It won't have passed you by to notice that Marc and I were blessed with a couple of days respite this last week thanks to my parents..it's been a long and emotional few weeks and having a child with such complex needs as Dan ..as much as we love him it is exhausting never getting. A full nights sleep or being able to switch off together.
We didn't go far but house swapped heading to Deal to read, sleep, reflect on our future and spend time together uninterrupted. We also had the real blessing of being invited out for a posh dinner with good friends and those few hours were like gold dust..something that I will treasure and will keep me going when things get tough ! Friendship is really important and quality time even more so.
It's so hard to get perspective when you are "in the thick of it" and we came back into the busiest weekend ever; but even that has been amazing. Today my third service was the joyous occasion of baptising a 9 year old....a girl who used to come to our toddler group in Upnor . When she was a couple of years old we were invited to her naming ceremony at the house. Whilst there I distinctly rememebr thinking this is just like a baptism without Jesus....7 years later I got to put the Jesus into the celebration.....
Despite still feeling tired there is always lots to be thankful for .
Sunday 10 March 2019
Monday 4 March 2019
Emotionally spent
Ronan Keating wrote a song Life is a Rollercoaster....never was a truer word sung!
These past few weeks have been a real rollercoaster for our family..most ofmyou will be aware that we sadly had a bereavement on Marc's side of the family..the beautiful Mum of Philip our brother in law ..Joyce. Joyce was such a wonderful,lady, she suffered (quietly) with a debilitating disability but always smiled her way through life, was resilient and always thought about others. The first time I met Joyce was when I was just 19 and she'd offered to put us up after seeing Bon Jovi in Stoke... her and John stayed up late and even collected us from the stadium ...always so selfless.
I was given the real privilege of being asked to do Joyce's funeral along side the local Catholic Priest. This in itself is pretty amazing....a truly ecumenical, breaking down barriers event, I have to confess I was so anxious...how would Father Phil and I work together , would I do Joyce (and our family) justice and would I hold it together ! Well the service was so amazingly moving, Yes there were tears , but also laughter, amazing sung worship and a real sense of love. The really great thing to see was our tough men really feeling able to show their emotions and the support given from friends.
Amidst this difficult time my awesome niece gave birth to William Issac just 7 days ago..... this was obviously amazing and also brought back a glimmer of hope to the rest of the family during the sad time. William is practically perfect in every way...Emily and Ant are doing a fab job and Emily not only led the worship with Marc at the funeral just 3 days after giving birth but did a smashing eulogy for her gran.
7 days of happy tears, sad tears, laughter, anxiety and gin!
Today amidst the rollercoaster of emotions I sit here still with the hope and knowledge that Joyce is now with her Heavenly Father in a safe place without any of that pain...and the joy that baby William is growing up in a family that will truly love and care for him....family ....a rollercoaster but one of the best things we've been blessed with .
These past few weeks have been a real rollercoaster for our family..most ofmyou will be aware that we sadly had a bereavement on Marc's side of the family..the beautiful Mum of Philip our brother in law ..Joyce. Joyce was such a wonderful,lady, she suffered (quietly) with a debilitating disability but always smiled her way through life, was resilient and always thought about others. The first time I met Joyce was when I was just 19 and she'd offered to put us up after seeing Bon Jovi in Stoke... her and John stayed up late and even collected us from the stadium ...always so selfless.
I was given the real privilege of being asked to do Joyce's funeral along side the local Catholic Priest. This in itself is pretty amazing....a truly ecumenical, breaking down barriers event, I have to confess I was so anxious...how would Father Phil and I work together , would I do Joyce (and our family) justice and would I hold it together ! Well the service was so amazingly moving, Yes there were tears , but also laughter, amazing sung worship and a real sense of love. The really great thing to see was our tough men really feeling able to show their emotions and the support given from friends.
Amidst this difficult time my awesome niece gave birth to William Issac just 7 days ago..... this was obviously amazing and also brought back a glimmer of hope to the rest of the family during the sad time. William is practically perfect in every way...Emily and Ant are doing a fab job and Emily not only led the worship with Marc at the funeral just 3 days after giving birth but did a smashing eulogy for her gran.
7 days of happy tears, sad tears, laughter, anxiety and gin!
Today amidst the rollercoaster of emotions I sit here still with the hope and knowledge that Joyce is now with her Heavenly Father in a safe place without any of that pain...and the joy that baby William is growing up in a family that will truly love and care for him....family ....a rollercoaster but one of the best things we've been blessed with .
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