Thank you to everyone who prayed for me last week. I don't want to talk bad about anyone, but let's just say that I spent the week with a person who is critical with almost everything you say, uncompassionate for the most part, and who KNOWS that everything they do or think is right, and everyone else is an idiot. And, for the handfull of you that I quickly dashed out a message to last Thursday morning, we literally watched the Lord roll away the storm clouds all the way home!! Thank you for praying!! There was a line of severe thunderstorms, and we had at least a 60% chance of storms all the way home. We got out ahead of the main line of storms, but little cells were popping up ahead of it, too. About an hour or so after we left, there were 2 tornados there. We got a moderate rain in Birmingham, and shortly after we left there, they had a severe storm. The *entire* way home the side of the roads were standing in water where it had been raining, but other than B-Ham, it only sprinkled on us twice. James has a radar on his cell phone. For about the last 2 hours of the trip, the rain was right up to the interstate on the radar, but we didn't have any. As we unloaded the car, it started to rain lightly, and just as we got the last bags in, the heavens opened, and it poured for hours! Don't you just love it when God does that?!
While we were visiting my grandmother, James and I felt very strongly impressed that it was time to move her closer to family. She is in a nursing home in the county she has always lived. This is where she wanted to be originally (home), but she is so far away from her only child and 2 grandchildren. The relatives there are hardly visiting her. Also, she has rehabbed (is that a word?) a lot in the last 2 years, and really doesn't need nursing home care right now. She does need assisted living, though. She has some dementia, along with a few other problems, but is still able to visit and participate in things. Right now she spends most of her time alone. Turns out that the Lord has also been impressing this upon my mom and sister's heart, too. So, James and I are looking into an assisted living facility about 5 min. from our house. That puts my mom and dad just 2 hours away from her instead of 6. We feel like she would be better here, because they're close enough to visit much more often (and can stay with us instead of having to pay for a hotel), but she would be here with the kids. We can pick her up sometimes to come spend time with us, she will be able to spend holidays with everyone again, and she can go to their performances and things. Of course, she could at my sister's, too, but my sister is 5 hours from my parents. I won't go into all of it, but let's just say that those of you who have done adoption paperwork can sympathize with what we are embarking upon!~~Paperwork and dealing with the govt.! We are trying to get veteran's benefits for her to help with the assisted living, she's currently on medicaid, so we're trying to decipher them to see what they may still pay, etc. It's mind boggling and thought consuming. We feel an urgency that they do not. : )
Will you hang in there if I tell you one more story? : o
Our neighbors got a puppy last spring~a black lab. There are a very few woods between our houses, but that didn't help when they built a dog pen on our end of their house under our bedroom window. We spent the whole spring and summer listening to him bark his little puppy head off because he didn't want to be locked up or alone. We kept thinking he'd out grow it. Not. We spent the fall listening to his big puppy head bark at every move we made. They finally took him out of the pen, but put an electric fence in. He'd come right to the edge of the yard and bark non-stop at us as soon as we walked out the door. On 2 occassions, he barked at James for over an hour and a half while he worked in the yard. James asked our vet, and he said that being a black lab, he wouldn't ever outgrow it. We asked our pastor if it was wrong to think about saying something to them, and he encouraged us that it was fine, and told us some stories. Still we stalled. Well, for the past month or more, either the fence is not shocking, or he doesn't care anymore. He has been racing into our front yard barking, growling, and snarling (curling that lip and showing awful looking teeth). Twice he has chased Ashley or Briana into their cars. They were scared to death. He's come after James several times, and me twice. I have been scared to let the little girls out into the front yard to play. Finally, Sunday, James and I decided to write them a letter. They are both at work most of the time, so we knew they probably didn't even know how bad it was. I wrote as sweet and friendly of a letter as I could, but still conveying the problems. I told them we weren't angry, and that I prayed they wouldn't get angry with us. James took it over yesterday morning. Last night she called. They weren't angry. In fact, she was very apologetic and mortified. The "problem" is that she said they are taking the dog to the pound today. In my wildest dreams, I never imagined they would get rid of the dog. A part of me is relieved. I don't have to worry about my girls being attacked, and hopefully, some of the peace of our quiet neighborhood can return. But, my goodness, I feel so guilty. I cried quite a few times last night. Perhaps they weren't that attached to the dog, or maybe his barking was driving them crazy, too. I don't know. All I know is that because of my words, a family is losing their pet. James tried and tried to talk to her when she called, making suggestions about fences, bark collars, etc. She wouldn't hear of it~said they'd made up their mind. She had had a dog try to attack her at some point, and she knew how terrifying it was, and she did not want that happening to anyone else. Sigh! I hope it's right.
In order not to leave on a sad note~~Sunday night, James was ordained as a deacon. WOW! Our church is so great~~so many truely spiritual people, deeply searching for the Lord and a pouring of God's spirit on our church. I thought James would be the center of the ordination, and to a point he was, but I didn't realize I was going to be in that circle, too!! : O At one point James and I both had to go sit in chairs facing the congregation while the deacons laid hands on us and prayed over us. That was awesome, and wouldn't have been a problem if the pastor hadn't called us up, sat us down, then started talking and talking and talking!
Even though they are almost all people I know, sitting there in front
of the congregation with them all looking at us was......I suppose
humorous in hindsight? This is extra special, because the Lord has
really been working in James' and my lives, especially the last several
months. There have been so many things going on.....but that's another
post.Your Swirly Blog Friend,
Letitia
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