Tonight we are wrapping up our fall break and begrudgingly getting ready for routines again.

Malachi has been getting a lot of social time in and boy does he now crave it! He is always so happy to head to school each day and is just as excited when we have soccer games in the evening. I have really enjoyed watching him making more of an effort to communicate with people he isn’t as familiar with.

Levi also finds his happy place at soccer games, floating from the soccer girls to the fans, making friends and creating laughter. One of the parents snapped this photo of him joining the team for a pre-game prayer.

One game this week he was playing with a girl that (according to him) wasn’t being kind. He came to tell me about it and I told him to find someone else to play with. He said “Mom, I think I will go be Jesus to her.” Then marched off on a mission. I smiled, then watched the encounter to see how it would go,

Malachi had his first field trip for the year at the pumpkin patch with friends. He had a hard night and was running on just a few hours to sleep. He tried his very best to have fun, and did enjoy a few hours but by lunchtime he signed that he was ready to go home. I really enjoyed getting to see him around his classmates and see all the kindness and inclusion taking place. They were very aware of where he was at all times, making efforts to include him in all the fun things.

We had plans on paper for a fun filled fall break week but as Malachi’s sleep patterns started to fade so did our plans. We did get to have a few adventures near the end of the week!

On Saturday we took a quick day trip to visit the Knoxville Zoo. I was more focused on family time than taking photos so I don’t have too many fun ones to share! And we are in that phase of 6 year old photo taking, where every single smile looks like I am behind the camera threatening him…I assure you I am not haha!

We also got the chance to visit with a sweet college friend and her family at our favorite farm! She and her family booked a stay there and texted to see if we could stop by for a visit. We are always so happy when others get to enter “our world” if that makes sense. We already know accessibility options and it makes planning so much easier.

In between the fun adventures we squeezed in several doctor appointments, therapies, and medical phone calls.

Jake and I are reading through the Bible this year doing The Bible Recap plan. We just finished the Old Testament and are headed into the New Testament! This particular plan has chunked a lot of the “synoptic” (same) gospels together so you get to read the same account/story written by several different perspectives. Sometimes they sound a lot alike and sometimes there are pretty big details added or omitted.

I have read these gospels so many times in my life, but I continue to be amazed at how many small things I have missed! Case in point…did you know that Jesus’ earthy paternal grandfather was named Jacob? I don’t know how I missed that all these years.

Anyway…

In Luke 2 there is a verse that has resonated with me since Malachi’s birth.

“But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.” (Verse 19)

The shepherds had a visit from an angel telling them about the birth of Christ and where to find the child. That angel was joined by a host of angels praising God and giving Him the glory. The shepherds went straight to Bethlehem to find the baby and shared with Mary what the angels had said and that is what she “treasured” and “pondered”.

I have always been a little confused by this, as Mary herself had been visited by an angel and had already been told that she was favored and would birth Son of God! She even sang a song about it in Luke 1. So why was she cherishing these affirming words from strangers so much? Shouldn’t God’s promises the first time be enough?

And while I could sit back and pretend to make an argument about how weak her faith must have been or how she maybe didn’t truly believe…the truth is that I see myself and my faith a whole lot in Mary.

When I read the Word I see the providence of God play out again and again and again. I see the miraculous, the powerful, the phenomenal. I see God’s plan being played out exactly as He intended it. I see prophecies come true and faith ignite in so many different characters.

I KNOW the truth in a cognitive sense. But sometimes my heart doesn’t follow my head and doubt creeps in with discouragement close on its heels.

I told Jake yesterday that my faith is tired. I don’t doubt who God is and I am not angry with Him. But I am just so tired.

And when I look at Mary I wonder if she sometimes experienced the same weariness. The calling that she was given likely came with a lot of ridicule as an unwed mother. A lot of uncertainty, giving birth to the Son of God in a stable. I suspect that Mary’s calling was a lot harder than she ever imagined it would be when the angel Gabriel made that first visit to her.

I am in rambling mode right now, trying to decipher why I typed all that I did just now.

But I think the encouragement for me this week is that God is the God who sees me (El Roi). And I believe that God knew that Mary needed those precious words from the shepherds in that very moment to remind her that He is good and very much still at work.

And tonight I find myself thankful for a God that sees us in our weakest moments and gives His presence in abundance. I am thankful that He gives us moments to treasure and ponder…moments that remind us of our encounters and conversations with Him. What a good God He is!

Much love,

Leah