Thursday, March 26, 2009
As you know from recent posts, Landon has been very sick for a while which has left us sleep deprived to say the least. Waking up anywhere from 8-20 times over night for a period of 3 weeks and then pushing on to have the energy needed to care for two other children had me hitting a wall of being non-functional. My mom had already come over one night last week to sleep in the room with Landon so she could wake up with him. Then, she volunteered to do the same again for two nights this week so I took her up on it. As I lay in bed last night before going off to sleep, I thought of the many sacrifices that people have made for us so that we would be okay. We have been on the receiving end of so many people’s sacrifices and I have heard different people say, “I know it isn’t much but I hope this can help out in some way” and I say to them, “please don’t belittle what you are doing for us. This is huge for us!” Some of you may not be able to relate to this because I know I wouldn’t have been able to relate to what I’m about to say until now, but I mean it when I say, right now $1 is a big deal! $1 here and $1 there add up to provide needs. We have been blessed by the equal sacrifice of so many. What I mean by that is it isn’t equal giving but the sacrifice is definitely equal. What blows me away is that people would feel led to even sacrifice for us! We just feel so humbled and unworthy!
My parents have shown me over the course of my life what equal sacrifice really means. They have given generously to all three of their kids over our lives and they have gone without many times to give to us and I know the same can be said of Vince’s parents. I saw many times as I was growing up and even now that I am an adult, that in the midst of times that they did not have money to give, they have always found creative ways to provide or give to us and for that matter others outside our family. They have also shown us how to have fun in the midst of sacrifice which is also just as important as the sacrifice. It is so important to have a heart of love and joy when sacrificing and not do it begrudgingly. I’ve learned a lot from seeing the many different ways they have given and especially the many ways they have found to give when it didn’t directly involve giving money but the sacrifice on their part was big and it led to a big blessing in others’ lives.
For us, they will pass on gift cards when they receive them so that we can buy clothes or household items for us or our kids. One time they had a deal through Home Depot where they were able to fill up their cars with gas for literal pennies so anytime we would run low on gas, we would call them and they would meet us at Home Depot and let us fill up both of our cars. Then, there were times where they would call and we would meet up for dinner and they would buy us dinner and then they would take us somewhere fun where the kids would have fun playing or sometimes they would just call up and say, "we have dinner to bring over." They are always thinking of ways they can give and serve even if it is not just monetarily. Recently, my mom went and picked up Grant from school, took our car to have its emissions test, took him for his allergy shots, and then out for a fun day while Peyton, Landon, and I napped at home. Then, she came back that night and the next to sleep in Landon’s room so we could regroup from our physical exhaustion. This was a HUGE physical sacrifice on her part and allowed me to rebound from the mental and physical exhaustion and stress of Landon’s sickness.
So, as I lay in bed thinking of the craziness of the past few months and how blessed we have been by so many, I was just humbled as I recalled the many sacrifices of so many. What I will never forget is that every sacrifice that was made obviously blessed us but the variety of the sacrifices is exactly what we needed in that particular moment or time in our lives. We obviously have bills to pay so people that were able to pay our bills blessed us tremendously. Then, we had others who felt led to prepare meals for us so that enabled me to nap when I needed instead of using that time to cook. Then, we needed physical rest and relief overnight and my mom came to our rescue. Every sacrifice that was made worked together to restore us so that we could be relieved of financial, physical, and mental stress. While we have made sacrifices for others over our lives, they don’t compare to the magnitude of sacrifices that have been made for us. For me, I know there have been times that I have held back from doing something because I didn’t think it was a big enough gift or blessing. What I have seen in our experience is that the little things matter just as much as the big things. I remember our pastor challenging the church one time to think about all we have and putting it into circulation for God’s glory. That really challenged me! That means the little and big things can be used to bless someone else.
I was talking to Grant and Peyton about their new cousin that will soon be born when Blake and Emily have their baby. Grant immediately ran to his bookcase and pulled out one of his favorite books that he wanted to give Gavin when he was born. If a child can get what it means to take everything we have and put it in circulation to bless others, then as an adult, I’m challenged that even in our situation with no money, we have plenty that we can use and give that can bless others too. As a family, we have already thought of different things we can do and acted on them and it has been so neat seeing how when we give what we have (equal sacrifice), God uses it and blesses someone else but not only that, He gives it back. Now obviously that should not be the motive for giving-that it will come back to us, but I’m astounded at the magnitude of people’s sacrifices and how God has used them to allow us not to go under financially, emotionally, mentally, or physically even in the midst of the meager sacrifices that we make for others. This topic of sacrifice is really on my mind lately so you will see a continuation of this because I definitely believe God is teaching our family a lot about this area right now. Even the decoded message on Super Why today which is a show our kids enjoy was Give to Others so I think God is sending us a lot of messages in different ways regarding this particular subject.
Mimi enjoying the quiet time with Landon after a long night. :)
The boys were so excited to see that Mimi had stayed over night so they enjoyed cuddling on the air mattress Mimi had slept on in Landon's room.
After cuddling, Peyton and Landon interact and have some big laughs together.
Before Mimi came over for the second night, she and G-Pop invited us to come meet them at Chick-fil-A as a special treat for the boys because they love going there and this has not been something we have been able to do lately. Here are some pictures of our time there...
Lemonade (emolade as the boys call it) is one of their favorites!
Grant surprises Mimi with trying to feed her a bite of his carrot and raisin salad.
Landon seemed to be feeling much better and gave G-Pop some big laughs.
Peyton has a ball playing on the playground
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