Outlooks

I haven't posted in over a week (and my ONE friend-haha-hasn't been on my case about it), so I figured it was time to at least write SOMETHING! I've actually been quite busy since Easter making plans for our New Yorker daughter to come for a visit--a long overdue one. If you had told me five years ago that I would only see her a few times a year, I'd have thought you were crazy! But here we are.........with her living in Manhattan for almost two years now and only seeing her every two or three months (if we're lucky). Wow! Time flies when you're having fun, and trust me, she's definitely having fun! We are very proud of her and happy, of course, that she is so happy with her life. (We still miss her terribly, though! I'm not sure Jonathon has quite forgiven her YET for packing up and moving to the Big Apple!)

Jonathon is winding down his classes for the semester, getting ready for finals in a couple of weeks. I can hardly believe that he has been back on campus for two years now; it is a blessing that we don't allow ourselves to forget. In the book of Jeremiah, God promised to give him hope and a future, and He has certainly continued to fulfill that promise. Just last week, in fact, Jonathon learned that he has been blessed with the opportunity to serve the Lord through a summer internship at our church, something that we encouraged him to seek and are so grateful that it will become a reality for him. Although he may not have the same physical abilities as the other interns, I am confident that he will give all that he can to this wonderful chance to share his testimony and grow God's Kingdom. My prayer is that those with whom he serves as well as those he serves will be able to look past his DIS-abilities and focus on his CAP-abilities. He has such an amazing love for the Lord and knows full well the grace he has been given. As he wrote in an essay upon returning to UGA in 2007, "Through my disability, I want most of all to let people know that while some of my abilities may have changed, I am basically still the same person I was two years ago. While my vision may have changed, my outlook is still the same."

Thank you, sweet Jesus, for the lessons You continue to gently teach us and the messages we so desperately need to hear.

"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;" ~ Psalm 37: 4-7