Familia.

What.  A beautiful day.  It's amazing to me how much difference the sun can make in a day.  The days are getting longer, and I feel like the hope of Spring is arriving.  I'm so thankful!  One of the things that I am also so thankful for in the last few months has been being able to spend time with my grandma.  A handful of years ago she was diagnosed with IBM (Inclusion body myositis...not to be confused with IBS), and in order to see my twin sisters more often, she moved up to Illinois from Texas last summer.  That's when I knew that she really loved us because she sacrificed sun & warmth for...well...Illinois winters.  I came as part of a surprise bonus package in October.  

Anyway, we got to hang out today for Valentine's Day.  We ate breakfast together, we played rummy, we talked politics...the lady is a hoot.  Our Monday routine usually includes a visit to the chiropractor too, and our day was concluded with sharing a burrito at Chipotle.  Best V-Day ever!  She was one exciting date.

Just another way that God has continued to bless me while my legs continue to heal.

I came home & my parents had made me a Valentine's Day goody-bag complete with chocolate and...Doritos?  Yes, Doritos - a rare delicacy in the Wollard household.  Mine are gone.  And, no, you are never too old for goody-bags.  I just kind of sat there this evening looking around at my well-lit (thank you, Lord) house...my new puzzle I'm working on, my little goody bag, my flowers from my birthday, my empty diningbedroom...I have been blessed beyond measure.  I mean, I probably have less than a month left in this house - which is so exciting.  But, at the same time, I have treasured the simplicity I've had here, & the warmth that I've felt.  I have so much to be thankful for.  So so much.


I have been given so many little presents over the last 12 years of following Jesus, let alone the last 12 weeks.  One gift that I truly treasure is the gift of singleness, which may be a little random, and may come as a surprise to some.  I have been single my entire life, and I have an inkling that I will probably be single for a while longer; I celebrate it.  Not in a "I-don't-need-no-man" way, but I can celebrate the fact that Jesus is what completes me. No doubt some of you may be wondering, "How does this fit into your healing process?  Are you trying to work Valentine's Day into this post?  Come on.  Seriously?"  Don't worry.  I thought that too at first...Valentines's Day may have sparked the thought, but that's not why I'm writing about my relationship status.  

One of the many blessings that I am counting this evening is the blessing of my family.  All throughout this day I have been able to soak up so many moments with them.  I have been able to be with my younger sisters, and able to pester them with pinches & kisses.  Weird combo, I know.  I've been able to laugh with my mom and dad, which I try to make them do a lot.  It's not too difficult for me.  It's kind of my job... : )  I spent the whole day with my super-smart grandma...and then we all ate dinner together.  I mean, I'm not trying to push the whole picture-perfect-nuclear-family image - all families look differently, and not all have the same workings.  Today was a good day for me though, one reason being that I am blessed by my family; they are one of the many reasons that I can count my singleness & my broken legs a huge blessing.  Not everyone has this blessing, and I do not take it for granted.  And we certainly aren't perfect; I would venture to say that each family member would be the first to tell you that.

I can truthfully say though that even if I did loose every family member, I can rest in the fact that each of them has committed their lives to Jesus, and acknowledged that he is all we need.  He is all I need.  When I first became a Christ-follower, my parents bought me a purity ring that had Solomon 2:16 on it, written in Hebrew.  I lost it.  And then I lost the replacement.  (I was kind of scared that it was a "sign", but so far, so good.)  The verse, however, always stuck with me.


"My beloved is mine and I am his..."

Song of Solomon is such a wonderful book in the Bible.  It is a broken-up conversation between a man, a woman, and their friends.  I used to think that it was only for married people, or girls who loved romance, but I couldn't have been more wrong.  Some might argue that it's a little too graphic to be described as the relationship between Christ & the church, but I think that it is just that; a picture of the way that Christ so passionately & descriptively loves us.  When I first became a Christian, I was just so blown away by the fact that Jesus called me, "His." And that I could call Jesus, "Mine."  I still am blown away by that.  And I'm thankful that the meaning of it continues to grow deeper as I get to know him more and more.  He continues to lavish his love upon me, and I could not have a bigger smile on my face, nor more joy in my heart...

The lover says of her beloved:

 "All night long on my bed
   I looked for the one my heart loves;
   I looked for him but did not find him.
I will get up now and go about the city,
   through its streets and squares;
I will search for the one my heart loves.
   So I looked for him but did not find him.
The watchmen found me
   as they made their rounds in the city.
   “Have you seen the one my heart loves?”

Scarcely had I passed them
   when I found the one my heart loves.
(I would add an exclamation point here, little missy! 
Pursuing and then finding Jesus is exciting!)

I held him and would not let him go...

...Daughters of Jerusalem, I charge you
   by the gazelles and by the does of the field:
Do not arouse or awaken love
   until it so desires."

-Song of Solomon 3:1-5