September 26, 2007
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Well, I was thinking about blogging about the move, the hecticness of the last couple of days, how everything is in disarray and how I am now running two messy, upside households – the apartment and the parish house. How there isn’t just a “moving day” but it will be more like “moving month” or even months. How it would have been nice to spend the day in unhurried peace celebrating thirteen years of marriage and how Fr. and I live in hope that someday we will able to have a quite day together. But, then I received this from my mom, and I have nothing to grumble about. We are grateful for everything in our lives and to live our lives according to God’s will.
Our life is good. Our kids are healthy; we are free to live as we like , worship how we choose and educate our children how we like. We are grateful for the lovely man who came and landscaped the front yard and came back for several days to water and add more plants. For his wife that took the kids out for pizza while he and Fr. carried furniture. To the lovely lady who took Maria~Angelica for the day and cared for her while I put the new kitchen in order. For the dear lady that came by with her teenage son , who kept me company and chatted with me as we unpack boxes while her son and Fr. carried furniture. For the sweet mommy of two little girls who thought of us while she was cooking and made us dinner too, For all the people who made us feel welcomed in a city where we previously knew no one . For the wonderful people who invited us to their homes for gatherings and offered us hospitably. WE THANK YOU!
It has been a long road getting settled here and we are glad to be able to be settled; so Fr. and I can get on with the real work of the Church which is loving people and meeting their needs.
“Lord Jesus Christ Son of God have Mercy on us all!”
When a soldier comes home, he finds it hard…
…to listen to his son whine about being bored .
….to keep a straight face when people complain about potholes.
…to be tolerant of people who complain about the hassle of getting ready for work.
…to be understanding when a co-worker complains about a bad night’s sleep.
….to be silent when people pray to God for a new car.
…to control his panic when his wife tells him he ne ed s to drive slower.
…to be grateful that he fights for the freedom of speech.
..to be compassionate when a businessman expresses a fear of flying.
…to keep from laughing when anxious parents say they’re afraid to send their kids off to summer camp.
…to keep from ridiculing someone who complains about hot weather.
…to control his frustration when a colleague gripes about his coffee being cold.
…to remain calm when his daughter complains about having to walk the dog.
…to be civil to people who complain about their jobs.
…to just walk away when someone says they only get two weeks of vacation a year.
…to be happy for a friend’s new hot tub.
…to be forgiving when someone says how hard it is to have a new baby in the house.
…not to punch a wall when someone says we should pull out immediately
The only thing harder than being a Soldier…
Is loving one.
Comments (8)
I have a feeling the pics are very powerful, but they aren’t showing up for me.
Oh really? I am sorry about that. I will have to fix it later tonight. I wonder why they are showing up? Can anyone else see them?
I can’t see them either.
RYC: Cade is the only one who took a “different” name at our conversion. He’s Constantine. Fr. D. agreed that Mara is close enough to Mary (they both mean “bitter”) and so she didn’t need a second name. I felt pretty strongly about it, since we had prayed over her name a lot as a child. I felt it was significant that both Mara and I had saints’ names even before I knew anything at all about Orthodoxy.
I don’t think our church has enough kids who have NO Greek exposure to warrant a separate class. I’m probably the first Xeni to attempt putting my kid in the Greek class anyway. If I thought there was a chance Mara could learn something, I’d encourage her to keep going. But the method she’s using goes against every legitimate theory and all the research that I believe in.
No pics here either, but I loved the post! :sunny: :goodjob:
Very good post (I can’t see the photos either). Hugs to you.
You still can’t see them? I just spent all morning getting the photos upload to my blog and updating this post. Weird??
Can anyone see them?
I see them all now. Wow. Very moving.
For me, the one with the soldier carrying the Iraqi man is especially touching.
Thank you.