Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Overwhelming And Lavish Love

I don't think I have ever been so overwhelmed before in my life. I am blown away. I was unaware of how much so many people love John and myself. The last few weeks gift upon gift has been given to us to help with project Seattle. I can not count how many tearful hugs I have received. My best description of it is lavish love. It is the love of God given hands and feet and arms. It is the love of God in action.

Today a teenage friend of ours cleaned out his savings account that he had been working on to buy his first car, came by our house and wanted to give that us to help. It came from his heart. It was a lot of money. Needless to say we did not accept this lavish gift but I have to tell you that touched my heart. He cried when he hugged us goodbye. I cried when he hugged us goodbye.

I have been crying a lot. It has not been tears of sorrow. The tears flow in response to all the kindness and care we have received. I am undone.

Tonight we attended a fundraiser that was attended by people from our church, extended family and the community at large. They held a bake sale and a silent auction. I was blown away at the items donated for the auction. I was blown away at the amount of people who attended. I was blown away at the amount of baking. I was blown away at the amount of work done to organize and execute these events. I was blown away by the well wishes and hugs and tears. I feel emotionally spent but in a good way.

We are ready to go. Spiritually we are surrounded by prayers and the knowledge that we will continue to be covered by prayer. People all over the provence and even out of provence and even out of country pray for us. Astounding! Through all of this, I feel the love and peace of God and that is what I need the most. I feel his loving arms surround me. We are ready to go in our minds...in our souls...in our spirit.

Now I just have to finish that pesky packing.

6 comments:

Sue said...

That young man is amazing. I cried when his mother told me what he was planning on doing. God will bless him for that.
You and John are sooo loved by sooo many. It is exciting to see people coming together to support you in this way.
can't wait for the party when you get home.

The Invisible Mo said...

What a sweet post. It's amazing what that young man felt to want to do so much for you.
It's wonderful to know that so many people are so supportive of you and John.
I can't wait to see you and I feel selfish saying that when I know how many people up there are going to miss you while you're here.

Christine said...

@mo: I feel that God put you into our lives. He knew ahead of time that we would need a friend in Seattle. I feel very blessed by your friendship and I am excited at meeting you and of course the turkey thanksgiving turkey dinner. We may have to walk a tough road but I would have to say that God through people has made walking it as easy as possible...he lightens our load and encourages us along the way. We do have a lot to be thankful for.

@sue: I can't wait for the party when we get home and I am sure that I can speak for John when I say that he can't either.

Jientje said...

You deserve it Christine!!

I had a lot of catchong up to do here, but my random brain just kept hopping from one thing to another!
I'm glad you got rid of the skunk too. See? Random brain, we're so much alike!!! Big big hug, both to you AND John of course. Wishing you all the best!

Momisodes said...

I am so glad to hear about all the support. You are all so deserving, and please add me to the list of well wishes and continued prayers for your family.

Eve said...

You wouldn't accept the young man's monetary gift, but I hope you suggested an alternative service he could perform for you - something that will give him that good feeling of having helped out. (Maybe he could assist in the pesky packing.) It is good to know that you are well-taken care of. You and John have a place in my prayers as well. Have as much fun in Seattle as possible under the circumstances.