I am my mother's daughter

Wow, what a rush of a weekend!  It started on Thursday night.  I picked up a lady that I didn't know, but is the mother-in-law of a friend from church.  Then headed to Des Moines.  The Central Iowa churches of my synod were hosting the annual LWMS (Lutheran Women's Missionary Society) convention for WELS Lutheran women from all over the world.

Thursday night was the opening church service with a parade of world flags.  I cried a lot.

My parents were very mission minded and had been to Africa 21 times.  Well, my dad had.  Mom went with him many times, as well as some of my siblings.  I never did.

On Friday, I picked up Judy again as well as another lady from our church.  It was a busy day but our evening was free, so before we left town, we hit the Zombie Burger restaurant.  YUM!!!!

Des Moines has two of these restaurants and they originated here.  We got ours to-go and dribbled food down our shirts for the drive home.

Saturday was a big day.  I picked them both up and headed to Des Moines again.  We had to be there by 8am for the opening devotion and then the various speaker events all day with a great lunch!

I hadn't been able to help our circuit out before that weekend, with all the craziness in my life lately.  So I got signed up to help out where I could as a volunteer.  Once at the courtesy table and introduced a few speakers.

The final speaker that someone that I've known for years and my kids were friends with her kids.  She and her husband recently moved overseas to a country not friendly to Christians.  And the culture shock of how life is there compared to here was the focus of her speech.  

It was very inspiring!

Before I introduced her, I got reacquainted with her girls and grand-daughter.  The grand-daughter must have recognized that I was a grandmother as well and wouldn't let go of my finger.  She even went up on stage with me for a little bit!  What a sweetie!  I wouldn't be able to go overseas for a year at time from a grand-baby, but who knows!  The situation has never presented itself...

When Meri was really little, she was so enamored with the girl on the left that she made a password for use at home.  You couldn't go in the living room until you recited the passcode.

"Someone has a cat, ##### has a cat."

And she DID have a cat!  That phrase was used a lot in our house and Robb even made a variation of a shorter version of it for a password for a LONG time... 

Maddy had told me of a few women that were attending from her church.  She gave me last names but with 1500 attendees, what were the odds of us finding each other?!

In our synod, apparently better than slim!  I had lunch with someone that KNEW one of the three!!

So at the banquet that night, the husband saw one of the women and brought her over to me.

"He said that you wanted to talk to me?..."  When she found out who I was, she hugged me fiercely and dragged me over to the other two women.  We got a pic to prove to Maddy that I'd met them.  I was thereafter known to them as "the mother of Maddy".  I'll take it!

The food was great!  and the company even better.

After the banquet, we went back up to the ballroom and there were lots of skits and fun stuff.  Even a Christian rock band!  Wow...  Most of the women were probably more used to sitting in a rocker than clapping hands along with one, but it was still fun.

 We had to duck out around 9 in order to get home at a decent time, so we left after only a couple songs.

I was the only one of us able to attend the final church service on Sunday morning, where I was signed up to be an usher.

The ballroom was packed with people and of course I cried again.  Got myself mopped up enough to get my usher duties done.  I'm sure people were thinking, "Who is that weepy woman in the back!?"  Or they weren't.  I don't know.  It doesn't matter.

During one portion of the event, I was walking through a big conference room with lots of displays set up from mission work fields all over.  I happened past a table that had some photo albums and glanced down.  *GASP*  that's Maddy's Father-in-law!!!  

So I took a pic and sent it to her.

Another display was giving out candy, another pens, or pencils or various other items with the name of the group on it.  It was better than the homeshow!!!

But I still didn't find a yard stick.  sigh...

Oh well!

 I got home to a family who missed me!!!  Meri had been texting me all weekend, "Hey - where are you?! ..."   "oh yeah..."  Maddy was responding to pics that I took, most of the time.  Found out later that she was out camping.  Fun!  

So it was a great weekend and I'm glad to be home.  Hopefully I can get out to mow before the rains start today.  Probably won't get to...  And that's ok too.  I wouldn't mind spending my lunch hour sewing for the State fair!  I don't have much to show yet...  and my entry tickets haven't arrived yet either.  So who knows if I'll even have entries!

What can you say?...

This has been a very tough week for my sister and her family. Mel's father-in-law was diagnosed with a inoperable brain tumor several months ago and finally had to enter hospice care a couple months ago near their home. She and her husband took their kids to see their grandpa as often as possible. After several various turns for the worse, he passed away last Friday with Mel singing the hymn, Abide With Me.

Her husband is a wizard with woodworking and made a beautiful wooden box for his dad's ashes. A final gift for his dear father.

So the funeral was yesterday. We weren't able to attend. Their pastor gave a wonderful sermon and it was a very fitting message for a christian man, who now is in heaven with no cares or pain to worry about.

This morning I got an email from Mel with new news. Their pastor who had done the service yesterday died last night because a weak heart that he'd always had. Left behind is his wife and 5 children, one of which is less than a year old. He was only 38 years old.

Since my dad is still in the hospital due to his new knee, the pastors wife asked that he come down to the emergency room to be with her and the kids. I didn't realize how truly loved he was by the pastor and his wife. They had named their baby's middle name after him! That really made me tear up. God had Dad in the hospital to bring comfort to her during this time! Coincidence? I don't think so.

You know... I knew her father-in-law some, but not well. He had lived with them for a few years quite a while ago, and I only saw him rarely. But her pastor's death came as quite a shock for me this morning. He was just a young godly man with a quirky sense of humor. I can only imagine how his family is handling this. His eldest daughter is only 16 or 17 and is friends with my son.

I wish I lived closer sometimes so I could be more supportive for Melanie. And during all this, her eldest son (13) is having a respiratory illness that only seems to get worse.

This week's events just threw me for a loop. What would happen if I became a widow suddenly? How could I raise the kids without their dad?

These things in our lives that really make our hearts ache are a test to strengthen our faith. How will we handle them? Will we place our trust in earthly solutions alone or lean on God's love and put our trust in Him?

What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit: O what needless pain we bear -
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged - Take it to the Lord in prayer!
Can we find a friend so faithful, who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness - Take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge - Take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the Lord in prayer.
In His arms He'll take and shield thee; thou wilt find a solace there.

As a child, going to a church school, we had to memorize hymns along with Bible verses each week. At the time, I didn't understand why the fuss... but my mom explained to me. When you're old and can't see the hymnbook and maybe have lost your mind... those old hymns and verses will stick and you can hum them to yourself and it will give you peace. When you're in trouble and need comfort, you will remember some verse or hymn line to think about that will give you the comfort you need. Mom was right after all.