Timely Blessings



This has been a long week.  Not quite the sort of week that I think of when it comes to Thanksgiving.  I’ve had my blood drawn too many times to call it normal.  My Thanksgiving Day itself was pretty rough all by itself, I was feeling too sick to focus much on giving thanks.  And was more overcome with worry for this baby growing inside of me than thoughts of thanksgiving or joy.


Checking into the hospital again this morning left me feeling very sad.  Of all things I was/am desperately missing a particular friend who I know would have come with me today to sit and watch movies and just chat while I got endlessly poked and pricked.  Or she would have taken my children so Rob could come sit with me.  Either way, she was so much like a sister to me that she would have been all over this day.  But instead as I sat here alone, I got an unexpected message from someone else who cares about me.  Actually I got two messages, one from a dear friend who is also always there for me, saying she planned to visit me in the afternoon.  This didn’t surprise me as she is one of those friends who never lets you down and I am very blessed to have.  The other unexpected one though was from a sweet woman who I am proud to say is my mother-in-law.  It made me cry.   


Not many people have wonderful relationships with their in-law families.  Ours isn’t perfect of course, and although we have had a few rocky days, I am very blessed by the family I married into.  I have a wonderful sister by birth and so I know the treasure I gained when I got another sister through marriage.  Over the years we have grown the kind of sister bond that most people only get through blood.  She can make me angry and make me laugh like crazy all in one day.  That’s the mark of true sisterhood.  I never had a brother by birth, but I gained one through marriage.  He’s kind and funny as all little brothers should be and has brought me many smiles over the years.  He actually sat outside my delivery room for the birth of my first child and then ran out to get me some food.  Sweet memory.  All of their children I love like my own.  Their amazing sweet, sassy, and funny little personalities bring me so much joy.  My parent’s-in-law always amaze with their faith and consistent trust in God through the many storms life has brought their way.  Despite the crazy life they live and the storms they have weathered, they are generous and joyful, always opening up their home to anyone passing their way. 



Despite how physically poor I felt on Thanksgiving, it was like retreating to a safe-haven to take my children to their home and let them play, laugh, and eat joyfully with these cousins who are like siblings and these aunts/uncles/grandparents who smile at their silly antics and hug them with real love.  It’s an amazingly strange thing to live on the other side of the world and have family close by.  I’ve never met anyone else with a family like this one.  Of course I miss my own family desperately and hate the distance between us.  But I realize the precious blessing I have been given in this family I married into.  That blessing was accentuated this morning by mother-in-laws sweet offer to sit with me in the hospital.  It’s not a short drive to get here and clearly not a fun way to spend your Saturday, so the love behind her offer was very evident.  As I sit here in this quiet hospital room today I am glad for the chance to reflect on my thanksgiving blessings a few days late, and to count at the top of the list this family that I married into.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Identity

Image
This study of John continues to totally captivate my attention. Most recently one of the things that came out of our study was identity. Jesus repeatedly identifies himself in John; I am: the bread of life, the light of the world, the living water, the way, the truth, the life.   So who am I? A wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend, an auntie, a nurse, a teacher.........and on goes the list. But none of those are really me. Those are relationships that I have, or things that I do, but they aren’t me.   I spend a lot of time talking to young people and their parents who are trying to identify who they are. So often the discussion is based around the building of a college application. My child is an athlete, an artist, a musician, a linguist, a maths genius........ Then there are the national identities, and the passport identities, and the religious identities. My child is an A student, a C student. And from the children: I am an academic s...
Read more

Not forgotten

Image
It’s easy to feel forgotten, overlooked, or abandoned in our heart of hearts. Sometimes small things make us feel that way: not being invited to the party or not being acknowledged for a job well done. Sometimes it is much bigger things: extended illness, infertility, or loosing a job. Beyond this exist even heavier things that we shy away from thinking about: poverty, the loss of a loved one or violence. Whether big or small, intentional or unintentional, inflicted by fellow man or allowed by God, these disappointments leave behind varying levels of deep and painful wounds that are often difficult for anyone else to see.  Our tendency is to guard these wounds carefully and to protect ourselves in any way possible from the pain that they bring. Simultaneously most of us still wish to be noticed and to be known, but our fear of letting down that guard and letting anyone close enough to see our quiet pain or worse touch the pain holds us back. As a result, no one really know...
Read more

The Fount of Every Blessing

My birthday has rolled around again (that happens so quickly these days J ).   Sometimes, I’m surprised by my own age, I’ll wake up some mornings and think I’m still in my 20’s only to jolt myself back to reality that more time has passed then I think.   We use our birthdays and anniversaries to mark the passage of time.   They call us to stop and remember what has happened since the last time we passed this way. And whether the memories are good or bad there is something in us that needs to recall, evaluate, and acknowledge what has transpired.   As I pass my milestone this year I am captivated by the words of a very old hymn penned in 1757 by Robert Robinson, “Come Thou Fount”.   “Come thou fount of every blessing tune my heart to sing thy grace.”   Looking back over my year and even farther past that into the years before, I find that my life is covered with evidences of God’s grace.   They are weaved into every portion of my existence and...
Read more