Ramblings

9 months? I haven't "blogged" in 9 months? Sheesh! And so today, I sit down to write, but there is so much swirling around in my head that I don't know where to begin.

I heard on Focus on the Family the other day something that seemed to strike a chord with me. The speaker said something like "It can take up to three years to fully work through a crisis and feel like things are good again." It hit home for me. I had just been sorting through my thoughts and feelings about this very sort of thing. I am beginning to feel as though I/we are in a good, contented place once again. (I hesitate to write that. Does anyone else out there wait for the other shoe to drop when things are going well? I confess, I do. But I do know that life has seasons, and I can trust that whatever the season, God is right beside me, and will walk through whatever lies in my path with me.)

So what crises am I recovering from? Well, 5 1/2 years ago my parents moved to Dundee. It was a dream come true! The week they moved in, we found out mom was very ill with a form of "pre" leukemia, and prospects looked questionable. The next several months were full of chemo, grieving, spending every possible moment with mom, helping dad, trying to manage my own family life, etc. Then in November, pre-leukemia turned into full blown leukemia and Mom didn't qualify for a bone marrow transplant. Mom went home to Jesus on January 12th, 2010. That was close to 4 years ago. And I don't need to go into detail about all that. The purpose of this post is a focus on NOW, not then.

Then, a year later, Reid became a pastor, in January 2011. Then my dad got remarried in May 2011 (A good thing for sure, but still hard in some ways and definitely a transition). Then Reid resigned from his pastor position. All within a year and a half, all the while still reeling from and dealing with the loss of my mom/best friend/wonderful grandma. What a jumble of emotions and transitions and changes. Then Reid spent a year without a steady job, which was a blessing in many ways, and wonderful to see how God provided, but also a challenge and major lesson in trusting God. Things have settled down since then, though we still sometimes face and deal with all kinds of feelings surrounding all of those events. But mostly, we have journeyed through and come out on the other side of that valley. Thank you, Jesus!

Now all that stuff is close to.... you guessed it..... three years past. And I feel at peace. For now. But guess what. Another season of change is in the air. Cameron is a senior. I know my time of respite is brief. I know this is a joyous season, and something to celebrate, but that it will also contain grief and massive change. But I know that my God and my man will walk with me through it, and that in the midst of this season, as in all the others, we will encounter joy and blessings beyond measure mixed in with the challenges, changes and hard things.