Friday, August 7, 2020

Humility is hard and real... dying to self and taking up our cross to follow dad and Jesus/Family prayer

 This made me happy and sad all at once to find in my memories from 5 years ago at our county fair.  Mom Verly in her wheelchair with her daughter, Ida, who many years before would have had 4H projects in this building.

The county fair is not happening this year due to the pandemic - all 42 years of our married life it has been part of our summer!  There is a sadness yet we are more free to have family time without the chores, projects due, and pressures of shows and State Fair trips that come with a county fair and 6 kids involved.  Our week with Susan/Hallel was much more wonderful and complete without the fair looming over our heads. Pat, who is on the fair board was not off getting this or that job done in preparation for the fair.  The fact that he has been on the fair board for most of our married life shows how much the fair means to him.

Dad gives a thumbs up after getting some procedures done in Sioux Falls yesterday.  How he keeps going is quite miraculous for us now as we just had our 4 month mark since he arrived on the farm.  Today we are resting and catching our breath after a whirlwind day yesterday.  

We were happy to find Matthew 16 as the Gospel today! Jesus said to his disciples,

“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life?..."  Matthew 16

Sweet corn crew 6 years ago in the our kitchen on the farm... now totally different as this is the bathroom/bedroom and the kitchen is on the other side of the house.  2 year old Rose loved to help and still does!

Rose 4 years ago in their new kitchen facing the south bright sunlight and their beautiful farm sink!  Wonderful changes in her childhood home by Ruth, who has a vision for how things would be for her farm kitchen for huge canning family jobs!

Beginning our morning of tests... "You are 95?  You sure don't look that old."  "Isn't he cute?"  That one kind of got a little annoying.  I probably would have said that as a young nurse myself, and I see now that it is a bit immature to say that of my wise old father, who is having humbling procedures.

This morning as Pat and I prayed together... Pat prayed for my father and how humbling and humiliating it is for him to be going through all of this.  Truly his most hurtful and difficult cross he is called upon to carry so helplessly at this weak point in his life.  This is just what Jesus is asking all of us, his followers to do today in the Gospel!  So I am looking to Jesus and my father to show me the way to gracefully humble myself and die to self so that I can follow carrying/dragging my Most Cherished Cross!

no nausea to deal with thankfully... fries and buster bar on the trip home!  We take one step at a time at this point and count our blessings when we can find them.  I was a wreck last night with all the new tubes and bags, but daylight, a helpful sister, my hospice nurse and a call to Sioux Falls has shown me that this could actually be a good thing!

It is wonderful to have dad yearning to get back to his home!  After 4 months he has totally embraced this farm as his home!  We have our rough patches, but with apologies and forgiveness and dying to self we manage to go forward and embrace the new normal and trust!  Mary, Jesus are always there to hear and answer us!
Dad and Birdie are prayer partners - the oldest and the youngest and 140+ in between!  Just were informed that there is a prayer need in the family and dad and I commented that the Holy Spirit led us this last week to add them to our chaplet!  Our prayers helped her have better results we are sure and in awe of the Lord's work and direction in our prayer life!
Birdie is such a peaceful and prayer ful little sweetheart at 3 months!
Peace surrounds her!  How her parents, brother, and grandparents rejoice with her peaceful contentment and how it lifts us up!
The Best!!!  Jesus, we need you and long to follow after you and to find that place of submission to your perfect will where we will find the fruits of the Spirit for now and forever in paradise!  May we take one step at a time trusting in YOU and carrying/dragging our most Cherished Cross after you down the narrow path with heaven forever as out goal.  As dad says often; "Thank you, Nancy, for your more prefect prayers for us!"  Jesus, we trust in you.  Amen and Hallelujah
John has plans to pray with us today at 3p... how we cling to Our Jesus through Mary in our rosary prayer each day!  
The prayers of children are so powerful!  Bless-bless, Barbara and her namesake, Birdie Barbara!



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