Anyone Have a 2 x 4?

Will and I attended Faith Presbyterian this morning. When you are in a distant city, you don't often feel at home. But walking into Faith Pres is like walking into home. I felt like I met half the church this morning, and it was the half I didn't meet last time! When Beth walked up and introduced herself and said, "I read your blog." it was a bit surreal. Really. I have never before met you. But even though they don't know us, they are a determined bunch...determined to care for and support us and love us as best they can while we are here. And we are apparently going to be here a lot!

Friday I wrote an update about Will's doctor appointment and the fact that we are apparently going to be on the frequent Angel Flight plan for Cincinnati. I was totally overwhelmed with how in the world are we going to do this. You know, I have not panicked over much of this. You just do what comes next and keep going. You trust that God has a plan. Occasionally, though, the numbers get a bit overwhelming and you have no clue how to move forward. That happened Friday. Will was upset. I was overwhelmed.

Then the most interesting things happened. :) We met a mom who was here with her 2 yo who was being evaluated in the EE clinic. They were brand new here and had no contact with anyone else with a chronically ill child. They joined us for dinner in the bar (where I had hoped to watch the football game) and we chatted for ages. Her mother-in-law reminded me of Billy's mom. She introduced herself, but ensured me that I knew that she loved Emily as her own. What a huge blessing! She had flown in from Key Largo to help.

Then this morning, we headed to church. That is a blog posting all its own, but the short version is that I have never been a second time visitor in a church and felt so incredibly welcome and at home...and cared for. It made leaving so difficult. Will wasn't feeling well, so he is non-communicative. (You ALWAYS know when Will isn't feeling well! If he is quiet, it is never good!).

So we got back to the hotel where we scavenged in the fridge for lunch, got Will's IV started, then I went for a run. I felt so much better. Becky Riggs asked if we would like to visit them for dinner...yay! Friends!

Despite the fact that Subways are apparently closed on Sundays here in Cincinnati (apparently I missed that memo!), we finally found an open one, picked up a sub (meaning safe food) for Will, and headed to their house. Will was very comfortable hanging out with Scooter, their dog, and Becky and Keith just made us so welcome. (But I owe Becky a vacuuming job since Will rubbed the fur off the poor dog!)

Back to the point...Friday evening I was totally overwhelmed. Then we met a mom who needed to not feel alone. Then Saturday, we met Becky and Brian(which made me feel much less alone) and received a text from Becky R that stated help was available. (Are ya listening yet? You aren't alone!) We attend church where we are surrounded by people who just take us in and love us for where we are and promise to help when we return next. I went from being totally overwhelmed by "How are we going to manage this?" to being very clearly shown that we are not forsaken but very dearly loved.

We may be far from home and enduring countless struggles, but we are so very blessed. The Lord definitely used the last two days to remind me that while we may be here without our family and in an impossible financial situation, He is right here with us, meeting our physical, emotional, and spiritual needs...and doing so abundantly. Why do I allow myself to be overwhelmed and fearful? I mean, really, if you read far enough back in this blog, you see His constant provision...I am apparently a very slow learner. :)