Monday, March 18, 2013

What an odd mix of blessings.....

Life is complicated and full of mixed blessings.  God is good no matter what our life circumstances.  I've been heavily reminded of that lately.  

This weekend was a blessing.  You all know of my love of St. Patrick's Day and all things Irish. Our annual celebration was a blessing, even though my heart and the hearts of everyone here was heavy due to Angie's absence.  My angel necklace was close to my heart to constantly remind me of my bestest best bud.   

My great nephew Miles made it through the semi final round of the state championship basketball tournament for 9 and 10 year olds on Saturday morning.  But were defeated by one point in the finals on Sunday afternoon.  Heartbreaking for  him, but a reminder that the joy of victory is only as sweet as the heartbreak of defeat.  Hard lessons in life.  My precious Miles is such a blessing to me.  I hope he knows how much he is loved.  Win or lose on the court or field, he is always a winner in life.  I'm so proud of him.  

I took 3 sheets of shamrock stickers to share at church yesterday morning and I ran out before I could "shamrock" all my beloved church family.  It was a glorious day and a blessing to see so much green across the congregation.  We sang "Be Thou My Vision" (one of my all time favorites) and "In Christ Alone" (another all time favorite.   

After leaving the joy of church services, we had to go to the funeral for a dear friend's dad who is also a cousin to some of my beloved "girl cousins".  Funerals as especially painful in the wake of Angie's departure from this earth.  It's all still very, very raw.  But even in the wake of grief, it was a beautiful blessing to hear lovely words spoken about a life well lived.  Please pray for my friend Ron and his family in their loss.  

After the funeral, John and I hit the road to go to the St. Patrick's Day concert of Keith and Kristyn Getty, who are from Belfast, Northern Ireland.  They are the minds who wrote "In Christ Alone" and other extraordinary modern day hymns.  The concert was in the Ryman Auditorium, which is a blessing even without being saturated with St. Patrick's Day glory!  

There is simply nothing like being in the presence of so many fellow believers who actually paid money to go worship!  Such a testament of the people in the audience and the gifted musicians on the stage.  
The groups "RUNA" and "The Rend Collective Experience" also provided music for us.  We even got to experience the joy of dancing with the Nashville Irish Dance Group. What a joy it was to attend this gathering.  It was the most lovely way to wrap up a St. Patrick's Day weekend.  

On the way to the concert, I received a phone call from my aunt that my uncle was hurting and on the way to the ER.  He is experiencing some terrible side effects from radiation after cancer treatment.  My sweet Anna who is my Aunt's granddaughter was with them when all this episode began yesterday.  Anna was scared and needed to be taken care of while my aunt took care of my uncle.  I was an hour away headed toward the concert so it took the coordination between several family members to get our precious Anna taken care of.  Thanks to Connie and my mom for stepping up and helping.  That's what families do for one another.  They love in the good times and the bad and serve each other without hesitation.  Please keep my uncle Joe in your prayers as well as his family, my beloved Aunt Rosene and their daughter, my sister/cousin, Jane.  

And then there is this.  A dear friend, our own personal dentist and a former member of our church suffered a stroke on Saturday night.  We began getting texts and emails about Lindy's stroke during our St.  Patrick's  Day party.  

As of yesterday his body has given out, but he is being given time via life support so that his wish for being an organ donor can be fulfilled.  Do NOT get me wrong!  I believe at any point God can produce a miracle and our friend Lindy can be released from the bonds of illness.  So I ask all of you to beg God along with me. Also pray for his wife Rita and their children and grandchildren.  

The most precious memory I have of Rita and Lindy is during some of Angie's final days.  They came to the house to pray with Ronnie and Angie.  Ronnie allowed me to be in the room during these prayers.  We prayed over Angie's precious, weak, cancer battled body for well over an our.  These were draining, spirit filled, exhausting pleads for Angie's life.  We also prayed not our will, but HIS be done.  What a gift.  What a treasure to have been a part of that sacred, holy moment.  I will forever be indebted to them for being so willing to pour themselves out in prayer for my beloved Angie.  

I temporarily broke my facebook fast to post a prayer on Rita's facebook wall.  It was the simplest way I could think of to let Rita know they are being prayed for.  Please pray this prayer with me. 
Dear Father, we beg of you to breath grace, love and mercy into the soul and body of our friend Lindy. Whisper comfort and closeness into the souls and hearts of Rita and her family. We trust you with Lindy and his family. We trust you. We trust you. We love you. We adore you. In the name of sweet Jesus, Amen.

Tomorrow I go back to work for the United Way of Athens Limestone Co. I'll be working with volunteers again.  I loved my work previously there, but was blessed to be at home throughout Angie's battle with cancer.  I will forever and ever be thankful for that precious time with her.  

Today I had my first official function with UW as staff again.  It was the annual luncheon to recognize the work of the community and the good things that are done under the UW umbrella. Listening to the recap of last year reminded me why I have always cherished my hours at UW.  It's all about serving others.  I am extremely blessed to be able to go back to work and serve our community.  

After the luncheon I was able to pick up my new glasses!  Wow, new "tweaked" lenses are a powerful thing!  I can see clearly again!  Go Dr. Chad and his staff for always providing such God centered care for my family's eyes!  

I headed home and the storms hit.  Bad.  Several rounds.  So far, I can report that the 50-75 mph winds blew down a tree in our yard and one across the street.  It blew all the furniture around on our patio and blew away the trash cans.  Scary stuff.  We are blessed there was no more damage than that here at our house.  

Tomorrow in my first official day back at the office, it appears I may be immediately working with volunteer deployment again for storm damage.  Craziness abounds in North Alabama weather.  

As you can see from the picture at the top of this post, tomorrow and every Tuesday you are encouraged to wear teal in honor of Ovarian  Cancer Awareness.  So tomorrow, my first day back at the office, I will wear Teal to remember my Angie.  I miss my friend more than I can ever express.  

March 21 is my 47th birthday. My first birthday in almost 35 years without a call, visit, gift or hug from my best friendAll the recent illness, shock and death have reminded how precious "now" is. It's all we have.  As a birthday gift, my hubby and sons are giving me a prayer retreat at the monastery again.  I need the atmosphere of silence and listening that comes with a trip to Sacred Heart.  I need to get centered in silence again.  

I know it's a rather long post, but my blessings are many as I count them today.  I hope reading this blog reminds you to be a seeker of blessings so we can acknowledge the goodness of our God in the good and the bad.   

            

 

  

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