Sometimes In Life....

Sometimes in life you have a blog and you don't write anything there for more than two years because, well, because life. And you decide one day out of the blue to write something and choose to ignore all punctuation rules and write in big long run on sentences because sometimes life seems like one big long run on sentence.

Sometimes in life your car has troubles and you take it in to see what's wrong and get an estimate and it's going to cost over $1,000 dollars to have them fix it but your handy husband can fix it for under $50 so you park the car on the street for a few weeks because your handy husband is very busy and doesn't have time for awhile. And sometimes this causes added stress because of all the extra running around you have to do and you realize how much you appreciate having a third car and a daughter who is happy to drive herself and her sisters around most of the time.

Sometimes in life your water bill is $300 more than usual so you realize there must be a leak somewhere and your handy husband calls up his plumber friend who gives up a Saturday to come help your husband find the leak and fix it. And they dig up the one flower bed you actually plant flowers in each year and it's right in front of the house and that's where the new box thingie is going to be and you're a teensy bit disappointed, but hey - they fixed it so you can't really complain. And you are grateful for friends who give and give and give again and a husband who saves thousands because he is handy like that.

Sometimes in life your son calls during the week and there is weariness in his voice and his back hurts really badly and he has other things going on too and he says he's ok and you wish you could drive the 45 minutes to his university to see for yourself in his beautiful warm brown eyes that he is ok and to give him a back rub and a big hug, even though his hugs swallow you up and make you feel small and like he is the comforter. But you don't do that because he is a man now and you need to let him grow and be on his own and turn to the Lord with his struggles. And you will just hug him long and hard the next time you see him. And it's hard. And yet you still give thanks to the Lord because your son is growing into an amazing young man who seeks Him and wants to serve Him.

Sometimes in life you have wonderful daughters who all play water polo and you spend whole weekends at their tournaments and you are so incredibly proud of all three of them that you could just burst and another weekend goes by when nothing gets done at home but you had fun and they had fun and they did things you didn't know they were capable of and it's all worth it.

Sometimes in life your dad has some pretty serious kidney stones and he also has an infection and he spends four days in the hospital and then a week at home in pain until the infection is gone and they can surgically remove those nasty stones. And you consider the brevity of life and vow to spend more time with your dad and loving adopted mom, his wife because even though they seem invincible, you really never know how much time you have left with them. And you thank the Lord because you have such an awesome earthly father that gives you a solid picture of many of the attributes of your Heavenly Father.

Sometimes in life you have a wonderful time at Bible study in the morning and then enjoy lunch with a friend and when you get home your dog isn't at the door to greet you so you think she is either dead or missing. So you look all over the house and the yard and it turns out she is missing so you drive all over the neighborhood looking for her to no avail and so you post a missing dog post on Facebook and then look out the back door and lo and behold there she is on the back step. And you thank the Lord because what would it have been like to lose her unexpectedly and you kiss her and love on her more than usual. And then you have to take her to the vet because she has a huge abscess in her ear and there goes your afternoon. But you are thankful that the vet squeezed you in during a busy day and that she is your neighbor and she's so sweet with your dog and takes care of everything and even brings her home for you and texts the next morning to see how she is. And you thank the Lord for good neighbors who are good friends.

Sometimes in life your husband has a very full plate and he has to grade theses and write a consulting report and do taxes and write a book chapter and take care of graduation at the Seminary where he works and work late into the night several nights in a row. And there's still the car to fix and the new water line to bury under the concrete in the driveway and the lawn is growing wild. And you feel like you are living parallel lives and they aren't really intertwining much but you know that it's just a season and you thank the Lord that you have such a hardworking, faithful, good providing husband who maintains a good attitude even when all this is on his shoulders and he still spends weekends watching water polo even though he has lots of work to do.

Sometimes in life all of this and more that can't be written about is happening in the same time period and you know it is only the Grace of God that is keeping you, and you also realize that others are in the middle of much much bigger storms. But it is Springtime and the tulips bloom bright and the lilacs are glorious in beauty and aroma and the trees are blossoming and everything is green and beautiful and there are hot air balloons in the sky. And the wind comes and the cherry blossoms are like snowflakes tossed and turned through the air to land softly on the grass. And you are reminded that though the winds of life blow and you feel tossed and turned there is a safe place to land - a safe place to rest. "He will cover you with his feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart." (Psalm 91:4) And you thank the Lord that you are His child and He's got all this and you can rest under His wings.