The Fallen Sparrow

On New Years Day this year, this is what met our eyes when we went out our front door.

 Apparently it had flown into the window by the front door. 

I showed Hannah the poor dead bird, and told her that the Bible tells us that our heavenly Father

sees the sparrow when it falls, and does He not care for us?

If I were superstitious, I'm sure I could consider the dead sparrow a bad omen on New Years Day. 

But since I choose faith over superstition, I am choosing to allow the fallen sparrow to remind me that God cares much, much more for us in our troubles than He does for sparrows fallen in the snow on a concrete porch.

He knows all about a man in his late 70's hobbling with a cane to a totally new home and situation. 

 He knows that the newness is exciting--and scary all at once.

 It would have been their desire to remain in their lovely, modest home till their death,

but the stairs were too much, and the driveway too steep. 

And so He who provides nests for sparrows, after several months of one contract after another only to have one or another problem surface, provided a home that they and the whole family are very happy with.

But still, there is the new address, the new situation, everything out of place, so much work to do.

He provides joy for the little ones.

The little ones had a ball with the big blue ball, rolling it all around the new house.

Up and down the hall of the new house that Jonathan, Dave, Sam, Bryan and Steve C. remodeled a bit.

He who notices tired sparrows provides granddaughters on the weekend to help clean the cupboards and frig at the old house...

 a daughter-in-law to wipe down chairs that will be sold with the kitchen table.

And another daughter-in-law, Ruth, who helped for a week and a half with the major work of packing. 

 And grandsons to clean the table legs and chairs, and to pull nails and screws out of the walls.

 And He knows all about that same New Years Day weekend when a prairie family's cistern ran out of water--

and they ended up bringing in snow to melt to water the animals and mop the floor.

It would definitely have been more fun to be out building a snowman.

But what could be done when the trailer was at Grandma's new place, full of remodeling trash, and then the next two days was being used for taking sand to fill in a sewer pipe trench

at the rental of a missionary over in Siberia who is left at the mercy of the rental agency on this side of the world?

Jonathan had offered a much better price to put a whole new sewer pipe in to save the missionaries from having to borrow so much more money.

 And meanwhile, the wife and kids make do without much water. 

That is when we thank God for snow.

 All the boys had to help gather snow from drifts.

 And then Jonathan left his key in the truck, which accidentally automatically locked itself. He had to come home with our family van after a meal Grandpa and ma gave to the clan at Golden Corral--to get a spare key. Back 45 minutes to the other side of town to his truck, only to discover that he had gotten the wrong key!

So while we were piling snow in pots and a huge bin, he was calling Roadside Assistance to unlock his truck. (Thankful to have this assistance with our insurance!)

 Late that evening, he finally arrived home with the trailer and a full tank of water.

I was going bonkers with trying to keep kids busy and out of trouble--taking down Christmas decor and keeping pots full of melting snow. 

And does the heavenly Father observe when a mom kind of goes under the waves after three days of hard work and little water at home, and situations full of answers to prayer but yet taking their toll on her exhausted emotions?

Does He understand when she can't seem to focus on how God provided snow to melt, and instead wonders why she has to put up with a well that provides so little water and a cistern that is constantly running dry?

Does He notice when the same mom is hanging onto the simple words of the story told by the pastor's wife at the church in Denver that we visit sometimes for fellowship for our children?

The story of how God sent a little bird with an apparently broken wing to flutter along and show children lost in the woods the way home?

 The little bird had led them to the edge of the woods, and then soared high into the sky.

Its wing had not been broken after all. 

It had been sent by God in direct answer to the simple prayer of scared, lost children.

 And does He see the time after time that a mom, feeling lost, and totally overwhelmed with 

just life,

comes to her sunlit window and holds out her hands to a heavenly Father in wordless prayers?

 And then, just in the nick of time before we may be leaving in a couple weeks on a Mission Helps trip, He provides another need--a buck goat off of Craigs list.

Hopefully there will be kids and fresh goat milk in the spring.

 And so the One Who sees the sparrow fall,

and the mom stumble to her knees under loads too heavy to carry,

still gives peaceful sleep--even though the Sleep Number bed ended up on Saturday night without much air in it. 

Did it remind her of the nights in Haiti when she had wakened up on the concrete after all the air had leaked out of her air mattress?

It was like the last straw on a tough day.

But He Who knew that what was needed most was a good night's sleep,

gave His beloved sleep.

Moving Day at Grandpa and ma Lucas's

It was amazing how the Lord provided a house finally for Jonathan's parents after spending months looking for a one-level home.

This one they had lived in for 41 years, but it was becoming more and more difficult for Grandpa to climb the stairs after four hip-replacement surgeries.

Grandpa and Grandma Lucas decided to set their moving date for New Years Day. They scheduled the moving truck, and --guess what? It started pelting down snow!

Does pelting-down snow stop westerners from loading the moving truck?

The boys kept sweeping snow off the driveway, and everyone had to be extremely careful inside the slippery moving truck. It was like skating on ice, only downhill!

Jonathan swept snow out from under the wheels before Dave moved the truck from the back driveway (from where we'd loaded stuff from the basement) to the front of the house where we were going to load stuff from the main level.

The tallest of the guys, Jon McVey, used a big shop broom to try to lift the big branch hanging over the lawn so the truck could get under.

The cameras were busy on this one!

Many hands make light work! It was such a fun day, working together with family.

The living room was practically full of boxes, which the children all helped carry out, and which Jon McVey packed into the "attic" of the truck.

Dave and Ruth's daughter Emily holds the door for Danny.

In the absence of Rob, whose family was gone on vacation, Stacy was one of the chief photographers.

More boxes!

The brothers try to decide how to move this big part of the entertainment center (which Jonathan had built years ago).

Unfortunately, Bryan was very ill that day, and his job was to keep his family's dog out of the way.

Stopping for lunch in the now almost empty living room.

Danny and Ryan are good pals.

Ruth and Esther wrap pictures in blankets.

Sam scared some of us silly by climbing on the banisters to reach the high pictures that had hung on the staircase walls. It was a long way to the bottom of the stairs.

Getting ready to move the heavy china closet.

And the table.

More of Sam trying to stay safe while getting this last picture off its hook.

The girl cousins stood around taking pictures while Stacy stood below to catch the picture when Sam got it down.

Carrie and I helped dust and wrap pictures.

We will not put a name on this one.

Our pastor and his son and wife came to help.

There were various signs telling all of us what to take and what to leave.

I really enjoyed watching my strong husband, his wonderful brother Dave, tall brother-in-law Jon, and our pastor and our son Sam do the manly jobs of heavy lifting and packing in the truck.

Sam did his share of the men's work. 

I was so proud of our son. I honestly don't know how we'd have done all the heavy work that day without him.

(

I am so grateful for opportunities like this when our boys can be men 

instead of just sitting at school desks, or in front of computer screens, or doing a few measly chores, 

or sitting behind a wheel in a car. 

It is difficult for me as a mom, and a weak one at that, to raise my boy to be a man, so I am so grateful for these opportunities for him to spend a day with his dad developing those muscles.  He spent most of Christmas vacation working with his dad.

Passing around a yard of chocolates gotten for a song at Walgreens.

Vanessa playing the piano before it would have to be carried out. It was one of the heaviest pieces of furniture, and the last to go out on the first load that day, after our pastor had left, so there were only three men to do  the job!

Rose ended up having to help.

 And so we began to say goodbye to a little home that was chock full of memories. 

More on the next post.