Down the hatch with 2024! I shed a lot of tears last year. So many things went south. Every time we turned around. something with the house, MAJOR, had to be repaired. There were 3 1/2 months of disruption to getting the front room remodeled… more major breakdowns. Every piece of equipment overhauled! Sixteen tires had to be replaced. There was no normal in our house. Even yesterday the water pressure was down and no HOT WATER! Yup, new water heater will be coming this week. In doesn’t help that the house next door burned down to the ground last week. Makes me jumpy when our lights dim…google said circuit overload so yes, we pulled a portable room heater and put it away! Such stress. I only pray that the Shalz family rebuilds next door as I have discovered how delightful that family is!
Our health has been a little challenging last year. Methinks that a lot of people our age count doctor visits as our date nights. Our winter social life…and married to my husband in the snow covered days has him climbing the walls. He has to have something to do!!!! It surely is NO fun being married to me, who has to ask God everyday to forgive me for being mean to him, as I have no patience with his marks on the walls! Last winter, he was able to golf every day with his friends. Not so this year with our weather.
Last year brought such grief and tears to my life with expectations being dashed to the ground. Personal challenges of which I had no control and I’m such a crier. Some tragedy will be announced on the news and I’m in tears as if it was my own family member. So I struggled with some situations and will say I am proud of my stand and life moves on…but I spent so much time crying. Well, don’t you know, God is so clever! HE was settin’ the stage… My eldest son called. I answered in tears and could hardly talk. Wished me a happy birthday and hoped I wasn’t mad at him. Consequently, without airing the dirty laundry, we had the 1st Christmas gathering WITH BOTH his son and daughter and daughter in law and 3 of my great grandchildren…in 27 years! On occasion of course, holidays with my son and daughter in law…but NEVER with his children. Our family leads the country in divorced couples and people have to divvy up their times with multiple families and somehow I slipped through the cracks FOR 27 YEARS! When Ken heard my crying, it broke his heart. He told me that. Everything in his family is changing for the good. My tears were not of no avail…geez I had to think of how to say that properly…My brokenness has brought around miracles now in my family
So I picked up this little book and already through half of it. I want so much to put my tumultuous past into “MAKE PEACE” mode. I am forgiving as always, never had a problem with forgiving, but I took the dead cat and buried it next to my chair with the tail sticking out and whenever memories pop up, I pull that damn cat up AGAIN! My son in law Jeff sez “the kleenex box is empty!” Truth of the matter is, he told me that in 2007…ONLY 18 years ago. Thank you my God, for your Grace and your Son Jesus. WE TOGETHER ARE WORKING OUR WAY THROUGH THIS!
And you won’t believe this, but for the 1st time FOREVER, MY daughter and 2 MY daughters in law are getting together for all day and going thrift store and antique mall BUYING. I’ve gone on occasion individually, but never together as the family!!!!! We girls who are really all like me, we are going to get to know eachother. Ken said he wishes we’d do that twice a month!
God is using my brokenness to design a new me, and I thank you Lord.
