There is never a shortage of things for which and about which to pray.  But sometimes a whole bunch of things to pray for come up all at one time and hit very close to home.  This last Monday was such a time.

For the last few months, I have known that there was a possibility of my father losing his job.  As time went on, that possibility became more and more likely, although it was never for sure.  However, this past Monday, possibility became actuality, and my father is now unemployed.  Graciously, the Lord worked out the circumstances of his unemployment so that my parents have a small severance package worth a month’s income, health insurance through the end of the year, and an arrangement with an employment agency (not a temp agency) that helps people find jobs.  All of this is a welcome blessing, as his former employer was not obligated to go through the trouble of arranging or securing any of these details for my father.  However, the reality is that my father is without at job at a tough economic time.  So, once again, it’s time for our family to actively put our trust in the fact that God works all things out for good for his children, and trust that God will continue to take care of my parents, even in this uncertain time.

Of course, bad news always seems to come in threes, and the second piece of bad news is that my mother is having serious dental issues.  Repairing her teeth will cost in the thousands of dollars, money which my parents certainly don’t have right now.  Again, we’re not sure how this will all play out, and we need to put this in God’s hands and trust that somehow it, too, will work out, and work out for good.

The third piece of bad news is not completely unexpected, but is certainly not the news for which we were hoping.  My aunt’s cancer has taken over her body, and she’s been given 2-3 weeks to live.  She’s currently in the hospital, and plans are for her to move into a hospice house tomorrow.  In fact, she’ll be in the same hospice house where her mother, my Grandma Violet, lived for over a year before God called her home to heaven, the same hospice house where she visited her mother every lunchtime for months, and the same hospice house where she got to know the staff much better than the average patient’s family does.  Now, she will be the patient.  She is only 57 years old, and this is not the news for which her husband, children, grandchildren, siblings, family and friends were hoping.  They knew this day would come, but they had hoped it would not be so soon.

I’m glad for my aunt, that she will soon be free from the sadness and pain and temptations of life on earth, but I’m sad for those she will leave behind, especially her husband and children.  Her eight grandchildren range in age from 6-11 years old.  She has been an integral part of their lives as their Grandma, frequently babysitting, going to and/or picking them up from activities, keeping them overnight, and being a very involved, hands-on Grandma.  I have so many wonderful memories of my own Grandma, some of which I’ve shared on this blog, and it’s sad to think that these kids won’t have the same opportunities to know their Grandma that I had.  My aunt has spent much more time with her grandchildren than I spent with either of my grandmothers at that age (it helped that all of her grandchildren live within 15 minutes of her home), but still, it’s sad that she won’t be able to continue being such an important part of their lives.

If events play out as the doctor has predicted, the timing will make it highly unlikely that I would be able to go back for her funeral.  It was horribly painful for me to not be able to attend Grandma Violet’s funeral, and it seems likely that might happen again.  I love living in California, but being away from family during tough times is probably the most difficult part of life here.

Thankfully, my husband, my daughters, and I are all doing well.  We have settled back into having JJ home again; he even finally packed away his suitcase last night.  He has one more trip next weekend, but it will be the shortest trip of them all.  Everyone is healthy again, and somehow, amazingly, I never did get sick.  I credit the homeopathy.  With more time to actually be together, JJ and I are doing better as a couple.  Our girls are happy, they enjoy playing together, and we even have the rest of this week off of school, due to Teacher’s Convention.  The weather has been warm and sunny and calm and beautiful lately, very Indian summer-like, which is normal for autumn in Northern California.  I feel quite peaceful as far as my life here in California goes.

But, my mind often turns to the stresses facing my family back in Wisconsin.  It’s frustrating to not only be unable to help, but to be unable to even be involved.  I feel very much on the fringe way out here.  Sometimes I like that, but other times, like now, it’s so difficult.

I guess that this, too, is part of God working everything out for my good.  God has his reasons for wanting me and JJ and the girls here.  So, here we are.  No matter what the situation, I’m trying to be content and seeing the blessings that are always present, just like my father and mother do:

As my father shared with me the story of his last day at work and the terms of his unexpected and generous severance package, he chuckled over the fact that his month’s worth of income might just pay for my mother’s dental bills.  “Isn’t it amazing how God just works everything out?” he said.  “Here I was wondering where the money for this would come from, and here it is!”

All I could do was shake my head through my tears and say, “Yes, Dad, it is amazing how everything works out,” even though I didn’t quite share his way of framing recent events.

But, my parents and my aunt are examples of people who trust in the Lord, and I know that I would benefit from following their example of trust.  God has always worked things out before, in their lives and in mine, and I place my trust in the fact that he will continue to work things out - for all of us – in the future, too.