Man, life is too busy to blog plus I have a little secret... I started scrapbooking again.
I had sworn off the paper scrapbook thing years ago but God gave me 2 daughters who love nothing more than to sit down with a big ol' album and browse through pictures and tell stories and ask for stories of years past. They are old school, I tell ya!
Anyway, I hope to still share some photos and stories here but for now my "free" time is spent scrapping with my girls.
I wish I had the inspiration to sit and summarize our year 2012 but we are getting ready to have a houseful of sweet friends here shortly to welcome the New Year. I'll just say we had a blessed year but not short of challenges.
Those of you who know me, know that I am a bit structured, type A, some have called me a clean freak, a little OCD, perhaps. For years, I was less than proud of those aspects of my personality wishing I was as laid back and "go with the flow" as others but then I understood that part of that was the way I was made by God. I am not attributing any obsessive compulsiveness to Him but the structure, the planning, the desire for order, the attention to detail... those things are truly part of the fiber of me, how I was made. I have learned that it is part of my gifting and that I can use it for the glory of God but if I don't watch it... things quickly spiral into me wanting to be in control of everything.
All that to say that I am so thankful the Lord hasn't given up on me and continues to help me grow. My pastor asked during our service yesterday whether we were the same people we were exactly a year ago. He challenged us to think of how we would give proof that Jesus was Lord of our lives this last year. Did we experience any growth? Do we struggle with the very same things we did years ago?
We had a mice infestation in our home this year. I am not talking about 2 or 3 mice but a colony, or an army or whatever you call a ridiculous amount of mice living in one place. It all happened in a matter of weeks. It got to a point where we could hear them crawling on the walls and ceiling. Talk about an opportunity to display the fruits of the Spirit. I know that in sight of all the tragedy, loss and trials others have experienced this year this is a joke but it was undeniably a big challenge for me.
A few hundred dollars, truck loads of garbage and some tears (mine) later our problem went away. In the process, I was reminded of a couple things: I am thankful for the way Jesus has changed me and I desperately need him to continue to change me.
Won't bore you with details of the 2nd trial we had this year but I'll just say it rhymes with "mice". Needless to say, I was given an opportunity to put in practice a lesson that was still fresh in mind. Locals: we stayed home and away from other kids and we are now clear so no worries!
I apologize for the gross nature of this post but I just wanted to share with you that this year God reminded me in no uncertain ways that I am not in control of anything and that I need to trust Him with everything. This doesn't come at a more appropriate time as Jim gets ready for a series of cancer-follow up tests which normally send me into a spiral of worry and stress. I know it will not be struggle free but I truly am feeling peace and gratitude for not being in control over the outcome of those tests.
Praying you have a blessed New Year!
Danaly
3 comments:
Such great honesty. Sorry to hear about the "ice" issues but sounds like you really turned it into something positive in the end. Your kids are looking so big! Are you coming to Cali anytime this year??? Would love to catch up and chat in person. And happy late birthday to your little guy! :)
leslie
You are too funny! Although, at those times, I'm sure you were just ready for them to go away. My first interaction with lice was when I was student teaching in a Kindergarten class a long time ago. The ENTIRE class was sent home during a routine check. Guess what those little monsters blessed me with by the end of the week? I was sick to my stomach...literally! I even vomited a few times. The thought of something living on my head was a little too much for me to take. Anyway, I survived and so did my scalp...even though I nearly singed all my hair off from the chemical concoctions ;)
Meanwhile, our little bunch had a similar issue during the midst of what should have been holiday celebrations. I can not even bring myself to say the word we had, but let's just say we got the body bugs from a rescued puppy. About $400 later we have been debugged of everthing imaginable. No fun, but one day it will all be a distance memory to laugh about.
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