First of all, I thanked Him for how abundantly He has blessed me.
- An amazing husband who daily goes far above and beyond the call of duty to care for the kids and me
- Six beautiful children who are physically healthy
- A team of medical professionals who help meet the complex needs of our children
- Coaches and teachers who invest more in our kids than I ever expected they would
- A loving circle of friends
- 11 years on staff with a wonderful Christian organization
- A lovely home in a delightful neighborhood in one of the coolest, cutest towns in the U.S.A.
- Good health
- Two cars--paid for--in good running order
- Daily access to three nutritious, delicious meals
- The talents and gifts I have
- Many other things
I prayed for many people God laid on my heart.
- My friend Kara, whose two foster children have big court dates this week
- Liz, just diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, preparing to begin treatments next week
- Liz's husband and three young kids. Their youngest already battled leukemia, so this is really extra tough for them.
- Amy, whose husband has taken on the monumental job of pastoring and trying to revive a dying church
- Snapper's friend A who shattered her ankle in a car wreck a month ago
- Four different friends who have adopted special needs kiddos from China within the last 3 months
- Larry & Erin, who are waiting for test results for their daughter who most likely has a fatal neurodegenerative disease
- Their daughter (age 10), whose health is rapidly declining
- My BFF Noel and her husband Stan who are in the adoption process
- The birth mother of their child who is most likely pregnant right now
- My husband, battling a heavy chest cold
- My little Sunny, daily dealing with the devastating problems caused by her birth mother's drug and alcohol abuse during her pregnancy, and three years of severe abuse and neglect
- Sunny's teacher and classmates who experience the fallout of Sunny's problems
- The rest of my kids who live with the trauma of having a mentally ill sister who is unstable more than she is stable
Then I prayed for The Big Thing in our lives right now. Due to the huge stress Sunny's illness is putting on our family, we are leaving the sunny Southeast and moving to the Pacific Northwest. Most of Matt's family live in the same town in Washington. They have agreed to support and help us along the hard road of parenting Sunny, so we are pulling up our roots here and transplanting. The move will put us back in the same time zone as my family, too, which will be wonderful. The move is going to be hard, but good, and it is very necessary. We can't continue the way things are, and as great as our friends here are, they are not able to offer the level of support that we need...the level of support that Matt's family is willing and able to provide.
The Big Thing is multifaceted, but right in front of us right now is the need for our house to sell. We're under contract on an amazing little farm in Washington, but it is contingent on the sale of our house here. We have a beautiful home in a great neighborhood in one of the most desirable school districts in the state. It has been on the market for almost three weeks, but we haven't had a single offer. If we don't have a contract on this house by March 27, we lose to place in Washington. I talked this over with God today and told Him that I'm stressed and need His comfort and reassurance. He gave it, and not in the ways I was expecting. But as He always does, He provided it in ways that let me know clearly that it was Him and not me. I love that about God.
If you're a praying person, would you please pray for our family? Pray for our house to sell quickly. Pray for our kids as we prepare for this big transition. Pray for peace, strength, and patience for Matt and me, because as you can probably guess, our plates are extremely full right now. Thanks.
