Feeling the burdens

It's been a bit of an emotional roller coaster lately with Keri Lynn and her trip to Japan. For a while there, it looked like she wasn't going to be able to go because she wasn't able to gather together enough funds. We cried together and we prayed together. I went to bed feeling so sad for her. Meanwhile, she went to bed after typing a message to the missionaries she will be working with. Could she go for a partial time? That hadn't even occurred to me as an option and here, lo and behold, they were able to make changes in her itinerary to accommodate her for a full 40 days. Not quite the full summer she had planned, but 40 days is nothing to sniff at! We are all very thankful for this development and for the opportunity this affords her. Her plane leaves May 25, just a scant week away!

And here I sit typing away and working on all the odds and ends that have been gathering while I've been busy with school. My heart is heavy for my own opportunities this summer. I'm not sure if we'll be able to swing this last semester of classes. I feel like I'm at that last mile of the marathon and the road has been blocked off with big "No Trespassing!" signs.

Having by God's grace come this far with one income is really a miracle, but it's still hard not to start wringing my hands again about the mortgage and utility bills and groceries. I begin to wonder if there will ever be a time when we will be able to actually take in more than we spend! Then, I become very ashamed. So many people suffer, really suffer, and not just monetarily, but with poor health, death in the family, emotional rifts, addiction, etc. I have so much to be thankful for.

Then, in the middle of all the drama, there is Kristofer. My 17 year old son. Graduating from high school on Thursday, May 26! I am having a really hard time with this. It's bad enough to have Keri Lynn finished with her second year of college, but to have ANOTHER one heading off to college?!? We had some drama, too, with where he was gong to go. We all wanted him to go to GCSU where Keri Lynn attends, including Kristofer, but he didn't get accepted there. He did get accepted to Georgia Southern, which we then found out is pretty much a big party school. However, I've been thinking about Elijah lately. He cried out to God that he was the only prophet that served God, but God told him otherwise, that there were still 7000 in Israel who did not worship Baal. He was not alone. And that is my prayer for Kristofer, that he will remember that he is not alone, that others keep up the fight with him. I am excited for the opportunities before him.