Today we decided that our teenager will attend the junior college here in town. I still keep praying that God will intervene and give us the extra money we needed for her to just go straight to her college of choice. But so far not. God provided so much but not enough which equals not enough. insert sad face here.
so we decided to be responsible grown ups and that the best thing for her to do is to stay home for one more year and attend the jc. She will apply to go to her college of choice for next year as a sophomore. We figured that this will save her and ourselves quite a bit of money. She also thought that it will give her a year of transition to moving out. (She likes slow transitions).
So, she is okay with it, being the practical, financially mature person that she is, and I am slowly accepting it! We did confirm with the college counselor that she can attend as a sophomore and still get her freshman financial aid that she was awarded be it that she applies before junior college classes show up on her transcript.
So that is the plan. and who knows what God has in store for us over the next year. every time we think we have everything under control, we are thrown yet another curve ball. (hence the blogsite).
We just thank God for our great daughter and are so proud of how far she has come and wait with anticipation for what will come next our way!
Our sweetie pies
Monday, May 2, 2011
Saturday, April 30, 2011
a group of diabetics
Last night I met with fellow diabetic families. There is a non profit group that just happened to land right around the corner from our house. We have both lived in this neighborhood for over four years now but we never discussed diabetes until we were recently diagnosed. We used to take walks past their house and notice the words on their van: "DiabatesOutdoors.org", but we didn't even understand what diabetes was or is.
Now we are a part of this group. Now we call on this couple in times of crisis. The husband has been living with type 1 diabetes for over 30 years and his son now was just diagnosed a few years ago.
so last night, I found myself at a coffee house table in the wind, outside, as we watched the sun set. There were two other couples there and two other moms. All of us are living with children, minors that have type 1 diabetes.
Most of the kids of these parents are living with insulin pumps but for us and one other newly diagnosed family, we are both still giving many shots a day and checking their blood constantly.
The other newbie was diagnosed in December, us in February. Both of us still in scary phase.
The leader of the meeting last night, brought a topic for us to think about: Diabetes in a disaster situation. Such as: a tsnunami hits in Japan and you suddenly don't have any insulin and you are a type 1 diabetic. what do you do?
For so many uneducated people out there...no insulin for those of us that live in insulin dependent families; that means just like it sounds, they are insulin dependent. If you are oxygen dependent and you suddenly don't have oxygen; the inevitable will happen. For the non diabetic person, your body makes insulin. For the type 1 diabetic, their body doesn't. Without insulin, your body malfunctions and slowly dies.
In the ol' days, type 1 diabetics, would have just mysteriously died. Now we diagnose and give insulin.
In addition to that heavy topic, we also had a side conversation about colleges, since myself and another mom have teenagers trying to fund their colleges of choice.
Other moms discussed the trials and scares of leaving their child at school everyday and getting calls from their children that they are low and need to be treated. Since my child is 3, I just can't imagine yet, leaving her to the care of others for hours on end. not yet.
We also discussed the constant misconceptions of type 1 diabetes. No, it is NOT like type 2 diabetes! I wish they would just rename the two different conditions. Type 2 diabetes can go away. Your body still makes insulin, your body just can't absorb all that it needs, so a pill is taken to help your body absorb the insulin. You have to watch your diet and exercise. In type 1 diabetes, it is an autoimmune disease! your body just stops making insulin. because of this, your kidneys start to malfunction and your body creates acid that is a toxin and makes you sick. this can turn fatal. This disease does not go away. Insulin is given for almost everything that you eat and your blood sugar levels are monitored constantly, forever. very different!
We also discussed the difference in healthcare. some of us have excellent doctors (such as myself) and some are frustrated by decisions their doctors make. so thankful for our insurance and our fantastic doctor!
As I watched the group of us, I realized that we are all people that understand type 1 diabetes. We all have different careers or musical interests or religious beliefs or school of choice for our children. We have lives outside of diabetes. But WE have all had to learn about type 1 diabetes. We all put our cell phones on the table in front of us as we sat down to enjoy our drinks. Not for soccer updates but in case their is a concern from our caregivers about our child or children.
I find myself changing hats all day. When I take my son to speech class, I am an informed parent. I am a trained special ed teacher. I am a seasoned mom. I am a mom of twins. I am a mom of a type 1 diabetic child. I am a writer. I have a teenager deciding on college. I am a Christian. I am a daughter. I have lost my father. I am a friend. I am a sister. I am a wife. so many hats. so many topics to educate others on or connect with others on. It can be exhausting.
Last night, one woman said that she knew of a mom of a diabetic child that doesn't like to talk with other moms of diabetics because she just wants to forget about it for awhile. and then we said how we like talking with each other because part of our life isn't hidden from the other person. we don't have to explain it. we just understand each other and can just start discussing college issues.
support groups are important and thankfully I was gathered into this one. We all would love to trade in our labels and not have this in common anymore but we do and we are.
so please take the time to educate someone on what living with type 1 diabetes really means. start a blog. read mine.
In my spare time, I will tell you anything you want to know.
Now we are a part of this group. Now we call on this couple in times of crisis. The husband has been living with type 1 diabetes for over 30 years and his son now was just diagnosed a few years ago.
so last night, I found myself at a coffee house table in the wind, outside, as we watched the sun set. There were two other couples there and two other moms. All of us are living with children, minors that have type 1 diabetes.
Most of the kids of these parents are living with insulin pumps but for us and one other newly diagnosed family, we are both still giving many shots a day and checking their blood constantly.
The other newbie was diagnosed in December, us in February. Both of us still in scary phase.
The leader of the meeting last night, brought a topic for us to think about: Diabetes in a disaster situation. Such as: a tsnunami hits in Japan and you suddenly don't have any insulin and you are a type 1 diabetic. what do you do?
For so many uneducated people out there...no insulin for those of us that live in insulin dependent families; that means just like it sounds, they are insulin dependent. If you are oxygen dependent and you suddenly don't have oxygen; the inevitable will happen. For the non diabetic person, your body makes insulin. For the type 1 diabetic, their body doesn't. Without insulin, your body malfunctions and slowly dies.
In the ol' days, type 1 diabetics, would have just mysteriously died. Now we diagnose and give insulin.
In addition to that heavy topic, we also had a side conversation about colleges, since myself and another mom have teenagers trying to fund their colleges of choice.
Other moms discussed the trials and scares of leaving their child at school everyday and getting calls from their children that they are low and need to be treated. Since my child is 3, I just can't imagine yet, leaving her to the care of others for hours on end. not yet.
We also discussed the constant misconceptions of type 1 diabetes. No, it is NOT like type 2 diabetes! I wish they would just rename the two different conditions. Type 2 diabetes can go away. Your body still makes insulin, your body just can't absorb all that it needs, so a pill is taken to help your body absorb the insulin. You have to watch your diet and exercise. In type 1 diabetes, it is an autoimmune disease! your body just stops making insulin. because of this, your kidneys start to malfunction and your body creates acid that is a toxin and makes you sick. this can turn fatal. This disease does not go away. Insulin is given for almost everything that you eat and your blood sugar levels are monitored constantly, forever. very different!
We also discussed the difference in healthcare. some of us have excellent doctors (such as myself) and some are frustrated by decisions their doctors make. so thankful for our insurance and our fantastic doctor!
As I watched the group of us, I realized that we are all people that understand type 1 diabetes. We all have different careers or musical interests or religious beliefs or school of choice for our children. We have lives outside of diabetes. But WE have all had to learn about type 1 diabetes. We all put our cell phones on the table in front of us as we sat down to enjoy our drinks. Not for soccer updates but in case their is a concern from our caregivers about our child or children.
I find myself changing hats all day. When I take my son to speech class, I am an informed parent. I am a trained special ed teacher. I am a seasoned mom. I am a mom of twins. I am a mom of a type 1 diabetic child. I am a writer. I have a teenager deciding on college. I am a Christian. I am a daughter. I have lost my father. I am a friend. I am a sister. I am a wife. so many hats. so many topics to educate others on or connect with others on. It can be exhausting.
Last night, one woman said that she knew of a mom of a diabetic child that doesn't like to talk with other moms of diabetics because she just wants to forget about it for awhile. and then we said how we like talking with each other because part of our life isn't hidden from the other person. we don't have to explain it. we just understand each other and can just start discussing college issues.
support groups are important and thankfully I was gathered into this one. We all would love to trade in our labels and not have this in common anymore but we do and we are.
so please take the time to educate someone on what living with type 1 diabetes really means. start a blog. read mine.
In my spare time, I will tell you anything you want to know.
Friday, April 29, 2011
College funds
Yesterday we were so encouraged about the direction things were taking regarding which college my daughter is to attend.
This afternoon, when we talked with the financial aid counselor again on the phone, we realized that we are still short funds. The large grant helped but even with some loans, we are still short what we need.
so now what?
My daughter again feels that junior college would work for a year and then transfer her sophomore year to this college. She would save money.
But then, she has worked so hard to get to this place. All of her friends are headed off to great schools.
Why should she have to go to a junior college when she worked so hard to get into a university?
The door is not shut yet.
I am praying that God will surprise her and provide for her financially to attend this school.
our deadline to accept is May 2. My husband's birthday. We have two more days for God to do mightier things.
He can part a sea, he can make a blind man see, he can feed thousands with fish and bread, he can walk on water, and he can raise the dead.
If he wants her to attend this school, he will provide.
and I wait with expectant eyes and arms to see him build our faith.
please pray with us.
God can do above and beyond what we ask for.
Out of $38,000, we need $9000 more.
This afternoon, when we talked with the financial aid counselor again on the phone, we realized that we are still short funds. The large grant helped but even with some loans, we are still short what we need.
so now what?
My daughter again feels that junior college would work for a year and then transfer her sophomore year to this college. She would save money.
But then, she has worked so hard to get to this place. All of her friends are headed off to great schools.
Why should she have to go to a junior college when she worked so hard to get into a university?
The door is not shut yet.
I am praying that God will surprise her and provide for her financially to attend this school.
our deadline to accept is May 2. My husband's birthday. We have two more days for God to do mightier things.
He can part a sea, he can make a blind man see, he can feed thousands with fish and bread, he can walk on water, and he can raise the dead.
If he wants her to attend this school, he will provide.
and I wait with expectant eyes and arms to see him build our faith.
please pray with us.
God can do above and beyond what we ask for.
Out of $38,000, we need $9000 more.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
college!
Now that my second eldest daughter is enrolled in the private school that we had prayed for, for so long, we are able to turn our attention to our eldest daughter.
The first night home from the hospital when our sweetie was diagnosed was the night that my eldest applied to this college. I remember dozing in and out of sleep on the couch as she kept asking me questions and guidance for her application. I finally told her to just submit the application online. It was the deadline and it was now or never. She hit the submit button and the rest is history.
She received her acceptance phone call and email and package in the mail. My husband and her were able to take a campus tour and ask questions. They both loved the school. Then they went into the financial aid office and met with the adviser. They were told that the financial aid package we thought we were able to receive was not accurate. Based on our reported income, we only qualified for very minimal funding which left a substantial amount for us to come up with.
Their car ride home was solemn. My husband had said that until that moment when they received the devastating news, he would have signed the paperwork that afternoon. They both loved the school for her so much.
We made several phone calls to the financial aid office and the admittance counselor and they confirmed that we could not afford their school. This just didn't seem right to me. I began looking over our paperwork and the financial information that we had submitted and remember standing in the kitchen, leaning over the counter with papers spread everywhere, phone in one hand, when I caught an error! Income had been reported twice! no wonder we didn't qualify for financial aid! We didn't make that much! I am unemployed!
I immediately call the financial aid office and tell them of the error that I have found. They advise me that I have to go online and update our information and they will call us when they see the changes on their end.
My husband fixed the errors and printed the new update. We then emailed the confirmation page to the admittance counselor. and waited.
The counselor called us and told us that our changes made a difference. They could now offer us a grant and we qualified for a federal grant too. This helped but we were still missing funding. When my daughter looked over the new paperwork, she noticed that a substantial federal grant was missing from the financial aid offer. She thought with our new information that she should qualify for this grant.
I called financial aid again. The counselor told me that she would look into the grant since we should qualify now. She called back a few days later and said that my daughter did not qualify due to her gpa. She advised us to call her high school counselor and see if this was an error. This year, our daughter was maintaining a 4.0 gpa.
Our daughter spoke with the school counselor the next day and he felt that yes indeed, the reported gpa was an error and it could be fixed and she could get that grant! Our decision for this college was beginning to rest on this grant. It was substantial and we didn't think we could afford it otherwise. She was told to come back the next day and the office would confirm the gpa and correct it for the grant.
When she went back, another counselor was there and informed her that her gpa was accurate and she did not qualify for the grant.
A big deflating balloon floated by.
The first counselor joined the conversation and they all three were convinced by calculations that indeed the first counselor was correct. no grant.
She texted me the news.
I called the counselor myself to plead our case and ask his advice. He felt that she should keep her sights on this college and try to transfer as a sophomore after her first year at the junior college. I called the college counselor and ran this by him, and he agreed that that was a viable solution. He said that she could keep her grants and would qualify for more financial aid the following year due to her senior grades. In the meantime, he would email financial aid for me and ask if there was anything else the college could offer us.
When my daughter came home from school today, we discussed all of the happenings and concluded that the junior college for one year then the college of her choice would be sufficient.
Then we received the phone call.
It was a missed call on my cell phone. It was the college of her choice.
I was standing out back watching the younger kids play in the splash pool as it was a very hot day today. I was trying to play the message back and was pressing buttons to change the receiver on my phone from blue tooth to hand set to speaker phone. I missed half of the message. All I caught was ...good news! we are able to offer $10,000!...
wait, what!!?!
I frantically press buttons and try to start replaying the message.
I ran over to my daughter sitting on this computer, contemplating her future, or checking facebook, one or the other. I say "Listen to this!!!"
"We are pleased to be able to offer you another grant in addition to the scholarship that we have already awarded you. This grant was actually $300 more than the federal grant that we had tried to receive! What's interesting about this grant is that it is about the same amount of money but it is college specific so it clearly defines which college she should attend!
We feel sure that God is now pointing a big red arrow at this school for us!
We are still ironing out details and still praying the last of the funding to work out. But right now, we are trusting that God never completely shut that door for a reason and strengthened our faith and prayer time to clearly let God lead us down the road to her future!
Praise God!
The first night home from the hospital when our sweetie was diagnosed was the night that my eldest applied to this college. I remember dozing in and out of sleep on the couch as she kept asking me questions and guidance for her application. I finally told her to just submit the application online. It was the deadline and it was now or never. She hit the submit button and the rest is history.
She received her acceptance phone call and email and package in the mail. My husband and her were able to take a campus tour and ask questions. They both loved the school. Then they went into the financial aid office and met with the adviser. They were told that the financial aid package we thought we were able to receive was not accurate. Based on our reported income, we only qualified for very minimal funding which left a substantial amount for us to come up with.
Their car ride home was solemn. My husband had said that until that moment when they received the devastating news, he would have signed the paperwork that afternoon. They both loved the school for her so much.
We made several phone calls to the financial aid office and the admittance counselor and they confirmed that we could not afford their school. This just didn't seem right to me. I began looking over our paperwork and the financial information that we had submitted and remember standing in the kitchen, leaning over the counter with papers spread everywhere, phone in one hand, when I caught an error! Income had been reported twice! no wonder we didn't qualify for financial aid! We didn't make that much! I am unemployed!
I immediately call the financial aid office and tell them of the error that I have found. They advise me that I have to go online and update our information and they will call us when they see the changes on their end.
My husband fixed the errors and printed the new update. We then emailed the confirmation page to the admittance counselor. and waited.
The counselor called us and told us that our changes made a difference. They could now offer us a grant and we qualified for a federal grant too. This helped but we were still missing funding. When my daughter looked over the new paperwork, she noticed that a substantial federal grant was missing from the financial aid offer. She thought with our new information that she should qualify for this grant.
I called financial aid again. The counselor told me that she would look into the grant since we should qualify now. She called back a few days later and said that my daughter did not qualify due to her gpa. She advised us to call her high school counselor and see if this was an error. This year, our daughter was maintaining a 4.0 gpa.
Our daughter spoke with the school counselor the next day and he felt that yes indeed, the reported gpa was an error and it could be fixed and she could get that grant! Our decision for this college was beginning to rest on this grant. It was substantial and we didn't think we could afford it otherwise. She was told to come back the next day and the office would confirm the gpa and correct it for the grant.
When she went back, another counselor was there and informed her that her gpa was accurate and she did not qualify for the grant.
A big deflating balloon floated by.
The first counselor joined the conversation and they all three were convinced by calculations that indeed the first counselor was correct. no grant.
She texted me the news.
I called the counselor myself to plead our case and ask his advice. He felt that she should keep her sights on this college and try to transfer as a sophomore after her first year at the junior college. I called the college counselor and ran this by him, and he agreed that that was a viable solution. He said that she could keep her grants and would qualify for more financial aid the following year due to her senior grades. In the meantime, he would email financial aid for me and ask if there was anything else the college could offer us.
When my daughter came home from school today, we discussed all of the happenings and concluded that the junior college for one year then the college of her choice would be sufficient.
Then we received the phone call.
It was a missed call on my cell phone. It was the college of her choice.
I was standing out back watching the younger kids play in the splash pool as it was a very hot day today. I was trying to play the message back and was pressing buttons to change the receiver on my phone from blue tooth to hand set to speaker phone. I missed half of the message. All I caught was ...good news! we are able to offer $10,000!...
wait, what!!?!
I frantically press buttons and try to start replaying the message.
I ran over to my daughter sitting on this computer, contemplating her future, or checking facebook, one or the other. I say "Listen to this!!!"
"We are pleased to be able to offer you another grant in addition to the scholarship that we have already awarded you. This grant was actually $300 more than the federal grant that we had tried to receive! What's interesting about this grant is that it is about the same amount of money but it is college specific so it clearly defines which college she should attend!
We feel sure that God is now pointing a big red arrow at this school for us!
We are still ironing out details and still praying the last of the funding to work out. But right now, we are trusting that God never completely shut that door for a reason and strengthened our faith and prayer time to clearly let God lead us down the road to her future!
Praise God!
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
those darn test strips
I was sitting in the parking lot today of the school that my son attends for speech classes when my mom texted me that my diabetic daughter was crying and desperately wanting pretzels. I said "have you checked her?!, you need to check her first!"
She texted back that she had tried but wasn't successful. She couldn't get enough blood on the test strip to get an accurate reading.
We texted back and forth a few moments as I tried to advise her. My son was due to be out of his class in fifteen minutes and I couldn't leave, so I just had to guide her through cell phone.
I finally called her to see what the situation was.
Earlier that day, I had had to leave in a hurry to get my other daughter to school first and then my son. I had checked my sweetie's blood sugar levels and she was over 300. So I gave her 1/2 a unit to bring her levels back down and then told my mom to just feed her upto 15 grams. until I got back. I said a cup of milk and an egg would be fine.
well, after I left, my sweetie was too involved in computer games and didn't want to eat. So my mom had decided to wait to feed her.
Now almost an hour later, my sweetie was crying and wanting to eat. which to us parents of diabetic children usually means "CHECK blood sugar levels!!!"
So when my mom answered the phone, I could hear my sweetie in the background crying. My mom said that she had tried testing her twice and still couldn't get enough blood on the test strip.
Now I was beginning to panic. My mom kept saying "She's just hungry". I thought "no.no.no. she is dropping! TEST HER!!!"
My mom asks if I can come home. NO! now what??????
I suddenly think of our Godsend. The neighbors that God purposefully gave us when he knew that down the road we would need them. The mom that has a type 1 diabetic son and type 1 diabetic husband. The advocates and activity providers for diabetic families.
I tell my mom, "Give her smarties NOW! just in case. and I will call our neighbor to come over and help.
My mom finally agrees and thank goodness, the neighbor answers her phone. As other times, I have gotten her machine. She says she will go over right now and help.
Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. and a big Halleluiah!
I get a new text from my mom...Do we have any more test strips?
Oh my goodness.
yes, in the garage, in the pink box, above the toys, on the shelf.
The neighbor also had trouble. She finally decided that the gadget that puts the little hole in your finger needed to be adjusted.
She adjusted.
success.
216.
216 after a roll of smarties and some pretzels.
My educated guess is that she was dropping below 100 because after all of that and a roll of smarties she was 216.
crisis over and now she can eat lunch.
a moment of silence again.
big sigh of relief
by now I had walked over to get my son.
I had been receiving status updates on my phone and trying to quickly text back more directions as I was walking. I thought how the other mothers waiting to pick up their kids had no idea how serious my frantic textings were. They probably thought I was just chatting as they do. As most moms do that don't have diabetic children to worry about left at home in someone else's care.
Crisis was now over. She was 216. A reasonable number.
Of course last night a friend that was type 2 diabetic was telling me how excited she was that her numbers had dropped from 150 to 105. I don't completely understand type 2 diabetes, but thought "you just don't even know! we still go from 406 to 70 in 24 hours!"
so 216. we're good again.
My original plan before all of this was that I wanted to treat us to In & out burger on the way home.
Now I felt confident that we could take the time. and enjoy.
and take a deep breath.
She texted back that she had tried but wasn't successful. She couldn't get enough blood on the test strip to get an accurate reading.
We texted back and forth a few moments as I tried to advise her. My son was due to be out of his class in fifteen minutes and I couldn't leave, so I just had to guide her through cell phone.
I finally called her to see what the situation was.
Earlier that day, I had had to leave in a hurry to get my other daughter to school first and then my son. I had checked my sweetie's blood sugar levels and she was over 300. So I gave her 1/2 a unit to bring her levels back down and then told my mom to just feed her upto 15 grams. until I got back. I said a cup of milk and an egg would be fine.
well, after I left, my sweetie was too involved in computer games and didn't want to eat. So my mom had decided to wait to feed her.
Now almost an hour later, my sweetie was crying and wanting to eat. which to us parents of diabetic children usually means "CHECK blood sugar levels!!!"
So when my mom answered the phone, I could hear my sweetie in the background crying. My mom said that she had tried testing her twice and still couldn't get enough blood on the test strip.
Now I was beginning to panic. My mom kept saying "She's just hungry". I thought "no.no.no. she is dropping! TEST HER!!!"
My mom asks if I can come home. NO! now what??????
I suddenly think of our Godsend. The neighbors that God purposefully gave us when he knew that down the road we would need them. The mom that has a type 1 diabetic son and type 1 diabetic husband. The advocates and activity providers for diabetic families.
I tell my mom, "Give her smarties NOW! just in case. and I will call our neighbor to come over and help.
My mom finally agrees and thank goodness, the neighbor answers her phone. As other times, I have gotten her machine. She says she will go over right now and help.
Praise God. Praise God. Praise God. and a big Halleluiah!
I get a new text from my mom...Do we have any more test strips?
Oh my goodness.
yes, in the garage, in the pink box, above the toys, on the shelf.
The neighbor also had trouble. She finally decided that the gadget that puts the little hole in your finger needed to be adjusted.
She adjusted.
success.
216.
216 after a roll of smarties and some pretzels.
My educated guess is that she was dropping below 100 because after all of that and a roll of smarties she was 216.
crisis over and now she can eat lunch.
a moment of silence again.
big sigh of relief
by now I had walked over to get my son.
I had been receiving status updates on my phone and trying to quickly text back more directions as I was walking. I thought how the other mothers waiting to pick up their kids had no idea how serious my frantic textings were. They probably thought I was just chatting as they do. As most moms do that don't have diabetic children to worry about left at home in someone else's care.
Crisis was now over. She was 216. A reasonable number.
Of course last night a friend that was type 2 diabetic was telling me how excited she was that her numbers had dropped from 150 to 105. I don't completely understand type 2 diabetes, but thought "you just don't even know! we still go from 406 to 70 in 24 hours!"
so 216. we're good again.
My original plan before all of this was that I wanted to treat us to In & out burger on the way home.
Now I felt confident that we could take the time. and enjoy.
and take a deep breath.
God's will
It's funny how you try and try to make things happen and they never come together and then you turn your back and watch something else just fall together and be done before you had time to even think about it.
When things effortlessly come together; that is God.
when we try and try and try; that is us.
Just last week I was talking with my mentor about how much I love meeting with her and want to continue as long as we can. She assured me that she loved meeting with me too and she had another book in mind that we could study together when we finished our current book.
Today when we met, we could only spend about twenty minutes together as my schedule has gotten so tight now that three of my kids attend three separate schools! Answered prayer but along with it, has cut my mentor time availability. As she left today, she said that she didn't know when we could meet now and felt that God had given us a great time and now it was time to switch to an on call basis.
what!!??!!
I know I have watched this scene in a movie before. just can't think of which one. maybe Lord of the Rings again. Frodo is given just a little bit of information, just what he needs to know. "Don't lose the ring" "Stay off of the main road". "I will meet you later with more instructions". what a leap of faith for Frodo. He doesn't know what he is in for. He doesn't know the history of the ring. He just knows to follow directions.
In the current Bible study that I am doing by Priscilla Shirer she discusses this very point. She talks about how we as humans, tend to want all of the answers right now! We ask for God to show us his will and lay it out all before us.
But if Frodo knew all the danger he was in for; would he have agreed to take the ring? The end result was to destroy the ring and bring peace back to the world but he would almost starve to death, almost be murdered, be tormented mentally; and physically lose most of his friends and several friends would die on the journey. would he have done it if he had known?
would we?
Would I have still had my twins if I had known that one would be diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 3? Would I have worked at a record store years ago when I knew one day I would be held up at gun point? Would I have flown to Norway if I had known that I would come down with a flu on the plane?
I was just discussing this with my teenage daughter the other day. She was talking about how she doesn't want to have regrets especially now that she knows personally a family (our friends) that just lost their son at age 19. She is rethinking priorities or opportunities in her life and doesn't want to pass up on some.
"It is better to have loved and lost then to never have loved at all". In the wise words of Alfred Lord Tennyson.
I think our friends would agree that they wouldn't do anything different even though they lost their son at 19. Neither would my other friend that lost her baby at 5 months to cancer. And neither would I trade in any of my children for less heartache.
God gives us what we need for each moment that we need it and that is all we need.
My time was over before I had planned for with my mentor but God had a season for us and now wants me to put into practice what I have learned. Just as a baby bird must learn to fly by practicing, I must learn by experience now.
My mentor's wisdom will only carry me so far.
So we may fight and kick and scream against what comes against us in life but if we surrender to the Lord, he will promise to take good care of us and yes, he does always know what is best, even if we disagree.
When things effortlessly come together; that is God.
when we try and try and try; that is us.
Just last week I was talking with my mentor about how much I love meeting with her and want to continue as long as we can. She assured me that she loved meeting with me too and she had another book in mind that we could study together when we finished our current book.
Today when we met, we could only spend about twenty minutes together as my schedule has gotten so tight now that three of my kids attend three separate schools! Answered prayer but along with it, has cut my mentor time availability. As she left today, she said that she didn't know when we could meet now and felt that God had given us a great time and now it was time to switch to an on call basis.
what!!??!!
I know I have watched this scene in a movie before. just can't think of which one. maybe Lord of the Rings again. Frodo is given just a little bit of information, just what he needs to know. "Don't lose the ring" "Stay off of the main road". "I will meet you later with more instructions". what a leap of faith for Frodo. He doesn't know what he is in for. He doesn't know the history of the ring. He just knows to follow directions.
In the current Bible study that I am doing by Priscilla Shirer she discusses this very point. She talks about how we as humans, tend to want all of the answers right now! We ask for God to show us his will and lay it out all before us.
But if Frodo knew all the danger he was in for; would he have agreed to take the ring? The end result was to destroy the ring and bring peace back to the world but he would almost starve to death, almost be murdered, be tormented mentally; and physically lose most of his friends and several friends would die on the journey. would he have done it if he had known?
would we?
Would I have still had my twins if I had known that one would be diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 3? Would I have worked at a record store years ago when I knew one day I would be held up at gun point? Would I have flown to Norway if I had known that I would come down with a flu on the plane?
I was just discussing this with my teenage daughter the other day. She was talking about how she doesn't want to have regrets especially now that she knows personally a family (our friends) that just lost their son at age 19. She is rethinking priorities or opportunities in her life and doesn't want to pass up on some.
"It is better to have loved and lost then to never have loved at all". In the wise words of Alfred Lord Tennyson.
I think our friends would agree that they wouldn't do anything different even though they lost their son at 19. Neither would my other friend that lost her baby at 5 months to cancer. And neither would I trade in any of my children for less heartache.
God gives us what we need for each moment that we need it and that is all we need.
My time was over before I had planned for with my mentor but God had a season for us and now wants me to put into practice what I have learned. Just as a baby bird must learn to fly by practicing, I must learn by experience now.
My mentor's wisdom will only carry me so far.
So we may fight and kick and scream against what comes against us in life but if we surrender to the Lord, he will promise to take good care of us and yes, he does always know what is best, even if we disagree.
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