God knew what He was doing.

Another year behind us...a new one starting before we can blink. It takes awhile to process a whole year. More time then I have these days.

I have enjoyed 2009. I have loathed 2009. I have laughed and cried through 2009 and I plan on looking back on this past year with slack-jawed amazment at what God has done.

As a Christmas gift for our parents I turned my blog into a book. I added only 4 extra writings. The one posted below is the first page of the book. It sums up how I feel about 2009...as I do about my life,

God knew what He was doing.


It started out so great, this life we started together. Wonderful wedding, the purchase of a new house…a dog. Then one day the news of an impending birth. A little girl. Happy grandmas and grandpas to be…even happier parents to be. Into the world came a gorgeous, plump, dark haired little wonder. Whose child was this? So chubby, so dark …so perfect. It was a continuation of something started long ago…a happy, wonderful life.

Then on an ordinary day, a sunny, warm, perfectly normal day, she went to Heaven. We all thought it was a little early for her to go. We were supposed to go first. It is the natural progression of things, but God knew what He was doing.

Just 4 short weeks later, a promise of hope arrived in the form of a new little life to anticipate and rejoice in. This time a baby boy. A chance to revel in all things blue. It was time to wrap our minds around trucks, balls and sports…to carefully balance joy and grief. A hard thing to do. But God knew what He was doing.

Suddenly the world was shaking. Fast. Hard. Wait, not the world. Just a man. A man who was supposed to be OK, strong, healthy. He was shaken not only in body…but rocked to the very core at the words “large mass” and “brain surgery.” Really, God? Now? But God knew what He was doing.

Recovery seemed difficult and trying at the time. Looking back it is but a blip on the radar scale. Flying colors is a good cliché to use for those 3-4 weeks. He sailed through occupational and speech therapy. He was back to his “old self” in no time. Recovery over…chemo ahead, 6 months. God knew what He was doing.

Baby boy arrived. Huge and perfect. He grew even bigger…and bigger. All smiles, belly laughs and a lover of football…already. He is a perfect balm for wounds still open. A hope for the future, a joy for today. God knew what He was doing.

It started out so great, this life we started together. It has run a different course than we planned. A different road was taken …a path less traveled by. It started out so great, so wonderful … and it continued to be so, because God knows what He is doing.

And even though you know the story from beginning to, well, present day. Here it is, in book form. Read, again, from the beginning. Laugh, cry, run your hands over the glossy pages of our precious baby girl, but in the end, look to Heaven and praise God for all the wonderful things He has done. Because He knows what He is doing.