One Wild Weekend Ride

If you read my last post about me cooking dinner especially on a Friday know that it was most appreciated and loved by Roy, only at 9:00 pm. He was called into a meeting at 5:00 and he thought it would be short...not even! He told the guys, my wife fixed dinner, she never ever does that on a Friday and this meeting is going to insure she never fixes it again! It was discouraging but I understood and I will will do this again, but not anytime too soon. I have heard if we continually do something over and over, it becomes a habit. I am not looking for this to become a habit. :)


Do you ever watch those programs on TV about roller coasters around the country? They talk to the enthusiasts that make their way to every amusement park which boasts such a wild ride. The engineers and designers are interviewed and they explain why our stomachs feel like they are in our throats as we descend at some ridiculous angle and speed. The best part comes when a camera is mounted in the roller coaster and sitting at home you get to experience the safest version of the ride. Several years ago our nieces were staying with us and we all were watching one of these kind of shows. Only Uncle Roy made all the moves sitting on the couch of going up and leaning in when the coaster made the hard turn and he had no clue he was doing the moves. It was much more interesting to watch Roy go through the motions of the ride than watch the actual ride itself. To this day when the girls are in town we hope for a roller coaster show to watch with Uncle Roy.


That is what this weekend has felt like....roller coaster...wooo, wooo, wooo. This morning I sit at home resting from the effects of the ride. A side benefit is watching the streaming video of church. It is awesome! This week Roy's mom was admitted to the hospital with double pneumonia. Her stay has been full of ups and downs, good reports, bad reports, and finally a Friday full of improvements, that is until about 5:00 pm. She took a huge turn for the worse, hooked up on a ventilator and there was talk of life support. Allison, our sweet sister in law, was keeping him informed and gave the word that Roy needed to get to Shreveport. Roy was at the office when he heard from Allison and he immediately called me. We began to discuss options and timing, things that needed to be taken care of before leaving and all those other odds and ends that don't seem to be so pressing until an emergency comes. Roy was obviously upset and trying to think through everything. We prayed and asked God for wisdom and we asked for His peace as we began our work. I took my assignments that needed attention and began diligently working through them when I suddenly remembered, what about Buddy? I called Roy and we began reworking our plans and options. He also had processed the thought that I am not at full strength, that my stamina and strength are not up to speed. Now, it was decided that he would go on to Shreveport and I would follow later sometime in the week. In the midst of this is family dynamics. Every family has them. Even after 31 years of marriage, he doesn't fully understand my family's dynamics and I don't understand his. Sometimes it is best to let the blood relative go in to the dynamic and the spouse follow up with moral support after details have been worked through. We were deciding when I would be the most helpful to him with my limited strength. So off again I went with a new set of tasks to check off the list while he is frantically getting his responsibilities at work taken care of. In the midst of tasks and activities I was texting and calling friends to pray for Roy's mom and to pray for him. Emotionally things felt like they were ready to fall apart. I called Roy to remind him of the verse in Colossians, "He is before all things and in Him all things hold together." God would hold him and us together as we frantically dealt with reality and what ifs.


Sometime in the afternoon Roy called me. He had heard from Allison. No need to come to Shreveport just yet. The Dr was positive about my mother in law's recovery. She had been fighting the oxygen mask and that is when the decision to put her on a ventilator was made, to get more oxygen into her. The full alert was rescinded for now. Although we are pre packing some items not to be caught off guard so much.


Roy got home late last night. He is working on year end close and the numbers that need to be ready. He has two and a half more companies to go through, thus he was at the office this morning at 4:45 am. He had to get in before the streets downtown are closed for the marathon today. He is diligently working to get his part finished for the "just in case." When he got home last night and after a delicious dinner of leftovers, we talked. We processed, we prayed. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.


This morning I feel physically and emotionally weary. I made the decision to stay home this morning to be able to be full and fresh this week for both home and for work. I am in the final stages of wrapping things up at the office and leaving Jason and Ministries in good shape just in case it takes some time to fill my position or if the position is filled the new person isn't frantically swimming upstream to get on full speed. I don't want to be weary and not give my full attention to Roy and what he needs at this uncertain time. My head and my heart have made the turn toward home and the concerns that once took front and center are quickly diminishing as I view them from afar. How can I not, after Roy took such good care with me in the fall. He will probably go to Shreveport toward the end of the week to spend some time with his mom.


Roller coaster, ups and down in circumstances, up and down emotionally, and thoughts running willy nilly here and there. Yet our core strength and firm foundation was from the Lord. He gave us strength. He again showed His new mercies and His unfailing and steadfast love. He held everything together for us. 'I was pushed hard, so that I was falling, but the Lord helped me.' Psalm 118:13 I loved roller coasters when I was much younger, in fact I had a dream about once a month of riding a roller coaster and I looked forward to that dream. The reality is the carousel is looking a little wild to me right now.