Up and down times. . .

Today, I woke up to Lani telling me that our kitchen sink was plugged up. We'd been thinking that something in our fridge was smelling (even have that happen, but not have enough time to check every container to find out the source?), and this morning Lani got up and had to find out what it was. Then she did the logical thing and put the culprit -- a bowl of pinto beans and ham from who knows how many days back -- down the disposal. Only it didn't all go down and that's when I was awakened. Not exactly how I'd hoped to start my work week! Anyway, I tried several things this morning before taking kids to work, like plunging, putting drain cleaner in, running the disposal more, even taking apart the two drain traps and cleaning them out, etc. Lots of mess, but to no avail. Next, after taking Caleb and Levi to school and stopping by work for an hour, I went to Lowe's and got more drain cleaner, a new plunger, and a "snake" (or "auger", as they call it). Back home, I tried double-plunging the sink (both at the same time) and then poured a whole bottle of drain opener in. While I let that work, I fixed some other things around the house (now all my Christmas light timers work!), but still no luck. So, now I'm at work and dreading going home and draining all the water (again!) and using my new snake. . .

BTW, I didn't mention that all this while, my daughter Hannah woke up ill and has thrown up several times. While I was in our kitchen this morning working with yucky, stinky water, I could hear her in the kids' bathroom losing whatever was still in her stomach. And while wrestling with my plumbing, I'm thinking about how bad it will be for Hannah to miss school today before her finals begin tomorrow. . . Lani knew what I was contemplating and said, "they don't allow someone to come to school who's throwing up!"

Life is so up and down and unpredictable! And these things this morning are just very minor bumps along the road. We're going over some bigger hills right now with my job search and all that uncertainty (along with Holiday busyness and financial stress). Yet, a bigger hurt is in my heart today because last night we learned that our good friend, Jennifer Hamilton, had just lost her dad this weekend; he, Don House, was in a traffic accident Saturday night along with his wife, Molly. He had severe internal injuries and did not survive. She is in the Stanford Medical Center with a fractured vertebra and broken wrist, but is stable. I'm praying today for Molly, Jennifer and her family.

So, what do we do with these little and big life events? Well, for one thing, we will have some emotional responses. That's normal! So, I'm feeling some dread of my next step with my sink, some pressure on behalf of my daughter, some sympathy with her illness, some heaviness of heart for my friend, Jen, and her family. Yet, I'm at peace. . . I'm confident that God is in control. . . I'm not overwhelmed with life (just a little surprised with each event), but I just continue on, perhaps going down a little bit different path than I'd hoped for today. When I stop and check my soul's pulse at this mid-day point, I find that I'm not too stressed out. I guess I've learned that life just has these ups and downs and I know who carries me through it all.

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Tonight I'm singing with the Texas Master Chorale in our Christmas Concert (7:30 pm at Tomball United Methodist Church, if you're reading this and live nearby!). We'll sing Rutter's Magnificat -- a truly lovely work -- and a Christmas medley of familiar carols, all accompanied by a full orchestra. I look forward to singing!