Sunday, February 9, 2014

family time... me time...





Can you believe these two precious sweeties... Honestly... I can not tell you how often I look at them, all my kids for that matter, and am overwhelmed by the goodness of God... It is like staring His faithfulness right in the eye.   I know I say it again and again... but it is the truth... Having wondered if we would ever have kids... and I look at them all and how they came to us and am amazed at all God can do:)  He is so faithful... would still be faithful had we never gotten these children... but I am so thankful that HE saw fit to give us each and every one of these special kids:)

Today we were blessed to have the opportunity to worship at our old church in Texas... What a gift to us.  We absolutely love our new church home and are so thankful to be a part of the ministry team there:)  But it was such a treat to go back to the church Greg and I were at when we were first married.  We were fresh out of college and there were many times people mistook me for a students:) We saw all sorts of faculty we had worked with... students... parents of students... previous pastors... and friends...  It had me feeling so nostalgic... It was such a precious time in our lives when we were worshipping there... fun to be back in our old stomping grounds:)  The worship amazing... prayer time so special and such a delight to hug so many old friends:)  

About my MEND conference... It is hard to describe the weekend.  First off I actually had a room/bathroom to myself.  I had moments of total quiet and it was a treat:)  I made many new friends who went above and beyond to make me feel comfortable and to help me in any way to get MEND Chicagoland rolling.  I learned so much...and got so many great ideas...

But I think most of all... Simply put, the conference got me so excited to begin the MEND Chicagoland chapter.  So many great reminders of why it will so worth it to bring MEND here.  Starting up will probably be the hardest... but I am so thrilled with the opportunity to reach out to families who are grieving the loss of their precious babies.  It was a very encouraging time for me and even hearing the other chapter directors and their assistants stories was such a good reminder that we don't walk this journey alone.   I don't necessarily feel equipped... but I know that the Lord equips those HE calls.  

Again the Lord reaffirmed in my heart the beauty of loving support during a loss.  A friend and I randomly started talked about the baby that she miscarried 30 years ago.  Yes... mommies who lose babies still miss their baby,  years and years later...You carry that baby, whether they lived for a year, 2 months, for 2 weeks,  so close to your heart  forever.                                                                                                                                                                           

Now off to bed... the rest of the work can wait for morning:)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

1 comment:

Becky said...

So glad you made it through the snow storms safe and sound for making it South, we were praying! I simply CANNOT wait to see what the Lord does through you with Chicagoland MEND, glad you had a good experience. It had to be so soothing to your soul, and what a blessing to get some time all to yourself! Yay! Love from Nebraska!