Weekend of Thanksgivings

We've been gone this weekend and thus my silence the past few days. This has not stopped me from being thankful because, actually, I am very thankful for this past weekend! It was almost, ALMOST a mini-vacation!

This weekend we were in Windsor for several reasons. Last year, Violet went to Paraguay on a work team and met Karen. Karen sent back some mandioca flour and some authentic Paraguayan Farmer's Cheese with the work team to give to me. Somehow this stinky cheese ended up in Violet's possession and the dear woman MAILED, by ExpressPost, this stinky cheese so that I could make real chipa! What a thoughtful act that was! The next thing I knew, I was inviting her and her family to spend the weekend at our house a few weeks later and that was the beginning of a friendship for all of us! I am thankful that Violet went to Paraguay and met Karen because it caused us to connect with each other!

I am also thankful for Levi, Violet and Tim's oldest son. He is Stephen's age and the boys just love him and his little brother, Jaden. They talk about Levi all - the- time!! This weekend was such a joy to watch them play together and form a friendship as only little five-year-old boys can do!

I'm thankful for Violet's husband, Tim, who's sense of humor really helped to dispel the mounting frustrations of an over-tired four-year-old boy who just lost it royally at the lunch table. While Fred was in the other room trying to help our Timothy gain control, Violet's Timothy was keeping us all in stitches with his comments. Thanks, Tim, for the comic relief that we needed!

I'm also very thankful that we had a three hour drive there and back this weekend because it gave Fred and me SIX whole hours to talk to each other, and mostly uninterrupted as the boys napped or kept themselves entertained most of the way. We had a lot to talk about, and the theme that came up over and over again was that no matter what happens, we want our trust to be in the Lord and we want to be thankful for His care.

Let me explain a bit ... Fred has been working for the company that purchased our computer business this past spring. He was the only salesperson, working to keep six technicians busy. This company has decided to restructure and model themselves after their Calgary office and that meant that they were going to eliminate the sales position and just have the techs do their own sales. Fred has tried to negotiate with them and help them to see the danger in adding one more responsibility to already-overloaded technicians, but this structure works in Calgary, so they are bound and determined to try it here as well. So ... Fred's last day is December 5. We don't know what God has in store for us after that because there doesn't really seem to be anything opening up at this time, but we are trusting that God will provide. We both have a peculiar sense of peace that is carrying us right now, and I'm thankful that our trust is pushing out the worry. That's not to say that there is no concern whatsoever and that we're just living happy-go-lucky while the "day of unemployment" looms closer and closer. No, there is concern, especially on Fred's part, but still, we have a peace that God is very much in control. And that's a good thing because we have NO control, so we may as well submit to that ultimate Authority and let Him have that control!

How am I thankful in this situation? Oh, for more reasons than I can list here right now! For one thing, God loves us and has a plan for us. He will provide. I'm thankful that both of us watched our parents struggle with these very issues when we were children. I never knew that my parents struggled until much later in life because they always made it seem like we had everything in the world that we needed! Now I am much more aware of what my parents went through when we were younger, but at the time, we never felt we lacked one thing! I wish I would have understood this all back then because maybe I would have appreciated it even more But then maybe not. I was probably still an egocentric child who wouldn't have cared. But now I do, Mom and Dad, and I appreciate all that you did for us back then when you had nothing! You've taught me contentment and how to live off of nothing. Our family will be just fine because of your example.

Ok. I'm going to stop for tonight. It's late and I feel I'm getting wordy so it's probably best that I just go to bed now and stop rambling. Just to summarize though, we had a wonderful weekend visiting Tim and Violet, Levi and Jaden in Windsor and I am thankful for our very real conversations and discussions and the sweet fellowship and encouragement that we shared. I'm also thankful for six whole hours that I spent talking with my husband, praying together about our future, and the fact that we are both determined to praise the Lord and trust in Him no matter what! I'm also thankful for my bed that is calling me now. Good night.