Minivan Moments

How many times have you met The Straw?  You know the one: it's the very last straw you can handle... the one that "breaks your back?"  Furthermore, how many times have you met The Straw... only to find you can handle more than you thought you could?  Yeah, that's God. Sometimes, i really think God has a LOT more confidence in me than He should... until i remember that He doesn't actually want me to handle any thing.  He wants me to give it all to Him and Let. Him. Handle. It. All . Okay, i'm a work in progress, and i am teachable.... mostly.  Well, He must still think i am if He's still wasting His time on me. Several times over the past year, i have believed that i have reached the peak of what i can handle.  You understand - you've been there, no doubt.  Not surprisingly, though, i have mostly been wrong.  I can apparently handle quite a bit.  This past week, month, year, i have learned a lot about myself, a lot about my family, a lo...

... that the whole world has gone mad and you are the only sane person left?  I realize that is often the definition of insanity, but sometimes i really think it's an accurate assessment of the situation. Imagine a world in which everyone took responsibility for his/her actions and words. Imagine a world in which people cared about other people's feelings more than their own. Imagine a world in which people who supposedly cared about you didn't resort to throwing stones whenever their feelings were ruffled. Imagine a world in which a ridiculous situation could be cleared up with a simple "i'm sorry" or a turning to truth. Imagine.... 'Course, that would be Heaven, 'cause it sure ain't happenin' here on this Earth.

After a long weekend of hiking about in the Fall Creek Falls State Park, i have come to a stunning realization: God 'gets' me.  That may seem like something of a ' duh ' moment for some of you, but i have begun to understand for the first time in my life that i am fine just the way i am.  I am quirky, anxious, compassionate to an extreme, moody at times, generous to a fault, pessimistic more than optimistic, fearful of just about everything, and overall, a strangely functional person with a variety of oddities. However, in all of that, God 'gets' me.  He understands where i have been, knows what hands i have been dealt in life, and is aware of my hang-ups and coping skills.  He 'gets' me. He created me SO THAT i could go through all that i have gone through and SO THAT i would come out of it all in JUST such a manner as i have.  He 'gets' me. So, though i often struggle with the people in my life who do not understand me, i can rest in the ...

The word "normal" comes from the Latin roots that indicate "made according to the square" as in a carpenter's square.  So, you have this tool - it is inanimate and does not move... therefore it does not change.  Hence, you make something using it or according to it and you get... something square, right?  That's normal.  That follows the norm.  Makes sense. But to say something is "not normal" or a person is "not normal" is to indicate that there is something "off" or "different" or "not quite right" with it/him/her.  You tracking?  I am "not normal" in that i can feel a UTI before it develops and can take steps to ward it off.  Never had a full-blown UTI in my life thanks to this "abnormality."  I am "not normal" because i have bunions on both feet and cannot shop for shoes in "normal" sizes or "normal" stores like the rest of the planet.  I get to spend wa...