The rest note

 It was good to be back in the U.S. and see the family.  Kobi was happy too!

Hannah had baked a lemon cake for the occasion!  Sooooo good!

Our body clocks were in "jet lag" mode.  We woke up at 4:30 the next morning and woke Emeri up and headed off for Arkansas to take her home.  

Josh and Staci, you will notice how very healthy your daughter ate on this trip!  Did you see all the pictures?

We got to the kids' home at 5.  Eli and his friend Eli had followed us on-line and met up with us in their neighborhood on their go carts.

We took the kids out to eat and also picked up some food to take to the hospital.  Josh and Staci were pretty sick of hospital food by this time.  If you didn't read earlier posts, while we were in Romania, Staci came down with something pretty serious.  Not positive yet about a diagnosis, but perhaps Guillain-Barre.  Difficulty with walking, with thought processes and vision.  

We visited with Josh and Staci.  She was so happy to see Emeri, as we'd been gone almost 2 weeks.    

Allen was needing to get home and back to work.  Early the next morning (we woke up at 4 - again jet lag) and we headed for home.  

As the sun came up, there was a layer of fog across the valleys.

When we got home and unpacked, I went to see if my peonies were still in bloom, and they were!!  I was so sure we would miss them!  I wish they would bloom all summer!

So grateful for these beautiful flowers!

But there were LOTS of weeds too!!  Oh my!  It took me a long time to pull them!

Bind weed had wrapped itself around many plants.  The roots run deep and intertwine underground and it will take some drastic measures to get rid of this.  

We have beauty in our lives but we also have difficulties that crop up and choke out our joy.   I remember my mother often saying "I will trust Him" when my Dad had his stroke, when she had a fall down the stairs and had to have brain surgery, and at other hard times.

You, LORD, are the Composer and sometimes You write rest notes in our song.  The length of that "rest" is up to You, Father.  This is a "rest" time for Staci.

Is my song a song of despair?  Or one of joy and trust in Him as the Composer?

He is the giver of music.  

This is from Streams in the Desert:

There is no music during a musical rest, but the rest is part of the making of the music. In the melody of our life, the music is separated here and there by rests. During those rests, we foolishly believe we have come to the end of the song. God sends us time of forced leisure by allowing sickness, disappointed plans, and frustrated efforts. He brings a sudden pause in the choral hymns of our lives, and we lament that our voices must be silent. We grieve that our part is missing in the music that continually rises to the ear of our Creator. Yet how does a musician read the rest? He counts the break with unwavering precision and plays his next note with confidence, as if no pause were ever there.

God does not write the music of our lives without a plan. Our part is to learn the tune and not be discouraged during the rests. They are not to be slurred over or omitted, nor used to destroy the melody or to change the key. If we will only look up, God Himself will count the time for us. With our eyes on Him, our next note will be full and clear. If we sorrowfully say to ourselves, "There is no music in a rest," let us not forget that the rest is part of the making of the music. The process is often slow and painful in this life, yet how patiently God works to teach us! And how long He waits for us to learn the lesson!
--John Ruskin

One morning, as I was reading in my Bible, my background music was a symphony of praise from the birds.  The tufted titmouse, barn swallows, Baltimore orioles, red-bellied woodpeckers, purple martins, house finches, chickadees, doves, grackles, a scolding blue jay, the downey woodpecker ...

and also this guy who came to my deck chair - the great crested flycatcher!

He only makes an appearance about once a year, and I am thrilled when he shows up!

Do you know that some birds spend 70% of their time singing?  

What joy filled my soul as I listened to the birds.

"I will sing and make music with all my heart!"  Psalm 108:1b

We choose not to despair, but praise Him.  Would you pray with us for our sweet daughter-in-law and their family.  During this "rest" period, that she can fully recover?  She is not able to work at this time.  She is doing a little better every day, but it is not easy.  "We trust Him" as He composes this song of Staci's.