As we all prepare to gather around tables across America tomorrow, I want to stop and pray for each and everyone of you and tell you how thankful I am for you. I am grateful for all of you who have become my followers and I have loved the responses you have sent to me privately or have commented on the bottom of blogposts. Besides expressing my thankfulness for you, I pray that you will all have a wonderful Thanksgiving Day surrounded by people you love. I will be cooking for my family and guests at noon. I will then cook again and take food to our three parents in the nursing home for dinner. It will be a full day surrounded by family and friends.
I will be back soon with some fun stories about Black Friday…last year and the ones to come starting midnight on Thursday. Oh yeah! I’m going with our daughter again this year!
I’ll tell more later! But until then…
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!
And now…please enjoy my blog visit from my sweet friend, Jessica, from Texas. I met her at my conference this summer. I just love this girl! She is writing some cool apps for kids. Her first one is “The Sounds of the Night”. I love it! She has another one coming out really soon. I can’t wait!
So without further ado, here’s Jessica…
Home
By: Jessica Kirkland
The bright yellow leaves swirled around as I set my pace. My feet began to move swiftly. I was running for the first time in many years. I had been building up to this run, walking 3-5 miles a day in hopes of running just one solitary mile. Despite the wind in my hair and the beauty of fall, I felt the tingling of my abdomen.
Dead nerves and scars.
The result of a triplet pregnancy and multiple surgeries before and after. It’s funny to not feel a piece of you that you always thought you’d have. It’s an odd sensation to feel your nerves try to come alive, only to have them go silent again. I’ve learned that there are two types of hurting people in this life:
Those who are numb, but desperately want to feel again. Those men and women who long to be whole on this side of Heaven. And those whose pain is so great, they long for numbness. They chase it and drown it with destructive behaviors and desperate thoughts. Those who have lost hard, felt unimaginable pain, and pray to be swept away to Jesus.
I had picked a marker, a starting line and a finish line.
I reached my designated finish line, but it wasn’t the real one. It was simply the minimal distance I told myself I could go.
So, I kept running.
The path ahead was steep, but beautiful. I have never been much of a runner. Always mile-relay, the one-lap kind of girl, but never the long-distance track star. Always the girl who got to hand the baton off to someone who could finish faster and stronger. Someone with more courage and perseverance. My breathing labored as I reached the pinnacle of the hill. Yet, I was still not home.
Life is a gift. For it is God who “gives breath and life and all things” according to Acts 17:25. We cannot chase yesterday and still move forward to tomorrow. Through numbness and pain, we can still see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. (Psalm 27:13)
I believe. I know that abundant life is within your grasp. It might be a steep climb, but keep going. Keep running to the pinnacle.
Two more sharp turns.
I prayed I could do it, despite the tingling and the lack of breath.
As the bright yellow leaves swirled around, I kept my pace. My feet moved slower, but I was still running. For the first time, in a very long time, my lips curled into a smile.
I saw home. I saw the real finish line.
It stood cloaked in falling leaves and hovering trees. The driveway filled with a big blue suburban whose insides were cloaked in Kindergarten jackets, Happy meal wrappers, and car seats.
My toes touched cement and I gave God glory; for breath and life and all things.
I was home.
Bio:
Jessica Kirkland lives in Southeast Texas with her husband, Robb, and five-year-old triplets. She is the Founder of http://www.christianapps4kids.com, where she writes and creates interactive book apps that are Christ-centered. Jessica is an author and speaker whose greatest passion in life is to see young families grow deeper in their walk with God. When she isn’t writing, playing with her kids, or chasing her rebellious dog through the neighborhood, you can find her blogging on her personal blog Jessie’s House found at http://www.jessicakirkland.com.
I hope you all enjoyed this blog visit. Please check out her blog, listed above. Also, for all my friends who are living Gluten-Free, you’ll want to read all about Jessica’s trials and triumphs on her Gluten experiences.
Blessings to you all!
…and that’s all I have to say about that!
Tammy
Happy Thanksgiving to you, too, Tammy!
And a great post, Jessica. I love when you said, we cannot chase yesterday and still move forward to tomorrow.” Needed that! Thank you.
Blessings!
Shelly
Thanks, Shelly! It was a great post from our buddy, Jessica, wasn’t it! Great thought to ponder, especially during this Holiday season.
Happy Thanks Giving to you too
Thank you, Small Kucing!