I keep meeting new friends who have similar stories as mine. Mental health issues. Delusional patterns of thought. Substance use. Criminal records. Warrants.
I thought I might miss working with the patients at the hospital. But I realize that it finding the same types of individuals. Only I get the opportunity to dive deeper into friendship. Into advocacy. Prayer.
Loving what I get to do everyday.
My son was playing a song on the piano. My wife was singing along. I started singing too. It almost felt like a competition. Who could stay on beat more. Who had better pitch.
Then I started playing the piano. My son started to try and play over me. Try to stop me from playing. I’m better than you! You can’t even do it right! He started bad-mouthing me.
I could feel his jealousy. His desire to one-up me. It wasn’t a big deal. After all, he has no other sibling to compete with. But I felt it was important to teach him not to talk down to people.
When has dad ever said you’re bad at something? I only want to see you get better. I tried to get him to see the angle. After all, life isn’t a competition. Some things may feel like it. But life is truly better when we uplift and encourage each other.
Christian’s girlfriend broke up with him. He acted cool about it. Like he was over it. But we could tell something was a bit off.
Apparently a lot of drama was surrounding this girl. She was interested in one of his friends. Started dating him. Had a made up excuse why she dumped him. The usual drama.
This is the exact situation we were trying to avoid. It was an “I told you so” moment. I’m starting to realize parenting is full of those kind of moments.
You guys were right. I need to wait until I’m in high school to start dating.
We can’t shield our kid from every difficult situation like we want to. Sometimes they have to learn the hard way certain things about life. About relationships. About drama. We just continue to remind him that the Lord lives in him. To turn to God in tough times.
He ended up turning things around. He played two soccer and two football games over the weekend. Was the star in each game. Four touchdowns and two goals. It seems like he didn’t let the drama get to him.
It’s not easy being a parent of a tween. Watching him navigate situations that are beyond his maturity level. But he made it through the weekend.
Praying the upcoming week is filled with less drama.
Things at my new job have been going well. So well in fact that my director surprised me by telling me some exciting news. In May I will be promoted to senior advocate. I was blown away.
I kind of had an inkling that it was in the cards. It wasn’t made clear, but there were hints here and there. What I didn’t know was how soon it would happen. It was a touching moment.
It took a long time to get the job. But now that I’m here, things are progressing well. Grateful for all the steps it took to get here.
Tonight we had some friends over for dinner. One was a brother in the church I’ve been close to for awhile. He had been going through a tough patch, but has been on the upswing as of late.
It was his mom’s birthday. She came to our house and also some of her close friends from the church. I recognized a few of them, some were moms of my friends.
It was a fun time. Hosting for a group of grandmas. Had some nice fellowship. As of late we have been opening our home more. It’s the fifth time in two weeks we’ve had company.
It’s a blessing to be able to blend with members of the Body.
The weekend was a blast.
We had an event for our homeless friends on Saturday. My family and some of our friends came. It was my first event as a staff member. It was a special experience seeing donors, volunteers, family and friends interacting with people they’d otherwise not have the chance to.
We also had a super bowl party. Had a ton of food. Invited some friends over who I hadn’t seen in a long time. Good times.
To top things off my manager gave me the day off today. He said he didnt want me getting burnt out with the workload at the job. I accepted with gratitude. I didn’t tell him, but the new schedule is a breeze compared to my old job.
All in all it was a perfect weekend.
I had a call with my lawyer and manager yesterday. I entered the call with a sense of peace.
The call itself went great. My lawyer was extremely thorough in replacing the numerous options and moving parts regarding my situation. My manager did an excellent job explaining the position of the organization and the possible scenarios.
In the end, it seems as if we are still in wait-and-see mode. One interesting thing to keep an eye on is that the current judge on my case is retiring soon. There is a distinct possibility that the next coach could be a good friend of my lawyer. In fact, my lawyer submitted a nomination. There could be a beneficial situation developing.
The holding pattern is something I’ve become accustomed to. But it seems as if with every call, with every update more of God’s plan is revealed. I’m just praying to be obedient to His will.
My father in law came home. Looking for my wife. She was at the gym. He asked me to come outside. His car was wrecked. The front completely a mess. A truck ran a redlight and had hit and run.
My wife came home shortly after. They began talking. Discussing options. It was the first time they had spoken in a week.
While it isn’t easy to navigate this situation, I do feel the Lord leading us. It seems as if the Lord used this matter to break the ice between my wife and her dad. Her dad came to the conclusion that he had a problem and asked for our help. It was his rock bottom in some ways.
My wife took the opportunity to share the Lord with him. That his tarot card readings and lottery tickets weren’t going to save him. That the Lord allowed this to happen. That the Lord is the one who we can turn to when these things happen.
Sometimes it takes a wreck to show us our weaknesses. I know this far too well from experience. The Lord has a succinct way of humbling us. Of breaking us down, only to build us back up in Him. I pray that my father in law can experience this as well.
We had some brothers come over today for some tea and fellowship. It was one of the few times we’ve had people over since the pandemic. It was nice hosting them.
We discussed a few matters. They asked what they could pray for. We mentioned my wife’s issue between her and her father. We gave it to the Lord in prayer.
It reminded me of the work we do with the homeless. We talk with people. Visit. We pray with people. We pray for people. Visiting is nice. But prayer invites the Lord into our situations.
And that is where I’ve seen miracles happen.
Today was my son’s birthday. 12 years old. I told him that it was an important year in his upbringing. That it was the year Jesus went to the temple.
He ended up sharing this fact to several people, including his girlfriend. This is age Jesus went to the temple. It’s going to be the best year ever. As much as we try to influence his upbringing, we don’t always have much control over what sticks. But I was impressed and touched that he understood the significance.
We had a party. Had some nice meals together. He was even gifted an engraved Bible with his name on it by the serving ones in the church. A nice coincidence.
Lord, we give you our son. Bless him and keep him all of his days.
Scenic Views From the Bipolar Rollercoaster 