the little things

We've been trying to figure out why March was so easy for us this year.  By "easy", I mean not devastating.  March will never be "easy" by most standards.  We figured out that it wasn't just one thing.  It was a bunch of little things that not only helped us survive the month but also enjoy the month.  We recognize that these little things just didn't come together randomly.  It was part of God's plan.  When we look back at the path of our lives during March, we can clearly see His part in all of it.

One of the most impactful things was Shayna's soccer.  My oldest daughter is utterly passionate about soccer and at the end of the season every year her team plays in a huge State Cup tournament.  In past years, the tournament has been local and during the month of January.  This year it wasn't.  And we were NOT happy about it. 

Now we can see why God had us travelling out of town and spending those tough weekends in March with our soccer friends.  We see how He helped us occupy our otherwise lonely weekends with fun people and gave us the gift of joy of watching our daughter play soccer.  We see how He postponed the tournament for one week on Nate's birthday so that we could celebrate at Disneyland as a family.  We see how He allowed my daughter's team to keep winning and advancing so that we would have to return week after week.  We see how He allowed her team to ultimately win the championship so that she would have a good memory during the month of March.  We see how He allowed her to score the winning goal during the championship game to make the event truly unforgettable!



Back in January, my 6 year old twins' gymnastics coach announced that they would be competing in their first gymnastics meet (a practice meet) on March 26th.  I shrugged my shoulders in defeat thinking that it was NOT going to be good timing since it was in "March".  What I didn't know was what a gift that would be.  Their little competition filled what would have otherwise been an open, empty March Saturday for us.  I think that part of the reason that March has been so hard in the past was because we had nothing going on.  Our weekends were empty and we were bored and lonely.

Their little competition showed me what strong girls I have.  They inspire me to:

Reach for the sky...and fly.

Trust God and jump knowing that He will make sure that I land on both feet.

Have confidence that my strength will carry me where I need to go.

Hold my head up and focus on what I need to do...even when I know that everyone is looking at me to see if I will fall.

Fall backward with complete faith that I will know how to turn myself around again.

The final thing that helped us last month was our sweet little boy.  He often makes comments about not having a brother to play with and complains about all of the "girl" stuff that have going on.  But he has been rising to the occasion lately.  Last week he made an unbelievable catch at his baseball game and then immediately ran to 3rd base to accomplish a double out.

Not a big deal in and of itself but I am learning a lesson from it. I learned that just because you do something amazing doesn't mean that you are done. Look around because sometimes there is another opportunity that will present itself.

So, that pretty much sums up where I am right now.  I am learning, growing and appreciating the lessons along the way.  Thank you to all of you for continuing to support me along my journey.  Please keep praying...