Bad things happen to good people...

There's a saying out there that goes I DON'T DO MONDAYS. Well, that sort of hits home for me, only my saying goes, I DON'T DO JANUARIES (VERY WELL). Januaries for me are very stressful at work. This year is proving to be the worst yet; only it's flowing into the family side of life.

For those of you who don't know, two years ago, if I remember correctly it was in the fall, Tim (my boss) kept going outside on a Friday afternoon. I commented to Gene that I thought Tim wasn't feeling very well. Being a man and very stubborn, he wouldn't say a word to either of us, so we just assumed all was OK. Gene just thought because it was a semi-nice day that Tim just wanted to be outside rather than stuck inside. I just felt something was wrong.

Well come to find out that the following day he had died on us...not once, but twice. The Lord sought fit to bring him back to all of those who love him so dearly. He was diagnosed with what Tim calls an ELECTRICAL MALFUNCTION. He has a sort of "short" in his heart. Apparently it forgets to beat. So he has a pace maker.

The day he came back to work, I went up to him and gave him a big hug and then slapped him upside the head for not saying anything about feeling the way he did that Friday before. MEN, I tell you!

This year he had a test done that showed a shadow. So his doctor showed another doctor, and now on Friday Tim has to go and have some exploratory surgery. Of coarse, he's real calm about the whole thing. I'm freaking out. I can't imagine how is wife is dealing with it. My prayers are with Tim and his family. Please keep him in your prayers also.

Then on Friday I walked into the office and said my usual good mornings and said, "So, is Tim at a fire?" (Tim is also a volunteer fire fighter!) Gene said, "Yeah, he just left not too long ago. When he left they said the garage was on fire. Now the news radio is saying it's spread to the house." My first thought was, "Oh those poor people."

I went on about my morning trying to get most of my W-2s and monthly books finished to concentrate more on training my new employee. Tim had an appointment at 11:30 and it was getting close to that time. The phone rang and I got a message in e-mail at the same time. Tim was on the phone, and Vickie had e-mailed me. Tim was stuck at the fire yet, so I had to review the return with his client. While talking with Tim I was reading this e-mail:

hey- if you hear about house fire in Sheboygan on lisa ave..that's ryan's family....they're all ok

This gave me chills. Tim was fighting a fire of someone I knew! And from what Tim said, it didn't sound good. So my brain went to work thinking of how I could help. Hey, they have no food. So I made chicken noodle soup and bought some dinner rolls they can eat...comfort food.

Gabriel and I drove by the house yesterday, and it gave me water eyes. There's not a whole lot left to the house, or the truck that was parked in the driveway. So they lost just about everything. The Lord was watching over them though. Nobody was hurt!

Ryan called me yesterday to thank me for what I was doing. He questions my "love" for him from time to time. He's asked Vickie a few times if I like him or not. I only have a problem with him should he hurt my sister! I think this shows him that I do love him and I do care about him and his family. (But that is not why I did this.) He was almost in tears when he left me a thank you message in my voicemail. That made me feel so amazing. Something as little as a pot of soup can make a family cry! (And I don't even know if the soup tastes good or not!)

We had Movie Day at church today. Every Sunday after service the parents of the Sunday Schoolers meet in church with their children for pre-devotion. Today we had a quick opening, and Mrs. Ristow had a parent go up front and put on a backpack. Then she asked all the kids what kinds of burdens sinners carry around with them. With every burden mentioned, Mrs. Ristow would put a rock into the backpack. This "presentation" was soooo hitting home, it gave me water eyes. The theme of the day, "Lay Down Your Burdens". At the end of putting in all the rocks, the helper was given a present. She opened the box and inside was a cross.

Just the sight of that little cross, opened my eyes to see that yeah, my burdens are heavy, but Jesus is there to help through them all. It's human nature to still feel worried and helpless at times, but I keep it in my head that I'm not alone in all of this...Jesus is there with me.

God bless you all! Have a great week.