Pressing On

A sweet woman who also lost her husband to cancer at a young age wrote me the following after hearing of Zach's death:
"1)  You may not feel like "yourself" for quite a while and that is ok...don't be hard on yourself!
2)  God will keep you closer than you can imagine. He truly is the Father to the Fatherless and the Husband to the Husbandless.  You will see miracles happen around you.  That is just God protecting and loving you - watch for it.  It's such a humbling experience."

In the past month I have been reading the book An Untroubled Heart.  I can relate to much of what Micca Campbell writes because God chose to take her loving husband to heaven when she was in her twenties, leaving her a single parent of their son.  Here is a quote from her book: 

"God met me in my pain and carried me to new levels of grace...With each encounter, my future grew brighter, and I was able to pick up the pieces of my shattered dream and with God's help rebuild my life."   (p. 21)

God has blessed me by allowing me to be encouraged by both of these women.  I so appreciate the quote above because it reminds me that even though I am not at a point where I feel like the pieces are picked up and my life is rebuilt to a new normal, I can rest in God's grace and the hope that the future can grow brighter. I press on one day at a time praying that the next day will go a little better.  That I will feel a little more like myself.  That I will figure out how to be the mother God wants me to be.  That I will draw another step closer to Jesus and truly feel His presence in my life.  That I will find purpose and joy in this life that God has called me to live even though it is different than what I would have imagined.  God is so good and I am thankful that He continues to transform me and mold me to be the woman He wants me to be. 

Thank you for your continued prayers for our family.  As you pray for Zion, Moriah, and I, please continue to pray for the children in Haiti.  They have also experienced much loss.  Pray that their Homes of Hope parents will be given wisdom to support them through their grief.  Pray that they will be given an extra measure of patience as grief in children is often expressed in   misbehavior that can be exhausting to deal with on a daily basis.  Pray that the children can turn to Jesus for answers and healing.

First Day of Preschool

 

Moriah loved her first day of preschool.  She was so excited when I picked her up that she ran to the van and was full of  energy for the next hour or so.  Her teachers are Mrs. Girod and Miss Tonner.  She has seven classmates, including her cousin Elly.  I have to admit that I love preschool too.  Having a couple hours to myself was great and I made a lot of progress on my to do list for work.