There have been total emotional breakdowns, difficulty managing stress, anxiety, mood swings, anger, and more. I would go on, but you'd never read my posts again. It has not been pretty.
One of the things that set me off and that I've been struggling with is in Michigan it's been firearm hunting season since November 15th. I really like to hunt. I'm not die hard, and am actually not even that good, but I really enjoy it. It's been a very busy couple months for me at work. It's just one of those seasons. So I've been really hoping to get away and spend some time in the woods. The more I tried to get ahead so I could get out of the office, the more things piled up and the more I stressed until I finally lost it.
This afternoon I finally got out into the woods for a few hours. I just bought a new rifle and was very excited to take it out and hopefully initiate it. As I sat in the tree stand waiting, I started to read a book that's been on my list for a while, Why Pray by John Devries. After a couple chapters on prayer, I set it down and started a conversation with God.
As I was thanking God for my son Colton, I started to think about the times I am blessed by him. One of my favorite experiences is when he gets hurt. No I'm not a terrible, rotten human being. Colton is always going and moving. He often runs into walls, trips and falls, or superman dives off the couch. As much as he carries on, cries, fusses, and acts like he's dying, he's really not. However in his mind, the world is falling down on top of him, and at that moment he instantly is looking for me. He crawls up on my lap and places all his tears on my shoulder.
So why do I enjoy it when he gets hurt? I don't, what I love is as a father that time where I can wrap my arms around him and completely love on him. I can bring him back to a place of joy and peace merely by him being in my presence. He doesn't sit still on my lap very often, but when he's scared or hurt it's like he doesn't want anything else than to be in my presence.
Apparently with all this stress and freaking out these last couple weeks, God and I needed to spend a couple hours of quality time together. I got absolutely skunked tonight in the woods. I saw one doe that might've been a large squirrel, she was so small. I did however get to spend a solid three hours in prayer crawling up on my father's lap and seeking nothing but his presence.
I've had a few moments these last couple weeks that have been as trying as any during this whole process. Instead of seeking God right away, I tried to fix things and deal with them on my own. I don't think God enjoys it when we are struggling, but oh how He must long for those moments when we as His children finally crawl back on His lap and say, "I need you".
I have so much to be thankful for. I never thought I would even be able to hunt this year when I was told about the cancer in April. I can't wait to get back into the woods tomorrow whether I see another deer or not, I will be on my father's lap.
