But What I Didn't Tell You Was ---

" ... and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power."   --- Colossians 2:10

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The first day when the basement guys arrived? Tom closed the garage door and somehow stepped away with a hairline fracture in his big toe.

The next Monday, he attended a celebration at his work's offices and--when they snapped group photos out on the lawn--Tom, this time, sprained his ankle. Same foot.

He arrived home, told me of this, and our earlier 2022 questions, "Will we ever be able to go on vacation again? Would it be worth the risks?" seemed to be answered

Even though Tom faithfully lifts weights and uses the treadmill at home, we are probably done with vacations.

Oh, and also I forgot to mention over 15 years the fatty cyst on top of my head has grown and while daily praying it'll decrease, now I'm buying headbands and berets to cover it (big sigh). 

Acceptance. Oh dear.

Some folks refuse it, for they consider it admitting defeat. Yet I prefer to view acceptance as a challenge. "Okay, so I can no longer _______. What can I do instead? What new activities can I discover? What am I still able to fix or recreate or imagine?"

Probably, at first, most of us feel pensive (as I have lately) when we lose something and are deciding how to make a replacement or whether to just sit around, mope, counting our losses, instead.

Go skipping acceptance, aim at retrieving what you lost, and oh dear. It's a bit like knocking one's head against a wall. Repeatedly.

Much of 2022 I've felt the challenge of acceptance, like, for various reasons, this may be our final house (financially we're farther ahead remaining here and we're feeling much too decrepit to pack). But my decorating choices here are now so limited (I'm all about decorating!). And to give myself a break, my gardening life is reduced. 

Oh, and I don't like driving the way I used to, not even to the library so yeah, Honey, I'm home a lot. And that's where I've chosen to overcome my challenges. At home. 

It's here where I battle against lethargy and defeat so I can, instead, create a life from which I don't even need a vacation. A life as creatively satisfying as any adventure elsewhere, even if it includes watching tons of other folks' travels on Youtube.

And frankly, I'm making a life with Jesus at the center, He who meets every single need as only He can. 

I mean, hey. I could travel to incredible exotic places or live inside my Victorian dream house or have 10 grandchildren and all the energy of a gymnast, but you know? Still only Jesus can fill that space inside my heart designed just for Him.

A.W. Tozer said something like, "We limit ourselves when we believe 'I'll be ok as long as I have Jesus and'-- " It's that 'and' we should place upon our palm sometimes, peer at it from all angles and then ask ourselves, "But what if I lose this? Would I be ok with only Jesus?"

For it's when we truly know only Jesus satisfies us that we experience the freedom He meant for us all along.

If anyone knows that exact A.W. Tozer quote, I'd be grateful if you sent it to me. I found it years ago, but didn't write it down and have searched many times since. (Note to self: write stuff down!)  シ

Make all the travel memories you can while you still can. They will prove purposeful later.

Oh, and please don't suggest a wheelchair for traveling for Tom. He's accepted much about where he is, but he's not ready to consider that. I don't blame him.

But I'll add what I told my friend, Susan, at Facebook:

"Yeah, I should probably go back and add on my post that Tom has asked for the occasional wheelchair at airports because it's quick and saves so many steps. He's also had us take those small motorized tram things with drivers. He's fine with those and using his canes and that rollator thing (walker with wheels) he uses here and at the office. It's just that he's not ready to have me roll him around everywhere and actually I'm wondering if I could take him around very far. heh."

And yes. We've not ruled out day trips. Those are more doable at this stage and thankfully, we live in an area where the places to visit are nearly endless.

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And speaking of libraries and Youtube, here's one of the most incredible things I've ever seen in my life(!) It's a public library built in 1882 with all the original books still upon its shelves! Wow. Blew me away.

And oh, what Justin and Ally saw on their New England autumn trees expedition!

Please remember: My posts are always about more than they appear to be. *** "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15