"Crosses" that are in fact joys

There have been so many times that I wanted to sit down at the computer and vent -- how long my days seem, how hard morning sickness is, how much I am finding it all a little much.

I knew, though, that I shouldn't.

This has all become so much clearer to me in the past two weeks.

In the past while, I have been hearing about friends of mine suffering terrible crosses within their family -- very sick babies, miscarriages, and a whole host of other sufferings.

To complain about my vocation, particularly the "crosses" of my life (and I intentionally put that in quotations; I know I am extremely blessed) only reflects how narrowly I see life, and how ungrateful I have been.

I wept this morning when I thought of all this. How blessed I am! Two beautiful gifts from God!

I cuddled Noah on my lap after I dried my tears, and we talked about Baby. (He knows Baby Apple Seed hides in people's tummies, but he hasn't figured out that he or she only hides in Mommy's tummy. Not his or Daddy's.)

These two blessings in my life are such tremendous gifts. I have more than I ever sought that ask or hope for. Thank You, Tender Father.



PS This was the song was playing as I wept. I was especially moved by the words "This is the first day of the rest of your life." In fact, I tear up as I write that out right now.

May I live the rest of my days in complete gratitude for the beautiful healthy family I have been given.

Comments

  1. ClaireOctober 29, 2010 at 10:35 PM

    Hi Jenna, I've been reading your blog for a short while and today prayed for you when I noticed you hadn't posted for a while. Days are long as we struggle; and, paradoxically, the children grow too quickly. Allow your tears to flow . . . and heal. Wishing you God's blessings and a speedy end to your morning sickness!

    ReplyDelete
  2. ErinOctober 30, 2010 at 2:33 PM

    I've been thinking of you too Jenna! Feel free to pour out your sorrows in a letter...I would love the mail. You can even send Noah's art if you want! Be blessed my friend and know that even through the struggles and the blah of it all God is working mysteriously and lovingly. You are a beautiful mama!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jenna CraineOctober 30, 2010 at 6:47 PM

    Hi Claire, how nice to meet you! Thank you very much for your prayers. They really have helped! I felt so much more at peace these past few days (AND so much less sick!).

    Erin, I have been meaning to write you a letter for some time. Today while tidying up I found my pretty stationary AND its matching envelopes. I instantly thought of you and how I would like to write you.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

7 QT: Homeschooling with a sick baby & fangirl Pinterest moments

Image
~1~ I'm rather behind the eight ball on the first day of school blog post, seeing as though we've been at it for over a week, but oh my, what a week it was. On the night of Labour Day, my husband and I stayed up much later than we normally do getting our little homeschool nook in order. I wanted very much to have it look appealing to the boys because this is our first year formally homeschooling and I want to have them excited about it all. Anyway, we managed to create this little space: and I was quite pleased with it.  The boys each have their own IKEA-hack shelf with their daily read-alouds picked our for them, as well as a little calendar to learn more about the seasons and weather (mostly for Isaiah) and laminated prayer cards of the Morning Offering, the Act of Contrition and the Anima Christi. Oh, and the lunar cycle there for good measure. We love the moon a lot around here. Anyway, I went to bed that night thinking I'd sleep the sleep of ...
Read more

And the millstone award goes to...

Image
On Monday I needed to do some errands -- the weekly groceries, a trip to the bank, and I was in need of a gift for my mother-in-law who's birthday was coming up. She is an avid bibliophile, and I thought she might like One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp, something I haven't read (yet!) but based on my exposure to Ann Voskamp's writing, it really seemed up my mother-in-law's alley. Rather than wasting the gas by going into the city another day during the week, I decided to bundle the kids up and do all the errands in one packed morning. We had a grand ol' time. We always do, really, when we head out (especially when we are lucky enough to have  this song  play on the radio while we cruise around). When we arrived at Chapters, I quickly found the Voskamp book, found a nice day-planner for myself at 75% off (yipee!) and then told the boys we could play around in the kids' section for a while. They have a Thomas train table set up there, as well as other vario...
Read more

7 Quick Takes on things that are bringing me JOY

Image
I don't even know if anyone still does 7 Quick Takes anymore, but I was in the mood for an old-school blog post, so here goes. 1. The Nester on Instagram . Her stories taking her followers shopping are DELIGHTFUL. She goes to antique malls or home goods stores and explains why you want feather throw pillows, not poly. Or why you want accent items that are at least as big as pineapple (any smaller, these items will begin to feel like clutter). It's really tremendously helpful and she's just so sweet and uplifting! {Do you not use this app? Never fear. Even without an Instagram account, you can open the website on your computer browser, and because her profile is set to public, you can access her photos and stories.} The Nester is just really calming, wise and has such great home decor advice. While we have quite different style, I devour her insights to apply to our own home. 2. Nature journalling with the kids .  Oh my, I always thought this was like, some lofty thing that ...
Read more