Why don't I ever crave broccoli?

I found this post in my drafts folder... I'm not sure why I never posted it, but the memories make me laugh, so enjoy!

Dear God,

I'll bet you have people asking You, "what is up with (fill in the blank)" all the time. Like the platypus for example. I'm guessing You've taken Your fair share of ribbing on that one. Personally, I think the platypus is kinda cool; a downright funky animal. I only regret that I've never seen one in person.

But I really gotta ask You, why did You have to come up with pregnancy hormones; namely, the ones that make me crave weird things at odd hours of the night? It's not like being pregnant isn't hard enough, what with the nausea, the wild mood swings, and the getting bigger with the round ligament pain and things of that nature.

And let's not even mention the pain of child birth.

What I take issue with is the fact that I can be marching my shopping cart down a grocery store aisle, minding my own business and keeping to the exact letter of my shopping list when BAM! Out of nowhere, I spy a bag of marshmellows and think to myself, "how good would a roasted marshmellow be right now?"

Never mind that I'm nowhere near a campsite, and the fact that it's ten billion degrees out during this very pleasant (she said, sarcastically) Texas summer day. All I can think about is a white-melty-blob of high-fructose-corn-sugar-goodness. All rational thinking goes out the window and I toss the marshmellows into my cart.

Fast-forward a few hours later, and I now find myself in front of my stove, "roasting" a marshmellow over an electric burner on a wooden kabob skewer. And by "a" marshmellow, I mean 5.

Well, pregnancy cravings must happen for a reason, right God? At least that's what I'll keep telling myself as I'm double-fisting the candy corn.

Yours very hungrily,

Joanne

Home Now

We're home from the hospital. About 12 hours ago, the thought of that statement brought tears to my eyes. I was so scared to leave what had become a safe haven.

I am still scared, but I know I have two choices; I can turn tail and run, dissolve into a quivering mass of uselessness, and be of no good to anybody. Or I can dry my tears, tuck my fear away into my back pocket and face this horrible disease head-on. I choose the latter. In my 32 years on this planet, I have discovered I am not one to hide from hardship. I can take care of my daughter to the best of my ability, and rely on the support of those around me when I feel that I cannot go on.

There are some cool stories that have come out of this, and I hope to share them soon. Not only as a reminder for myself on those days when life has taken it's toll, but more so as a glimpse to others of how God is there, even in the depths of our despair.

I'll also share the story of how we discovered Elise had diabetes, it's an interesting one (at least to me), and really shows how your life can change in as little as 12 hours.

If you have called and I haven't gotten back to you, it's not that I've forgotten, I just need some time to rest right now. But you are on my mind and I am very thankful for you. Again, thank you to everyone for your prayers... I have felt them in my weakest moments.

A Time of Friendship

Today I had the honour of spending some time with my sweet friend Kellie, along with a bunch of other fun ladies from various aspects of her life. It was supposed to be the day of her baby shower, but as you may recall from an earlier post, she lost baby Gabriel. So instead, we had a time of remembering. Stories of how we all met Kellie were told, and it amazed me how many of our stories are all intertwined in some way. We cried as she talked about Gabriel, and she was able to share some of her wisdom from this experience. It was only too appropriate that today at church, Barry's sermon, called "A Community of Wounded Healers", was about God wanting us to use our pain and suffering to minister to others that are suffering too. After all, we serve a Jesus who did the same for us!

I watched in awe as my friend shared her pain, and how she is open to God's plan of using her through this awful tragedy. I am so thankful for her friendship. I don't think I've told her that, but I plan to.

So, thank you, Kellie. For showing me that suffering can be graceful, and to not be afraid to show my wounds to those who I count as close friends.