Free, Free! I'm free at last!!!

I just finished a quiz. I'm turning in the last paper of my undergraduate career in exactly one hour. I'm enjoying some fresh fruit and hashbrowns in the EUC. AND I am loving life! The DC Talk song "Free at Last" keeps running through my head (I know you hear it, Nat). I'm so excited that I'm thinking of putting on a show for my peers studying nearby. Today could only be better if I could say I had more than four hours of sleep last night. I'm running on empty, but it's all good.

I am now officially pumped for Thanksgiving. Connor is so excited to see Luke and Jake, but he seemed to have momentarily forgotten you, Uncle Aaron. He said to me this morning, "Mom, who is Uncle Aaron?" I said, "You know, Daddy's brother. Luke and Jake's dad." (You know we are nobodies when not identified via the relationship with our children.) So next he looks at me and says with a scrunched up face and silly eyes, "Oh Mom! That's so crazy--I thought you were talking 'bout Uncle James. That's silly!" Good news--you are definitely still loved!

We're also very excited to have the opportunity to see my sister, Natalie, and her family in Gatlinburg next month before Christmas. We haven't seen each other in over a year and a half. I can't wait to see Drew, my nephew. He is the cutest! We are blessed to have most of Andrew's family nearby (We miss you dearly, Amelia!), but it is really difficult to go so long without seeing the people you love. I only wish we could make it to see Daddy, too.

Something I found...

I came across something this week and I have felt compelled to share it ever since. There are days when we feel so inadequate, days when facing the challenges before us seem absolutely impossible. I don't know about you, but these are the days that really bring me to my knees. I was having a day like this last week when I noticed beside me, in plain view, this poem:

God hath not promised
Skies always blue,
Flower-strewn pathways
All our lives through.
God hath not promised
Sun without rain,
Joy without sorrow,
Peace without pain.

But God hath promised
Strength for the day,
Rest for the labor,
Light for the way,
Grace for the trials,
Help from above,
Unfailing sympathy,
Undying Love.

Annie Johnson Flint

At first glance, the poem seems a bit corny, but it was exactly what I needed at the moment. It's really quite amazing how the Lord always gives us what we need to make it through our troubles. Every time I read it and think about God's promise that we'll never be alone, I feel like the load on my shoulders has been lifted. Jot it down; you never know when life will get to you.