10 March 2008

The busy life of new parents. Or why I have neglected my blog for nearly a month.

The short reason is, I don't know. I just haven't had much to say. Probably more accurately, I have had too much to say.

Too much inspiration, not enough discipline. Too many spectacular, articulate ideas, not enough time without a bottle in one hand and a burp cloth in the other. Not that I am complaining. Far from it. Our little blessing continues to redeem us and love us and make everything okay no matter what. But it takes up all our time, that is for sure!

This past week has been especially interesting. We finally threw in the towel on the old Cavalier. The water pump finally peed itself out, and the repair cost was nearly the cost of the car itself. Combined with a great deal on a Chevy Malibu from Sparta Chevy, the timing just felt right. As I said on facebook, it's not that we enjoy having a car payment, but the peace of mind that is evident on Shan's face and her demeanor when she drives her new-to-us car is very much worth it. Besides, everyone tells us that the Malibu is a very dependable car. Given our track record with the Cav, the Blazer, and of course, my first Malibu ( I miss you, Big Red), we hope to get at least ten years out of this one.

The only issue we had with it was apparently the previous owner was some sort of factory chimney, and the car smelled like a bowling alley on Monday morning. A good dousing with Febreeze and three air fresheners later, we are winning that battle.

Another interesting happening this week was the receiving of an anonymous Meijer gift card. A $50 anonymous gift card. No return address. And, of course, mailed from Grand Rapids, so no figuring out who lives where. We have a hunch though, and it figures they wouldn't tell us.

So yesterday, at church, we continued the Philippians series. We're moving verse by verse through Philippians. Yesterday, we focused on the tension and stress that Paul was under. Here he is, in prison, not knowing whether he will be executed or allowed to go free, and he is still encouraging and shepherding his fellow Christians in Philippi.

Actually, linguistic experts have studied the Greek manuscripts, and say that verse 22 of chapter 1 in particular, is written very disjointed and awkward. It definitely is Paul's style, but we can see from the very way he wrote it that he is under unimaginable stress. He quite literally does not know if he will be alive tomorrow. It made me think of what Shan and I went through with our miscarriages and infertility. There were times when both of us wondered if we were going to continue to be married. It got that bad.

So now, with our little blessing, life again is busy, stressful, and chaotic. We do not know what tomorrow has in store for us. We can't say it will get better, as a matter of fact, we can be relatively certain that it will get worse. But, like Paul says in verse 6, our God will continue the good work He has begun in us until the end of time.

It's busy. It's hectic. It's tiring. But if Paul can find comfort in Christ while in prison, waiting to possibly be executed, then we can too. I can't imagine raising a son is as bad as being chained to a wall, not knowing if you'll be alive the next day.


wingnut

1 comment:

jimkastkeat said...

I hate it when cars pee. You'd think they'd be more house broken (or garage/driveway broken). But good to hear about the Malibu! Go Febreeze, go!