Friday, May 10, 2013

7 Quick Takes: Gnats, Saints and Wearing Yellow

Another Friday is upon us, so here's what happened/is going on/went through my mind this week that you haven't already read about. Sorry for the dismal lack of photos - check my Five Faves for pictures if you're in withdrawal!

~1~
Too much sleep makes me groggy. Shut the front door...and the back one! What the what? You heard read me right - too much sleep = groggy foggy mama bear. My 19 year old collegiate self would NEVER.BELIEVE.IT! Yet, I got about 7+ hours of sleep the other night and woke up terribly off. Give me 5 straight hours and I'm fresh as a daisy. Get me off this crazy ride - what's next? Will I actually want to start jogging or something? Call those men in the white coats if you see me out there... And by those men in the white coats, I mean...

~2~
...my brother in law. Yup, as of this weekend, when he walks (and doesn't trip) across that stage, he will be Dr. Uncle Matt to the kids and join the ranks of those men in the white coats. Congratulations to him on the culmination of a lot of hard work and hours of experimenting on unsuspecting undergrads (just kidding)! We look forward to reaping the benefits with years of free therapy for the whole family, pets included!

~3~
Mark Hart (aka The Bible Geek) posted something today that has brought a lot of solace and refocused my perspective. "The devil doesn't sit idly by while you seek God. If you're pursuing Christ, the enemy is pursuing you. (Rom 7:21, 1 Pet 5:8)"  When it seems that we are surrounded by tragedy and bad news, I always say that there must be truly good things on the horizon because the devil doesn't fight against things that don't threaten the darkness. Somehow I never until this moment translated that into my own life. I find solace in knowing that spiritual battles are being fought because I am seeking after something good...after someONE good...that the devil fights me because I seek Jesus. I tend to focus on how much I have not conformed my life to Christ and lose focus on the fact that I continue to seek after Him despite the many falls and long distance left to travel. Thank you Mark Hart for shattering my blinders and realizing that my theory for life in general pertains to my own life as well. Praise God for the battle...and that the war is already won and does not depend on me! May I learn from St. Teresa of Avila (my confirmation patron) who told us to swat the devil away like a gnat. 

~4~
If you follow along the Pitter Pattering trail, you'll know that this week has been a bit of a beast. It's nice when little glimpses of goodness peek through and warm my heart. Lately, Li'l G has been caught singing along to her favorite songs on the shows she watches (mostly Veggie Tales). Sometimes I'm fairly certain she doesn't even know she is doing it as she starts to hum along. Other times she is playing and just out of nowhere I hear familiar melodies start to sound from her little voice. Sweetness itself, the sign of the Spirit from a song in her heart. God is good. (On a side note, she does NOT like it when I hum along or sing along to the songs as well. It's pretty funny. I may or may not do it on purpose just to see her reaction.)

~5~
Now that the days are warming up, we are able to venture outside more often. Last weekend was just perfect for the park and the zoo along with some long walks. Having the whole family out and about gave us a sweet foretaste of summer days to come, when the Hubbers will be home and we can take fun family trips far more often. We are already calling a day of the week zoo/beach day (not sure what we will call it in the event of rain - perhaps mall/playzone day). It seems to me that this must be in a very small way what the saints must feel in ecstasy, when that sliver of heaven falls upon them and they experience what it is like to be in the full glory of God, worshipping the Lamb all our days. To have it just within reach, yet not fully in their grasp. How sweet the taste, yet the longing so painful. A bit dramatic if we are talking of summer, but imagine talking of heaven instead. How beautifully bittersweet the ecstasy. I should read more on and by these here saintly peeps.

~6~
Speaking of summer, I can't believe that we are already talking about planning Baby J's 1st birthday. Insane! About this time last year I was still praying that we could avoid a C-section. My doctors were extremely supportive through their twinkling eyes, since they were all pretty darn sure this baby would be no different than the first. They were right, but they allowed me to continue to hope and pray while setting up a date for C-section in case natural childbirth simply couldn't happen. I appreciate that there was not any pressure, and that there has never been pressure to use contraception. Only the new staff ever even begin to ask, and once I tell them we are Catholic they quickly move on. I love that. Now I just want to be bold enough to ask if I could be allowed to provide them with brochures on NFP as an option for their patients. My sister-in-law is a doctor there so I guess that would be the first step. It has been on my heart since my last visit for my annual exam, but I have yet to act on it. I look good in yellow, don't you think?

~7~
Speaking of looking good, I have a shopping problem. It is a secondhand shopping problem, but a problem all the same. I must have ALL.THE.RESALE! Well, all the resale that fits and looks cute. After going for so long finding nothing that made me feel feminine or beautiful, it is a bit intoxicating to start to find multiple things that fit that bill. To figure out that the problem is not just my weight, but the way clothes are made now is liberating, but it makes me want to buy ALL.THE.THINGS! I also ordered a dress from a cute not-so-little website called eShakti, which custom fits all its clothing by size and height, and for a nominal fee will customize the hemline, sleeves and neckline of any non-overstock item as well. I can't wait to see how I like the dress. I wrote them to ask about their factory in India too, though, so I'm patiently awaiting a reply. After the recent tragedies with clothing factory fires resulting in death of workers due to poor factory conditions, I'm very curious to hear their response. As I wrote them, a fully customizable clothing site with socially responsible manufacturing practices would be a no-brainer go-to retailer for a large number of women. What say ye?

Wishing there were more takes? Visit Jen at Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes this week!


1 comment:

  1. Wow! Rakhi, your #5 blew me away - YES to that exquisitely sweet pain, and the certainty of obtaining what you long for!

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