When I last posted, my husband and I were about to sell our house, and we had no house to move into. This is because we backed out of the contract we had on another house. Luckily, we’re blessed with amazingly generous friends. Three couples offered to let us stay with them. Because we have two dogs that aren’t used to carpet, we moved into our friends’ house that mostly does not have carpet on the first floor. They have three children under the age of 5 and a chihuahua, but our first week has gone pretty well. We even have a nice bedroom to stay in with an en suite bathroom. Living with children is very different from living without children though. There’s a lot more activity than I’m used to, but I’m adjusting as best I can. My husband, who’s a natural with kids and quite extroverted, is managing quite well and is enjoying all the company.
Unfortunately, I’m probably not getting as much rest as I should. Even though I got over the cold I had, I still have a residual dry cough. Whenever this happens I think…Oh, no! What if I’m developing interstitial lung disease, but each day I cough a bit less, so I’m not so worried as I was. I’m also in a flare and woke up terribly achy today. This may be due to the cold front that came through last night. (Thank God for the rain and cooler weather though!) I took 20mg of Prednisone this morning and a Mobic, and I’m much better than I was. As I’ve said in the past…days like this give me a good dose of reality and help me see the world in different terms, appreciating the little things and not getting too full of myself and attached to things in this world that don’t matter.
Something else that has helped in this area is a book my husband and I have started reading for a class at church. This book, The Good and Beautiful God: Falling in Love with the God Jesus Knows by James Bryan Smith, emphasizes the loving and forgiving God that Jesus portrayed, and it’s a book that I’ve needed to read for a long time since I was brought up in a church that tries to make people feel guilty or scared in order to get them to obey God, instead of obeying God because he’s a loving father whom we should want to please. Each chapter ends with a “soul training” exercise for the next week. Some have been easier for me than others. This week, we’re supposed to be carving out time from our busy schedules for rest or leisure. This is not easy to do with young kids around, but I’m trying the best I can. (I’m currently shut up in my bedroom with the door locked.) I think my favorite “soul training” exercise was reciting Psalm 23 multiple times a day which I found to be very comforting, and I’ve been trying to recite it to myself at least one time a day ever since that week, typically when I’m driving to work. Overall, the book is helping me to grow closer to God and readjust my priorities again which I certainly need periodically. Don’t we all need a spiritual tune-up every now and then?
I leave you with a video of a song that’s an adaptation of Psalm 23. I hope it brings you a bit of comfort today:
God's Grace is Sufficient 