And the days, they go by ...

Some seasons pass one to another with little notice. Others announce their arrival.

Last winter seemed to hang on forever - both outside my window and in my heart and emotions. By March I could relate to the scene outside my window. I knew there were green shoots of new life growing just under the ground, but they hadn't yet broken through the brown and cold soil. It was not yet time.

Spring finally burst forth - both in the garden bed and within my life. New paths grew and bloomed, and in the midst of the busyness of studies I found doors opening that had never been there before as summer made its way.

The fall chill is now in the air. As leaves drift to the ground, I draw upon what I've learned about grief to help our two children mourn the kitty that they had known their whole lives. As my husband writes, "She was a quiet friend ..." After decorating memorial stones and holding a funeral, our family went out to see a movie together. The moments of mourning in Big Hero 6 seemed appropriate for our day . . . and then in the midst of the movie, a reminder that there were parts of our story still to be written. A character introduced, the joy of her father, appropriately named Abigail.

Later that night I opened my email to read, "Every child of promise is a call for your attention, proof that the LORD keeps His Promises."

Child of promise.

Happy Abi-versary!

It's February 11. Three years ago my life was about to change dramatically, and I had no idea.

God is like that sometimes, capturing us unaware. Other times we see God coming from far off on the horizon and have to wait impatiently for arrival.

Right after I heard those words, "Your daughter's name will be Abigail", I prayed for some confirmation and opened up my Bible. The first words there in Psalm 98:1 were "Sing to the Lord a new song ...", and peaking through the page I could see several notes from the page before. Psalm 96 also begins with "Sing to the Lord a new song ..." This weekend as we entered our new church home, I saw that the banners had been changed: "Sing to the Lord."

Each year now when February 11 rolls around I begin to wonder. Will God remember? Sometimes in these days of "not yet time" the rest of life takes over. I'll realize that I haven't prayed for Abigail in  while - and feel a bit guilty. Some days it is hard to imagine our life changing.

I opened up my current Bible study, Life with God's A Call to Desire and Discern, and found that this week's reading begins with 1 Samuel 25. In the NIV version, this chapter is titled:

1 Samuel 25: New International Version (NIV)

David, Nabal and Abigail

One of those reminders that no, God hasn't forgotten.

And the day even had a celebration. A good friend who has been part of this journey from the beginning came over for a catch-up visit. She arrived bearing coffee, snacks, and these cheery flowers & balloon - having no idea of the significance of today.

Abba, you are so much bigger and greater than I could ever imagine!

God goes before

It wasn't so very long ago that God began some big changes in our daily lives, one of which was my husband's change of jobs to our down-the-street school district. We loved the extra hours in the day since his commute had lessened, and once our kids were attending there also it build a common bond between them. In these past couple months we've discovered another unexpected blessing.

When we first moved here with a newborn, God had led us to the church that would become our spiritual home. It hadn't been on our list - one of those crazy sets of circumstances one day led us there, and we just knew. In our eight years there our faith and friendships grew. Because God's hand had so clearly been behind it, we always took the stance that we would be there unless or until God was calling us elsewhere. This past fall, that time came, somewhat unexpectedly, and like before, God used a somewhat unrelated situation to convey the message.

This being called out of something that is comfortable and familiar and into unknown waters is never easy, even though we've gotten some practice in it. We wanted to leave well, to give ourselves time to grieve what we were leaving, and allow God to direct our going forward. What started as a casual visit to a sister's church soon started to unfold as our new landing place. And that unexpected blessing? While I know very few people here, my husband recognized many, many coworkers from that very first Sunday and a few of his current students. We had no idea so many of them were members of this church, but yet again, it seems that God has gone before us paving a way.

Who knows what the Lord is paving the way for next!

Every so often ...

Every so often something will come along that serves as a reminder.

Last Memorial Day we had plans to stay at a B&B with family.  We'd checked it out ahead of time, and discovered that they gave each room a presidential theme.  Which room would we have .... Jefferson? Lincoln? Washington?

We arrived to check in and the innkeeper started to settle everyone into their rooms. As she got to us she said, "And I've just opened a new room that you'll stay in - the Abigail Adams room."

It was a delightful room, and such a fun reminder that even though things seem silent, it is not forgotten.

And the reason the room was named after Abigail instead of her husband, John Adams? In a letter from 1776 in the early days of independence,  she had written " I desire you would remember the ladies . . ." in the laws for this new nation.