Cathy’s Corner

When our children are young we have them under our feet. Rarely do they get out of our sight. We know they are close by and so we feel in control. We love them and we kiss the hurts away and make it all feel better. The times they are away from us we know where they are and who they are with. As they grow older and they gain their independence, we allow them to go to sleepovers, birthday parties and activities without us. The teenage years are where we find ourselves wondering where they are, if they are with whom they are supposed to be with and what are they doing that we don’t know about. I realized as mine got older that I really didn’t have as much control as I thought I did. One of the first times was when Cassandra called and said she had been in an accident. She was three hundred miles away and I couldn’t do anything. Then another time was when J went to Iraq and was thousands of miles away. I couldn’t even call him if I wanted to. Not being in control hit me right between the eyes. That’s when I truly had to turn my children over to God. I thought I had, but obviously I had not. God showed me that no matter what happened He was with them and He was with me. He would walk beside me every step of the way and yes, during that time, He even carried me.

Fast forward to present day. Once again one of my children is going through something that I can’t do anything about and I have no control over. Cassandra is in her seventh month of pregnancy and just recently diagnosed with gestational diabetes. She’s seeing a nutritionist and is testing her blood four times a day. I want to be able to kiss it and make it feel better. But like so many times in their lives, I can’t fix it. I can’t prick my finger four times a day and test my blood. I can’t watch my diet for her and I can’t carry this baby for her. While she is doing wonderfully with it, my prayer for her was to have a perfect pregnancy and delivery. If you can have it with a pregnancy, then she’s had it - from the morning, noon and night sickness to gestational diabetes. They’ve told her she won’t go full term because either her blood pressure will be too high or the baby will get too big to deliver. She’s hanging in there like a trooper and I am so proud of her. The mother in me wants to fix it and make it go away, but I can’t.

I know who holds today and tomorrow and I do know who is in control and has been from the very start. He knew she would have gestational diabetes. He knows what day this baby boy will be born and He has a plan. It’s so hard for us to let God be God sometimes and not jump in and try to fix things for others when they go awry. Something I once read by Oswald Chambers often makes me stop and think – just because we don’t know God’s plans, He has reasons for the things He does. How many times has He taught me something in all I was going through? It’s not up to me to make everything right. Sometimes there are valuable lessons in what we are experiencing - things that will help us deal with matters down the road or help someone else. My first two pregnancies were not normal and I was considered high risk. Now, not one but two of my daughters have gone or are going through much of the same things I went through. Even though I can’t fix it for them, I can tell them what to expect. I can support them in their trial, and I can point them to the One who loves them even more than me. Prayerfully it will draw them closer to Him.

Have a great day in the Lord!

Cathy’s Corner

I hope those of you who were able to stay home last week for our “bad weather day” enjoyed every minute of it. Although most of us are still trying to figure out just exactly why HEB schools closed, I can say I did enjoy my day off tremendously. After all, it was my birthday. I thought it very nice of them to honor me by closing the schools and the church.
What did I do? Watch movies as I lay snuggled up on the couch or curled up with a good book? No, I cleaned my house and put my Christmas decorations away. You see I really do enjoy cleaning my house and getting things back in their proper place. There is a satisfaction for me when I’m done to look around and see that I have actually accomplished something. The problem is, I usually can’t get it all done in one day. Not that I have this huge mansion, but for some reason I don’t move as fast as I used to and can’t get as much done. I used to could clean my entire house, wash clothes and still cook supper in one day. Could it be because more of those birthdays have passed and I’m slowing down? Shudder the thought.
But I digress; I really do like cleaning my house. I like being able to know that everything has a place and when I need it I can go find it. The problem is when I don’t put it back in that place when I’ve used it. Take for instance the receipt for my Christmas present. The kids all went in together and bought the bedding I wanted for our bedroom. When I opened it the bed skirt was not sewn correctly. Cassandra gave the receipt to me and I just knew that I placed it inside the pocket of the bedding package. So last week when I got ready to go exchange it, of course it wasn’t there. I tore my newly cleaned house completely apart trying to find that receipt. I never throw receipts away. I had every receipt for every Christmas present and grocery stop I had made since Thanksgiving - no Bed, Bath and Beyond receipt.
After forty-five minutes of looking, I finally put my hand in the jacket pocket I had been wearing the entire time. Yep, there it was, not neatly folded, but wadded up in a tiny chewing gum size wad. I had washed it. I slowly and carefully pulled it apart. You could read Bed, Bath and Beyond very clearly, but the other side not so much as a letter or number. Nothing. Nada, Zilch. So Cassandra and I went and we explained what had happened. They said they could look it up by Cassandra’s debit card. All is well with the bedding except that they didn’t have another one.
So what does this have to do with anything? Not a lot really - other than I’ve done this so many times before you’d think I’d learn. I was so careful to put every other receipt in the same location, but just this one slipped by me. I get so busy or preoccupied with what is going on that I absent mindedly do things without even batting an eye. I’m sure at the time I think I’ll take it and put it up, but I forget.
So what is the lesson we/I can learn here? I have no idea. As many times as I’ve done it, it’s quite evident that I’m not learning any lesson other than I am getting older and more forgetful. Someone once told me that the old synapses just don’t fire as fast as they used to. Then there is the one that as old as I am there is so much information stored up there it’s hard to remember everything. Why then do I choose to remember totally useless information at times? Like I can remember what I was wearing as a child at certain times in my life, but I can be sitting somewhere and not be looking and can’t remember what I have on at that exact moment. Completely useless.
So here’s to a great week. Remember to keep all of your receipts together, every one of them, and check your pockets before you wash!

Have a great day in the Lord!

Cathy’s Corner

I am so glad I got my tree up and house decorated the weekend before Thanksgiving, because the Monday after, I was on a plane to Virginia. I had been praying that I would be able to be with Kiersten when she was going through labor. Since they have no family with them, I wanted to be there for her and Jay. Kiersten wanted me there too. So when she found out she had

pre-eclampsia, I wanted more than ever to be with her.
On the Sunday after Thanksgiving I worked all day getting my tree decorated and all my decorations out. By 8pm I told Gary I thought I was ready. Monday morning at 10:00am Kiersten called and said she had been told to go to the hospital. They were going to induce. So I went home, got my bag and raced to the airport. (Thank you, Terrell Ann.) The earliest flight was 1:45pm. I would go to San Antonio, Nashville and Norfolk and get there at 10:00pm. I can tell you, I was brimming with tears thinking that I was not going to be there for my daughter. As I was getting on my plane at 1:30, Kiersten called and said they had told her to go home. She kept apologizing and wanted to know if I could get off the plane. I told her my suitcase was going to San Antonio and right then so was I and that I would decide when I got to San Antonio. I prayed the whole way and asked God to help me know what I was supposed to do. He gave me Isaiah 55:8-9 and I trusted Him that man’s plans were not His plans. When I landed I just felt like I was supposed to keep going and so I did. Kiersten felt bad. She said they did not know when the baby would come and if I came I would lose days off. I told her God would work it all out.
At 6:45pm, no sooner than I landed in Nashville and turned my phone on, did it ring. It was Kiersten. She said the hospital had called and they had reevaluated her tests and paperwork and wanted her to come back. Now I was only three hours away instead of nine. I was going to be there with her. I prayed and thanked God for His faithfulness and for knowing His ways and plans are so much better than ours. Had I turned around in Dallas and gone back home, when Kiersten called at 6:45pm, I would not have been able to catch another flight to Norfolk until the next day. I thanked God for His Spirit prompting me to continue to Norfolk earlier. Jay picked me up at 10:00pm and we drove to the hospital where Kiersten had already been admitted.
They actually did not begin the induction until 11:15pm and I was with Kiersten the entire time. I was able to calm her fears, to quote scripture when times were hardest and pray with her and Jay. I also prayed over Kiersten asking God to give her strength as she was in labor. It is an amazing thing to be able to play a part in a child coming into the world, whether it’s watching your own child or grandchild take his first breath or watching as someone places a child they have just given birth to into your arms or your children’s arms. I am so thankful for God allowing me to get there in time and to be a part of the miracle of the birth of Tex Major Trentacosta.
Then we remember that Jesus Christ came to us as a baby in just the same way, a miracle from God. What an awesome God we have. His blessings abound every day.

Have a great day in the Lord!