I've started this post multiple times, trying to make it amusing and interesting to read; but have been unsuccessful. I just wanted to share a few things that happened this past week with my children that is making me hold them all a little tighter.
Monday I got a phone call from my sister asking for prayer because she had a tick bite that is looking rather scary and has to have blood work done to see if she has Lyme's Disease. After that call, I remembered that I had pulled a tick off Lily's head on Thursday and called her over to check on it again. AFter 4 days, it was still very swollen, red and sore - so I called the dr. Fortunately, they think she's fine, but has to take antibiotics for a month. (Prayers are still appreciated for my sister, as we won't know her results for about a month.)
Then, Wednesday, the girls were all sitting at the bar finishing lunch. When I went to the sink, Eva decided to get herself done from the stool, but apparently slipped. I turned in time to see her flip and do a direct head dive onto the tile floor. I immediately scooped her up and set her up to check her out. She was groaning and not crying and struggling to breath. I called Joe and he came home within about 2 minutes to find her still grunting and pale, and wanting to go to sleep. He called a worker from the greenhouse to come stay with the other girls and we took off for the drs office which normally is about 7 minutes away, and I think we made it there in less than 4 minutes. By the time we arrived there, Evie was starting to breath normally and still wanted to go to sleep, but was able to talk to me. After checking her out thoroughly, the dr said that she had gotten the wind knocked out of her and was stunned, but perfectly fine, not even a bump on her head. We kept her awake for a couple hours and she's been fine since.
Then, Friday night, we were having a family night. Evie and Elley were watching a movie and Joe, Anna, Lily and I were playing Scrabble. At some point, Lily went upstairs to get something, and we heard what sounded like someone falling down the stairs. We took off running, expecting to see Lil on the landing. Running up the stairs, we discovered that that was not the sound we heard. But, right inside the girls' bedroom we saw the tall chest of drawers toppled. Apparently, Lil tried to climb up the dresser to get in the top drawer and it fell. She says she tried to hold it back when it started to tip (she weighs about 35 pounds!), but managed to get out of the way, except for getting her fingers pinched in the drawer. I just held her and thanked the Lord for His protection, because I absolutely believe there was angelic intervention that kept that incident from being much much worse. Lily was very shook up and will NEVER try that again and will be very cautious to make sure her sisters don't either!
Finally, last night, we were in Ephrata at an international worship service at another Dove church. We had only done one song, when we heard a loud noise and the power went out. People scurried for candles and flashlights and they continued the service, despite the loud pounding, which we discovered was golf-ball-sized hail. After the service, people were heading out,still in the dark, when I discovered Evie missing. She had been sitting with Jess' boys at the other end of the row, and when Jessi went up front to retrieve Kate's ring that she forgot in the bathroom, apparently Eva followed her without anyone seeing. Immediately we fanned out, looking and calling for her and after a few minutes, she was found being "detained" by two guys in the front of the church trying to figure out where she belonged. It was heartstopping, considering it was dark, and the doors to the parking lot were propped open to allow some light in. She was oblivious to my fear and was content to be stuck right back into my sling. When all was said and done, we also discovered that apparently, it was not just a hail storm outside the church, but also some tornado activity, that shattered the church sign, tore down the steeple and destroyed a barn across the street, as well as poles down, roofs blown apart and other random damage all around where we were. We are very grateful for our safety!
All this to say, I think God must be pulling out all the stops lately to get me to deal with some issues! I'm feeling a bit battered dealing with the identity thing, and now adding the fear thing on top of it! I'm about ready for a break!