A cup overflowing



We have taken many trips with Lacy over the years.  He was always a good traveler.  Lacy loved to watch out the window, or sleep in the back cuddling his latest buddy (there have been several - Q-bert, Bugs Bunny, Donald Duck...the list goes on).  He liked to stop and get out of the car to investigate interesting places as we drove.  This was a good way to make the journey easier.  We have lots of pictures of Lacy digging in the dirt, looking for lizards, climbing small trees, feeding birds in a park.  These were precious times when there were no hazards to be careful of, no people who might not understand Lacy's need to inspect and explore.

We are taking a final trip with our son; he is setting the schedule and determining the route.  Along the way, we have to be mindful of opportunities to stop and enjoy time together finding little signs of God's grace.

Lacy told me this week that he had trouble "rampaging."  Apparently his thermostat clock was set to military time, and this really upset him.  "I was rampaging and rampaging," he told me.  "I was yelling at the staff and telling them my clock was not right.  Then the Lord God of the Universe saw my rampaging and He sent someone to change the clock.  Now I am not rampaging anymore."  He was so proud that God had helped him and that he was no longer "rampaging."  Staff told me later that he had been yelling at them and ordering them out of his apartment.

I've said this over and over, but with any challenge, terminal diagnosis, or difficult journey, the real challenge is to stop and see the grace of God in the circumstances.  A table set before us...an overflowing cup of grace.

This week, I had the pleasure of eating lunch with good friends on two separate occasions.  We have all known each other nearly 40 years now.  These friends have stood by us through all the challenges our family has faced, and are committed to supporting us as much as they can through the uncharted territory that is HD.  Their friendship and empathy is another example of the grace of God.  Another table...another cup of grace.

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