Multitude Monday

As my eyes opened this morning and my brain adjusted to being awake, it took me a few moments to even remember what day it was. And then when my thoughts kicked into gear, I remembered the events of yesterday and felt some of the emotions come flooding back - sadness, anxious thoughts for my eldest child, anger at the unkindness of others. 

Nathan texted us from work very upset over a conversation two co-workers who are college students had in front of him. They were talking about people with disabilities who need job coaches. Both Nathan and another young man have one. Nathan's job coach shows up periodically for a short bit just to see how he's doing and these young men didn't necessarily realize that. They were talking about the other person who has the job coach. One of them wanted to know what a job coach was and the other guy sarcastically said, "Well, to put it nicely, it's for people who can't do anything on their own." Then they continued to talk about people with disabilities who can't function on their own in life.

It caused all of Nathan's insecurities and frustrations about his disability to come flooding back in a moment. Another person reported the incident to Human Resources and Nathan's supervisor texted him a very kind message last night to let him know they took care of it discretely so that Nathan's name wouldn't come up. 

But the damage has been done. We did our best to talk him through it last night but he was very down, angry and defeated. And it really stinks. 

The only thing we can do is to continue to help our son walk through these situations but it does make me sad as a parent. And it deflates me as well because for all of our hard work in helping our son to feel valued, there are twice as many people out there ready to knock him down.

I do know though that Nathan is strong and he will bounce back from this eventually and get back to his normal good humor. He is resilient and will keep moving forward. He has a family who loves him and we do our best to encourage him. And God loves him more than we ever could and is using these things in his life to strengthen him and helping his roots to grow deep.

This week I'm thankful for blessings #3,541 - 3,555.

3541. Stephen got turned down for both job interviews he went on the past two weeks. However, I'm thankful that he has another interview this morning and we are praying that this one gets him the job. 

3542. We have a couple of teens at church who want to go to a winter retreat our denomination's campground has but they can't afford to go. I started a cookie fundraiser to help raise some money and ended up raising enough for them to attend. I'm so thankful for other's generosity in purchasing.

3543. I had a very productive week of work and was able to get a district mailing out.

3544. I had a breakfast meeting on Saturday which was the first I've done with my fellow children's workers. I'm thankful for an encouraging and productive meeting.

3545. I'm thankful for the ability to bless my family with my cooking and baking. Last night's dinner was beef stew and biscuits and it's a good feeling when there are no leftovers.

3546. Hugs from children. A little boy who was in my 3D Kids program last year moved away. His family moved back this past week and he came to church with his grandmother. When he saw me he ran and jumped into my arms. That's the best feeling in the world!

3547. My daughter is working through her own anxiousness about possibly joining a sorority on campus. I am so proud of the good head on her shoulders. She is still working it out but I'm impressed with her reasoning skills and ability to think through all the angles and pros and cons of doing that. 

3548. Emily was also asked to be a teaching assistant next semester and I'm thankful that she is having these types of opportunities which will help her in the future.

3549.  I'm thankful for a good mechanic. Our cars are old and have over 200,000 miles on them. Our latest issue is the shock/strut broke on our Toyota and it's going into the shop today. I am thankful that we have a mechanic we can trust who does a good job keeping them going.

3550. I'm thankful that my friend, Pat, who I've asked prayer for a few weeks ago is doing better. She's been through a rough time and they finally took the gall bladder out, but she's back in the hospital because one of the drains they put in to drain fluid from her pancreas broke and was leaking into her abdomen. But she is on the mend and able to eat now. Thank you for those who prayed.

3551. It's 13 degrees at the moment but our house is warm and cozy. I'm thankful for that.

3552. I'm thankful that God continues to work on those areas in my life that need to growing and stretching. It's not always easy, but definitely beneficial.

3553. I'm so thankful for the family God has given me. 

3554. I'm thankful for parents and inlaws who while they are getting older are still in fairly good health. Dan's dad turned 84 yesterday and is still active. We are blessed by our parents.

and finally...

3555. Even though it was a rocky start, I'm thankful for this week and the new possibilities of God's blessings.