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Current mood:  peaceful
The 24th was my birthday. This wasn't a "biggie," but last year was. And I didn't handle it well.
The number was overwhelming. I kept thinking, That's old! I can't be that old!
I've always said, "Considering the alternative, I'll take every day I get." And I still mean it. My dad died at 37, grandmother at 26, great-grandmother at 28, grandfather at 54… They either die very young or live to be quite old. I guess I'm past very young…
We went to see Josh Groban last night as part of my birthday present. Great concert. Two moments made it more than worth the cost of the tickets.
First, he came down to the end of the runway on the apron of the stage and sat down. Security let all the fans crowd around him. (Looked a little dangerous to me, but he has pretty respectful fans, and these might have been chosen deliberately.) Then he spotted someone holding a little blonde girl, about three-years-old. He asked if she wanted to sit on the stage with him. When she was in place, he said, "Great. You can sign all the autographs on that side." (He was autographing programs as he spoke.) His next song was a particular favorite of ours because it carries quite a bit of emotional baggage, Stephen Sondheim's Not While I'm Around. Josh sang it to the child, and it was very moving.
He finished the concert with You're a Machine. Good song, but no closure. Then he came back and did another. For the third, he sang You Raise Me Up, another song which always makes me cry. My cheeks were soaked by the time he finished, but they were good tears.
I'd had more of the same earlier in the day when I opened a friend's blog.
Emily Yeskoo is the daughter of friends we met in Japan. She was diagnosed four years ago with a fatal form of muscular dystrophy and was not expected to survive two years ago. But she' still hanging on. Her mother, Lindsey, writes a blog for her to keep us all informed. http://emily.quist.ca/. We have been praying for her and the family ever since she was diagnosed.
I had also asked our church Prayer Chain www.sjcpres.com to be in prayer for Ryanne Wheeler, the baby daughter of a fellow who works with me. She has been having seizures and is currently on medication which seems to be working.
At lunch about a week ago, we were talking about how Ryanne was doing and someone else, who is part of the prayer group at work, asked about Emily. The light bulb went on: Both of them were being treated at the "Children's Hospital" in Toronto! So I fired off an email to Emily's and Ryanne's parents, telling them they should meet. God was pretty insistent about this one!
Ryanne's dad has been trying for nearly two years to get a resident visa for his wife, Martina, so that she and their daughter can stay here with him. Emily's dad, is with the American Consulate in Toronto! I was reading Emily's blog for August 24 (my birthday) and came across this: One of the things that happened this morning is that Martina brought her darling little 4 month old Ryanne to meet me; she is ADORABLE, and we had a very fun "sleepover" on my bed together! She was wearing an absolutely gorgeous pale purple outfit... how did she know??? I was absolutely delighted with her! Madeleine also took her into her arms right away and settled into the rocking chair in our room, to feed her! SO SWEET!
It kills me that Ryanne also has something very serious wrong with her. How can it be, such a beautiful little girl having such bad seizures... and awful medicines to go with it!!! She and I looked in each others eyes over and over again, I think with tremendous mutual ~ yet wordless ~ understanding.We got to meet Martina and Ryanne through mutual friends from our Japan days, can you believe it?! Ryanne's Daddy is working with OUR friend in the States now, and Martina and she are WAITING to get down to California so they can all be together again. These "connections" stump me totally!
I t was the very best present I received this year - and I got some great ones.
God is at work! If you are so inclined, please add your prayers for both these girls and their families. They are most appreciated.
So this year has already started with wonderful blessings, and the number isn't so scary any more. Onward! Forward!
6:40 PM
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