Fruit Salad & Love
That is how I would best describe my weekend. It is all good in the end but the chopping, slicing, dicing and mixing can be not so good!
My week was full of pressures to get our tickets booked for our missions trip, get my sons settled in college, get an updated statement to our missions office re our finances and just life. I was getting through until Friday night. Our oldest son had headed off to a weekend retreat and had phoned his dad to see if he could leave his keys with someone so we could pick up the car later. He wanted to be sure the keys would be safe and his dad assured him all would be well. This car is his baby and he had this remote security key starter. Well we went to pick up the car and could not find the keys anywhere. The caretaker came to the school for us, the fellow who had taken the keys to put them in a place for us to find them came to the school and another gal called a few people to see if anyone had seen them. They never did show up but as any parent would do...we would not leave the car. The car had not disappeared so we were thankful for that. We decided we had to set up camp so that if someone had the remote starter, we could protect the car. The next morning I took coffee to my husband and he let some workmen into work at the job he is doing at the school and I sat to watch over the car and call to figure out a way to disengage the security system so we could drive the car home. Three different guys tried to help us but there was no way we could get the car to start. The security system was secure....We had to call a tow truck to take the car to a Best Buy to have it disengaged by a technician. It just 'happened' that the best technician in the city was at Best Buy when we arrived with the tow truck and he worked in the cold on that thing for 1 hour. We are talking 4:30 pm before this is all done. We "waited" and "waited" for help and instructions. I kept thinking of those poor people in the New Orleans who were waiting for help and it seemed like an eternity before it came. Ours was a day and night ordeal but for these people the nightmare goes on. We had to install another remote starter $$$ later this week. The keys still have not shown up.
The other nightmare I'm trying to sort out is the bus system from home to Concordia in the evening. Concordia is a 15 minute drive from home but on the bus it is 1 1/2 hour and you have to transfer 3 times. CRAZY! I'm trying to figure this our for our youngest son who is taking some evening classes.
Then comes the lessons on love....unconditional love.
Being a parent is so very challenging and draining at times. I think it has been the hardest job of all jobs. It is a job where love is so incredibly deep. You give and give and give and you hurt so deeply for your kids. It is easy when you can make decisions for them but freeing them to make decisions right or wrong is another whole ballgame. I think I'm understanding God's love for me more and more. He wants my love. He wants me to respond to him. He wants me to offer to walk with Him but He has given me a free will. He doesn't force me but allows me the freedom to choose. It is so painful when I choose things that pull me away from him or that hurt him. He gives to me over and over and often I don't even say thanks but expect more. I so often just take Him for granted. When my guys tell me they appreciate me or say thanks, it means so much to me. When they demand, I often don't say too much but give because I love them. God does that for me over and over and over again. I'm so amazed by His unconditional love.
Anyway...I feel I've been in the school of learning this weekend. The stresses, the challenges are all part of the lessons I need to remind myself how totally dependent I am on the Lord for strength, for $$$, for rest, for endurance.
My week was full of pressures to get our tickets booked for our missions trip, get my sons settled in college, get an updated statement to our missions office re our finances and just life. I was getting through until Friday night. Our oldest son had headed off to a weekend retreat and had phoned his dad to see if he could leave his keys with someone so we could pick up the car later. He wanted to be sure the keys would be safe and his dad assured him all would be well. This car is his baby and he had this remote security key starter. Well we went to pick up the car and could not find the keys anywhere. The caretaker came to the school for us, the fellow who had taken the keys to put them in a place for us to find them came to the school and another gal called a few people to see if anyone had seen them. They never did show up but as any parent would do...we would not leave the car. The car had not disappeared so we were thankful for that. We decided we had to set up camp so that if someone had the remote starter, we could protect the car. The next morning I took coffee to my husband and he let some workmen into work at the job he is doing at the school and I sat to watch over the car and call to figure out a way to disengage the security system so we could drive the car home. Three different guys tried to help us but there was no way we could get the car to start. The security system was secure....We had to call a tow truck to take the car to a Best Buy to have it disengaged by a technician. It just 'happened' that the best technician in the city was at Best Buy when we arrived with the tow truck and he worked in the cold on that thing for 1 hour. We are talking 4:30 pm before this is all done. We "waited" and "waited" for help and instructions. I kept thinking of those poor people in the New Orleans who were waiting for help and it seemed like an eternity before it came. Ours was a day and night ordeal but for these people the nightmare goes on. We had to install another remote starter $$$ later this week. The keys still have not shown up.
The other nightmare I'm trying to sort out is the bus system from home to Concordia in the evening. Concordia is a 15 minute drive from home but on the bus it is 1 1/2 hour and you have to transfer 3 times. CRAZY! I'm trying to figure this our for our youngest son who is taking some evening classes.
Then comes the lessons on love....unconditional love.
Being a parent is so very challenging and draining at times. I think it has been the hardest job of all jobs. It is a job where love is so incredibly deep. You give and give and give and you hurt so deeply for your kids. It is easy when you can make decisions for them but freeing them to make decisions right or wrong is another whole ballgame. I think I'm understanding God's love for me more and more. He wants my love. He wants me to respond to him. He wants me to offer to walk with Him but He has given me a free will. He doesn't force me but allows me the freedom to choose. It is so painful when I choose things that pull me away from him or that hurt him. He gives to me over and over and often I don't even say thanks but expect more. I so often just take Him for granted. When my guys tell me they appreciate me or say thanks, it means so much to me. When they demand, I often don't say too much but give because I love them. God does that for me over and over and over again. I'm so amazed by His unconditional love.
Anyway...I feel I've been in the school of learning this weekend. The stresses, the challenges are all part of the lessons I need to remind myself how totally dependent I am on the Lord for strength, for $$$, for rest, for endurance.
posted by ladyyvonne | 12:48 PM
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