Joys and Trials

Yesterday was a day of happiness and tears. We were privelaged to get to attend the adoption hearing for Gavin James, the son of our good friends Jeff and Christine James. He was born last February and has been in their home since coming home from the hospital. His adoption was finalized yesterday to everybody's joy. We thank God for placing him in Jeff and Christine's home as a blessing to them and an opportunity for him to grow up knowing Jesus. After the hearing Jeff and Christine invited us all over for a dinner celebration for Gavin. Our kids all had a blast playing outside in the park like back yard at the James' house. A most favorite item to play on is the trampoline. Thus, the tears: After many fun hours of jumping and playing on the trampoline there was a little accident and Isabel fell off, landing on her arm on the ground. She was quite upset, understandably, and we took that as our cue to head home. We debated as to whether we should take her to urgent care on our way home or wait it out. We opted to wait it out, but wound up having a rough night with Isabel waking up often complaining of the pain. With the coming of the morning we noticed a little swelling and so Jason took her off to urgent care first thing this morning. It was discovered that our brave little girl had broken her wrist. Isabel's first broken bone and the date will never be forgotten, Gavin's adoption day! And so we move forward with joy for the James' and a trial for us.

Sometimes it's easy to get overwhelmed with our circumstances. I was reading Deut. 8:2 recently which states "You shall remember all the way which the LORD your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not." So here we are, in a little wilderness of our own , wandering through the difficulties of a new born who doesn't sleep, fatigue, and now a 6 year old with a broken wrist (did I mention it's her right wrist, the hand she writes with, she will have a cast for 6-8 weeks and first grade has proven to include a lot of homework?) These are the times we are commanded to remember the ways that the LORD has led us. Will our hearts prove to be true? Will we keep His commandments or not? His commandments to trust Him, to place our burdens on Him, to cease striving and know that He is God and so many others. He humbles us to cause us to remember our need for Him and to allow Him to be exalted in the earth. May He be exalted in us, and in Isabel, today.

Isabel has been very brave and a little "Hannah Montana" sticker and breakfast with Daddy at McDonalds helped make things a little brighter. Another good thing is that she has a four day weekend with no school on Monday or Tuesday of next week, giving her some good rest time before returning to school next Wed. Thank God for the little blessings that make the trials a little more bearable.