Roses are Red.
Violets are Blue.
This One Thing I Know...
That I LOVE You!
15 days until I marry you, love.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Bittersweet Chaos
Jeremiah 29.10-13 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
Just in the last 7 days God has rocked my world and the world of those I love so dearly. Abba has a glorious and wonderful plan that I do not understand.
On Thursday, Sept. 16, 2010 I got a phone call from my second mother (Kelsie’s mom, Linda) with tragic news. Kelsie’s dad, Todd MacDonell, had been suffering for a few weeks and had recently been taken into the Mayo Clinic for tests. These tests revealed a devastating reality. Todd had Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, which is a degenerative brain disease that is irreversible. The doctors projected that Todd had 6-8 weeks left to live. That was one of the worst days off my life. Finding out this information and being trapped 10 hours away at a school where I could no longer focus, and I was useless to those I loved. Todd, Linda, Katie, and Kelsie are my family, and I was unable to get to them. Thankfully, I was able to get on a plane out of Midway the next morning at 6.55 am and finally arrived in Pierz around 11.30 am. I spent Friday-Tuesday with the family, including Todd’s mother, brother and sister, who had all flown out to be with the family.
It was because of this huge change that I began asking what God wanted from me in all of this. Was I crazy to be thinking about withdrawing from school and uprooting myself to move up north to be with the MacDonell’s? I knew if Kelsie was going to be able to be strong for her family and church I was going to need to be present to be strong for her. And so, after seeking counsel from about a half dozen different men whom I greatly respect, I decided that I could best serve Kelsie as her husband, and not as her boyfriend. So after consulting with Linda, I asked Todd for his blessing, to which he replied, “Ding dang dong, let’s roll!”
Less than 6 hours later I officially proposed, Kels said yes, and we will never look back. I am about to marry my best friend in the whole world, and we want our father Todd to be a part of it. A week ago I could never have imagined what God had in store. Now I am anxiously preparing for it. Less than a week from right now I will be moving 10 hours north to be with my fiancee, my sister, and my second set of parents. I am terrified as all get out, but so ready to pursue what God has planned. We can never anticipate what God will use as an inciting incident in our lives. This one thing I know-- I cannot do this without Him.
Father,
Forgive me for living a life which claimed your name by speech, but not by action. I want nothing more than to be a man after your heart, to seek you passionately, and to love your Word. I want to be a husband worthy of my wife, someone who can be her spiritual leader and show her I love her by pointing her toward you. God, I want to praise you even in tragic circumstances. GOD YOU ARE GOOD. Please remind me of your goodness during times it is easy to turn away. I love you, Father.
Your son,
Jack
Just in the last 7 days God has rocked my world and the world of those I love so dearly. Abba has a glorious and wonderful plan that I do not understand.
On Thursday, Sept. 16, 2010 I got a phone call from my second mother (Kelsie’s mom, Linda) with tragic news. Kelsie’s dad, Todd MacDonell, had been suffering for a few weeks and had recently been taken into the Mayo Clinic for tests. These tests revealed a devastating reality. Todd had Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, which is a degenerative brain disease that is irreversible. The doctors projected that Todd had 6-8 weeks left to live. That was one of the worst days off my life. Finding out this information and being trapped 10 hours away at a school where I could no longer focus, and I was useless to those I loved. Todd, Linda, Katie, and Kelsie are my family, and I was unable to get to them. Thankfully, I was able to get on a plane out of Midway the next morning at 6.55 am and finally arrived in Pierz around 11.30 am. I spent Friday-Tuesday with the family, including Todd’s mother, brother and sister, who had all flown out to be with the family.
It was because of this huge change that I began asking what God wanted from me in all of this. Was I crazy to be thinking about withdrawing from school and uprooting myself to move up north to be with the MacDonell’s? I knew if Kelsie was going to be able to be strong for her family and church I was going to need to be present to be strong for her. And so, after seeking counsel from about a half dozen different men whom I greatly respect, I decided that I could best serve Kelsie as her husband, and not as her boyfriend. So after consulting with Linda, I asked Todd for his blessing, to which he replied, “Ding dang dong, let’s roll!”
Less than 6 hours later I officially proposed, Kels said yes, and we will never look back. I am about to marry my best friend in the whole world, and we want our father Todd to be a part of it. A week ago I could never have imagined what God had in store. Now I am anxiously preparing for it. Less than a week from right now I will be moving 10 hours north to be with my fiancee, my sister, and my second set of parents. I am terrified as all get out, but so ready to pursue what God has planned. We can never anticipate what God will use as an inciting incident in our lives. This one thing I know-- I cannot do this without Him.
Father,
Forgive me for living a life which claimed your name by speech, but not by action. I want nothing more than to be a man after your heart, to seek you passionately, and to love your Word. I want to be a husband worthy of my wife, someone who can be her spiritual leader and show her I love her by pointing her toward you. God, I want to praise you even in tragic circumstances. GOD YOU ARE GOOD. Please remind me of your goodness during times it is easy to turn away. I love you, Father.
Your son,
Jack
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