Toddler Moments

Yesterday was a day of high motion and emotion. My husband, daughter and two granddaughters, and I went to church in the morning and to a friend's wedding and reception in the evening. And did I mention it was 200 miles to these events? We were gone from six in the morning till 1:30 a.m. that night. There were a couple of near meltdowns toward the end by Dean and one of the OTHER toddlers with us, but nothing major.

(In the meantime my nephew and son-in-law stayed home to install a toilet for us, which turned out to be a rather disgusting affair with several trips to the hardware store. I think they planned it that way to avoid the trip with us though--those cowards!)

Curiously enough, the biggest meltdown occurred today right here at home and the main characters were my daughter and I. Could it have been the raw nerves we were running on yesterday? I think that certainly played a part in the "blowup". When we are weak, Satan comes on strong! We should take instructions from Dean on how to have these "blowups" though. He never stays mad very long. Partly because he can't remember what he was mad about in the first place.

I, for one, have put it behind me, as much as I regret losing my sanity there for a minute. And I hope my daughter forgives me as well. I'm ready to let God's grace cover our ungraceful moments. Thank you, Lord, for having short-term memory and forgiving us so graciously every time we mess up. We're all "toddlers" at times after all, aren't we?

Job Interview Prayer

My main event today was a job interview that my nephew had. He was understandably a bit nervous beforehand. And as most of us are apt to do either consciously or unconsciously, he prayed.

I don't know that the prayer determined the outcome. But I do know it gave him confidence, leading to a better interview perhaps. And it also set the stage for him to be able to accept the outcome, whether it had been the one hoped for or not. When you pray for God's will to be done, there is a peace in your heart that defies explanation. Some things are just better off belonging to God. The outcome of job interviews is definitely one of them.

Help me, Lord, to give all areas of my life to you in this manner. We THINK we know the best outcome for our lives. But, face it, only God truly KNOWS what's best for us and those we are associated with. God wants permission to handle all our life events this way. All He needs is our permission and our willingness to follow Him anywhere.

Sidenote: He got the job!!!

Funerals--the Beginning and End of It

I went to a funeral this afternoon of a good friend and teacher, Joanne Perrault. This was one of those sudden, surprise endings of a life, well-lived. She leaves behind a vast army of little ones she has taught over the years. I can't think of a time when I didn't see a smile on her face. She truly loved all her "cherubs", as she called them, who were in her charge. She certainly brought out the angelic side of those children with her peaceful, loving ways.

Funerals bring to our attention the fact that life has its beginning but also has an end. And yet for those who love God supremely, the end is really a beginning too. Joanne's next conscious moment will be of meeting her Savior at His return to this planet and beginning eternal life with Him and all her cherubs.

Sad as funerals are, I think I'll keep attending them. For the simple reason that God is there, dispensing comfort and love to all who don't refuse it. After my parents' deaths a year ago now, it seems that I've been attending alot of funerals. I think God knows I need them. Who has enough comfort?

A Parent Feels the Pain

My daughter experienced the most heartbreaking task a mother must endure today. She had to watch her two little daughters undergo medical procedures that were pretty painful. One needed to get some shots and the other had some dental work done. How painful for a mother to be just inches from her children and yet powerless to keep them from hurting and crying out her name.

I think you know where I'm going with this. Picture Jesus on the cross, suffering tremendously, and crying out for His Father. Imagine how much pain the Father was going through as well. Any parent knows this anguish. How much love both Jesus AND the Father must have for us to willingly sacrifice everything for our salvation at Calvary.

But another thought is how close God was at that time. Just as my daughter was hovering over her little ones doing all she could to comfort them, God comes close to us when we are going through trials. Think of His loving, comforting presence the next time you have any kind of painful experience. He feels it with us, as any good parent would.

Support Groups

This was the night for our monthly brain injury support group meeting. What always strikes me at these meetings is that if you were to visit our group, you could not tell who were brain injury survivors and who are their caregivers, in most cases.

Brain injury, just like depression, post traumatic stress disorders, and a host of other mental illnesses is one of the "invisible disabilities" we are beginning to hear about. Because of their hidden nature, unfortunately there is not alot of awareness and understanding of these disorders. Of all the support groups out there, this one seems to me to be invaluable to its members. Several in the group we meet with have been coming to it for years now.

Another support group we attend is one that meets weekly. These meetings last all morning long, and many of us even share a noon meal afterwards. The nice thing about this group is that our support isn't only found in each other, but in the great Creator God we come to honor at the meeting. The disability that ties us together at this meeting is called sin, an often invisible disability that we all share.

Story Time at the Library

Monday morning is "toddler story time" at our local public library and I accompanied my granddaughters and their mother to the event this morning. Naturally, my eyes were mostly zeroed in on my two precious girls, as they watched and responded to the story and animated songs that the teacher presented to the small group sitting on the floor in front of her.

There is a difference in Jenna's responses now. She didn't used to participate in any of the motions that the teacher encouraged them to do, but as she's become more familiar with it all, she's become less shy and more at ease with the clapping, foot stomping, and whatever else the songs demand.

As a matter of fact, I observed three levels of activity with the youngsters there today. Some were very shy about participating, like Jenna used to be. Then there were others, like Jenna now, who were just beginning to open up and enjoy being part of the group. But there was also one or two, who were very vocal and not the least bit shy about sharing anything and everything. In other words, the ones that caused the librarian to put her finger to her lips the most often.

I wonder where I might fall on this spectrum of group dynamics. As adults, we probably all fall into one of the categories at different times and in different settings. But when it comes to my witnessing for the Lord, I hope I can be like the most vocal youngster there and be willing to share Jesus anytime and anywhere. When my Master Teacher tells me to be quiet, I'll comply...but it won't be easy.

Leftover Gifts

I donated some clothing today. Some sweatshirts, scarves, caps, and gloves for winter. As worthy as that may have been, I feel no satisfaction, because there really was no sacrifice in the gift. If I were to add some food to my donation basket, I doubt if that would have been sacrificial either. I confess, I give leftovers.

Face it, most of us give leftovers--things that don't fit or that we've lost our fondness for or that we have too much of. The sad truth is our gifts benefit us as much as the recipients, because they leave us with more closet space, which we can quickly fill up again by another fun shopping trip.

Instead of thinking about that shopping trip or that clean-organized closet though, I'm going to try to think of the person who got the sweatshirts and other things today. It would be so worthwhile for some homeless person, who's struggling to stay warm to get these items. I'm hoping the people I gave them to would be servicing just that kind of client. The gift may have seemed insignificant to me, but somewhere someone may be thrilled to get something different to wear. If nothing else, I pray it lifts their spirits just a little.

Perhaps my real gift today was not the clothes, but the prayers.