Humbled by His grace

I have an extensive project list written on a sheet of paper that is tacked to the refrigerator - things that I'd love to get done while Josh is in the States on TDY.  (temporary duty)  I've not been able to cross one of those things off.

 Last night my friend Monica and I had an impromptu craft night for us and movie night for our kids.  She came over around 3:00 to bring winter Persimmons because we had talked about them a couple of weeks ago during a walk to the mailboxes, and I told her I'd not had them.  She was in disbelief, as she grew up eating them.  She found some at the Turkish market, skinned them and brought me a beautiful glass bowl full of the delightfully jello like creamsicle colored fruit.  We talked about the rest our day plans and she decided she would run home and cook up the chicken parts she'd bought from the Turkish market and bring them for dinner for us to share, because her husband had to work at 5:00, unexpectedly.  I had been battling an intense headache all day, that had I not heavily medicated would have had me laid out in bed.  I was functional, but slow moving and slow thinking.   So the idea of not having to prepare dinner and spend the evening as the only adult in my house was a welcome one, for sure, regardless of how fatigued I felt.  She and the kids came over, we ate the delicious food she'd prepared and we sat to brain storm through the pine cone elves both of us had pinned and have been admiring for weeks on our Pinterest boards.  We laughed our way through an hour and half of making one elf each and marveled at how something that looked so simple could be so difficult for two crafting brains and sets of hands like ours.  We had a riot and we have two cute elves to show for it.

Today my friend India, across the street, threw a last minute Hawaiian themed snack party.  She rented the enormous inflatable movie projector screen from outdoor rec and we all brought Hawaiian themed foods (to the best of our mostly unethnic abilities) and drank fizzy juice with coconut rum, while watching "Blue Planet" on the big screen and dreaming of being at the ocean.  She adorned us each with a lay when we arrived and there were umbrellas and pool noodles scattered about to create the atmosphere.  We had jackets, scarves and boots on, but we enjoyed two hours by our dream ocean.  Monica arrived a bit later than the rest of us, so we caught up on each other's days and chuckled about how both of us felt like it had been forever since we'd talked, because it had been since last night when she left after 9 pm.  Our friendship has quickly become that way.  We talk on the phone, facebook chat or see each other a few times a day.  The Lord knew I needed an impromptu, crafting, gracious, encouraging, drop everything and come over type of friend.  Each of the friends he's provided for me here fit so beautifully into the desires of my heart that he knows so well, and we have so much fun loving each other with strengths that the Lord has given us.  That is how community is supposed to be.  I love how he designed us.  Anyway,  we decided that we needed to hang out again tonight, so I brought my chilly kids home to warm up and she arrived shortly after.  We planned on sitting down to make chiffon Christmas garlands right away after getting a movie started for our kiddos, but I had some behavior issues with Judah and headed upstairs to address them after hearing him screaming my name from the bathroom.  He kind of loses it if I take too long to come up to talk to him, so I assumed that's what it was about.  I had a rude awakening when I turned the corner to the bathroom.  There was poop.  Everywhere.  Up the walls, ......all surfaces.  Judah was a bawling mess.  I stood, a true dropped jaw and fingers splayed out, a bit in shock - assessing the situation and deciding how to respond.   "Judah....what happened?!"  I tried to keep my tone hushed.  He explained he'd waited too long and was had his ankles stuck in the feet of his jeans and couldn't get them off in time to run to the toilet when he was trying to get his pajamas on.  I came down stairs to grab up some tools and told Monica, in not too detailed a fashion that I would be a while.  She looked at me concerned and without a moments hesitation said, "Can I please do that for you?"  I couldn't believe it.  I laughed nervously and proclaimed a resounding, "no".  But she calmly asked again.  I searched her face only to find no hint of anything other than a true servant's heart asking to help.  I asked her if we could do it together, instead.  And so, for the next 30 or so minutes we scrubbed with various cleaning agents, decked out in blue gloves and bare feet (that were later disinfected) all the surfaces we could find.  Judah baked in the shower during our cleaning session and was feeling relieved to come out to a clean floor.  Poor tyke.  
After getting him settled in front of the movie we sat down with some tea and started our garlands.  
I'm humbled tonight.  I'm humbled by the way the Lord provides exactly what we need when we need it.  I could have done that job by myself.  I could have figured out how to keep Luke out of the bathroom and the other boys downstairs and I could have toughed it out by myself, but how beautiful it was to have a friend beside me that did it with a joyful heart - knowing that's what I needed.  The Lord knew I needed her here tonight.  He knows, and she is open to his leading and those two things combined leave me humbled and grateful.  

I should have started this post earlier, because my deep thinking brain was thinking more clearly, but now it's drifting quickly - thinking of my flannel sheets and heating blanket waiting for me upstairs.  I am tired.  Between the migraine yesterday and the after effects of that today, the lack of sleep for the past few nights and running this way and that with the boys, I'm ready for bed.   After only a few days in to our time apart, I am very ready for my husband to come home, but I love the beautiful things I'm being taught and shown while he's away that would not occur if he were here.  The Lord has worked this way each time he's been gone, and tonight I had to be sure to sit and write, if only for my own record, how he proved his love for me and his care for even the very small events in life.  
Thank you, sweet Jesus, for caring about the small.