Remember always that there are two things which are more utterly incompatible even than oil and water, and these two are are trust and worry.
-H. W. Smith
The last few months, we have been in a state of waiting. We are not on high alert as we were back in July and August when there was a big scare concerning John’s health. There have been no recent emergencies, but we are watchful. The VA has approved a liver specialist and an appointment has been scheduled for November 13. We suspect more testing will need to be done due to seeing a new doctor to assess how functional John’s liver is and what steps need to be taken to keep it in working order. With anything related to chronic illness/pain, he can’t just take any new medicine anymore. Everything is under the microscope, so to speak. He is currently trying an injectable prescription for migraines that doesn’t process through the liver. He has taken just about every other medication for migraines and chronic pain over the years, which we suspect is why his liver function has been declining. Some days, he doesn’t want to take anything for pain and would rather suffer through it than to wonder how it’s going to affect him long-term. We go back and forth between trust and worry and that can be hard on the emotions. The instruction in Proverbs 3:5-6 comes to mind, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths”. All we can do is pray for stability in John’s health and for peace while seeking the right health-path forward. Even through uncertainty, God is still faithful to place stray gifts in our path – things which cause us to remember He cares about our days.
(Stray gifts photos are shared under the descriptions.)
Top Row: I am still making cards for friends, family, and for donation, albeit not as fast as I used to. The first card is one of my favorites I’ve made lately. On the inside, I have stamped, “Hello, friend” and left the outside without a sentiment. The middle photo was a card order for a special aunt of a friend of ours. Their aunt will turn 105 years old in November! I felt honored to be asked to make a special card. The last card is an anniversary card for a friend who has it displayed near fall decorations in her home. Sweet!
Middle Row: Last November, we planted two passion flower vines and only one made it through the dreadful summer heat this year. This flower is stunning and the vines are quite aggressive, which we hope will cover a rock wall in our backyard. The center photos is of Morning Glory vines we planted at my dad’s house when we lived there a few years ago. What can I say? We love aggressive climbers with beautiful flowers! The last photo is pretty special. A few Sundays ago, our church had a baptism service where seven people were baptized! One of the ladies told me, “I’m ready to make it known”. It was an emotional day. Because our church doesn’t have a baptistry, after service, we all met at a member’s house to use the pool. Afterwards, the kids swam, and there was a nice fellowship with lot of food – the main course being street tacos grilled on an outdoor grill. It was one very blessed day!
Bottom Row: A cactus growing out of a palm tree is something I’ve not seen before. Jonathan spotted it on the way back to our car after the baptism and fellowship. Pretty neat! The middle photo was sent to me by my friend in PA. The fall scenery there is breathtaking! I love the colors of fall. The last photo was shared by a friend in TX who said, “These beautiful flowers reminded me of you!” Stray gifts, indeed. Under the collage is another stray gift that I have no photo for.
Not pictured: I was going through behind the scenes sort of stuff a few months ago of my website here and noticed more information about subscribers to this blog. The information is mainly e-mail addresses, names (if available), how long they’ve been subscribed, and about how often they open any blog e-mails sent. Most of the subscribers are friends and family and a few I have no idea who they are or how they found my blog. There is one I’ve been super curious about for a long time. I know this person has a blog, too, but it’s not faith-based, so I wasn’t sure where there was a connection. When I was looking at some stats in an area I’d never noticed before, I saw the e-mail address with a name I recognized, and my heart stopped. No way, I thought. She follows me under her blog name and her blog doesn’t share her name or where she’s from. Her e-mail, however (which I found behind the scenes), gave a name I knew. So I wrote this person and asked, “Do I know you?” and wrote about where we would know each other. She wrote back and confirmed that we do, in fact, know each other and she was so surprised and delighted that I reached out. She is a young woman who is around Jonathan’s age that we knew at our home church back in GA years ago. I can still picture where her family sat during services – behind us, in the far left set of pews near the stained glass windows. After church, she would come talk to us and hang out. She and Jonathan (around 8 and 9 years old at the time) were some of the kids who stayed close to parents before and after services so it was easy to talk about school, what books they were reading, etc. She shared that after we left for the mission field, she kept up with us through our newsletters and when we would “come home” for the yearly Campmeeting days, she looked forward to seeing us. We always picked up where we left off. Her older sister, too, would come talk to us and we enjoyed the girls’ company. The property has long been sold off and former members have all dispersed to various other churches. Her family attends a church who still supports my dad and she told me she’s kept up with us through his newsletters and through my blog. Jonathan and I both have been keeping in touch with her and it’s just such a joy to hear from her and to reminisce about the church and different events. For certain, this particular stray gift was a surprise and has been one of my favorites so far this year.