Thanksgiving. Part the Second.

So, everyone arrived on Sunday, at around 5:30.
I took a few pics as everyone found 'their' spot at the cabin, then I didn't pick up my camera again, as I was the cook.
Sigh.
The baton has been passed and those days of going for walks and taking family pics along the creek or at the lake are over. I was The Adult responsible for Getting The Meal on the Table.

After supper, a few games were played and some cartoons were watched.
By 10 pm my mom, Jesse, Clint, Drew and Danica had all left, leaving Max and I at the cabin.
He went for a walk and ended up laying on the dock looking at the stars, watching the moon rise over the mountain.
I started to feel sick.

By 11pm, I feared I was going to be sick. Like, really sick.
By midnight, I was spending some serious time in the bathroom.
And by 4 am, it was still exiting my body, from both ends, violently.

I never wanted to eat again.

I sat up all night long, praying that I didn't feed my whole family a meal full of poison.

By noon today, (Monday) things had settled abit, but it felt like I'd been punched in my gut. Sore ribs. Tender abdominals.

Clint (who had returned to the cabin around 1 am) and Max puttered in the basement, and got another load of crap to take to the dump, and whilst down there discovered the SEPTIC SYSTEM HAD BEEN TURNED OFF. My night time activities were almost overflowing the tanks...

So my heroes turned it back on again and watched the septic system pump waste from one tank to the other, satisfied that things were under control.

I am getting tired of shit.

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Today, Monday, I left at 3, drove to Surrey to pick up my mom at 4:30, then drove to Tsawwassen to have dinner with the Krahn clan at 5:30. No, driving for 2 1/2 hours for a home-cooked turkey dinner with good friends is not silly. However, having a turkey dinner on a very empty tender stomach was probably not the best idea. All evening I was aware that I could blow. Literally.

Sucks to be sick when there's SO MUCH GOOD FOOD around. The little bit that I tasted was delish.

Thanks, Krahns, for a fun evening. We have to do that again, next time when I'm NOT scared to eat or laugh or be relaxed. If nothing else, a great memory was made, and Donna, I hope Dr. El Ooo does a bang up job for you. Have a great holiday.

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Three things I'm thankful for:

1. I like my bed. Looking forward to being  horizontal tonight.

2. All three boys were 'home' for Thanksgiving... up until a few hours before we ate, it didn't look like that would happen. So glad for the time we had together.

3. On Wednesday, at that Theology class thingy that I've been going to at Northview, we talked about Hannah. And how she prayed and pleaded and begged God for a child for years and years. And it was after she vowed to dedicate her child to God (promising that he would be raised in the temple), that her prayers were answered. It was suggested that God always had great plans for that boy (Samuel) and in order for those plans to come to pass, Samuel would have to be raised by a priest. God was preparing to usher in Kings to take the place of the Judges who had ruled his children up til then. And He was planning on doing this through his chosen spokeperson (prophet) - Samuel. (Samuel ended up anointing Saul as the first King and then David as the second King.) In order for Samuel (who hadn't even been born yet), to fulfill his purpose in life, he would need to be equipped by being raised in a temple.

All that to say, that if Hannah had gotten pregnant easily, in her first year of marriage say, she would not have prayed for years and years. It wasn't until she was desperate that she made that vow to God. And THAT vow fulfilled God's purposes. And so it came to pass that she got pregnant. She kept her promise and delivered Samuel to Eli after she had weaned him. Samuel was then in the right place at the right time, for God's purposes.

Hannah went on to have many more children. Whom she raised at home.

So. Is there something that you are praying and praying and praying for, like I am?
God hears. And will answer. In His perfect time.
Sometimes He's cooking up a big plan, and timing is everything. Maybe the answer to my prayer links into a greater purpose, and He's still getting all the ducks in a row? Or maybe I need to align my request with His divine plans? Maybe He's waiting til I have a change of heart about the answer ... like Hannah. She wanted a child, but was willing to give him up for someone else to raise.

Regardless, I need to keep praying, and to pray that His will be done.

Next week we're going to talk about Solomon. Looking forward to that.


4. I am thankful for the Heppell family and the way they honoured Kevin's life by directing our attention back to God.

I was in awe of the eulogy that Kevin's uncles delivered. So personal. Emotional. Informative. Touching. So filled with love.

Kevin had been our 'summer friend', and once those idyllic summers of old ended, our paths didn't cross as often. It was encouraging and inspiring to hear how he lived life as a 24 year old.  (He lived it with purpose.)

And then, Kevin's best friend and four siblings (an older brother and sister, and a younger brother and sister) all took a turn sharing thoughts about Kevin. Each of them had a personal relationship with him, separate from him simply being 'part of the family'. And each of them talked about the intentional way he pursued a relationship with them. I find that amazing. And also? How he was constantly desiring to be a better husband, a better friend, a better farmer, a better everything. He talked about it, asked for advice, and worked towards it.

And after the pastor talked, Mike, Kevin's dad, had a few final comments. He talked about the accident in detail, and asked us to pray for the driver of the truck and also for the couple who were first on the scene. (They held Kevin in their arms, administered CPR including mouth to mouth.) He talked about Kevin and Sara's friends, and asked them to stay close to Sara during this season of grieving. And he thanked everyone who was a significant player in Kevin's life. He said, "We will never understand the timing of Kevin's passing. Nor do we have to. It's enough to know that this was part of God's plan, and Kevin, who is with Him right now, is in complete agreement with this. He has no regrets and is OK with what God has allowed. It is perfect."

I needed to hear that.
Kevin, who now knows why this happened, is in complete agreement with God that this was a Good Thing.  There is so much peace in that, no?

5. I am thankful for Saturday night when I attended The 5 and 2 Ministry's Church in the Park. Dr. Tony Campolo was a guest speaker that evening, and his message to the 70 of us gathered there was kinda profound for me. But now, three days later, and because I didn't take notes to refer to, I only remember two main points:

1. Jesus didn't perform miracles to increase his standings in the wow department. He didn't do miraculous things to shock his audiences. His motivation for miracles wasn't to a spread his fame around, or to draw attention to his mad skills. He did it for love. It was as a result of feeling love for the person/people he was interacting with. He rarely, if ever, wanted credit, or to get good press, for what he did.

And through the power of His name, we can do great and mighty things too - if our motivation is love, NOT attention.

2. Jesus's name is powerful. There is power in the name of Jesus. The Bible says that God has given Jesus a name that is above every other name, that at the name of Jesus, EVERY knee shall bow and EVERY tongue shall confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. When we call on that name everything comes to a standstill. When we call that name, demons flee and angels bow. There is power in the name of Jesus.

So, Tony, who is a baptist, (not pentacostal) said that when he starts his day, he lies in bed and says the name of Jesus over and over again. By saying Jesus' name, he is creating a 'thin' place, a holy place, where Jesus reigns, and no evil thing can enter. And then he says nothing. He just allows God to meet him in that place, every morning. For about 20 minutes.

He challenged us to try this too.

So I just might do that.