My mom...

So this may be a bit random but hopefully that doesn't surprise many of you who know me...

I'm going to let you all in on Albuquerque's best kept secret: the greatest woman in the world lives at my house. I guess judging by the title you can tell that this post is about my mom. It's not her birthday or anything like that but just me getting the privilege to witness her living life over the past 2 1/2 months, or I guess I should say the past 27 1/2 years and I just can't keep quiet about what an amazing woman she is.

For those of you who have met my mom, I believe you would agree with what I'm about to say. And for those who haven't met her, well... let's just say you're missing out.

If I could sum up my mom in one word it would be "SELFLESS". She is truly THE biggest servant I have ever met in the history of my life. I honestly don't know how she does it. She is a thousand times stronger than I am and puts up with so much from so many people (including yours truly). She wakes up at 5 in the morning, leaves for work at 6:30, doesn't get off until 6 at night. She comes home and then deals with all of us and our "needs" and the house... she's absolutely amazing! She almost never stops and well, basically...she's super woman.

I understand that most feel that way about their moms but my mom's had a bit of a doozy when it comes down to the hand she's been dealt but she continues to be the sweetest, cutest, prettiest woman you will ever meet... her husband, kids,family, friends, co-workers, and even her mother-in-law all attest to her amazingness.

If you were to have a picture Bible through the book of Proverbs, you would most likely see a picture of my mom next to Proverbs 31... that chapter that most of us read and say that it's an impossible standard to attain to but sad to say, I live with that woman. I am truly honored and blessed to call her my mom and pray that one day when I grow up I can be at least a little bit like her.

I'll be home for Christmas....

Two and a half months ago I was having a gnarly case of homesickness. There really is nothing like “home” for the holidays. The problem in my case is that well… for five years I basically had two homes.

I LOVE getting to spend time with my family and taking part in all of our fun and crazy traditions where even though my brothers and I are “adults” now (I use that term very loosely), we still love getting our PJs Christmas Eve and watching the Grinch. We love the whole process of waking up Christmas morning and waiting for our parents before we open presents. We love the excitement of wondering what we got and then squealing with glee as our “wish list” gets taken care of one by one. We know that’s not what Christmas is all about but it’s just fun.

Although I have absolutely loved being home for Christmas, I will confess it was tough one this year as this was not how I was expecting this Christmas to be. I thought I was going to be celebrating my first Christmas with my husband back in Jinja with our own little tree and making our own traditions. But God had other plans… It is bitter-sweet times like this that I have to recognize that He has the authority to change our plans and that you never know what is going to happen next year, next month, or even in the next hour.

I don’t know how you were able to celebrate Christmas this year or whom you were with but my encouragement to you is this: soak it up for all it’s worth. Each and every person God has placed in your life is a gift, be it a grand parent, a parent, sister/brother, a spouse, or just a friend. Life changes, people come and go, and you never know what will happen in the future.

The good thing is that 1) He and His love never changes and 2) this world is not our ultimate home. Our real home is a place where we will no longer experience heartache, sadness or pain and it’s in that hope that I have to rest in these difficult times.

Roller Coasters

So, you know those theme parks like Six Flags that are all about roller coasters and everyone is so excited to go on the biggest, scariest ones with the most extreme speeds and loops and what not? Well, the last time I went to Six Flags was several years ago but I will confess my favorite ride was the Merry Go-Round...seriously, it was. Needless to say, I'm not a fan of twists and turns and going up and down and all around... sorry for those of you needing Dramamine right about now. And really, that's what life has been over the past two months... a roller coaster and I'll confess the girl inside of me who likes to be safe, with both feet on the ground, with no unexpected surprises but knowing exactly what's coming around the corner is not a big fan of the craziness of these past months. It almost seems like daily things go up and down and forward and backwards and I'm crying out to let me off, but that's not possible as we're at the top of a hill and if I get off now, all that's there is a huge drop.

The thing about this "ride" though, is that God continuously keeps reminding me just how much He's in control and how I'm in the palm of His hand. It seems like nearly every day through His Word, He's reminding me of His unfailing love, how He knows my heart and the situation that I'm in and He knows when and how the ride is going to end. To say this ride is "fun" would not be anywhere near accurate but just when I think I can't take it anymore He brings about glimpses of His grace and moments that bring joy. It's those moments that help me to hang on for dear life as my heart sinks down into my stomach as I rush into another dip. But really, He has been so unbelievably faithful even throughout this crazy ride, and as I've said before, I don't know when it will end, but He does. He's a good God who loves me and has all of this under control and even if the ups and downs take me by surprise and terrify me to my very core, He saw them coming, He even allowed them to be there to test me to see just how much I will trust Him. He is so amazingly worthy of my trust and at times yes, He does call us even in the midst of the scariest rides of our lives, to just put our arms in the air. I do need to just enjoy the ride, knowing who's in control, let go, be still and trust...and maybe scream a little :)