It is with a variety of emotions that I realize two of my "Fave Links" will soon be, most likely, out of commission. The first one is Jon's Update. I am ecstatic about this one, knowing that the reason I won't need to check it anymore is because Jon is coming home!!!! He is currently in Indiana . He will face about a week of debriefing and then will be home for good!!! The risk of him being deployed again is virtually nil. His 6 year commitment with the army is over in October, and Michigan has passed a new law about the amount of time a soldier is allowed between deployments so.....there you have it. We are soooo excited.
The second link that may not be updated from this point forward is Uncle Paul's Journey. My uncle Paul was diagnosed with lung cancer a little over a year ago. His battle against this disease was surrendered early Monday morning, July 3oth. It's still a surreal thing. We were in Colorado for his funeral, and I was amazed at what a small glimpse I really ever had of who my uncle was. His memorial service saw over 1,000 people attend; at the visitation we as his family were constantly regaled with stories of his patience, love and compassion for others, selflessness, and peace in the face of all life's circumstances, especially his cancer. I was so challenged and found myself asking why I wasn't living a similar life; God has blessed me no less. I've always had the tools, now where is my drive? Complacency comes so easily. Anyway, I was challenged not so much by how I would want people to remember me when I am gone, I was convicted much more by what people notice about the way I LIVE. Paul touched innumberable people this way.
And so two chapters in the life of my family come to a close as new challenges set the precedent for upcoming episodes. Prayers for two of my loved ones have been answered: one in exactly the way we asked: protection for Jon (not only physical but mental and emotional as well) and a safe homecoming with no delays (as of yet...you just never know with the army); one prayer was not answered in the way that we asked, and it was tough to watch even a generation older than myself grapple with the "why"s of this (my grandparents and their siblings). But what I realized is, God ALWAYS answers. Sometimes it's no. Sometimes it's wait awhile. And sometimes, gloriously, it's yes. What I am so glad of is that the end decision is not up to me. I would choose so unwisely. A passage from God's Word that has stuck with me through the past month is Isaiah 55:8-9: "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." Praise God.
I recently saw it summarized another way in a wise old text: Harry Potter. :) Albus Dumbledore profoundly states to Harry at the the end of the first book:
...."the trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them." Boy, for a wizard he really nailed it.
After 12 months in Iraq (and countless others in training) Jon finally arrived home on Friday!!! Just a few pics to commemorate the day.
