This has been an incredibly busy start to school. But it has also been a wonderful start to school. The older three love their classes. They have fantastic teachers...no refocus sheets...no bus referrals...and no private meetings with the principal. Can I get an amen? :) We have been rocking the after school schedule...no doubt due to my new obsession with crockpots. Oh yes! We are finishing up week two of crockpot only recipes. We've been dishing out dinner at 4:30, hitting soccer games two nights a week and football practice three nights a week. And this has been D-Dog's first week at preschool. We LOVE his teacher as well. He is really jazzed to get to school each day and see his new friends. So, I have found myself with a tiny bit of free time each afternoon. Soooo, in an effort to reverse the signs of aging, I have taken up running again. I've given up the pursuit of "skinny" But I know I can achieve "healthy". And that works for me.
Today is a non-preschool day, so after making my five year old ride his bike along with me in the rain, I started working on the somewhat neglected house. I mean...Toby the dog does a great job cleaning up the kitchen floor after meals...but even he can't get rid of juice spills. I decided to go tackle a few boxes in the basement and look for some of our pictures that may have survived. I resisted the urge to look for these initially because I wanted time to live here and think about where to put things again. As I was digging through a large box, I found a picture that someone rescued from my bedroom. Everything in my room was destroyed. Even the door frame was ripped off the wall and thrown into the room. But this crazy picture that was hanging between the door and my bed escaped all harm. I started to cry today when I saw it. It was a gift from my brother and sister in law for Christmas one year. It is a picture of a mom holding a child. Underneath the picture is the scripture from Isaiah 40:11
"He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young."
I've gone over the details of that fateful night a million times. What if one thing had been different? What if we hadn't heard it in time. What if Hubby hadn't jumped out of bed and screamed. What if we took time to say something. What if we didn't make it to our kids in time. What if I wasn't holding my youngest children and adding our combined weight against the force of the F2.. What if the door frame hadn't stopped us from being sucked out. What if someone in my family had died.
I don't know why some people get a better ending than others. My heart is heavy as I contemplate the families that have walked through ten years without their loved ones. And as the Nation once again tucks their sorrow and loss away on September 12, these families will continue on...remembering... with a hole in their hearts. They don't just remember the details on Sept. 11. They remember it every day.
But my mind is drawn back to this scripture. No matter what, God gathers us in his arms. He carries us close to His heart, and he gently leads us. We will face fear, loss, and pain in this life. But, we will face it safely tucked in the arms of our Father. We have His promises and they are true. I have learned to know and trust the arms of God. I have burrowed deep within these arms and I have fought against these arms. He never loosens His grip.
Amen! What a precious reminder. I've recently endeavored on running myself. I think it's good in many ways I didn't imagine.
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