We Care- Beginnings

"We Care" is my new slogan for the next step in this journey.  An unexpected opportunity arose this week so I took advantage of it and attended a meeting which focused on creating a new culture on campus that reflects a caring community.  While I'm not sure how I'm going to contribute yet, I do know it aligns with my heart for this university.

 It will be a huge undertaking by this task force.  We will be gathering data on the current programs we have and how they already provide for our students' needs beyond the classroom.  After we gather and review this information, we will see where there are gaps or areas in which we can improve.  It will be a way to get my feet wet.  Hopefully this will reveal my next step on my journey. 

As I have shared in my previous posts, I have been struggling with all of the stresses of my life recently and I have lost my focus on my path ahead.  That is the danger of each of our struggles. They can become a hurdle and can take us away from our desired focus and path. 

This morning I woke up early and couldn't go back to sleep, because I was focusing too much on the hurdles and not the road ahead.  I decided to start a blessings journal where I will share a blessing a day.  Hopefully it will help me to refocus on the good and not the bad.  The more positive experiences on which I can focus, the better my chances are of staying on this journey's path and moving forward. 

Today, the blessing is simply realizing that my focus needed to change and creating that chance to stay on the path through new eyes.   I have a good friend who helped me to see where my focus was and reminded me of a technique that I learned in my previous life where you use a journal to improve your focus. I am so grateful that God can use us all in others' lives and many times he does it without us realizing he has done it. 

What's next?!

I'm not sure, but I'm feeling better and that is where you need to be. 

Feeling hopeful-

Life Happens

Families-

The hurdles continue to distract me from moving forward.  Maybe I'm suppose to stay put for a while.  God sometimes has plans that don't coincide with what we think our plans should be.  Life sometimes consists of one step at a time and not always along the path you would like to take.  I guess if in the end it gets me to my promise land or my end goal it will be worth it.

Last time I wrote I left you at the place where I was about to fly to see my Dad on the other side of the country.  Well I got on that plane not knowing and anxious about what lied ahead of me.  I arrived and went to visit with my Dad and find out what the plan was for the next day.  We had a great evening eating pizza and talking.  The plan was to drive down from my hotel and pick him up the next morning and drive him to the hospital which was 30-45 minutes away.  That morning I was running behind so I skipped breakfast and picked up a coffee along the way.  Halfway to picking him up he called and told me the procedure had been rescheduled until the following week more than 7 days from then.

I ended up picking him up and taking him to breakfast at one of his favorite places to have breakfast.  We had another nice meal and talked about life sharing each others ups and downs.  My brother continues to create challenges in my Dad's life and either doesn't care or is so self absorbed that he doesn't see what he is doing.  Despite the challenges we discussed, we managed to have a nice breakfast and head back to the house.  We spent the next few hours going through items that he wanted to share with me and they brought back good memories.  While I was there I managed to change my flight home to leave the next day at a cost of more than what I paid for the original ticket.  

Later we met for dinner.  Once again we had a nice meal and caught up.  Dad talked to me as his sounding board.  He was thinking about the upcoming surgery and when his sister might be coming home. 

I headed home the next day.  I was glad I had made the trip even though it was only two days.  We rarely have been able to spend quality time together without others pulling on us both.  He looked good and I made sure he had three large meals. (His idea of a meal is a diet soda and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich).  I wasn't happy about him insisting on me not returning, but he seemed comfortable with it all.

Since then he has had his surgery and had two emergency room visits.  It has been an up and down week and a half since I left him.  He found a lump near the incision and two days later he found a pool of blood in his bed from the incision.  Needless to say I have been worried and still am.  The doctors checked him out and everything is still connected.  

Back at Home-

I have been studying the bible and spending time alone with God.  I've also started exercising so that I can strengthen my muscles surrounding my knees.  I've been in a lot of pain which has been another way that God has slowed me down.  I have decided to do what is necessary for each day.  Taking care of myself must need to be a priority in my life.  I have seen two doctors about my knees to get my options for eliminating the pain.  I'm waiting to see a third and then it will be decision making time.  

This is not at all how I thought my blog would be.  However, this is a part of the journey.  We are always faced with trials as we try to move forward on the journey.  These are those moments when we are suppose to learn something that will help us down the road.  

Slowing down whether or not I want to-