WWYD

A little play on the WWJD, WWYD is my new mantra (okay honestly I just made that up). WWYD is What Would You Do?! Did I really make that up?  So I was sitting here at the coffee shop and overheard a girl on the phone talking to her insurance agent. She said she's moving to Mexico next week to work in an orphanage as an assistant teacher. It got me thinking about how many opportunities I've missed out on...not because I turned them down, but because I haven't sought out these opportunities. The accessibility to just pack up and move to another country isn't exactly what it might have been for me ten years ago, I get that. But there are things I could be doing in my day-to-day life that I'm just not doing...opportunities to change lives, improve relationships, and be a "someone" to someone other than myself.
See, I think so often I get caught up in the mundane repetitiveness of my life that the idea of stepping outside of that scares me. And the fear of not knowing what "out there" looks like holds me back from taking a peak at what might be.
I posted on FB the other day that even certain FONTS were starting to bore me. I'm bored with my life. I LOVE my husband and my family, of course. They don't bore me, obviously. That would be impossible...have you met my family?! But my job, my interactions (or lack thereof) with other people, etc. I feel like there's something I'm missing. I think there's something else I should be doing. I have said this for the past four years...I LOVE my job. I love the people I work with. I seriously DO like what I do. But...it's become...repetitive, habitual, it's become a job rather than something I enjoy. I don't feel like I'm making a difference anymore.
I was talking to a dear friend this morning and he recommended that I read 1 Thessalonians 4:11. He paraphrased it like this:  "Inspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own bid-ness, to work with your hands. Make it your goal, your ambition, to lead (live) a quiet (peaceful) life." Ah yes, how awesome? So my mission over the next few weeks will be finding how to do this and finding what this looks like for me and my family.

Kokomo Prayers

I got an email from my aunt last night about a friend of hers whose son was living with a brain tumor. The tumor has progressed and is not responding to the medicine, so at this point they've decided to stop treatment. This means the tumor will continue to grow and this young man's earthly life will come to an end. He is in second grade. My Lilly is in second grade.  

I'm trying to not make this about me or about my kids, but it's so hard to not make it personal. I have a second grader. I cannot imagine how these parents must be feeling. I wonder...when you have a child at home who may pass away any day, do you still go to work? Do you still go to the grocery store? Do you sleep? Does the car still get washed? The lawn mowed? Laundry done? 

I think of all the times I gripe at my kids to clean up their mess. Pick up those toys. Put those crayons away. What if I came home one day and I never stepped on another matchbox car that was left in the middle of the floor? What if I never broke up another sibling-argument?  The thought makes me sick to my stomach. It pains me to think of these things. More than that, it kills my soul to know that there are parents all over the world feeling these things. 

My prayer tonight is that this family and young boy feel peace. If you're reading this blog, I don't know if you're a Believer or not, but say a little prayer for this Kokomo family. They need to feel God's presence and they need to know there are people all over the country praying for their little second grader.