Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Fill 'er Up

You have asked how Abigail is doing after our canceled trip and while a simple, "She is fully recovered." would suffice, I must tell you about our weekend.

Every time we thought she was better, we had only wait a few hours and a blazing fever would return. We thought she was well enough for a trip to West Virginia. Chris and I would see a movie after dinner with my parents and they would take Abigail to their house. We would catch up after the movie. At the resturant, Abigail started feeling sick again and so I had my fish around a sick toddler trying to find a comfortable spot.

Mom said she wasn't worried so they took Abigail and we were able to see a movie. In a movie theater! By the time we got to their house, though, Abigail's fever had spiked to 103.7. On Saturday, the fever hung around for the better part of the morning, but by the time we were ready to leave, Abigail was fever free and chipper. Well, as chipper as a constipated toddler can be. We were all suffering from IBS.

We got home in time to be comfortable when the calls came from Michigan. Our friend in charge of the Amazing*Race 2 was kind enough to find a way for us to participate even though we couldn't make the trip. We took the four calls listening to hymns re-written by Chris which caused me to request my Mother's Day dinner that night instead of waiting till lunch on Sunday. We went out to eat and then took a walk up to the "melton" (fountain) where Abigail was too tired to do more than look at it.

By the time we got back to the house, her fever was returning as she was going to bed. Her fever spiked again but she slept in her bed. It was low grade Sunday morning so we stayed in bed instead of going to church. Right before putting our shoes on for a trip to the urgent care facility, her temperature went down to normal (the first time since Wednesday), the constipation ended, and we went to the grocery store for food for dinner.

Chris had invited a family headed by a coworker to dinner Sunday when we knew we were going to be staying in town. They came for dinner, and for the first time in a really long time it felt like home.

Once my heart stopped wallowing in disappointment and looked at the Lord I was able to see the gift He had prepared in this weekend. And I was able to see that perhaps I wasn't ready to visit Michigan yet. I was waiting for the visit to fill up my loneliness and boredom to affirm that Uniontown really is, well, Uniontown. We would have had a wonderful time, but the good-bye would have left me longing for what I don't yet have and would have put walls of expectation and comparison up between what was and what is.

No, I needed to be here. I needed a date with Chris. I needed a family we could feel utterly comfortable with. I needed God's assurance that He knows our needs, that He has a plan and a purpose for our lives here, and that this is where He wants us. I needed to wait till I was filled with Him before we could visit our friends. And, oh, am I ever looking forward to spending Memorial Day weekend in Michigan not out of the desperation I was feeling last weekend but out of the joy of a heart filled with the promises and assurances of the God of the universe and rejoicing in the friendships He has gifted us with in every place we have lived.

4 comments:

  1. Thank you for your weekend report. I was praying for you, knowing how disappointing it must have been to cancel. But I also knew that the Lord must have had some reasoning for the chain of events that kept you home. I'm glad to hear that you have realized what that plan was and that you are feeling more 'at home' in your new home. :) It's such a difficult place to be, between homes. I'm happy to report that I am finally feeling more home at home. :) God is good!

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  2. So did I read you correct you all are coming the week end of May 23-26th?

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  3. I, too, am glad that you had a blessing out of what was first a disappointment. God has a way of doing that for us--sometimes though it takes months and months before we see it. I am glad you had more immediate vision. Praying that God continues to grow your heart for your new home.

    See you soon--if I was reading correctly.

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  4. I am so glad your sweet girl is better

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