Unexpected

 Sometimes, just when life seems to be flowing smoothly, our canoe rounds a bend and hits a patch of white water.   That would sum up our lives at the moment.   Yesterday morning we were on a calm patch of river that seemed to stretch out nicely.  We had some busyness planned, but life was good.  Little did we know that there were some rapids hiding ahead.

 Yesterday morning during a routine congregational meeting, our pastor announced that he is stepping down and soon.  We love our pastor dearly and he has walked with us through some treacherous situations.  He will be missed.  Although we have peace about his decision(during his announcement I felt bathed in peace), as a family we need to pray about what to do next.  Currently, we are waiting, watching and praying for God's very clear leading.

 At noon, I was having a long conversation with my mother-in-love when she had another call come through.  I didn't think anything of it until she called me back about three hours later to say that they were leaving town immediately.  Steve's great aunt is near death.  Steve and I were messaging via Skype so I clued him in on current events and we also decided to go.  I grabbed diapers, toys, drinks and chocolate chip cookies and headed out the door to first grab Aris from dance camp and then get Steve from work.  Unfortunately I forgot that Aris only wore her leotard this morning and didn't bring her proper clothes.  Oops!  Thankfully she was okay with that.

 Our kids behaved wonderfully both on the way there and in the hospital.  We didn't let them in to see Steve's aunt, but we both went in and said our goodbyes.  She is in a lot of pain.  We have peace, but it is so hard to see her suffer.    It appears that her systems are shutting down so she may go anytime.  However she may not.  Consequently, our plans for the week are now tentative.

 Rapids are very pretty from a distance.  Going through them can be scary.  So we're attempting to stay calm and trust that the One steering knows what He is doing.   Steve and I are doing well, but please pray for Steve's parents during this time.