It's been nearly five months since we first met our dear Iris in China. She really has quite a social calendar with playgroup, storytime at the library, hour of daycare while mom's in Bible study group, and occasional playdates at the park with friends. Life's definitely different, but it is a joy to see the wonder and smiles in Iris's face as she discovers new things in this world. I often think of how marvelously fun it must be to meet everything as a new encounter and to marvel in that. With the failing economy, political clout, and social systems, it's easy to become cynical and despair when thinking about the future. Instead, it's great to have hope in what God will do in the young and innocent children, such as Iris.
I'm continuing to get a real sense of things I need to "give up" and re-prioritize in order to care for her and have quality family time together. For example, do I go that committee meeting because of my great interest, or do I stay home to give my husband some personal time because work is a real burden on his mind now? Also, do I see that movie because I need an outlet, or do I devote any spare moment to working outside classtime (e.g. for prep, presentations)? Lord, this seems trivial, yet this is a sampling of the choices I make in my life. I'm very glad that my life is under God's sovereignty, else I'd really screw things up for me and my family! So, we all must take it one day at a time.
