We drove back “home” last night for Jared and April’s wedding. We are getting to stay with our best friends, and it is just what I needed! I have missed them so much…I just dread having to leave them again!! It really is true, you don’t appreciate what you have until it is no longer accessible to you. Trisha’s latest blog about how wonderful grandparents are reminded me of this as well. Now that we live five hours away from our loved ones, it’s much easier to appreciate them more!! It’s really a shame that this is what it takes:(
My Prayer August 10, 2008
I miss my mom very much. This December 27th, she will have been gone for five years now. I can’t believe it has been that long since she went Home, and I can’t imagine not getting to talk to her or see her for the rest of my life here on earth. People told me it would get easier as the years went by, but for me it seems to get harder, especially as we add kids and they get older, because I know they are missing out in their lives not having the privilege to know and spend time with my mother.
She was amazing, beautiful, strong, courageous, stubborn, sassy, bossy, but most of all, she just loved the Lord. I still cannot even comprehend how she endured everything that she had to in her short life…being so sick for most of my life, and on top of everything else, being betrayed by the person she loved the most and left to cope with her illness alone. I cannot comprehend it because I don’t have an ounce of the faith that she had. No matter the circumstances that she was enduring at the time (one of the countless surgeries, being poked and prodded on endlessly, having to deal with a selfish and just as stubborn teen-ager…and dealing with all of this alone) she never lost her smile or never ceased to praise God…because she knew then what I look back and see now. That God had a plan and purpose for every single bit of suffering she had to go through…that none of it was done in vain or wasted. I have had so many of her doctors, nurses, friends, and people that didn’t know her, but heard her story, tell me how much her faith touched and impressed their lives. Because wherever she went, whoever she came in contact with, she always made it a point to tell everyone about her faith and because of it she could have joy in the midst of her storms.
My prayer is that I will be able to touch and change lives as my mom did and still continues to do when I share her story. For that is how lives are changed…by being real with people. They don’t want to know how to get to Heaven or what Bible verses they need to memorize to be saved (this is all important, but not to reach the lost!) They want to know how our lives are different…what makes our God special and how knowing Him has changed our life. People are hungry, hurting, and searching, and they need to know that God is real and works in our lives daily. It’s not enough to tell them of His promises and love…we need to tell them and show them how His promises and love have brought us through life’s circumstances in a real and tangible way.
I Miss my Doctors!! August 5, 2008
I absolutely loved my OBGYNs back home! If any of you are looking for a good doctor, I went to Marietta OBGYN Affiliates. There are several doctors in the group, and I would not say a bad thing about any of them…they were just really great doctors. I am struggling with that now!! Being pregnant again, I thought I would go ahead and try to set up an appointment. Several doctors in the area had been referred to me as being good, so I thought it would be easy! Let’s just say the fifth time is a charm. The first four that I called were not taking any new patients. I’m a little concerned because the one that I ended up with is in the same group as some of the others that I called, but she was the only one in the group accepting new patients…so what does that say about her? The good thing is the hospital I will deliver at is almost within walking distance of our house and the women’s center is fairly new. Also the hospital has a huge digital billboard where they post the names of the new babies born there every day. We’ll have to get Mikey to go and take a picture of that when we have the baby:)
God is bigger than palmetto bugs!! August 3, 2008
The homesickness is starting to set in…especially with the uninvited welcoming of Savannah’s own palmetto bugs that frequent our house at least once a day. We have been told that this is normal, they are not “dirty bugs” (as if there is a difference) that come in your house because it is nasty…they are trying to escape the heat. Still, I AM NOT a bug person, I won’t even kill one because they are so big they crunch when you step on them. Oh, and we don’t have to worry about being under a drought here, it rains everyday!! I have to sweep and clean our floors just about everyday because of the sand and wet grass that the kids and dog track in.
We had friends and family with us for the first week, and I thought that I was ready for them to leave so we could get to normal, but now I’m ready for everyone to come back! Loneliness is starting to set in and I feel so detached from our core group!
I keep reminding myself that God is bigger than all of this…He put us here for a reason…He almost made it too easy, with the way He has worked out every detail (we even have a bite on our house!!) I just did not realize it would be this difficult to just leave everything behind. But, God doesn’t want us to become complacent in our faith. Now, more than ever, He wants Justin and I to fully rely on Him so that He can reveal another piece of the puzzle.
