Sick...but not without hope.

Just a quick update on the Balfour household...after over a month of being sick, we finally took a family trip to the doctor yesterday. Eighty percent of us are now on medicine for bronchitis, pneumonia, or sinusitis. Ellie is the only healthy one, and this morning, even she is feeling bad. This is a wicked virus!  When I don't find myself drowning under a pile of pukey bedding, or running between boogery noses, or trying to remember who needs what medicine,  I am quite thankful to be in a cozy house with a pretty Christmas tree and fresh playdough to be played with. God is so wonderful.

This morning I was more tired than usual and I took five minutes to read my bible. This is the verse God highlighted to me: 

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

"The Lord is my portion," says my soul,

"therefore I will hope in him."

The Lord is good to those who wait for him,

to the soul who seeks him.

It is good that one should wait quietly

for the salvation of the Lord."

Lamentations 3:22-27

We all hope for a perfect Christmas, and I can't help but wonder if Jesus sometimes allows these hard things to happen right at Christmas so we remember what the first Christmas was REALLY like.

Lonely, difficult, and a bit scary. 

And look how it turned out - with a powerful risen Saviour, mighty and able to save, full of love for the broken and lost! These trials are so very temporary and fleeting.

Merry Christmas to all my friends - I pray your hearts would be encouraged no matter WHAT your circumstances look like!

p.s. For all my praying friends, please pray for Josh. He's had a fever for 5 days and is having trouble keeping his medicine down...poor little guy. While the ibuprofen is working and his fever is temporarily gone, he enjoys singing "Joy to the World" over and over again. :) He's got the right idea!