Five Minute Friday: SPRING

This post is part of the weekly Five Minute Friday series. Five minutes of free-flow writing shared with whoever wants to read it. This week’s prompt is: SPRING.

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I cannot fathom that it is already the end of March... It seems as if we JUST stayed up late celebrating the New Year!  A full quarter of the year 2022, already passed.  I still have a hard time writing 2022 on papers. I actually wrote 2014 the other day.  Maybe my brain needed a moment to think back on life with only one child.

Every year about this time, I have this same conversation in my head.  Wondering where the time went... My dad used to say that time goes by quicker the older you get, and I am beginning to realize how right he was.  The days seem to stretch on, but the years are so short. Even my weeks fly by.  When asked how I was doing the other day, I said "so busy".  Have we always been this busy and it just feels amplified because we stopped long enough to reset during the pandemic?

Whether we are ready or not, Spring has sprung.  There are gardens to be planted, grass to mow, houses to clean, evenings to be spent outside, Flonase to be sprayed, and life to be lived before it's already next Spring. 

STOP.

First Spring Picnic of the Year!

Five Minute Friday: EASY

This post is part of the weekly Five Minute Friday series. Five minutes of free-flow writing shared with whoever wants to read it. This week’s prompt is: EASY.

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I didn't know I was doing it, but I was watching.  I watched her as she stood there holding her baby.  It looked so natural.  She swayed as she talked to another mom, while she watched her daughter on the balance beam.  It looks so easy, I thought.  Just one.  

One is so easily contained.  You can chase after one.  You can hold one.  You can have your undivided attention on one.  It seems so much more manageable. 

If the baby cries, you can console her. Bounce him.  Sway until she quiets down.  If that doesn't work, you can put him down, let him run around and walk behind him, making sure he doesn't fall down the stairs, or drink from a strangers cup.

A few months ago, I took one baby to the doctor and felt like I was invincible.  It's what I assumed it was like to have baby #3.  

It's funny how our perspective changes.  5 years ago, I was this mom, so I can attest and I KNOW that it isn't easy.  Every day is a struggle.  I will go to my grave saying that we are all at max capacity, no matter how many kids you currently have.  But now, one baby in your arms, and in your care, seems so foreign.  

But the Lord knew I needed more. So we went from 2 to 4, and I'll never look back.

Momma and the #suttonsibs

Five Minute Friday: HEAVY

This post is part of the weekly Five Minute Friday series. Five minutes of free-flow writing shared with whoever wants to read it. This week’s prompt is: HEAVY.

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Since I was behind and just wrote last weeks about 5 minutes ago, I'm going to continue my train of thought.  To catch up, read my FMF CARRY.  

It was Haiti in July, in the direct sunlight, in what felt like a million degrees.  It was a difficult hike, loaded down with supplies. We had to hike down to get to the house.  Then we had until about 2 hours before sundown to build said house in the blazing sun.  When we were as exhausted as could be, and racing against dusk, we had to hike back up the mountain to get to our van.

With that one blue jug of water for all 12 of us, the internal struggle raged. All day, it was a constant: Am I really thirsty?  Can I wait another 10 minutes?  Am I drinking too much?  Are they drinking enough?  They look really overheated, should we use some of the water to pour over their head? We needed to make sure we had enough to the very end of the day.  We had to have a good chunk of the water for the way back up the mountain.

I'm here to testify that we completed the mission.  Everyone had just what they needed.  In fact, we were all able to completely fill up our Nalgene bottles for the van ride back to the missions center, but not a drop more.

I'll never forget how the men on our team shared the burden of everyone's water. Carrying a blue 5 gallon Culligan that is rope tied onto a backpack is no small feat when you're walking down the road, let alone down, and back up, a mountain.  I fell multiple times and I was just carrying a bag of tools.  I prayed so hard that they wouldn't fall and crack open the bottle.

If nothing else, it was a lesson for us all to carry each other's burdens.  So I am grateful, for the few who stepped up to carry us along.  Thank you for being a model of what Christ does for us each and ever day. 

Stop.

Five Minute Friday: CARRY

This post is part of the weekly Five Minute Friday series. Five minutes of free-flow writing shared with whoever wants to read it. This week’s prompt is: CARRY.

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In another life, I used to travel back and forth to Haiti ever couple of months with my non-profit Hope for the Hungry.  For a while, I had a bag of my 'Haiti stuff' ready to throw into a suitcase when needed. When we started having kids, they just hopped on board with us and we went about our way.  Then COVID.  No more traveling for a while. 

However, on one of our trips, we went down to help put a roof on a new home that was being built after the 2010 earthquake.  This particular house was far away from any road, and could only be accessed by foot.  We knew right away it was going to be an adventure and had to come up with a game plan. Not only did we have to get there, but we had to get all of our supplies there too.  I think there were 12 of us total, 8 Americans and 4 Haitians. 

If it didn't come with us on the way there, we didn't have it.  We are talking tools, sheet metal, lumber, snacks, and water.  We would be there all week, and each task had specific supplies so we had to be strategic.  We were able to stop about half way to eat lunch in a church we passed.  Thankfully we were able to use the church as a drop spot so we didn't have to bring everything back and forth each day.

A small portion of the tools we brought with us.

It was over a decade ago, so I don't remember all of the details.  But one thing I will never forget is the 5 gallon blue water container strapped into someone's backpack.  It was our lifeline.  That was all of our water.  All of it.  There was no other option.  We each brought our own full bottles, but as soon as we burned through those, we were limited.

This was just one blip of an afternoon for me, but a constant reality for the 1.1 billion people who have no access to water around the world.

Lord, help me to always use my abundance to provide for those who are empty. 

Five Minute Friday: PEACE

 This post is part of the weekly Five Minute Friday series. Five minutes* of free-flow writing shared with whoever wants to read it. This week’s prompt is: PEACE.

*this one took more than 5 minutes, but I needed to process the incident.

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After a fun evening at the arcade for a birthday party, the big kids and I were in a car accident on Friday. I’ve never been in one before. 

As we were coming to a stop at a red light, the car behind me did not. Apparently, the car behind them didn’t get the memo we were stopping, rammed their car, who in turn hit me, and cause me to graze the lady in front of me. My car is totaled, but we are all ok!

As I was on the phone with 911, my 5 and 9 year olds were in tears, terrified. I keep telling them to breath big deep breaths and we were all ok. Once the police showed up, we drove to an empty parking lot, out of the middle of the road. While we were driving over, we prayed and thanked the Lord for His protection for us and listed all of the specific things we were thankful to Him for. Peace began to come over all of us. However, when I needed to get out of the car to talk with the police, the anxiety came back. I told the kids they could get out of their car seats and sit with each other in the front if it would help. They cuddled together and I got out. 

Knowing I hadn’t told Jeff what was happening I asked the policeman for a minute to call him. It’s never an easy call to make, or receive.

“Babe, we are all ok, but we’ve been in an accident. I need you to talk to the kids while I talk to the police. They are ok, just freaked out and I don’t want them to be alone while I’m out here”. 

I saw their faces instantly melt when they heard his voice. Before I knew it he had called a neighbor to watch the babies and was in the car to rescue us, all the while talking to the big kids. I’ll never forget the calm inside the car when I got back in. All because we were able to hear daddy’s voice and knew he was on his way.

How often has that been me? Scared and alone, just needing to hear from the Father and know He was near. Even cuddled up close to another for comfort, not realizing what would truly make it better. He is always there, just waiting for us to make the call.

I am thankful for Jeff, everyday. He is such an amazing husband and father. He works so hard to take care of all 6 of us. He goes to bed exhausted each night because he has spent every last bit of himself for us. 

What a gift to have a living representation of Christ in our home! 

STOP.

Five Minute Friday: STRETCH

This post is part of the weekly Five Minute Friday series. Five minutes of free-flow writing shared with whoever wants to read it. This week’s prompt is: STRETCH.

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So, I have been behind the past few weeks, but I have finally caught up!  It would have been easy for me to just skip those weeks and just start this one.  However, I have set a goal to write each week's topic, so I wrote three in the past two days.  

That might not seem like a big deal to anyone else, but it's a HUGE stretch for me.  As I wrote in the last two, I HATE to do things half way.  It's either go big or stay home.  No pressure, but if you've got a few minutes, check out the last two entries: Achieve and Commit.

But for this post, I will just say that I have been stretched beyond recognition these past two years of the pandemic.  I barely recognize myself.  I have been more isolated, and lonely than I thought possible. And that is saying something as I'm surrounded by a husband and four kids.  It's a new kind of lonely though.  One where the rest of the world seems to have gone on but I just feel kind of stuck.  And it's not in a bad or good way, it's just an observation.

Because I was in a high risk category when I was pregnant with the twins, we had to pull back more than we would have at the start of the pandemic.  Then, when they came so early, we had to pull back even more.  When the babies finally got to come home we had to do everything we could to make sure they didn't end up back in the hospital, so we basically never left the house.

BUT!  We had a doctor's appointment today and she has cleared us to be around more people!  Not going crazy, or being in large crowds, but we get to go back to church!  I am so happy, but also a little nervous.  I'm out of practice of being around people... I have to wear real clothes and shower.  This is new territory for me!  I have to get 6 people out the door, dresssed, clean, fed and in the car to get to the church on time.

Our Virtual Sundays, with Jude out of view.

What a crazy world we live in.  Two years ago, if you had told me I would be nervous to leave my house, I would have thought YOU were crazy.  But now, I'm not so sure.

STOP.

Five Minute Friday: Commit

This post is part of the weekly Five Minute Friday series. Five minutes of free-flow writing shared with whoever wants to read it. This week’s prompt is: COMMIT.

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Again, this post is a week late.  As I put off writing about ACHIEVE last week, I fell behind this week.  Fitting that I am behind on the topic of COMMIT.  Like I talked about in the Achieve post I have a hard time committing to things that I might not be good at.  I like to be the best, shocking, in everything I do. Am I?  Absolutely not.  Honestly, pretty much never.  So I sit out when I probably should get involved.  However, there is one time in my life that I did the complete opposite of my natural tendency.  I decided to shoot my shot, no matter how hard it seemed because I felt like if I committed to it and tried hard enough, I could make it happen.

Case in Point: College.

Going into senior year, I knew a few things.

- I wanted to make a difference in the world.  

- I loved all things medical.

- I wanted to tell kids about Jesus.

Push all of those things together, and I decided my (and God's plan) was for me to go to Medical School and become a doctor, nay, pediatrician on the mission field. 

For me, this epitomized "the best".  It looked pretty, sounded Holy, and would prove I was smart.  Fast forward four years and shocker upon shocker, I didn't get accepted into medical school.  Talk about a shot to my pride.  Something I spent YEARS trying for didn't pan out.  And not in a, "oh we can try again" way.  But in a "the scales fell off my eyes, I finally saw the error of my ways and clearly this was never gonna happen for me" way. 

Is it funny to think about now?  Kinda,  Though it still stings 15 years later.

Did I learn a lot from the experience?  Definitely.  I could write for DAYS about what I got out of this experience, but 5 mins isn't going to cut it.

My main take home: Go big or go home doesn't always pan out.

And that's ok.  I have a beautiful life.  I have a wonderful family and a ministry I adore.  I can't even imagine what my life would have looked like had I spend more time, money, and strain to achieve a goal I had no place committing to in the first place.  

Praise the Lord that His ways are higher than ours, even when a dream seems to end. 

STOP.