Dirty shoes

So, i'm addicted to reading blogs and getting small, or sometimes large, glimpses into the lives of other people on this journey called life. I was reading a page of a woman who buried her four year old daughter 9 months ago. She was talking about how when she was sick...she wished more than anything to go back to the days when she was well. Now that she is gone, she would give anything just to go back to whenever. Even those long days and nights of caring for a child with a brain tumor. She had a message from a friend, whose young daughter Isabella is battling leukemia. She was in a store when she overheard a conversation behind her. I read this tonight after having a CRAZY day with my kids. I had math homework to finish today. I missed school all last week to be in Illinois. I had quite a bit to do, and had a test tonight that I was trying to prepare for. My son woke up this morning and decided that he needed his momma today. I spent THE ENTIRE DAY carrying him around while he lay his head on my shoulder. This child is rarely still and ALWAYS wants down from my arms to explore the world around him. I was extremely frustrated and after twenty minutes of him ripping papers and pencils out of my hand, I gave up on homework and turned in what I had completed. When I left for school, he was eating dinner in a very nasty shirt(no bib for him, he screamed until I took it off), the house was a TOTAL disaster from the day, courtesy of Bella Boo!!! To be compltely honest, I hadn't even brushed my teeth=) I did make time to call two friends today...in the middle of preparing meals for my lovely babies! But, tonight, my test was done, homework turned in, house cleaned up, I sat down to take a break at my computer and the Lord revealed to me, my day was one of great joy. Thank you Lord for these precious fleeting moments. They are but a vapor!
Please read this short post and be so thankful for your healthy babies. Life is really short and so unpredictable. I pray I NEVER walk the journey of these faithful warriors. I also pray that while i have my children, healthy in the present that I will spend everyday loving them and being grateful for whatever form of life i'm living in that moment.

Shoes
While shopping for a new pair of summer sandals for Isabella (she has outgrown her other ones since we’ve been here. Actually, she is growing like a weed), I over hear a woman talking about another child’s shoes. She mentions that she wished her kids could keep their shoes so clean. I politely smiled all the while silently thinking, get down on your knees and thank the Lord your children are able to get their shoes dirty. What I wouldn’t give for Isabella’s shoes to be filthy. Why? Because that would mean she could play like normal kids, she could get dirty and not worry about her counts, not worry about potential life-threatening bacteria … just play. Then I realized I needed to get down on my knees and thank the Lord. I know there are countless parents out there who would give anything to have their children’s shoes be “clean” because that would mean they are still here, instead they have been taken from this earth. Cancer changes everything. Even the way you look at shoes.When you finish reading this take a moment and go look at your children's shoes and say a prayer of Thanksgiving for them. For "clean & white" shoes, filthy shoes, outgrown shoes, and to grow into shoes. Give thanks for your children's need for shoes.