Every Good and Perfect Gift

Well, the troops (ok, it’s only three of us) are back in Kingston.  I have been away for two weeks now and the kids were home for about 4 days.  The kids have slipped back into routine very quickly.  They do better than myself.  I am finding it a little more difficult…I didn’t really want to say goodbye to Ivan…I was spoiled having him close by for so long!

But, I must focus on the positive and it’s amazing when you do that how much you find.  God is so gracious and bountiful in the gifts that he bestows on us.  It is so easy when I do my mental checklists to list all the bad and discouraging things.  How quickly can’t I list the aches and pains, the hurts and the disappointments.  In this frame of mind I can quickly become irritable and have an ungrateful spirit.
 
James tells us to consider our trials with pure joy (James 1:2).  When you check the thesaurus under joy you find words like delight, happiness, pleasure, bliss, elation, thrill.  It seems so difficult to equate our trials with these words.  But what I think James is speaking about is an inner understanding and contentment…one that is not dependant on what we are going through. 

We must regard each outward trial and inward temptation as a test of our faith that will develop perseverance (James 1:3).  God sends trials to us for the purpose of developing a patience which will allow us to stand upright and firm under difficult circumstances.  In the end we must consider our trials as a time of learning and we must let God do His work in us without complaining.
 
James 1: 12 says “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”  Not only does God stand beside us and desire for us to be “mature and complete” (James 1: 4) in Him, He also promises us the reward of eternal life!  We are in a covenant relationship with God and must never deny Him our trials, rather we must love Him and stay faithful to Him even under pressure.

All of this is so easy to read, acknowledge and agree with…a little harder to live out.  Thankfully James continues his lesson with the reminder given in James 1:18.  “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”  We can know that the God, who never changes, sends us our triumphs and our trials….both of which are GIFTS!

Here is a small portion of the GIFTS that we have received from God’s Hand over the last few weeks:

·         Ivan and I were able to get away for a week to the Algonquin area.  It was a blessing to be able to spend some quality time together and reflect on the different circumstances that we are each experiencing.  It is hard to do this when you are miles apart and dislike talking on the phone J.  We both had time to rest, time to reflect on God’s word, time to discuss and consider life’s trials and triumphs and time to enjoy God’s creation.

·         On November 12^th, we were able to celebrate Jacob’s 8^th birthday.  We are thankful for the gift of our son and thank God for being with Him over the past years.  Jacob has been a blessing to us….he has a very loving and gentle nature....a really nice big teddy bear!  Although absentminded at times he can be very helpful and thoughtful.  We have seen him mature this year in his school work, helping out around the house with dad and Craig, and in play (horse back riding and hockey)!

·         Two weeks ago I stopped taking one of my medications altogether!  This medication has a long half life and therefore stays in your body for a longer period of time than normal.  It is therefore hard to tell yet how my body will adjust.  It usually takes three to four weeks before you feel withdrawal symptoms so it is too early to tell how severe they will be.  I may still have to take a smaller dosage but for now I am saying “ONE DOWN!”

·         This past week I had my head and spine MRI as well as a Gastroscopy and Colonoscopy.  I have follow up appointments scheduled for late November to receive the results.

·         This past week we have received a new member into our family.  Kaelyn and Jacob came home to a new golden retriever puppy.  Her name is Willow and she is the cutest thing you have ever seen.   Ivan’s technician, Sherri, breeds Golden Retrievers and we had decided to get a puppy before we knew we were coming to Kingston.  I think Ivan looks forward to the company (not the training) and we are VERY VERY grateful to Sherri who has so graciously offered to help out with our little baby when needed.

·         The past couple of weeks we also had the gift of seeing, talking to and visiting with many family and friends.  The last weekend in October my side of the family came up to Kingston for a couple of days and on Jacob’s birthday we had a get together with Ivan’s family.  It was nice to catch up with everyone and also fun to see our nieces and nephews.  The kids loved the chance for some sleepovers and playtime with their cousins.  It was also a wonderful blessing to see and visit with many of our church family.  We have been so wonderfully surrounded with people who love, care and pray for us daily.  Thank you to all of you who have helped in different ways….meals, visits, watching the kids, driving to Kingston, making birthday cake, encouraging cards and gifts and replies to blog updates…and more than I can mention.

·         I can’t go too much further without thanking God for Ernie, Ruth, Craig and Bethuel.  What a gift to be able to go away for two weeks and know that Kaelyn and Jacob are in wonderful hands.  Kaelyn and Jacob are blossoming under Ruth’s guidance in school but also in character.  Ernie and Craig are amazing at taking the kids under there wing and teaching them all sorts of skills from watering the horses to sanding garage doors!  The kids look forward to every moment they have under Bethuel’s teaching in music and at the barn. 

·         It is a blessing to see God’s hand in every detail of our lives and I especially think about the fact that Uncle Mike and Aunt Deanne just happen to be attending Queen’s University and living in the same city as Ernie and Ruth.  We all look forward to the time we get to spend with them on the weekends….whether it is going for a hike, building lego, baking apple crisp and bread, helping dress for hockey or just hanging out. 

·         And we can’t forget all the little things…..snow covered trees (yes, it was snowing in Algonquin), laughter (when I accidently flipped butter over my shoulder in a fine-dining restaurant….thankfully it hit the wall….it could have easily been a fancy suit jacket of a fellow dinner….it wasn’t really my fault the butter was frozen), children’s excited shouts of hello (to Willow, not to their mom and dad they haven’t seen for two weeks), grandma’s special birthday cake (that will keep Ivan in good supply of dessert for the next two months), soft toilet paper (I won’t go into detail on that one), the technology of capturing memories (that’s the camera…and the pictures I hope to post soon) and BED…cause that’s where I am heading!