This morning was perhaps the worst Christmas morning I've ever had. I woke up missing Jessie like crazy; I just wanted her to be with me that morning. Then, I started thinking about something she told me when we spoke awhile ago. She has something to tell me, but can't tell me yet. The not-knowing was killing me, because it left me to speculate on the worst possible scenario. I found myself getting more and more emotional and angry. I prayed a bit and had to run back to my house to get my grandpa's Christmas gift. On the way back, I called her and we talked about it. I know she was just trying to protect me by not telling me, but it had the opposite effect. For me, it's better that I either know everything or know nothing. No gray areas, please.
After getting back home, opening presents with the family (my dad even brought my grandpa over. Sweet!) and having some breakfast, I started to feel better, especially after reading the card my dad gave me. I got to talk to both my parents about the situation and they helped me out a lot. I love them so much...
Bottom line...I'm not letting Satan steal my joy this Christmas. Jessie and I will deal with whatever this situation is when it's time. Until then, there's nothing I can do about it except pray. Why worry about it? Why fret? That will do nothing but destroy me and ruin what will be a wonderful reunion with Jessie when I see her in a few days. So I'm going to enjoy this time with my family, eat some fantastic food, and enjoy the day when we remember Jesus's birth. Thank you God for how you work!
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
First day back in Battalion 1...work outs and tragedy.
Guess who got switched back to working in Hillandale? That's right...this guy!!! The other light duty driver is going back to full duty, leaving an opening for a light duty driver. The top brass saw that I already worked there, so they brought me home. Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!
The first day back was fairly uneventful...we had an overtime battalion chief filling in for the first part of the day. We got to talk a bit, and he proved to be pretty cool. We only ran one call all day and didn't do any rounds to other stations, so we really didn't have much contact outside of our initial conversation. But he was still pretty cool.
A couple of the guys on the shift were doing this work out competition, where everyone who participated had to do 600 push ups, 600 sit ups and as many pull-ups as possible by the end of the day. When I saw that, of course I had to get in! Hey, my knee is hurt, not my upper body! Doing all those push ups, pull ups and sit ups proved to be pretty tiring. By the end of my shift, I had done 351 push ups, 440 sit ups and 85 pull-ups. I could have done more pull ups, but I wanted to focus on the 600 sit ups and push ups. Even though we didn't run barely any calls today, between eating and doing stuff on the computer, I couldn't get in the full 600. Maybe next time!
On a much more sad note, one of the firefighters on the shift (I'll call him AC) got the call nobody wants to get: His father passed away suddenly, unexpectedly. The shift rallied around him and were trying to figure out how to get him home (they wanted to drive him home, but he lived in New Jersey). Because of the distance, the top brass was balking at letting someone on duty drive him up there. This obviously ticked off everyone on the shift. Eventually, AC thought it best that he just drive home himself so he could meet his wife and the rest of his family and start taking care of business. AC, my thoughts and prayers are with you.
I'll be subbing for children's ministry tonight. The kids will be rehearsing some Christmas songs for an upcoming performance for the church. I better warm up my singing voice...mi, mi, mi, mi...
The first day back was fairly uneventful...we had an overtime battalion chief filling in for the first part of the day. We got to talk a bit, and he proved to be pretty cool. We only ran one call all day and didn't do any rounds to other stations, so we really didn't have much contact outside of our initial conversation. But he was still pretty cool.
A couple of the guys on the shift were doing this work out competition, where everyone who participated had to do 600 push ups, 600 sit ups and as many pull-ups as possible by the end of the day. When I saw that, of course I had to get in! Hey, my knee is hurt, not my upper body! Doing all those push ups, pull ups and sit ups proved to be pretty tiring. By the end of my shift, I had done 351 push ups, 440 sit ups and 85 pull-ups. I could have done more pull ups, but I wanted to focus on the 600 sit ups and push ups. Even though we didn't run barely any calls today, between eating and doing stuff on the computer, I couldn't get in the full 600. Maybe next time!
On a much more sad note, one of the firefighters on the shift (I'll call him AC) got the call nobody wants to get: His father passed away suddenly, unexpectedly. The shift rallied around him and were trying to figure out how to get him home (they wanted to drive him home, but he lived in New Jersey). Because of the distance, the top brass was balking at letting someone on duty drive him up there. This obviously ticked off everyone on the shift. Eventually, AC thought it best that he just drive home himself so he could meet his wife and the rest of his family and start taking care of business. AC, my thoughts and prayers are with you.
I'll be subbing for children's ministry tonight. The kids will be rehearsing some Christmas songs for an upcoming performance for the church. I better warm up my singing voice...mi, mi, mi, mi...
Monday, December 8, 2008
Car drama...again.
So I'm currently sitting in the waiting room of a Chevy dealer, waiting for my car to be fixed. What happened, you ask? Excellent question! Let me tell you...
This past Saturday was Kasia's big party at her house. She invited a lot of her co-workers and some other friends from church over, in hopes that when the two worlds collide, there could be some interest in her co-workers making friends with and hanging out socially with the Christians after the party was over. I was one of the lucky few who got an invite to the party, and I was really looking forward to it. I got to pick up Tareg (Kasia's work-spouse) from the Metro...I had heard a lot about him and was looking forward to see if he was as charming as Kasia painted him to be. Sure enough, I could see why he's popular with the ladies: Tall, dark and handsome, British accent, smart, genuine...he definitely seemed like a really cool dude.
Throughout the night, there was food, dancing (Kasia's friend Caroline, the Zumba teacher, gave some Salsa, Bachatta and Meringue lessons, as well as a quick Zumba lesson), pool and a game of Apples to Apples. I got Tareg's contact info, and we will be meeting up sometime in the future (with Kasia and Kiki, more than likely) to spend some time at Busboys and Poets (this place brings EVERYONE together!). It will be great!
So after such a rousing evening, I go to leave and my car won't start. It cranks, and cranks...eventually it barely does that. It definitely doesn't start. Crap...
This morning I got to do something I haven't done in a while...take the bus! Vince dropped me off at the Metro station, I took that to Wheaton, took the bus to Four Corners and walked to Kasia's house, after spending a couple hours at Starbucks reading my bible and sleeping (two of the best things EVER, especially at the crack of dawn). I got my car towed to the dealer and it's been here ever since. While I waited, my dad came and picked me up. We ran an errand to the DMV, got lunch at TGI Fridays and had some good father/son time. So far, a good day. Now hopefully I won't walk out of here with one less arm and leg after they charge me.
This past Saturday was Kasia's big party at her house. She invited a lot of her co-workers and some other friends from church over, in hopes that when the two worlds collide, there could be some interest in her co-workers making friends with and hanging out socially with the Christians after the party was over. I was one of the lucky few who got an invite to the party, and I was really looking forward to it. I got to pick up Tareg (Kasia's work-spouse) from the Metro...I had heard a lot about him and was looking forward to see if he was as charming as Kasia painted him to be. Sure enough, I could see why he's popular with the ladies: Tall, dark and handsome, British accent, smart, genuine...he definitely seemed like a really cool dude.
Throughout the night, there was food, dancing (Kasia's friend Caroline, the Zumba teacher, gave some Salsa, Bachatta and Meringue lessons, as well as a quick Zumba lesson), pool and a game of Apples to Apples. I got Tareg's contact info, and we will be meeting up sometime in the future (with Kasia and Kiki, more than likely) to spend some time at Busboys and Poets (this place brings EVERYONE together!). It will be great!
So after such a rousing evening, I go to leave and my car won't start. It cranks, and cranks...eventually it barely does that. It definitely doesn't start. Crap...
This morning I got to do something I haven't done in a while...take the bus! Vince dropped me off at the Metro station, I took that to Wheaton, took the bus to Four Corners and walked to Kasia's house, after spending a couple hours at Starbucks reading my bible and sleeping (two of the best things EVER, especially at the crack of dawn). I got my car towed to the dealer and it's been here ever since. While I waited, my dad came and picked me up. We ran an errand to the DMV, got lunch at TGI Fridays and had some good father/son time. So far, a good day. Now hopefully I won't walk out of here with one less arm and leg after they charge me.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Reunited...sort of.
This morning was one of the best mornings of my life. Why? Be patient and I'll tell you...
Today was the day Jessie and I spoke live for the first time since I last saw her in Michigan in August. We had been emailing each other very sporadically over the past few months...mostly me sending her spiritually encouraging things, such as sermons, scriptures, poems, etc. But today, we spoke (and saw each other) live on Skype. After overcoming some technical difficulties on my end, we got into it. It wasn't weird or awkward at all...almost as if we never had stopped talking in the first place.
I started out with telling her about what I had been doing over the past four months. I recapped my car accident adventures, my dealings with the MoCo singles and how I had developed dreams for myself. After that, Jessie let me in on how the past few months had been treating her. She told me about the ups and downs, the good times and sad times. Through it all, she had to be broken down to the point where God was all she had. And at times, he was. But once she got to that point, she was able to see more clearly the mistakes she had made in the past, the things in her past she needed to let go of and the things she needed to remember forever. She also got a lot more clarity on the things that ultimately do and don't matter in this life. I could tell she had changed a lot, and that she was in a much better place spiritually. I can't even begin to convey how happy this made me. My prayers (as well as the prayers of many others, no doubt) were answered!
Then we got to point of why she wanted us to talk. She opened herself to me in a way she never had before. I was so proud of her ability to be vulnerable, and I felt utterly loved by what she had to share about me. She then shared the really big news...she had been given the option of staying in Zurich for the rest of the school year (until June). She was hesitant, because she wanted to come back to the states. But then, God shone through: Jessie's boss offered to pay for all the debt owed on her father's property if she stayed for the duration of the school year. How could she say no? She DID struggle over it for a bit though...having someone pay off all the debt was a definite God-send, but it would mean her and I would be apart for another five months. She debated hard about whether to tell me. She sought lots of advice from many of the people closest to me, and they all told her the same thing: He'll understand, if he really loves you.
No way did I understand...how could she do this to me? (KIDDING!!!)
When she told me this, I was overjoyed for her. I know how much keeping the land means to her, and this really was a total God-send. I've waited this long...five more months, especially with such a sweet payout at the end, is more than worth it. She was very relieved to hear this from me. I also told her how much I loved her and how much I wanted to be with her. Would I love to see her more than a few times in five months? Of course. But like I said...this wait is more than worth it.
So where do we go from here? We decided that we would resume our friendship and go from there. God still may have something different in mind for both of us, and we didn't want to limit Him. I'm very confident in saying we both hope with all our hearts that His will is for us to live happily ever after, but over these few months, we've BOTH learned that God's way is much better than either of ours.
So I'm happy that I'll get to talk to my best friend on a regular basis again. And I no longer have to stalk her through our mutual friend's facebook pictures and anonymously following her blog.
Today was the day Jessie and I spoke live for the first time since I last saw her in Michigan in August. We had been emailing each other very sporadically over the past few months...mostly me sending her spiritually encouraging things, such as sermons, scriptures, poems, etc. But today, we spoke (and saw each other) live on Skype. After overcoming some technical difficulties on my end, we got into it. It wasn't weird or awkward at all...almost as if we never had stopped talking in the first place.
I started out with telling her about what I had been doing over the past four months. I recapped my car accident adventures, my dealings with the MoCo singles and how I had developed dreams for myself. After that, Jessie let me in on how the past few months had been treating her. She told me about the ups and downs, the good times and sad times. Through it all, she had to be broken down to the point where God was all she had. And at times, he was. But once she got to that point, she was able to see more clearly the mistakes she had made in the past, the things in her past she needed to let go of and the things she needed to remember forever. She also got a lot more clarity on the things that ultimately do and don't matter in this life. I could tell she had changed a lot, and that she was in a much better place spiritually. I can't even begin to convey how happy this made me. My prayers (as well as the prayers of many others, no doubt) were answered!
Then we got to point of why she wanted us to talk. She opened herself to me in a way she never had before. I was so proud of her ability to be vulnerable, and I felt utterly loved by what she had to share about me. She then shared the really big news...she had been given the option of staying in Zurich for the rest of the school year (until June). She was hesitant, because she wanted to come back to the states. But then, God shone through: Jessie's boss offered to pay for all the debt owed on her father's property if she stayed for the duration of the school year. How could she say no? She DID struggle over it for a bit though...having someone pay off all the debt was a definite God-send, but it would mean her and I would be apart for another five months. She debated hard about whether to tell me. She sought lots of advice from many of the people closest to me, and they all told her the same thing: He'll understand, if he really loves you.
No way did I understand...how could she do this to me? (KIDDING!!!)
When she told me this, I was overjoyed for her. I know how much keeping the land means to her, and this really was a total God-send. I've waited this long...five more months, especially with such a sweet payout at the end, is more than worth it. She was very relieved to hear this from me. I also told her how much I loved her and how much I wanted to be with her. Would I love to see her more than a few times in five months? Of course. But like I said...this wait is more than worth it.
So where do we go from here? We decided that we would resume our friendship and go from there. God still may have something different in mind for both of us, and we didn't want to limit Him. I'm very confident in saying we both hope with all our hearts that His will is for us to live happily ever after, but over these few months, we've BOTH learned that God's way is much better than either of ours.
So I'm happy that I'll get to talk to my best friend on a regular basis again. And I no longer have to stalk her through our mutual friend's facebook pictures and anonymously following her blog.
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