Friday, January 6, 2012

Day 6, Joy Dare.

One thing in your bag, your fridge, your heart.


My Bag…




See that green thing in the corner of my bag? That’s my daughter’s epi pen. She’s fatally allergic to all dairy. I carry one and she carries one. There is one in the car, several in the house, one at the church, basically there is one everywhere she spends any time. She is almost 13. She’s only had to have it administered once. She’s had shots of epinephrine several times at the ER when she’s had a reaction but only once did she have to have the epi pen used on her.

I am grateful for that. I remember being completely overwhelmed when I was told my 4th child had an anaphylactic allergy to dairy. I’d already set up how we eat in this family, with the other children, and it involved a LOT of dairy. The panic. How would I feed this child, how would I keep her safe? Dairy is EVERYWHERE. She’ll never have a normal life. You know what? She has a totally normal life. It’s not such a big deal at home anymore. We’ve figured it out. She’s figured it out. I still panic sometimes when she’s in a new environment or away from me for a long period, but I’m learning to leave it with the Lord. Only He can take care of her anyway.

My Fridge…



Well, just the fact that I have two fridges makes me giddy with happiness! We lived in a small space for such a long time. One small fridge, a tiny pantry; so tiny in fact, that Annika pointed out yesterday that the cabinet in my bathroom is as big as our old pantry.

Now I can really stock up. I can have enough food around to not have to go to the grocery every other day (I wish that were an exaggeration, I was literally at the grocery store every other day). There is something that makes me feel a little safe, content, happy, when my pantry and fridge are filled; like I have all that is necessary to provide healthy meals for my family. That is one of the most basic jobs of the mom after-all. Fill their bellies.

My heart…



That’s easy. This is my heart. My family. My children.

It now goes out into the world and walks around. Drives. Rides motorcycles. Works in unsafe environments. Makes choices for itself and how it will live this life God has given it, outside my body.

As Elizabeth Stone so aptly put it… “Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body”

Go here to see January's Daily Joy Dare

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