Hello from home!  No, I’m not posting from Wisconsin, as anticipated. The day before go-time, it became increasingly obvious that traveling to a Corona virus hotbed at this moment would not be my smartest move.  Alongside not wanting to bring it home, it seemed imminently illogical to be in two airports twice, flying to and from a hotspot state, and risking delivery of the virus to Indiana, the second leg of my journey. Caring for our Indiana daughter Heidi following her upcoming surgery is job one, and endangering her health makes no sense.  Thank goodness for Southwest Air and the ability to bank my ticket money for a future flight. For now, I’ll just drive to Indiana from home, stay safe, and administer TLC while she recuperates. It is the right thing to do, and for all of the folks out there with Covid-amended travel plans, I feel you.

It’s been a crazy month. Enough already! Stop messing with me, world!

Do you feel like shouting “enough!” at your world today? Is life wearing you down? Has Covid thrown a monkey wrench in your plans? 

I have good news for you!

There is nothing that happens in your life that God can’t use for good. Does that sound crazy? What is good about Flyboy’s complicated post-surgery recovery, including being very ill and losing 10 pounds in three days, followed by a nasty case of the hives? At first, we thought it was mosquitos or chiggers, as he’d been “supervising” a friend’s decking project and came home with what we thought were bug bites. Three days later his eyes were swollen, his hands were swollen, his lips were swollen, he was itching all over and quite miserable.  We went to Urgent Care where he got a steroid shot and more meds.  

I’m not saying his hives or the Covid outbreak in Wisconsin are good. But God has promised to bring good from it in the end.  Like being here with Flyboy. I’m surely missing seeing my son and his family, but stuff happens to all of us, and home is where I need to be right now, and I’m thankful to be here.

Who would believe that good could come from a cancer diagnosis?  Hearing the word “malignant” is like being a passenger on a runaway train, completely out of control.  Because you are.  We soon realized, though, when it happened to Flyboy (twice in one year), that the engineer (God) was indeed driving the train (it wasn’t out of control after all!) and that every day was a gift to be treasured.  Over twelve years later, we still live by that principle.  Every day is a gift.  And we are able to look back with gratitude for that realization, even though it took cancer to convince us of its truth. We don’t take each other for granted, and we see the beauty around us no matter what the day brings.

Life is still hard – don’t hear me say it’s not.  But God can use it for good.  Even hives.  He is here, he’s not abandoned us, and this, too, will pass.  Flyboy has been forced to slow down and endure a longer surgical recuperation than anticipated, but it’s also given him time to rest in the Lord and sitting with God in hard times is always a blessing.  He loves you, too, and he cares about what you are going through. And when you slow down and pay attention, he will reveal himself to you.  Take a deep breath, look around, and find the blessing in this day.  

Love,
Gigi

Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him. — Psalm 34:8 (NIV)