Well, we made it!
The deep cold is over, the sun is out and almost all our snow is melted. I am accepting practically every subbing job coming my way, even if I struggle with a particular age group or subject. God provides.
I get to visit the laundromat now, which is always interesting to me. What a slice of society I meet.
My friends are praying for me, for solutions to my house repairs, for wisdom and guidance. I need wise counsel because I have NOT A CLUE about mound systems/septic systems.
I know God sees. He provides. He will help.
In my international Bible Study (Chinese) there is a gentleman who has had contacts with construction folk and he indicated he would try to link me with reputable help. See? God is working. We will see what is next.
I just don’t want to be “taken to the cleaners.”
Though I do visit the laundromat willingly 😉
Cherie and I did lose Gandalf last week. He went downhill pretty fast last Thursday, and we were (thankfully) able to get an appointment in Buffalo to have him put down. He was sweet to the last minute.
We wept our way home. Burial will follow, as the ground is still frozen. He will join Lacey, Blackberry, Misty, and Kiwi. My heart aches as I think of these precious pets! I like to think of them playing with Brian, Sera, and Jean up in heaven.
Sera and Jean are our two little ones that didn’t make it.
I fully expect to meet them in heaven.
But here on earth we wait. I never pray for patience. You know what happens when you do? Lessons are learned. I’m waiting for enough already.
I pray for strength and wisdom and help for each day.
I chose to take a day off to get some errands and financial stuff done today. I’m thankful, because I woke up feeling under the weather. Stress, probably.
I’ll try to zip around town and get everything done— tomorrow I’m doing a double job subbing; Second Grade in the morning and Middle School art in the afternoon.
This is my colorful and varied life.
I wouldn’t trade it!
It took five years to feel confident about living alone and facing life single.
I never dreamed I’d be alone in my senior years. I always pictured us growing old together, having a blast camping and traveling, enjoying our music and our reading, discussing politics and theology.
It took five years to become rather selfish and content with living life alone! I don’t feel the need to remarry anymore. I felt so incompetent for so long. I hadn’t done so many things for 30 years! Finances, bills, repairs, car stuff, house stuff, —-all that hadn’t been my thing. Brian did it all.
Now it’s mine. With fear and trembling I took it all on again, and now, five years later I survived.
How selfish of me! I make my own decisions (with prayer, of course!) and live life by myself. Being single is really a selfish thing.
I am more and more of an advocate of early marriage as I see trends around me and in myself.
Being married is an incubator for selflessness.
It’s really difficult for people who are set in their ways to submit wholeheartedly to someone else.
The benefits of marriage seem pretty slim to anyone selfish.
Having been married for 30 years, and single now for awhile I stand in some authority to have an opinion!
Marriage is a wonderful thing! Children are glorious gifts from God!
Marriage is hard, though, and one MUST surrender wholly to its demands. It is the perfect lesson in submission.
I am so glad I was married, for quite some time. I know the demands and the benefits and I actually miss being married!
I see my selfish decisions these days and I am embarrassed! It’s weird to just decide what I want and do it.
Like I said, I’m getting used to it after five years, and it would be hard to go back to being selfless in many ways.
Our pastor has spent two weeks talking about marriage. He used Ephesians 4:31-32 as his text. Kindness and forgiveness must characterize a marriage.
When those two things are the constant a marriage will be blissful.
When malice is absent in marriage it will be the easiest relationship to maintain.
We are fallen humans, though, so forgiveness must be practiced. Constantly.
Boundaries in marriage, accountability to God, consequences of organic problems are all realities. Kindness and forgiveness can only be positive forces in this most important covenant relationship on earth. It was an excellent series. Short and truly sweet.
Widowhood has its deep sorrow, difficulties, darkness, and pain. But selfishness is also a part of it.
Because I recognized this pitfall especially this past year I chose “service, purpose, and faith” as my words to characterize 2025. I want to be of service. I want to have God’s purposes in my life. I want my spiritual antennae to grow again after trauma took them out. Faith must characterize my life.
I will die if Jesus isn’t my central focus. I must live for Him. This must cancel out my selfishness.
Yet I still make decisions, little and big.
What a responsibility!
So today I do stuff. Stuff we all do. I am drinking coffee by the fire this morning as I write. Yukichan is at my feet. Corwyn is grunting at squirrel activity outside the front window.
This morning I heard the chickadee singing a spring call. I expect robins will turn up soon. It’s still a gray world out there. No green. Sunshine is plentiful and gentle air encourages the creatures to begin anew.
I am also encouraged.
MARANATHA!