Week's Review

Best of the week:

Not many weeks start with flowers on the kitchen counter, gifts, texts and phones calls throughout the day, but this one did. Mother's Day slam dunked into a fest of fun and goodwill. HH* and I enjoyed surprising his folks by showing up in the pew at their church and taking them out for lunch.  The day threatened to dump out rain showers, but no billowing gray clouds were going to keep us from bicycling to the local ice cream stand where HH treated me to my favorite coconut almond crunch sundae.  Thankfully, the weather cooperated. Calls from kids and calls to moms kept the ring tones jangling and the iPhone messaging center buzzing.

I'm thankful for the privilege of being a mom to wonderful kids and thankful for the women who have mothered me. While my mother is no longer here to honor in person, I often recall the good things she planted in my life. --knowledge and understanding about my heavenly Father, introduction to a relationship with Him, daily practices of worship, love for His Word, disciplines of hard work, perseverance in spite of weaknesses, unbroken connection to friends and family...and more.  My Dad gave her Bible to me recently, and I'm getting to see her heart up close and personal as I decipher the scribbles in the margins and find few pages unmarked with some underline or emphasis. No earthly inheritance compares to the legacy of faith and honor handed down from the generations that came before us.

I didn't always appreciate these gifts because I couldn't see past their outer wrappings or understand their value. But Time and Perspective are kind friends who patiently keep tenderizing my heart with grace, humility and charitable judgment.

Not the best of the week:

I found myself feeling insecure in my relationship with HH.  One incident that occurred brought hurt and my emotions refused to be assuaged. A few chats together to air things out and sweet talking our way back to closeness brought rest and comfort.  How quickly he and I can slide into our default modes of independence when demands of schedule and activities leave less time for togetherness. Knowing we need to be more intentional about relating in those times and actually doing it is the challenge. Energy is low and need for solo time is high. Expressing simple gestures of tenderness or using one of the many means of quick communication to make a connection goes a long way. We'll keep working on that while being deeply grateful for the gift of marriage.

*HH= Handsome Husband