Again, thanks for your prayers anew. Today, I’d like to ask for your prayers for my mother-in-law, Janet (aka “Grandma B”). We (and by “we” I mostly mean “Sue”) have repented. We realized that we had overstepped our authority in her life: we’ve been pressing forward for the reverse mortgage (which we still believe she desperately needs), taking initiative that belongs to her.
We have stopped that. Last night, we visited with Janet, and explained that it is her decision to live at home, and she is capable of making decisions, and has indicated that she wanted to make this one, so we were leaving it in her hands. We will help; we will not do it for her. She was grateful: there were happy tears and hugs all around, and that part was good. There was a sense of relief on all sides.
She quickly grasped that now she needs to come up with a solution (instead of depending on her daughter to come up with a solution, which she would then oppose), and also grasped that she didn’t have the resources to pay her caregivers.
The good news is that she’s getting stronger: she can get out of her bed, she can get into her wheelchair, and get around. There is food (rather a lot of food) in her refrigerator which she can reach.
The bad news is that her caregivers – knowing that they haven’t been paid for a while and now learning that they wouldn’t be paid for a longer while – have stopped working for her, and have left for jobs that include paychecks. Janet is now on her own. This is fresh news, so we don’t know how she feels about it; Sue is freaking out. She wants to take responsibility for her mom, but knows that she can’t (or at least mustn’t) and she shouldn’t, and there’s a great conflict in her.
We love Grandma B – we really do! – but we must let her make her own decisions, and yet we must also help her without rescuing her. And it would be best if we survived in the process.
In the midst of all this, we have some other fun and exciting things going on. Josiah had just gotten a dream job (barista at our favorite coffee shop near home) and found a car he wants to buy; but the shop just closed, and now he’s looking for work, really looking for the first time. And this weekend, I start co-teaching a prophecy class to a group of gifted individuals from several churches: I’m terribly excited and not just a little intimidated. And TJ is facing some challenges with school that may threaten her graduating with the rest of her class: there are some classes that she’s been taking online that are having challenges, so we’re waiting for books in order to finish the classes.
God warned us that a season like this was coming. The prophetic word said, “I’m going to begin the repotting, re-rooting, re-pruning process so that you can grow into what I need for you to be in order to accomplish my purpose and destiny,” and “You might tell some people around you, “If we get ugly, love us for a while.” Because when God does a process like that, you get ugly for a little while.” I guess we’re getting ugly for a while. Thanks for loving us!
So if you’d pray for Janet and Sue and for our family, I’d appreciate it. Our number one prayer is “God, please accomplish your plans in our family,” but prayers for wisdom, humility, grace, diligence, courage, a job and the like are not out of line! :-)
You’re terrific! Thanks!
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