I have been absent from this blog far too long. Our internet was down for two weeks in September, and the very day it started working again, our laptop crashed. Suffice it to say, I have grown accustomed to our laptop.
In addition to feeling like I lost my right arm, we were barely into our first week of homeschool when the illness started around here. It started with croup for our little ones, and is still going through us. We also had a stomach virus hit us in the middle of it all.
I had an accident in our garage in September. Yes, you read that correctly, in our garage. I was backing out of our garage with our huge van with all of our nine in tow, and remembered I had forgotten a book I wanted to read to the children while we were waiting at Ballet. I neglected to put the van in park, and began to hop out, when the van began careening out of the garage propelled by all of its eight cylinders. I tried to shut the door, but my arm got caught between the garage wall and the door.
On top of having a lame left arm for a couple of weeks, I did $2400 worth of damage to the van door. It does not shut at all. We are getting it fixed, but in the mean time, our trips about town have been curtailed because it’s just not much fun trying to keep that van door from swinging wide open as I drive.
The truth is, I have been exhausted. I have not accomplished everything I had hoped to this first month of homeschool, my body is tired from lugging my wee ones around while I work, and trying to keep track of where nine different children are in their school work.
My patience has worn thin.
And I have begun to grow horns.
I’ve even been wondering if someone else had begun to inhabit my body, someone I really didn’t like.
Then tonight, as I was holding my sweet, fussy, sick two year old on my lap, sandwiched between our two youngest boys reading a story, God spoke His soothing words to my parched soul.
One of the words in the story was lullaby, and Jonathan asked me what that meant. So I told him a lullaby is a song that mothers sing to lull their children to sleep, and then began to sing him one of the lullabies by Michael Card I have sung to all of our children.
Let me tell you of a man,
who was before the world began.He loves you more than anyone can
known by the name of Jesus.He was born a babe like you,
and every word He spoke is true.I pray you’ll come to know Him too,
and live your life for Jesus.If He could cause the storm to calm,
He’ll calm the tempest of your tears…
When I was finished, Jonathan said in his sweet voice, “Oh yeah, I remember Mommy.” And David chimed in as he was falling asleep, “Yeah, and they really work too.”
Suddenly, all the stress seemed to fade, and my heart was filled with thankfulness for this life I live. How blessed I am to be able to nurse our sick ones back to health, to have the privilege of holding them close as I go about my days.
And even though we didn’t get everything done in Homeschool that we had hoped, we did get a lot done.
Our teenagers need to work on sticking to their schedules, but they have Jesus in their hearts and are praying with me about the precious orphans all over the world waiting for families, and our place in all of that.
My middle ones need to learn to curb their tongues a bit, but they know how to say,”I’m sorry Mommy. I was wrong.” They welcome me with the most precious forgiving arms when I have to say that I was wrong too.
Our ever faithful Heavenly Father kept us all safe through our tough month. All the kids were safe inside the van that day, and my arm was only bruised. It could have been so much worse.
9 If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.Psalm 91
Perhaps I should change the title of my post to, God is so good, and ALWAYS my life is blessed!
Blessings All!
So sorry you had a challenging month, but I love your attitude as you focus on the blessings in your life! God is so good!
Living for Him, Joan
P.S. I hope your arm feels better soon!
Thank you, Joan! It’s on the mend!
Blessings to you, and thanks for stopping by!
Diane
So sorry to hear you had a tough month! Like Joan, I love your positive attitude. Yes, God is great!
Have a nice day!
veronica lee recently posted..The Old Man And The Pelican
What a sweet post. Life of a momma — seeing the good in spite of the hard. I know that pleases God. God IS so good. Too many think God is only good when things are perfect. But oh, what would we do without our God in the hard times? God is good!
Pamela recently posted..The Sheltering Aroma
Thank you, Pamela! He is good, indeed! His blessings are new every morning.
Thanks so much for visiting my blog!
God Bless YOU!
Diane
Hi again! Swinging by once more to follow your lovely blog.
Happy Tuesday!
veronica lee recently posted..The Old Man And The Pelican
Thanks so much Veronica! I’m following you too! 🙂
Blessings!
Diane
Diane,
Wow, one thing and then another! I am so sorry. This morning, I was thinking about Job…trying to wrap my mind around him, his situation and the questions God began asking him….and then, you and others joined the voice of God by speaking your words, your life….and it’s all around us, isn’t it? This world…that longs for our savior…yet, he hasn’t come yet…there are still people to love…like he did…and does.
Thank you! I am sorry….for all you have been through and pray God’s peace will overwhelm you!
I have been doing a lot of thinking (and posting) about how much good and how many blessings I can see in the midst of the trials and storms we’ve been having. I can still see His hand at work in our situation and in our lives. Thanks for the encouraging post!
Jennifer recently posted..First Things First
I was reminded by a friend that sometimes our foundations shake, just to turn and see it was God shaking them. I think He slows us down, causes silence in the madness of life.. just so we can have sweet moments like yours above snug with your kids and hearing Him. Thank you for sharing.
Misty recently posted..Jesus Loves
O how I identify with your situation, except for the nine children. I too get caught up in the overwhelming events that seem to bombard me one right after the other. But the Lord always knows how to part the anguish and fill me with His sweet presence and still waters. Thanks for sharing life as it really is. God bless.
Dr. Bobbi Jo recently posted..WE WORK FOR GOD NOT FOR MAN
My goodness. You really have had a hard time. I’m glad you’re getting things straightened out and that God has shown you how blessed you are with those precious children. I know you already knew it, but it’s sometimes nice to be reminded and God has a lovely way of doing that when we need it. I’m glad you chose to share your heart with us on Spiritual Sundays.
Blessings,
Charlotte
Charlotte recently posted..PINK SATURDAY