So….its true. I’m back in the USA.
I slipped back in January 16th and have been
resting and living with my family in my hometown, Flushing, MI since then. It’s
taken me a while to post, but I strategically came back quietly so I could have
some sweet time with my family. While I was away my mom was diagnosed with
breast cancer. She had surgery and has been going through chemo for the past
few months. Coming home I knew that my family was where I was supposed to be.
It was a time that the Lord set aside for me to just be present with them, be
available for them, and love them.
(Picture from a baseball game this summer of my dad, me, & my mom.
My brother Charlie = not pictured)
I have to say it’s been a blessing. It’s been a gift to have
solid time with my mom, dad, and brother. I haven’t lived at home in over 10
years and for most of my life they received my seconds. I was always involved
with dance, soccer, work, non-profits, friends, church, etc. They supported me
in everything but in it all they usually got time when I ‘had time.’ And so this past month at home has been quite sacred. It’s been a time where I have set aside
things for them. Where I make myself available for them. I feel like our house
is this hidden place where we exist away from the world. And it’s been sweet.
It’s not often you get the opportunity to live with your family again as an
adult and give back a portion of what your parents have given you.
And so in this past month I’ve been graced with the
opportunity to serve them in various ways. Planning dinners, grocery shopping,
cleaning, emergency eye doctor runs, chemo appointments, doctors visits, etc.
I’ve just been available. And they have been available for me as well as I
“re-enter� America and get used to things. They have continued to be extremely
grace-filled and loving thru it all.
This week we celebrate my mom’s last week of chemo! Woohooo!
We look forward to this upcoming year of a few more treatments for something
related to the cancer (a shot, not chemo, I don’t remember what tho….) and know
that God will continue to provide healing. I look forward to some more time
with my family as I continue to listen for my next steps. And I say thank you
to all of you for your continued love and support through the last 2 years!
I wanted to let you know though that THIS BLOG WILL NOT END. One
thing that has been placed on my heart is the power of a story. We all remember stories from our childhood. The Berenstein
Bears, Clifford the Big Red Dog…… I could tell you about all of those.
They used to run through my head all the time!
But today I find myself with new stories running through my head. I find my
thoughts filled with the stories of the people I met over the last two years of my
life. And I keep hearing God say,
“I have entrusted you with stories.
You have a responsibility to make sure they are heard.
It’s time to share them.”
Proverbs 31:8 continues to be on repeat in my mind –
“Speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.”
I read a new quote this week –
“Know that no one
is silent though many are not heard. Work to change this.”
And so this week I begin PROJECT 3-1-8.
A challenge to write 1 story a week.
To tell the story of a person, a child, a
family, a city, or a nation I’ve met. To speak for those who are not heard. And to honor
them.
Each story that I tell will be special.
Unique. Valuable. Precious. Known. And Written by our Father. Length is unknown. Endings are yet to be done.
It’s just the beginning.
A time to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves….
stay tuned my friends….its only just begun…..
