Opportunities...

God provides us with lots of opportunities in our lives.  Some of them seem obvious, some of them are subtle.  Once in a while, He makes things so clear that we have no choice but to see how He is working.  This has been one of those situations for K'Lynn this month.

She wanted a dog, first of all.  She loves our puppies, Cooper and Lucy.  She asked her roomates, but the answer seemed to be 'no'.  She waited until her lease was getting close to up and purchased Evie, a beautiful chocolate lab.  She talked to the breeder about keeping her until K'Lynn moved into a new place.  This worked out for a while, but she missed her so much!  She eventually talked the roommates into allowing her to bring Evie early.  It was touchy, but K'Lynn really enjoyed having the companionship.  She eventually decided that this wasn't a good fit and that she needed to move out sooner.   She began to look, but everything was so expensive.  If she were to move early, she would have to pay double rent for a while.  At almost $800/month, she could not make it work.  She mentioned her search at school and one of the students heard about it.  She told K'Lynn that her family had an apartment attatched to their home and that it was opening soon.  Although reluctant, she went and looked at it.  Tiny, but very affordable and it had a fenced back yard for Evie! She put down the deposit and moved in last Saturday.  We went over to help and got her settled in.  What a great opportunity for her to have a great place of her own!  God truly provided!

On Friday afternoon prior to the move,  her brother called with a question.  Would she be available to come to Birmingham to spend the rest of the summer working with the Orange Team at Student Life?  Oh my...had not expected this...uh...opportunity.  By Sunday, it seemed to be a done deal.  So much for a summer, I guess!  God had made everything fall into place, though, so it seemed like a no-brainer.  What about Evie, though?  Oh yes...the new landlady!!  Evie will be in her very own yard, playing with her very own toys until her 'mama' returns home in several weeks.  K'Lynn went over Sunday night to secure the final details with her landlady and to drop off post-dated checks.  One last confirmation needed that this was a God thing?  OK...the landlady asked her to take $200/month off of each check.  She did not feel right about charging her the full rent since she was not going to be there.  Wow...just wow!

She flew out this morning.  Her dadddy and Hannah drove her to Houston super early and saw her off.  I talked to her a few times and her trip was smooth.  Ryan picked her up at the airport and drove her to Covenant College for her first night of worship.  She was anxious and excited.  She was also very clear on Who to give the credit to for all of this.  Now...since God is into details and big plans...maybe there is a husband for her at one of these camps??  My mouth to His ears....:-)

Watch for those opportunities...He is working things out for your good all of the time!!

The things you cannot see...

I have been thinking a lot lately about the pain each of us carries that no one else can see. It can be physical or emotional. Either way, it is virtually invisible to the outside world. Sometimes others can see it, but only if they choose to look closely. Most of the time, though, we carry it alone. If you have never felt this, count yourself lucky. If you know what I mean, then you are in good company.

I began thinking of this two years ago when I was preparing for a hysterectomy. I walked into a store the day before the surgery to buy new slippers for the hospital. The thought crossed my mind that I must look to anyone else just like an ordinary gal that needed new house shoes. On the inside, though, all of the "what if"s were playing over and over in my head. I thought about how this preoccupation with the surgery and my fear caused me to be a little rude to those around me. I was completely self-absorbed. As I made it though the surgery, I realized I had worried for nothing. God was in control and His plan was for me to recover quickly and fully. In the moment, though, I was hurting emotionally with no one to console me. My faith in God got me through, but it was still hard.

My youngest, Hannah, experiences this silent and hidden pain. We have spent the last 4 days dealing with another round of ovarian cyst pain and everything that goes along with it. It is one of those vague, hard to describe types of pain that tends to be dismissed by many medical professionals. In the ER last night, a very well meaning doctor admitted that the problem was " something female related" and gave us meds for pain. He really did not know what else to do, but at least he addressed the main and immediate problem. Anyone that has not experienced this probably does not really understand it. She misses school, she cannot do many of the things expected in athletics at times, and seems to complain a lot to some. In reality, she is tough as nails and this is very painful. I have seen her suck it up and do whatever needed done, even though she was hurting so badly. I know that she will be a much stronger person for getting through this. It is my job in the mean time to support her through the invisible pain.

I have friends that live with Lupus, Fibromyalgia, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Osteoarthritis, Anxiety, Depression, feelings of despair....the list goes on and on. It is not like having a broken bone that you get a cast on for everyone to sign. These are conditions that usually have no outward symptoms, but the pain is very real. The good news is that God sees that pain. He wants us to lean on Him for strength and support. He can meet our needs and heal our pain.

I guess I am putting this out there as a pledge that I will try to be more sensitive to those around me in pain of any type. I will do what I can to help, even if that is just acknowledging it's existence. Everyone needs to feel heard and validated. Love you all....