Ups and Downs

Today has been a day of ups and downs. As a result I have a lot of things on my mind tonight. First the up.  Zoe laughed for the first time today. She was on the changing table in the laundry room and I started singing this silly song we made up with Josiah called "Scrub your body".  All of a sudden she started giggling. It was the cutest thing I had ever seen.  (Don't tell Josiah, but her laugh is cuter than his!)  Steve was in our bathroom, so I quickly called to him to come see her.  We also called my parents so they could hear it over the phone.  What warmth filled my heart to see the laughter in her eyes and to finally hear it out loud. God knew what he was doing when he gave us little things like this that bring such joy to our hearts.  It was much needed after the news that I heard earlier in the day. This is the down.  I found out today that a former pastor of mine who was my pastor when I was in high school, college, and through my early adulthood life has Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.  This disease is also known as mad cow disease.  (Oddly enough, the interem pastor that we had at our church just before this pastor was called had mad cow disease too.  He passed away in 1999, just shortly after being diagnosed with the disease. ) My heart is aching right now for him, his wife, and his family.  I grew up with many of them being a part of my life. His wife was my piano teacher, so was his niece.  His brother-in-law was our music director and my history professor in college.  His sister-in-law was my brother's kindergarten teacher and my co-Sunday School teacher. And it just goes on and on...  He and his wife were there for my family when my brother died and now it just might be the reverse.

My thoughts are reeling around in my head. I can't find a way to put them into words right now, so I am going to close. Please keep the Gaines family in your prayers over the next few days/weeks.  God can give them the grace that they need.  We know all things work together for good to them that love God.  What a great promise to cling to.