4September2019 Quickthought: Cost Counting

We seem to see this a lot here. From apartments to villas, even skyscrapers, construction crews get started on a project, work on it a while and the next thing you know, a partially done structure is sitting there, gathering dust...sometimes for years.
In our neighborhood recently, for example, there was a storefront being remodeled into a cafe with "Starbucks Coming Soon" signs affixed to the walls.  After months of anticipating being able to walk down the street for an iced latte, the work crews disappeared, the signs came down and the cafe now sits vacant and latte-less. 
Every time I witness this phenomenon, the verse below, about discipleship comes to mind.  It's a sobering reminder to count the cost before committing to follow Him.

“For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'”

 Luke 14:28-29

24August2019 Different

It’s just different.  We’re discovering there are good things and bad about this new stage of life.  One of #10littlefeet has flown the coop as it were.  Today D and Z helped move J into his dorm room, hugged him goodbye and boarded a plane back overseas.  What do you get when you cross excitement and dread, being proud and being overwhelming sad simultaneously?  One positive from all of this is the revelation that may seem silly but that we’re exceedingly grateful for.  Our family loves one another.  What a gift from God that each member cares deeply for the other.  Of course, that also means pain in separation but what a tragedy it would be if we felt nothing!  So, we praise Him for that AND we’ll trust Him with J from 6,300 miles away and with his siblings  6 feet away…at least we are trying to.

How are we doing with the new normal?  It’s good.  It’s bad.  It’s just different.