The Best Medicine

DANGER!

BLIND CHILD IN AREA!

I want this t-shirt. 

Okay, Okay, I NEED this t-shirt, for the safety of all living things within 20 feet. 

Seriously, though, if someone ever gave me a shirt that said that I would be absolutely ecstatic. (ahem, very small hint.)

At this point I have stopped keeping score because to continue would probably be depressing. Allow me to elaborate:

~on Monday I saw Rebekah in the lunch line. Feeling comfortable and outgoing I tapped her on the shoulder and then proceeded to have a nice little chat. Then I walked over to the drink machine...and Rebekah walked by...wearing a different outfit than the Rebekah of 1 minute ago. The first Rebekah's real name is Priscilla. She's very nice. 

~On Tuesday all of the salad eaters were very narrowly saved from having their container of craisins compromised by a healthy helping of black olives. 

       -(on a totally unrelated note: did you know that dark red/purple looks a lot like black?)

~On Wednesday....i know there was something...oh yeah, On Wednesday I knocked over a HUGE jar of MAYO. Thankfully it was nearly empty. The pepper shaker on the table in the dining room, however, was very NOT empty. 

~On Thursday I stole a scoop of ice cream. 

~On Friday I posted bail in time to be back in the kitchen for another elbow workout.

~I stayed in my room all day Saturday until the group trip to Target. Amazingly, Target still stands. But I'm going back later today so stay tuned...

~And Sunday. Oh Sunday. While moseying on down to the Lodge for a bit of wifi - minding my own business - the road suddenly and inexplicably moved. One second it was right underneath my feet and the next it was a foot to the left and right underneath my rear end. I blame it on my sunglasses. Yes, I was wearing them, but they had managed to lose half an arm earlier (don't ask me how they did that) and I think they just don't work the same with only 1 and 1/2 arms. Totally threw me off balance. I'm pretty sure no one saw me fall, though, because I didn't hear any muffled (or not muffled) laughter aside from my own. 

SO, folks, that's my week .And I'm sure you now agree with me about the t-shirt. i haven't found out what my working assignment for the coming week is but let's pray for my poor co-workers, bless their little hearts 

In all seriousness, I had a good week. It was a bit rough on Tuesday because I got hit by a huge wave of homesickness, but God came to the rescue (as usual) and sent me a wonderful friend to pray with me and give me a much needed hug. Then that night in the kitchen a few of the workers just had me laughing during all of dinner prep. Nothing like some good laughing to lighten the heart. I'm still struggling with the homesickness here and there but I'm not lonely, and that's a definite plus. 

I'm loving being around all these different people and seeing how God is working through them to bless my life and the lives of so many others. Nearly everyone I run into throughout the day (some of them, literally) asks me how I am and how kitchen is going. They remember me and they remember what's going on in my life and it's amazing how that can brighten a day. This attitude of care has been such a challenge to me to pay attention to the people around me. That's my prayer for the coming weeks: that I would be observant and purposeful about loving these people, no matter the area of work. 

Thanks for reading, i hope y'all are all having a wonderful week full of the goodness of God.

Love much, 

Anna

First steps

This is where I’m living the next month and a half.

They left me. No, not really, it was more like I left them. Daddy told me to walk toward my cabin so he could get a picture, so I waved and turned around:

Deep breath…

Try not to think about it too hard…

Keep going…

Don't cry, there're people up ahead...

Too late...

They're not paying attention to me anyway...

Keep walking...

God’s got this…

And He really does.

I went to my cabin, made my bed, got everything situated and then – right when I was feeling more than a little lost and lonely – one of my future teammates came in and invited me to play cards with her and four others. I love playing cards. = ) Then, while we were playing, another team member (Rebekah) came to chat. When she heard that I run sometimes, she immediately offered to run with me. Prayer = answered. God knew just what I needed to ease me into the transition and I am so grateful.

So we played cards until dinner and my team lost mis-er-ab-ly. I mean, really, I can’t see how we could’ve done worse. It was a blast.

I also got to see my schedule for the week: Tuesday morning nursery duty and then evening shift in the kitchen every day. Other than that it’s freeeeee time for me. = ) Please pray with me that I will use my time wisely.

Also, pray that I will continually turn to God as my Sustain-er. These two verses have been on my mind lately and they are exactly what I need to remember in these coming months:

Psalm 4:8

In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

Joshua 1:9

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed. For the Lord your God is with you, wherever you go.

Really, can these be more perfect? I will be traveling to so many different places and God will be with me, wherever I go. I will meet so many people that will touch my heart and some that I will be relieved to leave: but through all of that God will never leave and I won’t want Him to. He never changes, He is always good, He always loves me, and His presence gives me the ability to lie down AND sleep in peace. I like that “AND” in there. It brings to mind the ideal that I won’t go to bed only to toss and turn all night. I will be able to sleep because I will not be worried or afraid. Do you realize how precious these promises are? Just the thought of them gladdens my heart more than I can say. I am holding on to them with all my might.

So, folks, that’s me right now. I’m looking forward to everything in front of me..and hopefully watching out for it, too. ; ) It’s been “one” day and I've managed to avoid running into anything or ramming into anyone. Therefore, I officially state that the score stands thus - Blind kid = 1. Road life = 0. I’m totally okay with this. Although,… I did have to ask the cook what several of the dishes were at dinner…he may not be too excited that I’m on his crew…. but I say the current stats stand. (As long as nothing happens between here and my cabin.)

Wish me luck!

Sittin' and Ponderin'

Jambo Rafiki!

This means “Hello Friend” in Swahili (….and here I was thinkin’ “Rafiki” was just the crazy old monkey from The Lion King…)

I discovered this random bit of information in one of the four books I read in the last week. Vacation is a wonderful thing, people.

Not only did I read those four books, but I also went hiking, ate WAY too much breakfast, shared a king-sized bed with Gracie (she has pokey toes- EEK), got to ride in a crazy-amazing car, and sat basking in God’s creation on my favorite porch in all of America.

I never feel anything but peace when I sit with a view like this, so I am beyond grateful that we were able to spend those six days in Tennessee. Turns out, leaving home was a wee bit harder than I had anticipated. Although I still have my family with me, there’s something about “home” that I miss more now than I did last time I traveled with Life Action – and it has only been a week! I’m hesitant to say this as though I know all (I don’t) but I have a very strong sense that, this time, I have officially left home. I don’t know if I’ll be staying with Life Action indefinitely or if marriage is in my near future or what, yet I feel that - other than visits and breaks - I won’t be living full-time with my parents again. It took me at least ten tries to finally get that sentence out. It’s a big thought and an even bigger step, but at the same time I know God has been preparing me for this because I’m not afraid. My heart is prepared to trust in God to guide my steps, and I will endeavor to follow willingly and joyfully. However, I have all ideas that it’s not going to be easy.

Right now, we are in Michigan at my brother-in-law’s father’s lake house. As expected, it’s shaping up to be five more wonderful days of rest and relaxation with some very cute babies due to arrive on Thursday and then a 5k on Saturday. Then, THEN!, I will be dropped off at Life Action Camp on Sunday. Keep the prayers coming, folks, I definitely need and appreciate them. Pray that I will make it through the 5k safely. Pray that I won’t be nervous. Pray that I will enjoy these days with my family; I’m going to be feeling awfully lonely on Sunday as I watch my Mama and Daddy drive away.

And pray that I will keep my focus on Christ, my Shelter and Comfort in all things.

Until next week…

Beginnings

So, I finally did it. I started a blog. Woo hoo!! But frankly, folks, I’m a ‘lil nervous. What if people don’t like it? What if I don’t live up to expectations? What if I suddenly learn how to pay attention to my surroundings and stop running into everything - I won’t have anything to talk about! Hmm, well…that one’s not really valid since I’ll be in new surroundings every three weeks and there’s bound to be plenty of things out of place…but everything else? Yeah, I’m definitely going to have to trust the Lord on those. After all, He is the whole reason I am writing in the first place. My goal is to keep everyone up to date on my life as a Children’s Minister (CM) with Life Action Ministries -who happens to be single and legally blind- while glorifying God with every word I write.  I do hope what I have to say is interesting and that y’all look forward to my posts but, honestly, I’m not going to look for anyone’s approval but His and then go from there.

God has given me this “BLINDSIGHT” for a specific purpose and, as far as I’m concerned, that’s 20/20 enough for me. I don’t notice it too much myself (because it’s just normal) but my point of view in life is unique. I don’t see well by the world’s standards but I truly believe that I don’t need to. Would it be totally AWESOME if I suddenly had perfect vision? YES! But I don’t need it to do what God has put in front of me. Besides, I keep myself super entertained. (The neighbors probably think I’m a little “tetched” in the head.)

So, that’s why I’m here. I’ll be leaving in the morning with my family for a two week vacation and then they'll drop me at staff training. That will begin a year with Life Action Ministries in which I get to love on a lot of kids while delving into the depths of God’s love for me. If you do decide to follow my posts then I can only tell you that I am SO excited to share with you all the craziness of road life, all the quirkiness of blind life and all the goodness of God in my life.

Welcome!