Last Friday, I witnessed something AMAZING, and I have to tell. My dear friend, M., has been sick for some time. In addition, she's been heartsick for her son, who was taken from her about 5 years ago, when he was just 1 year old. M. is a refugee from Liberia; her son's dad took him back home "for a visit" five years ago, but purposefully left him there, while using his passport to bring another child back to the U.S.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I was at M.'s house. Her poor health, and her anxiety over her son, seemed too much to bear. She cried, and asked for prayer. We have prayed together a few times. Her chronic health condition - which is a mystery to her doctors - has taken her to the ER on a regular basis of late. We've prayed over the phone, while she sits in the hospital bed alone. Two weeks ago, when I visited her at her house, we prayed again. We prayed for a few things: 1) that God would encourage M., and 2) that He would watch over her son, and 3) maybe even provide a miracle...

What first brought M. & I together was Ted's involvement in filing her naturalization paperwork last April. After concluding the interview, it became clear that M. cannot read; she never learned. So, to prep her for her citizenship interview, she and I started meeting to review the basics of literacy, and also some facts of U.S. history. She didn't tell many people about her efforts, for fear that she might be teased by some family and friends. Though she has failed her test once, she gets another try this Spring, before needing to re-file her application.

Back to our meeting last week. Our typical Friday meetings had been cancelled this past month, due to the increased stress of her health problems. We met in other capacities (to pray, review her diagnosis with her doctor), but last Friday, we did make it a point to pick up our literacy review.

As I sat waiting in Starbucks - reading intently - I jumped as I felt her hand over my face from behind. But the biggest, most wonderful shock came when I turned around and saw this adorable, 6-year-old face next to hers. It was her SON! Just arrived from Liberia!

Friends, I cannot tell you what a wonder this was to me. Just two weeks ago, there seemed to be no answer in site, no tangible hope to grasp on to. M. has tried several times, with the assistance of the State Department, to get her son back. 

When M. sat next to me last Friday, laughing at the amazement of it all, the first thing she said to me was, "Remember how we prayed??"

And that's when I remembered... we had prayed. We had prayed for M.'s encouragement. We had prayed for her son, and we had even prayed for some kind of miracle... 

Wow... Thank you Jesus! It was a humble reminder that our God can do all things. It's also a reminder of how He pursues us with His love... I thank God that M.'s son is safe and now in his mother's care. Thanks to each of you who have heard pieces of M.'s story before and prayed.

And then there's the other kind of winter...

And, now I think I'll compare the prior post's images with pictures of my other winter destinations over the past 5 years... Which set of images seem more enticing to you?! Hahaha.

2013

2012

2010

Winters

I thought I'd post photos of some of our favorite winter moments from our 5 years in Philadelphia.

2013

Perhaps our last walk in Carpenter's Wood for 2013. The air was frigid! Despite nuzzling in my scarf, we had to cut the walk short!

First snows!  This is our block first steeped in snow this year. Every tree branch and telephone wire. Gorgeous.

Our neighbor on the corner

We got free tickets to a Sixers game in December - my first pro sporting event in Philly! Of course we left after the 3rd quarter... and they ended up going into double overtime and winning! 

Ted took me to "Christmas Village" downtown to go shopping for my Christmas gift. 

The sky took my breath away this day, one of the first snows over Hunting Park. Filled with praise at His beauty.

2012

Ted's birthday! Jan 25th, we trudged out to Frankford Hall in the snow.

Special winter date night at UNO's - our first deep dish pizza in Philly.

2011

Hospitality -  post legal clinic dinner at our home

A dear friend's 30th birthday!

2010

NO IMAGES AVAILABLE. We were returning from Haiti and Ted was finishing his final semester of law school. I guess we didn't take a lot of pictures then...

2009

 First snow as a married couple! An infamous Philly winter.

2008

The night we got engaged :)

He goes beyond

God is bigger than me, He is bigger than Philly. He is bigger than my life in Philly.

I was reminded of that on my walk home today. It really encouraged me.

Maybe this is one refreshing thing that I love about travel, and study of history. You see and experience a little bit of what God is doing in other people's lives, or how He has already worked in the past.

His faithfulness is a thread that runs through many aspects of life and culture, from times past to present and, therefore we can know, into the future.

He is good. I got tastes of this on my recent trip to California where, over one week, I caught up with many dear friends. I hadn't talked to some of them in years. In these encounters I got to see:

- how God is inspiring one with creativity and hope for her new photography business and His carefully laid plans for her to enter into counseling school, 

- guiding another's heart through a difficult, uncertain and new relationship, 

- holding one in deep emotional turmoil and showing her His faithfulness through friends,

- blessing another with work, laughter, fun experiences, and joy

- motivating another through her enduring, passionate pursuit of her PA degree so that she can serve many in need overseas,

- and blessing a young, growing family as they continue to stake claim on God's promises and passionately pursue His will for their lives

Each day I got to say, Whoa, God. He is being glorified in each of my friend's lives. He is bigger, He goes beyond. It also reminds me that He is the main player in all our stories.

Reminder of Truth

A beautiful day down by the Schuylkill. A perfect day down by the Schuylkill.

We sat and read for an hour by the sparkling water, enjoying the cool breeze. An amazing August day! Reading aloud - a silly mystery novel we're both enjoying - we soaked in the Goodness and thanked God for the beauty He permits us to enjoy.

Thank you, Lord!  Like every other day, this one is an invitation from God to appreciate how good and great He is, how good the gifts He freely gives. He is in our every waking moment, His presence constant. However, I do not often see or experience each day as this gift that it is. My day today was an incredible reminder to my soul of that Truth... that the gifts are Real! 

Today, I felt thankful for the grass, the trees, our lovely bike ride, for my husband, and... for all that is True [His Freedom, His Love] that I still just faintly - faintly - grasp.

Don't blink!

A little clue as to what we've been up to since my last post? Scroll this post below, and don't blink! You might miss something; that's how I've felt, haha.

July 1st. The big wild wilderness awaits. Out West. It's considered amazing and miraculous by everyone for a reason. Over four days we explored the mountainous passes of Wyoming and Montana with Ted's parents, then convened with all the relatives in small town NE.

Grand Tetons

Old Faithful!

Why hello!

July 13. ESA 40th Anniversary celebration at Eastern University. We are challenged; we are renewed and inspired by thought-provoking and grounded leaders in the Christian world.

July 19-20. Love and weddings. The rolling, forested hills of western Maryland. Root beer floats with our Haitian heroes and friends. Oh, and a pre-anniversary kayak jaunt before coasting out of Deep Creek and back on home.

Bride and Maid-of-Honor

Sadrack, Sarah, and Metchy

Katharine picks up One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp, and the mental list begins... everything for which I'm thankful; seeing God in the day-to-day, moment by moment... trying to when sometimes I just want a nap. Wondering why I have such a weak constitution.

August 6th. Lee Ann comes to stay in Philly. Office re-decorating and lots of home-cooked meals and forays into Philly's finest (Lebanese, to-die-for burgers,  premiere water ice, Soul & North African, Mexican, Chinese, best earl grey ever.)

Somewhere along the way we get on an Audrey Hepburn kick. It starts with classic movies more generally, Casablanca in the park in the moonlight. Then a regrettable Funny Face, but better Breakfast at Tiffany's and it keeps going...

August 15th. Celebrating 4 years of marriage together. We celebrated with Chinese food and cheesecake.

And finally... a surprise for Ted? More on that later!

water: life

I almost laughed the first time I saw this. We have a plant in our office. In a space without windows, this bit of green adds a lot of life.

After having it for a week or so, this is what it looked like.

It's lovely. It's green. Sure, I hadn't really thought to water it, but I was still appreciating the fact that it was alive. It wasn't brown; the leaves weren't falling off. You can see here that whole thing does have a bit of "droop" to it, but the change from when we first bought it was so gradual that I hadn't really noticed...

Then, I decided to give it a little water before leaving the office. It's probably about time for that, I thought. When I came in to work the next morning, this is what I found:

A whole new plant! It's spunky; it's spry. Look, you can even see the pot it's nestled in. Whoa, I had no idea the life it had been missing.

And I immediately thought of the connection to my own heart and life. It's amazing how being connected to the Vine and receiving from the Living Water really is our life source (John 4, 14). Going awhile without it, even if we "don't notice" on a surface level (we may think we're functioning "just fine" by our own less-than standards), we will start to wilt.

Again, I had been fine with the way the plant looked before. In my ignorance really, I thought it was "ok." But no, the plant needed so much more, and we need so much more to thrive. True life and breath really is in Him!

(p.s. I realize this post reveals my total ineptness in caring for plants. I'm okay with that! haha. I'm learning. :)