Finding Blessings In Disguise

Ten years ago I was driving to work when the news of the first plane hitting the World Trade center broke on the radio.  As I looked to my left, I caught a glimpse of a huge American flag blowing in the breeze up against a bright blue, cloudless sky.  The timing of that moment of where I was when I heard the news has always given me chills. The feelings of learning that the attacks were orchestrated by men who wanted to destroy Americans and everything about us because they deem us to be "infidels" were so foreign to me.  As a member of Generation X, I vividly recall what it was like living in fear of the Soviet Union and mutually assured nuclear destruction.   We knew who our enemy was - the Russians.  How do you identify your enemy when their declaration of war is based on a religious belief from an offshoot of the world's largest religion and spans throughout every country in the world?  This event launched an unprecedented situation where the world's ...

As I type this post, a sorority sister of mine is in an operating room having a two-inch tumor removed from her colon.  I am praying that the Lord blesses her surgical team with steady and sure eyes and hands and that they can remove all of the cancer from her body.  I pray that she makes it through with no complications and that they can cure her of this horrible disease.  I pray for her husband as he stays strong for her and their three children.  I pray that God holds those babies close and takes away any fear that they may have over their mommy being sick.   Last night I had this friend's CaringBridge page opened and noticed that I had another friend's CaringBridge page open as well.   When I think of all of the friends and family who have a CaringBridge site for one illness or another, I feel overwhelmed with grief for their suffering.  I also feel humbled to be so fortunate to have everyone in my household be in such good health.  I also f...

I got to spend my Saturday night with a kiddo in the local ER after she hit her head in the shower.  Once I got my husband upstairs to help with her bloody nose, I did a quick Google search to find out what it meant when someone had a nosebleed after hitting their head (not their nose).   Site after site advised to seek medical attention for a possible skull fracture.  So, I slip into scary-calm, mommy mode and load her up into the car with her security blanket and favorite toy for a trip to the ER. We arrived to a nearly-empty waiting room and were back in a room within 25 minutes of arrival.  They quickly assessed her and ordered a CT - head, face, and c-spine to rule out concussion, fracture, and any other potential damage.  Thankfully, everything came back just fine and we just have a really big goose egg on the forehead. Before going back for the CT, the nurse advised us of the scan producing large amounts of radiation and the risks associated with it. ...

I saw a news story out of Memphis tonight about a student who set out to kill his principal because she didn't put him in a class that he wanted.  Police reports say that the boy planned out the murder all during summer break.  Out of curiosity, I Googled the most dangerous jobs in America and looked through the Forbes list of the top 10.  It came as no surprise that nowhere in the list were educators or school administrators included, but is this instance just the tip of the iceberg for a trend of a generation raised by over-indulgent parents?  In a society where kids are rewarded with trophies for simply being on a team, everyone afraid to ever hurt someone's self-esteem or offend someone by being politically incorrect, what else do we have to look forward to in the news? While I don't have any factual basis for my opinions, this kid's behavior just screams of being overly indulged.   I can't help but think that this kid was a product of this generation and...

Today marks 14 years of wedded bliss with my husband.  We were set up on a blind date by some meddlesome friends at the beginning of the spring semester almost 20 years ago.   In true grown-up fashion, we celebrated the evening with the annual "Meet the Teacher" night at our kids' school.  He dozed off on the couch and I caught up on my shows in the DVR while he snored next to me.   While it may not be the most romantic way to spend the day that marks our union as husband and wife, we did it as a family and that's all that really counts in my book.

Today my youngest kiddo got herself all worked up over the fear of our house catching fire.   We went through this a couple of years ago with the oldest one, but it wasn't like this.   Kiddo ended up packing all of the favored stuffed animals into a backpack and wore it around the house to keep everything with her in case she had to make an escape.   There was a lot of convincing to tell her that she couldn't sleep with it on.  So...the backpack is sitting next to the bed tonight in case of an emergency.   I remember being afraid of things like that when I was a kid.  I was so afraid that something would happen to me and that I wouldn't be there to play with my toys and they would be sad.   I can remember many sleepless nights worrying about such things. It breaks my heart to see my baby carrying so much anxiety and fear over something that she can't control.  I tell her to give it over to God, but she still seems absolutely gripped by her fea...