thinking well of you

This morning I had one of the best swims ever--a 1.5 km swim that was rhythmic, and smooth, and strong. I think what made my day was the elderly gentleman I met while walking in to the YMCA this morning. He seemed like one of the down-and-out guys who might live in the Y residence, and again (you think by now I'd be used to this), I found that the blessings of Jesus are so often given me from people I might otherwise ignore. I held open the door for him while he crossed the icy sidewalk, and he broke into a smile, and said, "May the good Lord think well of you!" And I felt immediately like all of my recent musings on grace and love, and the scandalous acceptance of Christ, were being spoken through this man: God thinks well of me today. Is there anything more beautiful than that? I felt the grace of Jesus all around me today as I swam, and felt buoyed by love and surrounded by joy.

Needless to say, I am receiving all I can in these recent days, as there is so much threatening to steal the grace of Christ from my spirit each day. Ongoing struggles with our kids that are painful but a necessary part of their healing and growth. A painful decision by my school's administration to move 8 of my students to our other building, separating me from a group of Burmese refugees I have come to care for deeply. A friend struggling in a marriage relationship. Another friend devastated by news that her son is ill with a rare sickness. A surgery coming for me on Tuesday, followed by 2 weeks of home-rest, and 6 weeks of limited activity.

So today was my last swim for quite some time (February, probably). Since swimming is one of the ways I best care for myself, and my spirit, I am going to miss the water, and the silence of a 45-minute swim. It is meditation for me. And I guess that's why today's swim was a special gift; I felt that God gave me this swim to remember the nearness of His presence in the coming weeks, the rhythms of grace, the gentle breathings of Spirit, the quick turn-arounds at the hard walls of life that can send us swimming off in a new and lovely direction.

So thankful for a weekend of reminders...a snow day yesterday (a lovely time to re-connect as a family out in the winter weather), and a day today for swimming, and Christmas letter-writing (yes, friends, the letters are coming). We need your prayers in the coming weeks, as more of God's sweet presence is needed in our home, for the healing of my body, and the healing of our family's hearts. For our good Lord surely DOES think well of us, and will show up again tomorrow. Good Lord, we need you.