Stand.

Today was such a sunny day.  Snow covered all of the trees, and the view was marvelous on my way up to Wisconsin this morning.  I was so thankful to be able to look out the window and see everything passing by me.  It felt good to see all of the Milwaukee bungalows lined up in neat rows as I drove up to the hospital.  And away from it.  To go to The Golden Gyro.  This sight was also quite exciting. As was the golden gyro and baklava I inhaled.  In moderation, of course, because now I can't run it off.  : )  It was a quick stop, and then we were back on the road.  The amazing part?  The entire trip still took seven hours.  My parents are amazing.  Sacrificial love displayed through sacrificed time, money, and energy (we all fell asleep when we got home.  I fell asleep in the car.)

So!  The second cast has officially been removed.  AHHH!!  My legs are SO hairy, it's ridiculous.  My favorite thing today was when my castlady said, "You know, most people freak out about how hairy their legs look, and you're freaking out about how gangly it is."  I was laughing. A lot.  I told you it would look like a baseball bat, and it totally DOES!

My doctor said that I still won't be able to put any weight on my left leg because I have a condition (the name of which I can't remember), where I have lost blood circulation to my Talus Bone.  My doctor had also predicted that this would happen, so I had mentally prepared myself for knowing this, but I was surprised to see it on the x-ray.  You could see where the bone was a lighter color because the blood supply had diminished.  In the next few weeks I'll be starting a bone stimulator, where they attach electrodes to your foot, and send electrical impulses to your bone to, apparently, stimulate bone growth.  Isn't that crazy?!

Know what I say?  Next leg of the journey, baby!

Know what the x-ray technician said?  To stand up on special x-ray stairs so they could take an x-ray.  I thought that part was funny too.  I haven't stood up for two and half months, and I was trying to figure out how to stand on a piece of glass embedded in the top of the stairs so they could x-ray my foot.  And I'm not supposed to be standing on a leg.  I didn't know I wasn't supposed to until after my escapade.  I gave it a shot, with some assistance from my padre, and ended up having to simulate standing while sitting in a chair.  It was also funny.

My right leg is another story!  I can put all of my weight on it which means that I will be standing up soon!  Whoo hoooo!  I can't stop singing "The Stand" by Hillsong.  I put the verses in before the chorus, in case you've never heard it.

You stood before creation.

Eternity in your hand.

You spoke the earth into motion,

My soul now to stand.

You stood before my failure,

Carried the cross for my shame.

My sin weighed upon your shoulders,

My soul now to stand.

So what can I say?

What can I do?

But offer this heart, oh God,

Completely to you.

So I'll walk upon salvation,

Your Spirit alive in me.

This life to declare your promise,

My soul now to stand.

I'll stand with arms high and heart abandoned,

In awe of the one who made it all.

I'll stand my soul Lord to you surrendered,

All I am is yours.

The "I'll stand" part really means so much when you really can stand up, and this is the first thing I'm going to do when I can stand up: sing this song.  Seriously.  I am.  I'm so thankful that in my mind I can stand before my Father, with my arms high & my heart abandoned to him.  I truly am in awe of all that he has done, and I look forward to all he is going to continue to do.

Castgirl.

Tomorrow will officially be my last day as Catie the Castgirl.  I'm getting my left cast off in the morning!  Yippee!  Goodbye candy cane, hello funky looking leg.  I'm trying to mentally prepare myself because when my right cast came off my leg was super-skinny, and very gangly looking.  Imagine what this one will be like.  Ha ha!  I promise I'll take pictures.  I won't post them for a while, so as not to freak you out.

Hopefully the doctor will not have to put another cast on, although this is a possibility.  I sometimes wonder because my left leg is still a little sore from time to time.  Probably because I wiggle it around too much.

I'm very excited, and very nervous at the same time.  I can't tell you how many times a day I bump my cast on things.  I'm such a klutz, and I recall my right leg feeling quite vulnerable a few weeks ago without its warm, snuggly home.  And, yes, my legs have feelings.  I haven't named them yet, but I'm considering it.  All I know is that they have grown accustomed to their new little houses over the last couple of months, and it's hard for them to part with their abodes.

It's amazing to me how quickly my legs are healing.  The reality of walking again is slowly becoming more and more real.  It's overwhelming actually.  I find myself feeling nervous just about standing again, let alone the chain of events that will fall into place after that.   My friend reminded me tonight of something I said the other day.  She asked me how to use my family's coffee maker, and I told her that I didn't know how.  I hadn't seen the buttons used before I fell, and from my vantage point, I'm not really able to see them at all.  I was no help to her whatsoever.  Luckily, it didn't explode.  Crisis averted.

I'm looking forward to seeing things from a new perspective once again.  It has been refreshing to see things from a child's perspective in the grocery store.  And down the toy aisle.  To see things from my dogs' perspective.  To see things from the perspective of someone who is little, just in general.  And to see things from the perspective of someone who is in a wheelchair 24-7.

Being physically lowered down has been such a great experience for me: it's humbling, for sure.  It has taught me humility and reliance on others.  I can't reach many of the cupboards in our house, and I rely greatly on those willing to lend a hand.  Literally.  I'm at the mercy of those around me.  This has been a challenging position to be, for sure, but one that I am thankful for.  Not all people who are in wheelchairs are this dependent on others, and I am certainly not saying that they are "beneath" anyone else.  Just to clarify.  I have great admiration for the many people I have met who are unable to walk, and I look up to them for their strength & ability to persevere.

Humility has been a topic of great discussion for me in this blog, and it is something that has been on the forefront of my mind for quite some time.  This verse is one that I want to memorize in the next few weeks:

"For by the grace given me I say to every one of you:

Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you."  - Romans 12:3

I always want to come back to this place.  Thinking of myself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has given me.   Balancing.

Being unable to walk, and in a wheelchair, has not being humiliating, but it has taught me to be humble.  Even when I'm able to stand and walk again, I want to remember what it was like to be physically lowered down, below other people.  This is the essence of what Jesus did in his lifetime; he was physically placed below others multiple times.  Namely, on the cross.  For me, this aspect of my journey has been such a blessing.  Among so many others.

Seeing things from a new perspective.

Nerve.

My nerves are raw this evening.

Here's why: 750 - 4 = 746.  I am missing four pieces of a puzzle I have worked really hard on for the last few days.  The ridiculousness of this is apparent to me, but infuriating at the same time.  My fury is somewhat fueled by the fact that I didn't take my medication today.  I thought would be okay without it, but it turns out I was super-wrong.  I'm back on it, but I'm really grumpy, and I don't really want to write this evening.  I need to go pray & listen to my Father for a while before bed.  I hope that you find time to do the same. 

Pray for my family, they deserve major kudos for putting up with me tonight.  ; )

With love.
Me.

Ernie.

Tonight my parents and I watched The Express, a movie about Ernie Davis.  Ernie was the first African-American to receive the Heisman Trophy, a very prestigious award given to college football players.  I don't really follow football all that well, especially not college football.  I'm both a Packers and a Bears fan, which some claim is impossible.  (Reconciliation is my aim, people.  Don't judge.  It is possible.)  I'm more of a Chreaster kind of a football fan: the Superbowl & the Packers vs. Bears games are about all I make an effort toward, kind of how some people do church.  Christmas and Easter are the big days.

Anyway, I was kind of disappointed when it came in the mail.  I was like, "Did Netflix make a mistake?  Who ordered this stupid football movie?"  Take one guess. 

And you might guess my dad, being that the male to female ratio in our house is 1 to 7, including the dogs.  But you'd guess wrong!  It was totally my mom!  Crazy woman!  I don't know what she was thinking.  I mean, there's only so many football movies I can handle: Remember the Titans, Radio, The Blindside, Little Giants, and Waterboy have fulfilled my lifetime football movie quota.

But, I watched The Express anyway.  I kept thinking, "This is like a remake of Remember the Titans, minus my beloved Denzel Washington.  And, in the middle of the movie, they aren't happy to be together."  There is not really a buddy-buddy attitude coming from any of the boys on that team, and I felt uncomfortable.

Even though it was a fictional movie, I was so encouraged by Ernie's perseverance.  He was knocked down, and mistreated so many times in that movie, and he kept moving forward  He wasn't a pushover though, nor a doormat.  He had a quiet strength that was neat to watch.  He worked hard, and he was humble.  After being humiliated over and over again (and his teammates not DOING anything about it), he continued to push through and do his best.  It was a really cool movie.

When his team was at the Cotton Bowl, Texas was their opponent.  The guys on Texas' team were cheating left and right, as were the ref's.  I was so enraged!  Like, seriously, I haven't felt that angry in a long time.  And this is a movie we're talking about.  It was like watching the definition of "injustice" on a screen.  They ended up winning the Bowl, thank goodness, I would have quit watching if they had lost because it would have been too painful.  It was after this game that he won the award.

The president at the time, (JFK) said this to him when he won:

"Seldom has an athlete been more deserving of such a tribute. Your high standards of performance on the field and off the field, reflect the finest qualities of competition, sportsmanship and citizenship. The nation has bestowed upon you its highest awards for your athletic achievements. It's a privilege for me to address you tonight as an outstanding American, and as a worthy example of our youth. I salute you."

 Maybe it was for some political gain, and maybe JFK didn't even know who Ernie even was.  But I think he meant what he said, and I think he did truly value Ernie's character.  What a high honor to be addressed by the president in that way.

Two years later Ernie died of Lukemia.  I cried like a baby.  He never got to play a professional game, even though he was drafted by the Redskins & traded to the Browns.  He was 23.

It got me thinking tonight about what God might say to me when my life comes to an end.  Not that I want him to say "Why Catie, you reflected the finest qualities of competition and citizenship...you were an outstanding American ..."  I certainly do not want a trophy.  But I do so long to hear him say, "Well done, my good and faithful servant!"  I want my Heavenly Father to be proud of me, and glad for the perseverance I had while I was alive.  I most long for him to say that I loved others well, I lived by grace, and that I applied the things I knew I needed to.

If I were to encounter the amount of injustice Ernie had, I don't know that I could have done it with as much forgiveness and grace as he did.  I fail often, and I do not encounter anywhere near the things he did.  When it comes down to it, having to persevere in the face of many great things, I have to remember to fix my focus on Jesus, and remember that my life is solely for him.  For his gain, his glory, and his purposes.

Sunrise.

This morning I woke up at 4:47a to see my dear friend out the door.  And by see her out the door, I mean sit up in bed while I watch her walk out.  Sleeping in the dining room has it perks... I tossed and turned for a little while, and then my dad was out the door at 5:00a.  He went to church for, what I like to call, male bonding time, otherwise known as a Men's Breakfast.  I know that it is so important for guys to have time alone with other guys, but I feel like I'm missing out!  These breakfasts always sound like so much fun!  I mean, I have to admit, I'm a little jealous!  I vote for a Women's Breakfast at 6:30a sometime.  Who's in?!  Dmode?  Heaver?  Bowman, I know you're awake.  Who are my morning girls?  "Cricket cricket..."

My point in telling you all of this is that I cannot go back to sleep.  I started to pray, (and, sadly, in the early mornings, I usually fall back asleep), but it didn't do the trick.  Then, I started Facebooking people I was thinking about.  Still awake.  Then I tried to think of sheep frolicking around on the beautiful hills of Ireland.  Now I'm wide awake.  At 6:44a Central Time.  I'm loving it. Don't tell anyone, but I'm a morning person at heart.  It's hard when night person me wants to stay up, but we'll manage.  And by we,  I mean I.  DaVinci used to sleep two hours at night, and he turned out okay.  I don't think he was schizophrenic...

The reason that I'm sharing my "Wake Up With Wollard" story is because I BibleGatewayed "sunrise" after the chain of events that just went down.  Mostly because it's just barely peeking through my window at present, and that's what I do sometimes.  I just randomly search words in the Bible, and see what verses pop up.  Not all the time, but a lot.

So now I'm blogging because I have to share what I've found.  It's different, eh?  Normally I write at, like, 11:34pm.  For the record, I'm kind of glad the blog was the last thing I thought to do.  I'm always nervous about it becoming an idol, me talking too much and not listening enough.  It's a disease that I have had before.  You get nervous when you've had a sickness & don't want it again.  I mean, diarrhea stinks, especially when it comes from the mouth.

Anyway.  Bad visual.  But you know it's true.

I've been praying this week that God would give me a new love for the Old Testament.  One of my goals in life is to understand Scripture way more than I do now.  The Old Testament and I have a great relationship, I'm in love with it, don't get me wrong, there is just so much in it that I don't understand.  And, heck, I'm 23, so I figure I have a few years to learn more.  It's what makes Christianity exciting to me; God is always on the move in my life, revealing things to me through the Bible when I ask him to.  When I listen & search.  Even in the random times!  Which is a lot.  It's why I'm so excited to be up this early reading it because finding ample time to study in the quiet is difficult.

Listening is a challenge, but it is vital.  Being deaf in one ear is hard, but I can still hear a whisper.  To hear the whisper of God means that I have to lean in close to his lips, close enough to feel his breath & the tickle of his consonants.  He's so articulate, but sometimes it's too loud around me, and we have to go into another space.  7:00a is a good space.

(And even though I just talked about listening, I'm going to keep talking now.  I just have to say one more thing.  Sorry to keep you in suspense.  Sunrise is coming.)

For those of you who have never read the Bible, or maybe only a few times in life, I'd suggest giving it a try.  It may feel scary or intimidating at first, but you would be amazed.  You can come to my house in Illinois, and we can read it together.  Fo ril.  I'll send you my address and everything.  Unless I don't know you.  Then we might have to meet at Starbucks.  Or you can wait until I'm walking again, and I'll hobble to you.  Or, you can read it on your own.  If you don't own a Bible, go to a website called BibleGateway.com & type in  "Proverbs 30:18-19" and "1 John 3:16"... If you forget to include the "1" in front of "John", that's okay.  It's a good verse too, but it's in a separate book.  Those are great places to start.


For those of you who feel like you don't read it enough, I simply say this: Be still.  You and I have a lot in common.  But be still, and know that God is God.  Make it your goal to simply listen; don't get hung up on guilt, but move closer when you're led to move closer.  Your feet do work, I promise.  You are a beautiful dancer, a fierce jouster, and a thirsty tree; drink when you need water.  Don't dehydrate.  And, yes, I know trees don't have feet, but it feels right to be compared to a thristy tree.  Trees need a lot of water.  A mature Oak Tree can drink almost 50 gallons of water a day.  That's you and I.  Dehydration can be sneaky, and I don't want you to lose limbs in the winter-time.  It's cold and windy out there.

For those of you who are faithful readers and appliers, I admire you.  Thank you for being an example and an encouragement to me.  I know it is a discipline that takes time to develop, and I'm thankful that God has given you so much grace.

To all of you on the in between places in that little spectrum I just created, sorry.  Guess you don't count.  ; )  You can come be a nomad with me!

Okay.  Just had to get that off my chest.  Finally...here it is!

Here's the verse (in a little context):

"LORD, I have heard of your fame;
   I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord.
Repeat them in our day,
   in our time make them known;
   in wrath remember mercy. 

His glory covered the heavens
   and his praise filled the earth.

His splendor was like the sunrise;
   rays flashed from his hand,
   where his power was hidden. 

The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
   he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
   he enables me to tread on the heights."

It's 8:00a now.  The sun is ablaze, orange and pink streaming down my street.  There is a beautiful street lamp right outside of my window, reminding me of Narnia.  A gigantic Weeping Willow sits across the street, her yellow hair blowing in the wind, shining in the sun.  That same side of the street has a gold glow; His powerful rays burying themselves in the freshly fallen snow.  And, even though it is very cold outside, there is a crispness, and a clarity that I can only seem to find in Winter.

I pray that you, (yes, you) find your gaze lifted high today, into the clear blue skies.  Be still today.  May you stand in awe in the deeds of your Maker, and may he enable you to tread on the heights.

Verses taken from  Habakkuk 3:2, 3.5, 4, & 19

Unfolding.

I painted a picture today of a little girl looking out of a window at a ladybug on a tree.  The little girl had a beard, and the tree had some fungal disease.  My friend from high school, Carolyn, was quite gracious to me, and kept saying, "It's a form of creative expression, and you're doing a good job."  Bless her heart.  It looked like a seven-year-old had painted it.  No offense, seven-year-olds.

It was funny for me to watch the painting unfold.  There were moments when I would mess something up & just want to be done, or I didn't know what to do next & I just wanted to be done.  There are so many kinds of things that unfold like that - your laundry if you do it with a two-year-old, paper when you are doing origami, and different kinds of events.  Events are things that unfold, right?  Sometimes over a long period of time, sometimes over a span of only a few days, or even a few minutes.

The idea of time is such an interesting concept to me.  So much has happened in the last 24 hours, things that I don't even know about.  All across the world people are doing different things at different times: sleeping & waking, eating & working.  Events happen in the small moments; the extraordinary unfolding itself out of the ordinary and the humble.  It's a mystery to me, and it's something that gets me really excited when I think about it.

I am reminded of this especially because my sister, Jen, is in India right now, a place I have always wanted to go.  I met a young, newlywed couple at a conference in 2006, called Urbana.  Their passion was for India, and the people there.  I admired them, and was so encouraged by my conversation with them.  Since that conversation, I have wanted to travel there, and when my sister received the opportunity, I was thrilled for her.  Their time difference is ten hours ahead of mine, so right now it is nearly 5:00am.  In a couple of hours, she'll be getting up & I'll be getting ready for bed.  I find myself wondering what she'll be doing in her next day, and what little events there that will make up such an incredible experience.  It's the little things that make the big things.  I'm praying that God teaches her what it means to be an ambassador of Jesus, not just in a country different from her own, but every day of her life.  She's such an amazing young woman.  You can see what she's doing in India here: http://utabsm.wordpress.com/

That is something that God has definitely taught me in the last years: what it means to be an ambassador.  I don't work for an embassy or anything (I wish!), but what it means to be an ambassador on Jesus' behalf.  Two years ago this month, I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Ireland.  The trip's focus was on reconciliation, and what that meant for the Church.  I went because it was a subject that I knew little about, and I wanted to learn more.  Reconciliation has many different definitions, so it proved to be a lot more difficult than I thought it would be.  Dictionary.com's definitions are okay...they aren't the best, but some of the definitions are: "to cause (a person) to accept or be resigned to something not desired", "to bring into agreement or harmony; make compatible or consistent", "to win over to friendliness; cause to become amicable to compose or settle", "to reconsecrate", or "to restore."

2 Corinthians 5:18 & 19 says, "All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation."

(The "All this" is talking about how when someone makes a commitment to follow Jesus & to be like him, they become a new being, a "new creation".  It was in the previous verse.  In case you were wondering...)

We are reconciled to God, in the Christian faith, by Jesus.  Our relationship with God is restored by Jesus, and the Bible claims that it is only by Jesus that this can happen.  The ministry of reconciliation is something I care about because I have received it.  My relationship with God was once quite broken, but Jesus reconciled me to God.  He restored us.  Then, when you make a commitment to follow Him, and be like him, and love like him, and think like him, and serve like him, you become his ambassador.  You literally represent Jesus because he takes your heart & makes it like his. You are his, and he is yours.

"We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."  (That's verses 20 & 21.)

Being an ambassador is a choice; it is a huge responsibility that Jesus-followers are given, but it is one that I have to choose everyday.  Becoming more like God each day is something I have to sort of invite myself to do.  What makes it difficult is that fear, pain, and/or frustration are barriers that can get in the way.

Yesterday was my first time upstairs for a bath.  I crawled up the stairs, scooted into the bathroom, and slid into the tub.  The choices that were being made by Catie Wollard at this point in time were made out of not only fear, but stress and temperature maladjustments.  I was freaking out, yet again.  To the point of tears.  "My cast is going to get wet!  I can't let my right leg soak too long!  You got the duct tape on my leg hair!!!"

It was so not how I envisioned my first bath at home; I had pictured a long, luxurious soak complete with bubbles and a good book.  Normalcy returned.  Freedom found.  Nope.  Freezing because I couldn't get the knob right, no soaking aloud, and really really uncomfortable.  It's in those moments, when my expectations let me down, that I truly have to choose to be an ambassador of Jesus.  Needless to say, my parents we not feeling the love.  At all.  And that's just a stupid bath.

An area of pain, (and an area that is way less superficial), that I still feel even after moving away is that Milwaukee, WI is the second most segregated city in the United States, behind Detroit, MI.  Different sources say different things, but Milwaukee & Detroit toggle back and forth.  Racial reconciliation is one kind of reconciliation that has become a priority in my heart because I think it is something that God deeply cares about: unity amongst his people.  Healing.  Peace.  Restoration.  There are Biblical calls to each of these things.  These things come in Jesus.  God calls his people to be ambassadors in places where they may not feel comfortable.

An area where I feel particularly frustrated is in where I'm going to work when I'm walking again.  I've talked about it several times before, but it's constantly resurfacing itself.  I'm frustrated with myself for not being more proactive, and having more direction & vision.  I'm sad that I've had to let go of the expectations that I have had for myself and my future job.

I have to choose to be an ambassador.  Daily.  To try and have the mindset of Jesus - I have to choose to care about the things that Scripture says Jesus cared about, no matter how I feel, or what society says.  And I have to continue to pray that God leads me where he wants me, and helps me to respond the way that he wants me to respond.

I'm so thankful that as my story unfolds, his grace does as well.

LandO'Lincoln.

Winter is in full swing in Illinois.  I have come to love this state with as much fervency as I had before I fell in love with Wisconsin.  I think it's because Illinois has more permanency than any other for me.  The Land of Lincoln.  That's what it says on my state's license plate.  Did you know that Lincoln also lived in Indiana?  And, obviously, in Washington D.C.  Why don't their license plates say the same thing?  

I was reading tonight in Weird Illinois that Abraham Lincoln was a deep thinker.  Sometimes he would be working in his office, and his coworkers would notice him peering off into the distance.  Often times it was for several minute stretches, and then, all of a sudden, he would snap out of it.  I found it humorous because Abraham Lincoln was a man of great vision and foresight; he was incredibly ambitious.  I don't imagine him daydreaming very often, other than for noble & presidential reasons.  I felt a lot of hope as I was reading tonight because I find myself doing that same thing sometimes.  I'll space out for a few minutes, and then snap back into reality after thinking about something really random for a while.  It's quite a relief because I long to be like Lincoln; someone who has a strong work ethic, dependable, and full of follow-through, but I space out so often!

Me and Lincoln.  Spacing out is our thing.  Or, well, was our thing.  We're buds.

Why is it that when we learn of famous peoples' weaknesses, we feel better about ourselves?  I mean, entire businesses and industries rely on the humanity of famous people to make money.  Think about how many magazines there are at the checkout at grocery stores.  And how much paper they waste on stupid stuff!  But, it's like a vortex...you get sucked in.  Wanna know what's blinking in my brain right now?   "Kim Kardashian without make-up or hair done"  At first I was like, "For real?  You're really gonna go there?"  But then I became curious.  Luckily, my resistance to the force was strong, and I didn't give in, but a lot of times I do.  There is this innate fascination with reality and with people that, I think, we all have.

I'm re-posting a verse.  I'm sure I'm breaking some blog rule I don't know about (I warned you, there was a disclaimer; I know no blogging rules), but it's for a good reason.  It needs emphasis in my life:

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?  Matthew 6:25-27

I was kind of freaked out because after reflecting upon this verse, I read an article about several thousand birds that died in Arkansas a couple of days ago.  The possible cause of death is because of fireworks on New Year's Eve.  Isn't that so sad?  I started to freak out because it seemed really eerie, and I wondered if it was some sort of sign.  It's headlines like this one that do not necessarily suck people in like the Kardashians might, but it's things like this that we can change.  And that we should change.  

I think about it in the context of looking at birds, which is something that I really enjoy.  To really stop and think about the birds.  I've seen Canadian Geese, Sparrows, and Black-Capped Chickadees in the last few weeks.  No Cardinals.  They don't exist.  If you see a bird today, stop.  Watch it.  They never worry about what is going to happen to them two days from now, or two weeks from now, or two months from now, or two years from now.  They don't worry.  I mean, I'm sure they feel a little stressed out when fireworks are exploding all around them (all the more reason to not use fireworks), but they don't sit and stew in their worry.  They live life moment by moment.  They take things as they come.


Our heavenly Father takes such good care of his creation, and he invites us to do the same.  But, our heavenly Father also takes such good care of us.  He knows every intimate detail of my life, down to how many hairs there are on my legs.  (Which would be: a lot.)  The fireworks fiasco could be a separate illustration for our lives; I mostly needed to clear the air because that story kind of freaked me out.  Truly, the fireworks problem entered in because God invites us to take care of his creation as well, and we are not always good stewards.  And one might say that sometimes life does throw us a few fireworks, but focusing on how much love the Father has for us in the midst of flying through explosions is a key to a full life.  We are valued.  The imagery Jesus was painting when he was talking about birds was a very, very good one.  He causes us to really ask ourselves, "What is the meaning of my life?  What is it's purpose, and how am I fulfilling it?  What am I worried about that I shouldn't be?"


In other words, don't freak out, Catherine Ann.  Live life moment by moment, and take things as they come, no matter how loud & scary they may seem.  And give Jesus the best of what you have because, man, he deserves it.  Plus so much more.

And, for the record?  I think Jesus loved birds too.  It's one of the many reasons I like him.  Do you think my friend Lincoln liked birds?  Maybe HE picked the non-existent Cardinal of Illinois.  Pssh...