Wednesday the 26th.

Yesterday I attended Marky's "end of the year program", ....

you know, the one that all the cute little 2nd graders take turns
saying or singing 4 to 5 word lines and all the parents come and
beam brightly as they are certain THEIR child is THE SMARTEST
and most talented one in the whole school !

Well, as I sat there with "Uncle Ken", i wasnt quite beaming....I
was sobbing uncontrollably at the sight of MY SON not only speaking
his 5 words on cue......but that he was ACTUALLY THERE !

Each little event that i used to lightly regard as routine, is now a
monumental accomplishment and miracle, in my eyes.

Im reading a fun book called "Surviving Your Blessings" by Lynn Jaynes.

The title caught my eye.

I know you guys feel the same , in your own ways......"I'm tired
of .....surviving all these Blessings !"

The author offers a quote that i've heard before, just not lately....

"come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavey laden,
and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and
learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart; and ye
shall find rest unto your souls."

Those words washed over me and cooled my tired, exhausted soul.

I am SO grateful that we were out of milk !........so I could walk into
Wal-Mart, of all places, ....and see this book on display !

I was also reminded of the words to my most loved song.....
"Consider the Lilies" .........

I became all too familiar with this song with the birth of our "Angel"
Sam. I cried and cried at the news of the test results confirming "Down's
Syndrome".

I did NOT want to watch a child suffer. I considered myself too "tender
hearted" to bear this "blessing".

I think of Sam sometimes as a "meat tenderizer".....you know, those metal mallots with the scored surface.

You think you've got this beautiful, thick, red juicy piece of meat that will be just great.....then the recipe tells you to use a meat tenderizer and "Whack" it until it is thin and
flat and pulverized....

Then you coat it with some spiced up bread crumbs after dragging it through some kind of egg batter first.

All the sudden, you take that first bite after cooking it and realize....
"Wow, that recipe was right !" That meat tenderizer thingy is awesome! ...
AND, the spicy breadcrumbs enhanced the flavor....AND the dragging thru the egg batter sounded "over the top"....but really was a GREAT idea...it just wasnt MY idea ! "

"It looks a little intimidating to use, and youre not quite sure how its all going to turn out...." Then.... "oh man, I'm sure glad I got that Meat Tenderizer outa my drawer that I never, ever thought i'd need to use !

That's my Sammy. That's how I feel about ALL of these "blessings"..

"Consider the sweet, tender children
Who must suffer on this earth...."

"The pains of all of them he carried
From the day of His birth."

"He clothes the lilies of the field,
He feeds the lambs in His fold,

"And He will heal those who trust him,
and make their hearts as gold."