When Things Don't Go Quite as Planned

As previously posted, I spent a great fall break in NOLA. I drove home Sunday afternoon with big plans for the following week. I had a full work schedule beginning at 8:00 a.m. Monday morning and I had already envisioned the week ahead. Not only did I have big plans for work, my NOLA family was coming for their fall break and I expected to do some fun family things the

last part of the week.

WRONG!

We make plans and God laughs. I woke up at 1:00 a.m. Monday morning extremely ill and did not go back to school for three days. Nor did I get to host my guest family at my house the last part of the week and enjoy family time with great-grandparents and lots of other special things I had hoped for and expected. To say the least, it was a huge disappointment. Rhyne, Micah, and Ben did make a trip to St. Elizabeth's to visit Papaw Bob who is doing rehabilitation work preparing to come home. During that little visit, they also got to see Mamaw Joyce and Papa. Before leaving for home, they also got in a short visit with Papaw, Grandmother, and Bryan. I missed all of this.

What I did get to enjoy was an impromptu visit by Micah and Ben at school for a few minutes Thursday morning where I got to introduce them to a few of the school folk. I also got to go along for Ben's first haircut. It's amazing how the clip of a few precious curls can instantly make a big difference in a little guy's appearance. He suddenly looked even more like a little man. He did a great job being cooperative with our very special Lisa, who has been cutting our family hair for 25 years.

The Putmans decided to leave on Friday and that left Saturday open so Collin and I got a number of things accomplished on the home front that had been slippig. We picked up the yard and mowed, cleaned out another portion of our garden, and hauled and stacked our wood pellets for the insert preparing for the cool days of winter that will be fast approaching.

While not one of my better weeks, and after being not merely slowed down, but actually halted, I looked back on my blessings and reflected upon God's purpose in mandatory life pauses. Today, I'm thankful that I feel good, am healthy, and free of pain; that food tastes good again and that I want to eat; that I got time with my NOLA family the week before because I missed most of it this week; and that yesterday, the sun shined, I had my energy back, and that I could spend the day with Collin and complete some projects at home.

Behind the clouds are the silver linings.

Marcia