Celebrate the Refiners Fire

Yesterday was 3 years (!) from when Drew got his pink slip.

I did a blog post about how hard it was, but turned out great, last year.

Then, someone told me I was focusing on the misfortune of the people we left behind.  That person lives in Gilbert.  I’ll leave that there.  I will say that I LOVE that district.  My kids still miss that school like CRAZY sometimes, as does their mamma.  I wish them only goodwill and Drew’s old program is slowly making it back to the right track.  One of my BFF’s is a main booster and I think what fun we would have had, but I digress…

BUT, there was a Youth Celebration on March 1st and it DOWNPOURED on those kids.  I mean rained like crazy.  I also mean that we hadn’t had rain in maybe a month prior and it picked that day.  The day that 12,000 youth were going to “Live True.”  As I sat on my couch eating kettle corn I wondered why God still let it rain.

And the truth is that hard things make it more memorable.  I would not be the same person I was without that 3 months of personal terror.  For any of you who know how I like to be organized and on top of things, you can only imagine what it was like for me to live without knowing what my future brought.  I know there are plenty of things that I could live through that would be harder {knock on wood} but that was a big one for me and our family, and our marriage.

And I remember it.

If it was just learning to have patience before the pink slip was rescinded and we went on our merry way, it probably wouldn’t have had the same effect on me.

And I think I’m better now.

I also know this is where our family is supposed to be here right now.  I often (too often) wonder if the wind will take us somewhere else.  I may, or may not, have panic attacks about it every once and while… but life goes on.  God is refining us, be it through downpours, or pink slips or whatever it is that is refining you.  He’s making you what you need to be.

And because what we are meant to be is something to celebrate, we’re making scones today.  Happy SCU liberation day!