Psalm 16:11 "You reveal the path of life to me; in Your presence is abundant joy; in Your right hand are eternal pleasures."
After a rainy start to our time on the road, the girls and I
finally found sun in Pensacola, Florida. We were able to get a spot on the
water at Oak Grove, the campground at the Navy base here. The weather has been
absolutely wonderful with cool ocean breezes keeping the ever present mosquitoes at
bay. There is a big grassy area for silly dog to play in as well as a dog
friendly beach.
The girls are happy to play in a little blowup pool that I put
on the concrete patio in front of the camper. Their shrieks fill the air as
they splash around. Watching them laugh
at each other makes all the hard days worth it. I think of the verse I read
this morning in Philippians 3:13 “….I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the
past and looking forward to what lies ahead.”
Upon arrival I was ecstatic to learn that the Blue Angels were holding their practices today. I gathered up sweet baby Lyric and darling
Coda to head over to the flight line. (I am kind of a nut about airplanes, stopping
at every museum and air show I can while traveling. This of course, bores
sweetheart to tears since he has spent the last 30 years piloting everything
from helicopters to jets.) We arrived just in time to witness the spectacular flight
skills of this very cool flying team.
Sweet baby Lyric was not impressed at all, keeping her
blanket over her head. She did not cry, she just did not want to even look at
the jets. She kept her hands over her ears the entire time. Darling Coda on the
other hand, kicked and giggled each time they came roaring past. Her head
swiveled constantly trying to take it all in. She kept pulling my hands off her
ears when I tried to block the roar of the engines.
The difference in how the girls viewed the air show was similar
to how I tend to approach problems. Sometimes I just want to cover my head,
blocking out the reality that is right in front of me. It makes it easier to pretend
it doesn’t exist. If I hold my hands over my ears and make that la, la, la
sound, perhaps I won’t hear about the latest crisis that threatens to drag me
down once again.
But it’s not what God has called me to do. He wants me to be
like darling Coda, taking life full on, enjoying every moment. I can’t let the
world block Him from filling my ears with joyful words to make my day more
complete. I should constantly be looking around to make sure that I am not
missing anything He would have me see or do for Him.
In this new journey, there are plenty of moments when I feel
like it is more than I can deal with. Yet I am finding that at every point
along the way, my Adonai has placed women in my life that are there to walk
with me. I am having to overcome my tendency to withdraw, covering my head with
a blanket, pretending they aren’t really there to help me. Nothing could be further
from the truth. The prayers of my friends sustain me when the noise of reality
becomes more than I can bear.
The common denominator I am finding among women who are
parenting their grandchildren is how many of us pretend that we have it all together,
while inside we are often falling apart. We keep that blanket over our head,
those hands over our ears. What we should be doing is looking around, finding
other women like ourselves, banding together to learn and grow, and seeing all
that He has made available to us through His Word.
Dearest Father God, Thank You once again for showing me how
much You love me. Thank You for the beautiful weather here in Florida. Thank You
for my friends who are at home praying that I will make it through this rough
time. Father give those women who are walking this grandparenting/parenting road
moments of joy along the way. Let our heads and hearts be filled with Your
words to keep us moving forward. Let us not miss a single glorious event filled
day with these precious children. In the name of Christ Jesus, Amen
copyright2012, Michelle Welch, Breath Of Life Women's Ministries
photography by Michelle Welch, all rights reserved
scriptures from NLT and HCSB Bible
Blue Angels information is available at http://www.blueangels.navy.mil/
Oak Grove MWR Rv Park information is available at http://www.militarycampgrounds.us/milcamps/48-florida/83-oak-grove-park-and-cottages
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