There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free,
there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:28
Two days later we are all one in Christ, yet some of us have homes, power and our family in tact. Others do not. I live about 90 miles from the ocean, there was a vicious storm with lots of wind and rain, the sump pump quit and Andy got the spare installed, power went out for a few hours (which meant the newly installed pump quit! Gotta get a battery back-up pump!!), I have food, shelter and no damage from the recent hurricane. Yet, I am reminded of the many, many people that have lost something…loved ones, homes, security…or lost everything and I ask the Lord to comfort them.
My trip to visit my parents was wonderful and uneventful. That is, until most of the flights in and out of the northeast were cancelled, including mine. I spent Friday morning making alternate travel arrangements…renting a car, etc. Saturday afternoon around 4 pm we left Little Rock driving home. We arrived yesterday about 5:40 p.m. after a 7 hour overnight stop. Andy had done a great job of securing all the outside furniture, plants, etc.
While in Arkansas, I got to see a lot of my nieces, nephews and their children. I feel older, because they are all growing up, but it was so fun.
Gracyn, Rebekah, Lauryn, Kristyn, Rowin
Aren’t these kids darling and the Moms beautiful?? Rowin belongs to Rebekah and the girls belong to Kristyn. I got the opportunity to do something really fun…something I never got to do as a Mom because I had a boy. Gracyn let me paint her finger and toenails…not sure who enjoyed it more!!
The finished product…(my pedicure is a couple of weeks old!)
Lord, thank you for the time spent with family. Thank you for giving all of us safe travels…especially John and me as we made the long drive home. Thank you for the wonderful visit with my parents, thank you for the Christian upbringing they gave me. Lord, please be with those that are suffering, especially those that lost homes and loved ones. Please give them comfort and peace.
Today was supposed to be my first day of work, but Hurricane Irene caused power outages and flooding. Classes were cancelled today and administrative offices (that’s me) are closed. I have a day to do laundry, clean, grocery shop and catch up…thank you, Lord, for this unexpected gift!
What is on your agenda for today?
My niece has started a blog and she has some wise words for one so young!
Mary, I am so glad you guys had a great time while here and elated that you arrived home safely–enjoy today getting ready to enjoy a new week ahead of you.
So glad you made it home safely! I have a picture of my 10 year old nice painting my nails. It was a lot of fun to spend that time with her like that. I'm going to check out your nieces blog!
It's a blessing that you made it home safely and that Irine did not cause too much damage to your property. Loved seeing your pictures. Hope you have a great week. Blessings ~a
As the weeks have drug on it has been easy for me to lose hope.
Will things ever get back to some type of normal? People were not created to live in isolation.
Will we be able to see someone smile or will we always look at them and only see their eyes?
Will people gather without having to sit 6’ apart?
I don’t know the answer and I’m not posting this to debate the news media’s portrayal of the pandemic.
I’m sharing this today because I spent some time with the Lord thanking him for the things I DO have and not focusing on the things I don’t have. The things I have lost since March.
I looked up scriptures about hope.
I made a list in my prayer journal of things I’m grateful for.
Life goes on. Life crisis continues even during this pandemic. People die naturall and tragically. And babies are born. And weddings happen and new lives begin.
This crisis in our world isn’t a surprise to God.
And my hope and security is in Him.
If you scroll through the photos, you see things that made me smile this morning and reminded me of the goodness of God - even now.
With all the grief and sadness in the world I wasn’t sure how I would handle today. How I would allow myself to grieve this loss? Today when there has so much WRONG in our world. In a post @deidrariggs shared today she reminded us that life goes on. And I realized that today this is my life. And I can grieve this loss. My life goes on... I am thankful for the 4 days we had her. On Friday I will remember each event of her last day and I will remember her dying in my arms.
And I will be both sad and grateful. #infantloss #trisomy18 #stlouischildrenshospital
Mary, I am so glad you guys had a great time while here and elated that you arrived home safely–enjoy today getting ready to enjoy a new week ahead of you.
The kids and their moms are precious!
So did you guys rent a car to drive home??
Love you,
D.
So glad you made it home safely! I have a picture of my 10 year old nice painting my nails. It was a lot of fun to spend that time with her like that. I'm going to check out your nieces blog!
It's a blessing that you made it home safely and that Irine did not cause too much damage to your property.
Loved seeing your pictures.
Hope you have a great week.
Blessings
~a
Yes, Dianne, we rented at car at the Little Rock airport and drove home…a long drive!