Joining Kara at her Tuesday Grace Letters today.  If you haven't been following Kara at her Mundane

Faithfulness, you will want to do that.  She writes through the terrible hard of life and shows God's grace through his steadfast love and faithfulness.  This is the first week she has asked others to join in her Tuesday Grace letters and asks that we write a letter to ourselves 10 years down the road...our hopes, our dreams, and our fears as we share what today looks like in our lives.

Today.... another day in a long line of days....actually 13,524 since God purposefully through His grace put me in the role of caregiver for my husband after a car accident.  I was 29, he was 33 and our children were 6, 4 and I was due to give birth to our third in four months.

Today... over 37 years later... a day I looked forward to 37 years ago because I believed that God

would heal Larry, he would be out of the coma by now, he would be the Larry I married, life would be back to normal...that is called hope.  But God is good and His ways are not our ways.  We don't always get what we want but as He teaches and leads us we know that His ways are the best ways for His glory and our good..

Today... over 37 years later... Larry is out of the coma, he is not the Larry I married, the normal of life continues to change as God's grace and strength through his Steadfast Love and Faithfulness continue to be evident even in my fears and failures. God is good.

If the last 37 years hold true I know that fear will continue to raise it's ugly head

   ....when there is change

        .....when I get into a "fix it" mode

             ....when I stop looking for God's presence around me

                 ....when I can't see the graces in the everyday.

Graces that include:

FAMILY

My prayer, my hope is in 10 years we will all be grateful for the circumstances, the good, the hard, the beautiful and the ugly that have become a part of our history through those 10 years.  My desire would be that those years would be full of times together filled with laughter, kindness, compassion and love. I know that the struggles, the tears, and the fears is what will really draw us together and make us hope and desire our heavenly home even more than now. 

For Larry I would ask that God

....work out his perfect plan in his health, his strength, his mental ability. 

     ...would continue to use Larry to bless others with his faith and smiles.

         ...would keep him use him to teach me that in the hard there is abundant grace.

    ....

For George and his parents I ask for

....God's love to be evident in their home.

    .....God's abundant grace to be obvious to them as they imitate God's grace to little George.

          ....God's Spirit to move as He draws George to himself.

     [I thank God for them, for their marriage, their love for each other, and especially for that little boy. My FIRST grandson...who I love more than I ever dreamed I could. Note...my special request would be that doors would open for a move to Colorado.In the mean time, I pray that my week long trips to visit will continue to be possible.]

For my daughter, my dearest grown daughter I ask for

....God's love to be evident in her home

    ....for God's special blessing and guidance in her work 

         ...for God's Spirit to give her direction with those she comes in contact with every day.

[I also thank God for her friendship and listening ear through all these years and her help with her dad.I would also ask that there are more opportunities for travels together.]

For my son...my oldest... to know not only my love but God's....

[I thank God for his help with Larry, with the yard, the house, the finances, computers, and the list goes on.]

For all of them, I pray that they will know how grateful I am for their help with Larry, for their concern for my health.  I fear misunderstandings and ask that we would be able to communicate our fears, our hopes, our needs with each other well.

Ten years will go by quickly....perhaps too quickly...perhaps not, but in that ten years I earnestly ask that God would...

....grow the fruits of the Spirit in me... I would especially ask for kindness and patience as I care for Larry.

     ....give grace to accept the help of others when I need some time away.

         ....shower blessings on those who step up to help when I am away...that is not an easy thing.

             ....give wisdom as decisions will need to be made...hard ones.

I would be remiss if I did not remind myself of a prayer that Kara's husband Jason prayed in church shortly after they first came to Colorado Springs.  I would ask that God would help me through His Spirit to "Love Larry Well."

[If you click on the purple letters, you should be able to read posts I wrote on that subject.]

             ....