Therapeutic Blogging

That's what this post is hoping to be. Today is a tad overwhelming. The worst part is that my sister's good friend and my walking partner's good friend each had a devastating loss in their lives today. My sister's friend's teenage son lost his battle with cancer and my walking partner's very good friend died of the same disease leaving her children without a mother.

These things make you think about life. As I drove to get Matthew at scouts I wondered how my family would cope without me. Ken couldn't really keep his job if he didn't have me at home. This week he is in Philadelphia M-F late. He couldn't do that without a mother to watch his children. But alas people are faced with this each day.

I also think about J., my sister's friend who has to bury her son. How does someone do that without complete despair?

Anyway....I am trying to get beyond the sadness of it all. It makes me want to think, that all this day to day stuff really doesn't matter, but we know it all does. I still need to feed/clothe/teach my children, pay my bills, keep the laundry from taking over etc. So as much as I would like to not stress about these things, I still do.

Ok, so far this post hasn't been extremely therapeutic. But here goes. I think it helps to remember the good when faced with times of sadness. To remember things for which I am thankful. The list, Thank the Lord, is endless, there are so many blessings. It is important to remember that these things are bigger than the list of worries.

Here are a few things for which I am thankful - in picture form:
FAMILY (my kiddos)

FAMILY (my parents and siblings - here at my parent's birthday celebrations this summer - now my folks really are 80 - this summer we just pretended ;)

FAMILY (this summer there were 33 of us together plus a handful of significant others - here is just a small grouping) It was wonderful to be together and celebrate the lives of my parents.

FAMILY (Ken) and FRIENDS (at U of Iowa Homecoming this October) What a blessing to get to spend some time with old friends. Ken's folks and sister watched the kids, which was fantastic. It was great to spend time with Ken and friends we only see once or twice a year...or less than that.


I am thankful that I have things that sometimes seem stressful:

-crazy amounts of laundry - that means we have plenty of warm clean clothes to wear

-dirty dishes in the sink - that means that we had food to eat and fun (basketball and Boy Scouts) activities to run off to tonight. Watching Joel play basketball makes me smile. He is so serious about playing well, all the while he has runs down the court with a happy look on his face. He just loves it, which is fun to watch...even when it means everyone will go to bed late when Ken is gone on Monday nights during basketball season.

-learning a new job - I am returning to a career I love. Of course there will be things to learn - how could there not be after 10 years, especially in a new setting with different job responsibilities.

Please pray with me for those people who lost loved ones today. Pray also that we can have the right perspective on life and keep God at the center even when we feel pulled in many direction. Pray that our children learn to live with that same God center - that is what this world is all about. And as a quick addition, pray for my friend N., who had an offer on her house. That they can sell their house and get through all the bumps that come on the relocation road with as little stress as possible!

God Bless You!