Mama, camper shopping, cantata, ordinary things

Update on Mama: She is feeling moderately better. Not better enough to go to church yesterday, but enough to take over the morning feeding and care of the animals by herself this morning. Good enough to go to Denton today for a series of stops including general shopping, returning Amazon items, and picking up sundry items at Sam’s. If I am not mistaken, she and Victoria will look at another camper in the Denton area. By the time I get home this evening, she will be convalescing on the couch. She has a persistent cough, not a bad cough, but enough to make people steer clear of her – especially at church. Overall, she still lacks her full energy and tends to wear out quickly. Fortunately, Victoria is off today, so Mama will have some help in her ongoing duties caring for Grandma and Grandpa.

To date, none of us have contracted the flu she has been battling. Her biggest concern was to keep Grandma and Grandpa from catching the illness, but secondarily, keeping me flu free. Her isolation tactics have worked but it has taken about ten days so far. The weather changes have not helped. We have been wet and cool for several days with longer periods of rain. Now, we are anticipating freezing temperatures overnight with cool days. All that with persistently wet conditions. We are not begrudging the weather, but it does lengthen any recovery from all types of respiratory issues.

The current rainfall is a welcome treat for our ducks. They love it! They primp, flap their wings and frolic in the falling rain. It is entertaining to watch. As the chickens and goats hurry to avoid being caught in the rain, the ducks rush out to play. The rain even seems to make the drakes more amorous. I suppose that any of the eggs we would choose to incubate at this point could be successfully hatched. We are not doing so because we have no good place to winter over ducklings. We will start that in February after we return from Honduras.

Saturday was largely a rain day for me. Grandpa discovered a low tire on the Sequoia so I took it to Decatur to have the tire repaired but the tire shop I typically use was not open. So, I have kept the tire inflated as needed over the weekend until it can be taken for repair by Mama today. Because of that wasted trip and a choir practice Saturday afternoon, I did not get much done Saturday. I did manage to get the right chain for the 18” bar on my chainsaw. It was the fourth attempt to get the right fit. I finally discovered a manual to properly select the specific chain saw chain for the specific bar I have on the chainsaw. There are, it turns out, five possible chains offered in the 18” category, but only one fits that bar. Hopefully, my future purchases will not be so problematic.

Sunday afternoon, when I got home from church, we went as a group to look at two campers for Victoria. Both were nearby. One was in poor condition, the other looked little used, clean, and well-kept. The newer one was fairly priced, but it was too small to be practical for Victoria. So, other than an afternoon outing, the trip was a bust. It served to engage both Grandma and Grandpa in the selection process, which is a good thing, but the more we look, the more disappointed we are. So, we took time when we got home, to pray about the search. We are anticipating what the Lord will do as Victoria continues her search.

Sunday evening, we had our Adult Christmas program. I generally call the program a cantata, but as Grandma pointed out, that is not technically correct. The actors in the play did a superb job and the choir sang exceptionally well on all the songs incorporated into the program. Lighting and sound were well enough accomplished, so that the entire program came off looking well-rehearsed and well presented. The message of the play was outstanding in its clear presentation of the message of salvation centering on a young lady that had been raised in church but struggling with her faith because she had never personally accepted the Lord as her Savior. It made Mama and I long for such an awakening among those of our own children currently struggling with their faith.

So, our life is filled with the ordinary things, occasionally punctuated with inspiring moments. Sometimes even energized by events that show just how interested God is on our mundane, ordinary lives. We are occupied at the moment with getting presents packaged for shipment to our children and grandchildren. As ordinary as that seems, we want to make the focus of this Christmas a faith-centered focus. Our hope is that the gifts sent will draw hearts to our Lord rather than just fulfill an expectation of receiving a gift from Grammy and Papi.

Only the Holy Spirit can accomplish that, but that is what we are praying for.