Blessings

We have been blessed in so many ways since the end of May.

I've never been good at accepting help, asking for help, or even at admitting that I need help.  Neither is Kirk.  In school, I would much rather spend hours trying to figure something out on my own than ask for help from the teacher, and admit that I didn't know everything.  For many years, Kirk would do everything he could to avoid calling tech support when he had a problem with his computers.  Over the last few months, we've been on the receiving end of countless kindnesses, gifts, hugs, cards, letters, and more.  It's been hard to accept the help, but it's been wonderful knowing that there are so many people wanting to help, reading the blog, praying, and using their talents to help make this road lighter for us.  It's been reassuring to us - as well as humbling and overwhelming.

When I was little, I often made my dad tell stories about growing up during the 1930's.  I loved hearing about his life and the way people lived in the 'olden days' - before electricity, cars, phones, fridges.  I especially loved the concept of 'barn raising' type activities where entire communities come together to work on a project and help each other out.  Not only does a big job get done quickly, but the community is strengthened, and the workers get to experience the pride and satisfaction that comes from working together.  That kind of thing doesn't happen as regularly now, but it's cool that we got to see some of that spirit last week. It's humbling to be on the receiving end of it.

Just before I left for Saskatoon on the day we got the pathology report, I ran to get something out of our laundry room and saw water dripping down from the ceiling.  The kids were finally loaded into the van (which we'd had to wait for while the tires were being replaced due to the flat tire the day before), and we really needed to get to Saskatoon to be together.  Instead of delaying our trip, I called my brother.  He found that our shingles, which we thought would last another 2 or 3 years, were shot as a result of the extrordinarily rainy (and windy) spring we had.

Then, my wonderful brother gathered together a group of amazing volunteers to re-shingle our house for us.   Words can not express how thankful we are to these people for all the work they put in. They got the whole house finished in one day - just last Saturday, August 21.  We weren't here to see them, but we do have pictures.  There were some who worked on the roof, some who loaned the equipment, and some who made lunch, snacks and coffee for the workers. Thank-you to everyone.



We hope that you were all blessed through doing, and we pray that we will be able to pay it forward (or back) sometime soon.