Lord? Thanks for those opportunities....

Yes, I know that you are probably thinking that this entry is going to be about thanking God for the opportunity to host our guests from Haiti...or the opportunity to have Tom's children over for a birthday brunch for Amanda today...or the opportunity to hear the excitement in Kati's voice as she returned home from Delaware and had good interviews and a wonderful weekend....

Well, certainly I am thankful for all of those opportunities and so many more that are wonderful, deep and spiritual. But this evening, my thankfulness has to do with something much more basic. Read on...you might be able to relate...

Those of you that read regularly know that since Leonie and boys arrived almost a month ago I have been struggling with the "Martha vs. Mary" in an internal struggle. I think that God has been doing some amazing things through this, but I haven't made it easy for Him! I'm pretty sure He needs to "break" me here in order to accomplish His greater purpose. Yep...I'm a stubborn one...

Anyways, my wonderful husband left for Barcelona, Spain for business a few hours ago. He will be gone until late Saturday night. I've been struggling with a sinus infection and other interesting illness issues for the past 3 weeks, so I am a little on the tired side. Kati left for Delaware early Thursday morning, and has returned to Valpo, and Stephani went back to Central Michigan University this afternoon. If you're doing the math, that leaves Adrianne and me (as well as sometimes Ben, but let's face it, he's a teenage boy) to handle the house, our school work, our jobs, and our house guests, as well as the 3 dogs! Oh, and Adrianne seems to have the same illness struggles that I do right now, so neither of us is at the top of our game.

This afternoon after the family brunch was cleaned up, I began working on meals for this week. I made some White Bean Chicken Chili, some Roasted Chicken and Potato Soup, and got things ready for Beef Stroganoff in the crock pot.

I was feeling pretty accomplished and fairly relaxed for a Sunday afternoon...and was thanking God that I had time and energy to accomplish those things! I left the Chili on the stove for dinner, put the stroganoff makings into the refrigerator for another day, and was scooping the Chicken Soup into a gallon ziploc bag (with double bagging to follow) for refrigerator storage. It was all going well until the first ziploc bag split. Chicken Soup all over my stove...and my reaction? I must admit that I expected my reaction to be anger and stress...perhaps even a bad word muttered under my breath. But, SURPRISE of all surprises....what I said (almost out loud, but mostly to myself) was, "thank you, Lord, for this opportunity to clean my stove, because it really needed it, and I wouldn't have taken the time if this hadn't happened." And then I proceeded to disassemble my stove and clean it. All calmness...no frustration.

This, my fellow princesses, is a MIRACLE for me! Especially now. Especially today.

And, as I reflected on that, I realized that God has been creating a new heart within me. As I realized that, I was able to thank Him for all of the wonderful things that I mentioned in the first paragraph and so many more.

My wish for you is that if you struggle with similar Martha issues, that you will find some hope in what I have shared with you about the good work that God is working in me. He never gives up! Neither should we...

Blessings...
kimberly