Turning 40 and the problem at the Giant

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7


I have two life Scriptures. Joshua 1:8-9 is one. This is the other. I love this translation, which is from my new Bible, because it uses the word comprehension instead of understanding. That fits very well, I think, my comprehension of what is being said here. When I am not anxious because I choose not to be anxious, when I take my concerns and lay them in the lap of the Father and I thank Him for the unbelievable blessings of my life, then I experience a peace in both my heart and my mind that is simply beyond what I can analyze. It's beyond what I can explain. It's beyond what I can comprehend. Analysis, explanation, comprehension--these are human abilities I've been blessed with, but they cannot begin to touch the surface of the glory of knowing Him. When I take the time to stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene...He, my friends, is beyond my comprehension.

Okay, so I'm forty today. Yep. The big 4-0. I have already had a wonderful birthday--my sisters and parents and aunt and uncle went WAY overboard, and I even received more gifts from my sisters in the mail yesterday. (Thanks, especially, for the phone card and mix cookbook, by the way. I am looking forward to using both.) I know that Norma (Marc's mom) is cooking me dinner tonight, but I have no clue what Marc is doing for my birthday. Whatever it is, he is giddy with excitement over it. If you know Marc at all, you know that he is a really tender, kind man, and he LOVES to give gifts. This is definitely his love language. I, unfortunately, am a stinky gift giver. I struggle with what to get people I love things that they want or need. Not Marc. He always surprises me with something wonderful. So whatever it is, I'm sure I will love it.

If you're wondering about the problem at the Giant, you first need to know that the Giant is a grocery store here in Maryland that we went to last night to pick up something to grill for dinner. My kids were longing for a "regular" meal (meaning something boring that I make on any given night), so we stopped by to pick up a pork tenderloin. However, we were running a little behind schedule, and in my hurry to find the meat aisle, I failed to notice the Red Sea spread out in front of me. Therefore, I had no opportunity to call on God to part the waters, and instead fell, quite unceremoniously, on my behind. I'm not talking a dainty little slip, either. I'm saying my feet went up over my head. I crashed simultaneously into the floor and the island of orange juice which had sprung a freezer leak. And because I twisted in my efforts to somehow maintaing some semblance of grace, I managed to hurt both sides of my body. Of course, the management of the grocery store was quite apologetic and concerned (they might have heard the lady who saw the whole thing encourage us to "sue the socks off" of them), and I went on my merry way, still picking up the pork tenderloin that caused this whole thing. At about 4 this morning, I woke up feeling pretty stiff, so I came upstairs, sat on the couch and watched "Walk the Line" on my iPod. (By the way--what a fabulous movie!) As the sun came up, I took an inventory of how much damage I'd done, and I don't think it's anything too serious. However, every single part of my body does hurt pretty badly. I have some ugly bruises, and my eyebrows feel stiff. You don't think it's because I'm forty, do you? :o)

On a serious note, as we wind down our time here, please pray for my little family. It is an odd feeling to be on "vacation" with everything you own, and know that you aren't ever going home. My kids are definitely feeling the stress of transition. They have been so tremendous, and my mommy-heart breaks to see them struggle, even though I know it's part of what we signed on for and that everyone's children are struggling...it still kills me. John-John cried as we left the home of some friends on Wednesday, both because he had to leave people again and he had to say goodbye to their cats. He, especially, is struggling because he misses his life. Thankfully, we know who our neighbors at FPO are, and John will have playmates for the eight weeks we're there. That will help. But pray for us. It's hard. And I'm turning 40 without my momma and daddy and aunt and uncle, and that's hard, too.

Okay, enough of that. You are loved ( by me, but more importantly, by Jesus)! Blessings!

His,
Kellye