Precious Story...get a Kleenex!

I got this in an email today from my mom. It is about an experience that Beth Moore had. I love Beth Moore and can just hear her telling it! I had to post it here, because it moved my heart so deeply! Get a tissue...if you are anything like me, you will need it! I know it's long, but it's worth it!

April 20, 2005, at the Airport in Knoxville , waiting to board the plane, I had the Bible on my lap and was very intent upon what I was doing. I'd had a marvelous morning with the Lord. I say this because I want to tell you it is a scary thing to have the Spirit of God really working in you. You could end up doing some things you never would have doneotherwise. Life in the Spirit can be dangerous for a thousand reasons not the least of which is your ego. I tried to keep from staring, but he was such a strange sight. Humped over in a wheelchair, he was skin and bones, dressed in clothes that obviously fit when he was at least twenty pounds heavier. His knees protruded from his trousers, and his shoulders looked like the coat hanger was still in his shirt. His hands looked like tangled masses of veins and bones. The strangest part of him was his hair and nails. Stringy, gray hair hung well over his shoulders and down part of his back. His fingernails were long, clean but strangely out of place on an old man. I looked down at my Bible as fast as I could, discomfort burning my face. As I tried to imagine what his story might have been, I found myself wondering if I'd just had a Howard Hughes sighting. Then, I remembered that he was dead. So this man in the airport... an impersonator maybe? Was a camera on us somewhere? There I sat; trying to concentrate on the Word to keep from being concerned about a thin slice of humanity served up on a wheelchair only a few seats from me. All the while, my heart was growing more and more overwhelmed with a feeling for him. Let's admit it. Curiosity is a heap more comfortable than true concern, and suddenly I was awash with aching emotion for this bizarre-looking old man. I had walked with God long enough to see the handwriting on the wall. I've learned that when I begin to feel what God feels, something so contrary to my natural feelings, something dramatic is bound to happen. And it may be embarrassing. I immediately began to resist because I could feel God working on my spirit and I started arguing with God in my mind. 'Oh, no, God, please, no.' I looked up at the ceiling as if I could stare straight through it into heaven and said, 'Don't make me witness to this man. Not right here and now. Please. I'll do anything. Put me on the same plane, but don't make me get up here and witness to this man in front of this gawking audience. Please, Lord!' There I sat in the blue vinyl chair begging His Highness, 'Please don't make me witness to this man. Not now. I'll do it on the plane.' Then I heard it...'I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to brush his hair.' The words were so clear, my heart leap into my throat, and my thoughts spun like a top. Do I witness to the man or brush his hair? No-brainier. I looked straight back up at the ceiling and said, 'God, as I live and breathe, I want you to know I am ready to witness to this man.I'm on this Lord. I'm your girl! You've never seen a woman witness to a man faster in your life. What difference does it make if his hair is a mess if he is not redeemed? I am going to witness to this man'. Again as clearly as I've ever heard an audible word, God seemed to write this statement across the wall of my mind. 'That is not what I said, Beth. I don't want you to witness to him. I want you to go brush his hair.' I looked up at God and quipped, 'I don't have a hairbrush. It's in my suitcase on the plane. How am I supposed to brush his hair without a hairbrush?' God was so insistent that I almost involuntarily began to walk toward him as these thoughts came to me from God's word:'I will thoroughly furnish you unto all good works.' (2 Timothy 3:17) I stumbled over to the wheelchair thinking I could use one myself. Even as I retell this story, my pulse quickens and I feel those same butterflies. I knelt down in front of the man and asked as demurely as possible, 'Sir, may I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?' He looked back at me and said, 'What did you say?' 'May I have the pleasure of brushing your hair?' To which he responded in volume ten, 'Little lady, if you expect me to hear you, you're going to have to talk louder than that.' At this point, I took a deep breath and blurted out , 'SIR, MAY I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF BRUSHING YOUR HAIR?' At which point every eye in the place darted right at me. I was the only thing in the room looking more peculiar than old Mr. Long Locks. Face crimson and forehead breaking out in a sweat, I watched him look up at me with absolute shock on his face, and say, 'If you really want to.' Are you kidding? Of course I didn't want to. But God didn't seem interested in my personal preference right about then. He pressed on my heart until I could utter the words,'Yes, sir, I would be pleased. But I have one little problem. I don't have a hairbrush.' 'I have one in my bag,' he responded. I went around to the back of that wheelchair, and I got on my hands and knees and unzipped the stranger's old carry-on, hardly believing what I was doing. I stood up and started brushing the old man's hair. It was perfectly clean, but it was tangled and matted. I don't do many things well, but must admit I've had notable experience untangling knotted hair mothering two little girls. Like I'd done with either Amanda or Melissa in such a condition, I began brushing at the very bottom of the strands, remembering to take my time not to pull. A miraculous thing happened to me as I started brushing that old man's hair. Everybody else in the room disappeared. There was no one alive for those moments except that old man and me. I brushed and I brushed and I brushed until every tangle was out of that hair. I know this sounds so strange, but I've never felt that kind of love for another soul in my entire life. I believe with all my heart, I - for that few minutes -felt a portion of the very love of God. That He had overtaken my heart for a little while like someone renting a room and making Himself at home for a short while. The emotions were so strong and so pure that I knew they had to be God's. His hair was finally as soft and smooth as an infant's. I slipped the brush back in the bag and went around the chair to face him. I got back down on my knees, put my hands on his knees and said, 'Sir, do you know my Jesus?' He said, 'Yes, I do' Well, that figures, I thought. He explained, 'I've known Him since I married my bride. She wouldn't marry me until I got to know the Savior.' He said, 'You see, the problem is, I haven't seen my bride in months. I've had open-heart surgery,and she's been too ill to come see me. I was sitting here thinking to myself,what a mess I must be for my bride.' Only God knows how often He allows us to be part of a divine moment when we're completely unaware of the significance. This, on the otherhand, was one of those rare encounters when I knew God had intervened in details only He could have known. It was a God moment, and I'll never forget it. Our time came to board, and we were not on the same plane. I was deeply ashamed of how I'd acted earlier and would have been so proud to have accompanied him on that aircraft. I still had a few minutes, and as I gathered my things to board, the airline hostess returned from the corridor, tears streaming down her cheeks. She said, 'That old man's sitting on the plane, sobbing. Why did you do that? What made you do that?' I said, 'Do you know Jesus? He can be the bossiest thing!' And we got to share. I learned something about God that day. He knows if you're exhausted, you're hungry, you're serving in the wrong place or it is time to move on but you feel too responsible to budge. He knows if you're hurting or feeling rejected. He knows if you're sick or drowning under awave of temptation. Or He knows if you just need your hair brushed. He sees you as an individual. Tell Him your need! I got on my own flight, sobs choking my throat, wondering how many opportunities just like that one had I missed along the way . . all because I didn't want people to think I was strange. God didn't send me to that old man. He sent that old man to me.

Life with New Baby

I really don't have anything new to report here, but I felt like I needed to put a new blog up because it's been a while!
Life right now is pretty much a rotation of eating, sleeping, changing diapers, and entertaining Molly. Jack is really doing great. He is such a sweet baby! I don't know if it's a boy thing, a second born thing, or just his personality, but if all babies were as sweet and easy as he is, I might consider doing the pregnancy thing again!
Molly is hanging in there. She has her days, but I guess we all do. She adores Jack. Every morning she runs to the top of the stairs to look down on him in the pack and play and says, "Hi baby!", waving furiously. She likes to give him kisses, count his fingers and toes, and point out his eyes, nose, and mouth. Poor guy...he will have to get used to it I suppose! The other day I took him to the grocery store and Scotty said she wandered around saying, "Where go baby? Where go Jack?" Too cute!
I took my first outing alone with them yesterday. We went to the grocery store. It had poured rain (praise God!), so all the carts were wet. I knew there was no way I could navigate them both into the store to put them in a dry cart, so I pulled out the double stroller. Molly threw a total fit, stiff legging me so I couldn't get her in. After a lot of sweat and struggle, I got her in, much to her complete dismay! As I was pushing them in with her screaming, a lady drove by and rolled down her window to say, "I remember those days!" I thought it was pretty funny. Thank goodness for free balloons at Publix customer service! That did the trick, and I succesfully grocery shopped with 2 kids! I was so proud of myself!

My buddies

I had an all too short visit today from my best friends from high school, Elizabeth and Sarah. Sarah and her family just moved back to the south after several years in Philly. They live in Franklin, TN now, and Elizabeth and her family recently moved to Newnan. I haven't seen Elizabeth in about a year and a half, and I don't think I've seen Sarah since she was in my wedding! The greatest thing about friends like this is that it doesn't matter how much time has passed. It always seems like it was just yesterday that we talked or saw each other. They were here for a few hours and then had to go, and I was kind of depressed the rest of the day because I miss them so much! I loved the visit, but it was like having a little bite of something wonderful and then someone taking the plate away! It's funny, because we are all so different, yet we compliment each other well. I love Sarah for her bold individuality and lack of filter...you never really know what she might say! She has such a tender heart though and such deep thoughts in her head. She makes me think about the world outside of my bubble. She also makes me laugh really hard! I love Elizabeth for her sensitive spirit and crazy fun side. She is really smart and very intuitive. She can be serious one minute, having a deep spiritual conversation, and then pulling a practical joke and laughing hysterically the next. When you put Sarah and Elizabeth together, it can always get a little scary because you never really know what they might end up doing (or what they might drag you into doing with them!)! I really miss them, and I'm so grateful that after all these years we are still friends.

My sweet girl is back!

We are almost at the end of our first week "on our own", and Molly is doing great! I think she is really happy to have our routine back. It's so much fun to have Nana and Papa here, and to have daddy home from work, but when it's all said and done she is like her mommy....she likes the predictability of her routine! I appreciate everyone's comments on the matter. It is so nice to hear from moms who have been there!

What a guy! What a gal...

Jack is 10 days old today! Hard to believe that he has been here such a short time. It already seems like we've had him forever! He is such a sweet baby! I had heard big babies are good sleepers and eaters, and he is both. I am so thankful for how easy he has been thus far.

His sister is another story....

She has just not been herself for sure. She is extremely fussy and whiny every day. She is very sweet to him, and always goes to the pack n play to wave to him and say, "Hi baby!". Other than that, the only time she notices him is when I'm nursing. Then she says, "Eating!" She seems so unaffected, but her behavior definitely suggests otherwise. I keep wondering, is it ALL new baby? Are those eye teeth moving? Are the terrible 2's rearing their ugly head? Is it a combination of it all? I don't know, but everything has turned into a battle. She cries at least once during every activity of the day, even ones that she likes. She just isn't pleasant to be around right now, and that breaks my heart. I'm stuck between feeling like I need to be hard on her with discipline (she is doing EVERYTHING that she knows she isn't supposed to) and cutting her slack because she might be overwhelmed. She refuses to eat anything other than her favorite snack foods, which today I decided she wasn't going to have without eating something else first. Am I picking an uneccesary battle? I would love any advice you experienced moms have with this one!

Jackson Scott MacDonald!

Our big boy arrived today at 10:49, 8 pounds 12 ounces and 22 inches long! You should see all the broken blood vessels on my neck and face! He spent a little time in the transitional nursery, but has joined us in our room now.