A day in the life of...

this is a week of training for me. internship. counseling. seeing into other people's lives. watching God reveal truth and change lives. its pretty incredible. and intimidating. it immediately causes me to ask questions about myself. to begin introspection, yet again. right when I thought I had relaxed a bit and was able to quit over-analyzing my own life and heart just a bit, well, its back, full swing. but, I think its ok. I want to know truth. I want to have a free heart. I hate baggage. and of course, we all have it. but it seems its really more just a matter of understanding what that baggage is so Jesus can come in and clean it up, we can forgive and we can keep walking through life, caring for other people well. it really doesn't need to be so complicated like I often try to make it.

thats just a small part. the rest? well. its showing me more of what I know of my own heart, my own desires, dreams and ideas. but, that dosn't change where I am today, what I've been called to for now. and in that, I must rest. I must trust. I must commit those things to the Fathers heart to worry about. "fret not, it tends only to evil doing." really? evil doing? just for fretting? got it. trust. lean. rely. delight. be confident. commit. rest. be still. patiently lean. trust. trust. trust. its all right there and its all pretty clear.

Philippians 4:8 (The Message)

Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

thats right. Grandma has a fireplace in her dressing room. she also has a personal tooth brusher. and, she has a pj warmer. and she loves it. nearly every night, I hear, "I just keep thinking about how you spoil me..."

fireplace? dressing room? personal tooth brusher? pj warmer??? about now you're thinking either I'm crazy or dad built much more of a house than you originally thought he did.

we have a little space heater. we have a nice, big, two sink restroom. there's me. and, there's the dryer. its all pretty simple really. Grandma's days are short. we're not sure how long we get to have her around. and, the way I figure, why wouldn't I make those last days as special, as sweet and as comfortable as I can possibly think up. so, every night, when its time for bed, I start the space heater in the bathroom. then, I take her pj's and throw them in the dryer for 10 min. next, we hobble to the bathroom and I brush her teeth. the other night, with the tooth brush in her mouth and tooth paste on its way to running to her lap, she giggles and says, "don't you just love brushing someone else's teeth??" I nearly rolled on the ground laughing! when I got myself under control, I said, "don't you just love having someone else brush your teeth?!" her reply required no thought, "YES!" the next night, again, through a foamy mouth and tooth brush, she said, "I hope you have someone to brush your teeth when you get old!"

its really not that difficult. I've been given a treasure. the treasure of loving on and pampering Grandma for her last days. its a priviledge. she is truly a joy to care for.