God wins....and so do I!

I've heard it said that sometimes it's good to write our thoughts down, that it helps to alleviate the stress.....so here goes....this may sound like a 'whine' session, but really, all I need to do is decompress, so if you don't want to read 'whine', then I suggest you close out this window now...LOL...and if you continue reading, thank you in advance for your patience...

It all started on Sunday. Nothing went right. Everything I tried to do, I either managed to mess up, or hurt myself (nothing serious, just enough to irritate me) trying. The final insult to injury was getting stung (sort of) by a bee. I hate shoes. I go barefoot as much as I can. I went out to my porch swing to sit & think. I lightly (thankfully!) stepped on a bee that I didn't see there. YEOWIE! Boy that smarted! I looked, and didn't see a stinger, but boy that puppy hurt, so I came in and put a baking soda paste on it-took the sting out instantly! It finally dawned on me later in the day that this is a full-fledged, head-on attack from the devil. Usually happens when God is about to bless my socks off. Ok fine, all I need to do is pray-which I did-and everything will be fine.....yeah RIGHT! The attack has continued, and still I pray, and I know beyond doubt that not only is God protecting me, but the He and I WILL prevail, and I WILL come out of this attack unscathed.

Ok, Sunday is over....let's move on to Monday...not a bad day really, and actually a pleasant day. Got to watch Peyton for most of the day while Mommy took care of Daddy, who underwent a major oral surgery. He's fine, btw, I talked to Katie today, and he'll live...LOL....ok, where was I? Oh, right, babysitting Peyton. She's 6 months old today, and it's such a fun age! Later in the day my niece Julie and her hubby Jeremy, and their 3 month old baby girl Hannah came to visit, so we had fun with both babies...still a pleasant day, until early evening, when Jim went outside to start his car for some reason. It's dead. Stone dead. Well, maybe not-let's try jumping it with jumper cables & see if we can get 'er fired up. 'Ok, Jeremy can you help Uncle Jim push the car out of the car port so we can jump start it?' Oh good-Jimmy's here-he can help too! Yay! We get the car backed out, I pull my van up, we connect the cables, and presto! Should start right up.....NOT! It's STILL deader than a doornail....UGH, and it's 5:15. Not much we can do about it tonight. Jim thinks it's the starter that we just paid several hundred dollars last month to be replaced. No problem, we'll just have it towed tomorrow morning and get it fixed-FREE of course. But wait! There's MORE......

Tuesday is here....I call Lee and tell him I'll be there between 9:30 & 10 to care for Mary Kay, because I'm waiting for the tow truck to come get Jim's car. The tow shows up just before 9:30...great! Charges me $50 to tow it approximately 1 mile-UGH, but what else can I do? Seems like a ripoff to me, but after seeing what the guy went through to get Jim's little car up onto the flatbed, well, I understand better now, and $50 doesn't seem quite so bad.
I finally make it up to Mary Kay's at 10am. As I'm walking up the sidewalk, I hear this strange noise. Almost like a whirring from a drill. Oh well, maybe Lee is installing those safety rails I asked him install so that Mary can go up & down the steps with something to hang onto. As I walk in the front door, it get's errily louder, and I see Mary's walker in the kitchen, so think she's in there talking to Lee, I pop on in. Oh CRAP! She's on the floor! It was her screaming that I heard! I run to her and tell her 'do NOT move! Let me find Lee!' I run outside-twice-screaming for Lee, but I can't find him. Oh geez! Oop, there he is! 'Lee come quick! Mary fell!' so we both rush back into the house, where I immediately grab the phone and dial 911. The paramedics here in Ramona are just THE best group of people, very compassionate and professional. Gently they lift her onto the guerney, and away they go to the hospital. I run home & pick up some money-never now HOW long something like this will take-call her daughters, and head down the hill, where they've got her into a room in the ER. Turns out she has fractured her hip. The Orthopedist says it's the best place to have a fracture, as it's easily fixable, but she'll be at least 2 weeks between the hospital and rehab. She has surgery tomorrow morning at 10:30-prayers are appreciated. The goose egg on her head will heal, and the hole in the wall from where her head hit can be repaired. That also means 2 weeks with no work for me, and no work equals no pay.

I feel bad (but not guilty) that satan tried to use Mary to get to me. He'll use anyone he can think of to trip us up. He'll use every dirty trick in the book. He hates us SO much, that above all, he'd like to see us dead, and burning with him. But you know what? That's not gonna happen. I serve a God who has promised me hope and a future, and an eternity with Him. Never have I been SO aware of His presence as I have this past few days. In the midst of this storm, I feel peace. His peace. All will be well. This verse from 'Great Is Thy Faithfulness' comes into my mind:

"Great is Thy faithfulness, Great is Thy faithfulness....Morning by morning new mercies I see.....All I have needed, Thy Hand has provided...Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.' Amen, and Amen.

Thanks for letting me vent. It felt good to 'release'.

Until next time....blessings to you!

P.S. Turns out it was the battery on Jim's car that needed replacing-and prorated it only ended up costing $38 and some change, and NO charge from the mechanic! Bless God!