Taking the bad with the good.

Have you ever heard that expression? Take the bad with the good? I have always understood what it meant. In my own words it means, in life when anything comes your way, be it a person, a career, or even a book, there are parts of it you will love and enjoy to the fullest, possibly becoming an inspirational and massively important part of your life.
On the other hand there are the defects, the parts of it you didn't sign up for. These are the parts that make you cry, hurt, and feel like you hit the lowest level. But, in order to get the wonderful, you have to take the terrible.
You find a great man, who loves you, takes care of you and understands that part of you that you yourself barely understand, but he leaves the toilet seat up, and can ruin your day with one rude/unthinking comment. But without that rude crap you can barely seem to tolerate, there is a deeper misery that has roots in knowing you never put your heart out there, to find a match, or get broken... that's taking the bad with the good.
 Be willing to accept what comes your way, be open to it, to all of it. This includes the heartbreak, the great fall into a great love, the book with a terrible ending but a perfect beginning, and the great job that makes you work the occasional weekend. Take it, push through the bad and relish in the good.

Too, funny!

Yesterday, my oldest son, Elijah, was spending time at Grandma's and Grandpa's. I went to pick him up and bring him home, always a task in itself, and he begins the argument. Mom? can I spend the night tonight, please? Well buddy, no not tonight, it's Sunday and you have school tomorrow, it's a very special day. Tomorrow is mommy and me, for Kindergarten next year! He looks down, climbs up onto Grandpa's lap and then looks me dead in the eye, But mom, what's so important about school anyway? I laughed and looked at mom, thinking up an explanation a five year old could understand. You have to learn to read and write, because when you get older you need a job to live, and you won't be able to get married and have babies without a job to support them. He looked back at me, paused for a second, then the response... So you mean school is my last chance? He said with a touch of fear in his voice! I laughed so hard, yeah buddy! School is your last chance! Needless to say, he was up and ready to go to school this morning.

The First Blog... Not a lot about boys though.

Today was a revolutionary day for me. I am at home on the computer, my 2 year old son taking a nap, my 5 year old son visiting grandma and grandpa, and hit a moment of peace. In times of peace at my house, which are hard to come by, I like to talk with God. In our conversation today, my heart was struck with pain and tragedy, not for myself but for another voice, a voice that no one hears, the unborn baby. As a strong conservative and Christ following woman, I have always been pro-life. But today compelled with these feelings, I was drawn to watch something I have never seen before, a little film from the eighties called 'The Silent Scream'. In the first five minutes the Dr. gives a speech on how and what instruments will be used to preform this act. Barely able to proceed to the next part of the film, nearly paralyzed in my living room on my couch staring at a scene that is more gruesome than any I've seen in my life, I continue watching, almost unwillingly. The view from my seat was horrific, terrible and sad. They warned me before watching... Warning, this film contains graphic and disturbing images... But nothing could have prepared me for that.

At the end, my tears dripping to my pant legs, my eyes burning, and heart broken, I can do nothing. Nothing but pray. I found myself calling out to God, apologizing as if I could stand in the gap for those who committed these crimes against innocent life. Next I found myself comforted, by Him. I then prayed for God to forgive them, to heal the women who have chosen to end a life before it could even begin. The kind of healing that can only come from Him.

I imagine He already has.

Something has to be done about the abortion pandemic. Where do we go from here? Groups meet, walk-a-thons are done, prayers go up. But In the eighties the daily average for abortions was 4,000... that's per day. Where are we now? Nearly 3 decades later. No better, but much worse.

Motivated to do something, I will stand and holler for these silent screams, maybe they will hear me instead?