Grandma

I have only met one 99 year old. It's my Grandma, Golden.

She will be 100 in October. As I am spending time at my parents' house I have had the chance to visit her.

I am leaving town in a few days and there is no guarantee that I will get to see her again, this side of heaven.

I found these wonderful pictures on my dad's computer, so I thought I would honor my amazing grandma and blog about her. I wonder if I'd be able to explain to her what blogging is....

That cute little boy is my dad. The older woman is my great-grandma.

This picture is the image I have in my head when I think of my grandma. I know she looks much older these days, but this is how I see her. I remember my grandpa calling for her..."Goldie!!"

When I think about my great-grandma who immigrated from England, without her parents at the turn of the century, I am amazed at her bravery. Then I consider my grandma who was a traveling preacher during a time when women ministers were not a commonality, I guess it's no wonder that my sister and I are not doing "normal" things in our lives.

Here is Grandma holding my older sister. Who would have known that she'd be a mother of a toddler and a baby while finishing her doctorate at Virginia Tech? It seems that driven women run in our family. I am grateful for the legacy she has left us. She is a strong, godly woman. Selfishly, I hope she lives to celebrate 100 years in October, but with a heart full of love and compassion for her I pray Jesus calls her home soon. We will loose much, but she will gain all that's really worth attaining.

Well done, you upright and faithful servant! You have been faithful and trustworthy over a little; I will put you in charge of much. Enter into and share the joy which your master enjoys.

Matthew 25:21

the stories behind the pictures

Aunt Jenni and Grace

Jacob and his cousin

Family trip to the zoo

G&I

Grandma with the kids


I wish the smiles told the whole story! The day at the zoo was great, but there has been a lot of ups and downs in the few days we've been home. I am recovering from some bizarre summer cold that vaporized my voice for over a week. I am choosing to believe it is a cold, not a God- ordained period of muteness. However, the mysterious inability to speak began the morning after I yelled at the neighbor kids. Hey, it had been a long day and I was trying to work peacefully, outside on the computer, when out of nowhere at 9:00 there were screaming pre-teens disturbing my solitude! (I have already taken time to apologize...but since I couldn't talk, I could only e-mail my apology..that made it less painful)
I have had two kids with fevers....which means we have unintentionally exposed most of our loved ones to our various sicknesses over these last days. I carried sick Jacob through the pouring July, yes, July rain so I could go to church.
I am hoping tomorrow the weather will be sunny and all of us will be well.
But if not, I know years from now I'll look at these zoo pictures with nostalgia and say to myself, "Wasn't that a wonderful time? Those really were the good old days.."

life in April

Mom and Dad came to visit!

We went to the mountains for the weekend.

Anna came to visit :)

Noah's laundry....

I am worn out looking at that pile of laundry! But I am trying to blog at least once a month...so here it is....short and sweet.

Tomorrow is Easter. Three years ago, John and I were on a plane to Haiti, getting ready to meet Jacob for the first time on Easter morning.

What an amazing gift!

"the Lord has redeemed his servant Jacob"!

Change

A lot has happened since I wrote last time. On New Years eve my husband got a text that changed our lives. A text! I didn't even know how to text until a few years ago.
The text turned into a phone call, which turned into a lunch, which turned into a job offer, which moved us across the country. In a matter of a few days John packed a month's worth of clothes and was on a flight to start his new job. The kids and I had a little over two weeks to pack the house, notify all our loved ones of our move, pay a substantial amount of money to the public library in late fees and find a home for the dog while we are in transition.
The very worst part of the whole situation was telling my parents. The day we found out the job was a reality, was the day after my parents left the state to visit my sister for a few months. I had to call and tell them we were moving and by the time they got home we would be gone. We would not be a few minutes away anymore, but thousands of miles away. I can truthfully say it was the most heart wrenching phone call I have had to make.
I am convinced that God has opened this door for us. Both John and I are at peace with our decision, but I have not caused the people I love such great pain since I was a self-absorbed teenager. The only positive aspect of being completely self-focused is that I was unaware of the hurt I was causing my loved ones. However, this time I have been keenly aware of the pain we have caused as we unexpectedly dashed out of their everyday lives.
How can following God's leading hurt the people I love?? I am convinced that we are in His will. In fact I was not surprised by the sudden change in our lives. I had been sensing a stirring in my spirit that God was up to something. But I was guessing it had to do with Haiti... (I still think that He is putting that together, but just not letting us in on it yet).
I am learning that following God can be painful and confusing at times. In fact this whole blog was born out of following God into unknown territory which has been difficult and uncomfortable. But in general, I was the only one who was hurting...ok, Grace would disagree. But it was generally me who has struggled, not my neighbors, closest friends, aunt, cousins or parents. It is one thing to step out in faith and struggle as a result, it is quite another to follow after God and inflict pain on loved ones along the way!

So here I sit in the basement of my dear friend's house, one week after arriving. It still feels like a visit more than a move. I don't have enough perspective to be objective and share what God has taught me, but I know He is faithful. For months I had a verse written on a white board in our family room, "Commit to the Lord whatever you do and He will make it a success". I know God's definition of success is different than the world's, but I am certain that it is success that will bring peace and truly satisfy. And that this type of success is what I was made for. So even as my head spins from change, I will continue to wake up each morning and choose to trust God with the ones we can't be near anymore, the house I said yes to buying, without walking ever through it, the house we left behind that I loved. And the new things He is doing in this next chapter of our lives.

"Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams on the wasteland.". Isaiah 43:18-19