Charlotte

We had a great day today. Logan and I ran a few errands, but for the most part we just hung out. He was in a great mood today and was tons of fun to watch and feed. It's such a privilege to get to know Logan more and more every day. I felt very content today. More than other days, I felt wrapped in God's love and was filled with a sense of calm and peace (so your prayers are working. . thanks : )
We enjoyed dinner with friends and as they were leaving, we witnessed a spider building the most magnificient web I've ever seen. I tried to photograph it, but none of the pictures turned out, and the ones that did showed only a fragment of the web. The anchors stretched from feet up into the tree to the ground, and the web is over a foot in diameter. We watched as the spider started in the middle and made its way round and round. Later I went to check it out, and each concentric ring was millimeters from the one before it. The spider itself was nested in the middle of the web, content and pleased with its work, I would imagine. I'm anxious to see if the web is there in the morning. . doubtful, I suppose. Someone will come along and wipe it away, or not see it and walk right through it (I know what you're thinking. . I'll probably be the one to walk through it). I'd love to step out each morning and see it and know that its there. For now, however, the spider is safe and sound with everything it needs.
I feel compelled to compare this to my faith. At times it seems to take a lot of work to build it up and maintain it, and at times no one can see it, but we know its there. When they can see it, they see a fragment of it. The truth is that it is magnificent and vast and intricately crafted. Sometimes, "life happens" and the web is disrupted, never entirely. . . there are always remains. . . but enough that the web requires constant rebuilding. Once in a while, if even for a brief moment, the web seems complete and we can snuggle up in the middle, surrounded by protection and to provide nourishment.
I am grateful for many things. I am grateful for a relationship with our Lord that is vast and beautiful and intricate and portable. I am grateful for the experiences of late that have showed me that that relationship can at times seem delicate. I am grateful for the ability to go "back to work" at any time, reconstructing the web, and I'm grateful for the ability to take advantage of previous hard work and sit lazily in the middle of the web. I'm grateful for family and friends who are continuously lifting us up in prayer so that we might take a breather as needed and stop weaving the web for a bit.