of my kids were baptized at this church.  And the email described that this window was blown apart from the brick supporting wall by about a foot at the top of the window.  Thankfully, there were people in the building.  Because of quick action there was no damage to the building, aside from the window. This window has been through many, many storms since 1973.  It even survived the tornado that blew over the church one year.   So this just gives you an idea of the wind! 

So this is sort of the highs and lows of this week.  The highs are those four amazing faces.  The lows are my ridiculous sounding voice and the wacky weather.  But in it all, there has been so much peace.   I have really felt surrounded and covered and I know that this is the result of the many, many prayers of so many.  You know it is during these times when you understand the value of community.  I am so grateful for everyone who remembers me in their prayers.  This week I felt that support.  Even during the winds of sickness and the weather, those prayers kept me strong.  Those winds caused that window to break free of the brick support.  With the prayers of others and the peace of Jesus, I felt solid and strong. 

Thank you Jesus for your love and peace that both fills me and surrounds me.  Holy Spirit, thank you for knitting me into the community of believers and providing so many to hold me up in prayer.   Thank you for preserving this church and providing a quick repair to prevent major damage.  Jesus, thank you that you are the healer!  Continue to bring restoration to my entire body.   Amen

When I really needed a nap....

Don't you wish sometimes that you could go back and be a child? Today, for some reason, my little guy just did not want to take a nap.  He was in his bed for a long time, but he was playing and laughing and looking at books.  It was clear that he just wasn't about to take a nap.  I, on the other hand, was sitting on the couch watching the video monitor, struggling to stay awake!  *(Side note - Yes, a video monitor -  I can sit on the couch and watch the 20 month old, in his crib and listen to him also!  WOW these new fangeled inventions!) If I could have changed places with him, I would have!  I was the one who needed the nap!  Thankfully, he fell asleep in the car and at least had about 45 minutes of a nap, which made the afternoon bearable.

This got me thinking about the old adage "the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence".  I am sure that my little guy was thinking about NOT being captive in his crib and would rather have been running around, while I was longing for my bed!  I remember that when my kids were much younger, I longed for the day when they were grown and gone from the house.  However, when that time actually came, I was longing for them to be back home!  Now, I look longingly at friends who have already retired and image how wonderful it would be to NOT have to get up for work every day.  But, on the other hand, I understand the many worries of health and finances after giving up your regular income. 

 

So, today I am going to take 1Timothy 6:6 to heart - "But godliness with contentment is great gain". Because isn't that adage really about not being content with your present circumstances?  Contentment is about satisfaction.  Being satisfied with the status quo.   Not being envious or desiring what someone else has.  Also, I think that gratitude is a large part of this.  Being grateful for what you have and where you are at in your life. And we have so much to be grateful about.  The list is so long, that I won't spend the time to add the full list.  Family, friends, health, home, jobs and Jesus certainly top the list.  Yep, our grass is very green on our side of the fence. 

But what about the times when our side of the fence has brown and dried out grass and the neighbors looks green and lush?  Times when illness or job loss or any number of of things hit us?  This is when we need to know that Jesus is the one that brings us that contentment.  Even as I am typing this, I am thinking of that verse "when I am weak, he is strong".  And in these times of our weakness, that he, Jesus, proves himself to be our strength.  And our contentment.   In some ways, I think it is harder to be content when things are going well.  It is so easy to forget how much we need Jesus and His contentment. 

Jesus, thank you for meeting us exactly where we are.  Holy Spirit, fill my heart with the contentment of Jesus so that I can truly be content in my present circumstances.  Even though things are going well for me now, Jesus, help me to remember that I need you to be strong for me.  And Jesus, please give me a good nights sleep tonight so that I do not need a nap tomorrow!  Amen