Thursday, May 10, 2007

Conversations With God

I have had many this past week or so. Wondering if He has been listening or even cares. It has been tough, and I have definitely been challenged.

A couple weekends ago, my husband and I went on a four day trip to the coast. It was wonderful. The drive was half the trip as my youngest son, Branden puts it, and boy was it beautiful....and fun. We shot pictures of bridges, the sky, mountains, trees and rivers flowing heavily with fresh rainwater from the north. We traveled in our newer Honda Accord that gave us a most enjoyable and smooth ride around sharp corners and distant highways.

We spent two days relaxing in the quiet beach house of a friend we know, waking to the calming sound of rushing waves splashing against the sun beaten shore. Hearing the sea gulls singing their songs and conversing with one another soaring high in the sky and then anxiously descending just above the waters searching for their own meals. It was wonderful.

We headed south into California along 101 and so enjoyed the views and conversation with one another. Life at home had gotten a bit hectic with members of our family moving back home so my days seemed to be filled with a bit of chaos. The peaceful drive across Highway 299 towards Shasta was as gorgeous as my friend had told me about. I was so happy we had taken this route. The trees were as green as I had ever seen. The mountains were wide and tall and lush with majestic trees and thick brush everywhere. It reminded me of a great big head of broccoli.

The third day we reached Redding, the place we were going to finally visit a highly respected church that even those in Oregon had often heard about. We were excited and decided to find it before services in the morning so we would now when to arrive. It was big and set upon a hill. A stately woman warmly welcomed me in the foyer and informed me of the service times and that there was an auction/dinner going on that very night to help raise funds for the Christian school that operated out of the church. Oh gee, our weakness most definitely. An auction and food to boot. So we said we'd return in an hour or so and that we did.

The auction was fun, food was great and we ended up loading our goods in our car and headed off to find a hotel nearby. We were exhausted and yet excited with great anticipation for our next days events. The trip was almost over and I wanted it to go on for weeks longer. this was the first time my husband and I truly enjoyed our alone time with one another in twenty four years.

That night while turning into bed, we got a phone call from my oldest daughter, saying that one of my pregnant Lhasa Apso mama's was needing to be seen at the vet's office immediately. Cheyanne, my Lhasa mama, was in partial labor and would not proceed to pushing the baby along that she had in her birth canal. An emergency C section was inevitable but she was very sickly and the vet said she would surely die. After hours of bring her vitals up, eight tiny babies emerged from her womb and entered the world for the first time.

They did not come in the usual fashion, kicking and making alot of noise. They were quiet, still and in need of intensive care. Only one was born still born and one other just was not strong enough to survive the first few moments. I called my daughter in the morning and heard the news, but also knew we had to head home early. My oldest daughter and her brother-in-law had been up all night helping the vet and tech stabilize the puppies while my youngest daughter slept in the car. We were needed at home asap and it was still another three hours before we could walk in the door to our house. So with only an hour and a half left before Bethel Church services began. we packed up, and started our anxiety filled trek home.

We listened to a few wonderful Christian CD's by John Eldredge and passed out time in God's word and presence. We prayed and tried to stay in the calm of the storm, atleast until we arrived back home. It seemed the most logical thing to do at the time. We wanted to end our trip as nice as we began it. t seemed so short lived, but we were both so thankful we had this enriching time together. The Lord knew we were going to need it to get through the stress-filled weeks ahead.

Concludes chapter one of several in my new book~
Check back for more soon!