pieces back together

Do you ever have a couple of weeks that are just so unbelievable that it's as if it never happened...but you look down and there are pieces of yourself all over the place as a result? I am very excited that April is tomorrow because March of 2006 is a month I will never forget for lots of reasons, but I want to forget all in the same breath. There was a weekend earlier this month that I had scheduled for Rayna to be with her Grandma Bevie and Jon was going to be in Duluth with the youth and I was just going to get the pieces of my life together and get schoolwork out of the way so that it is not a huge weight felt all the time. When Rayna came down with Rotavirus and I ended up in the hospital with her, that weekend became a different focus. Well....this weekend is a weekend, prayerfully, that I can pick up the pieces of our lives and finish schoolwork, sleep, and just rest in the knowledge that God does give us mercies new every morning. Cristina and I are heading to the clergy cottages to do all of those things and more and she is even going to teach me how to paint on a canvas! Jon will be resting somewhat here at home and Rayna is going to Tom and Kapi's...and ride the tractor. She is so excited to go that she couldn't settle down for a nap because she knew when she wakes up, that she get to go with the Palke's. Oh, a side note...Rayna's newest thing is that she wants to wear her favorite black shiny dress shoes with everything and she has to put them on herself! Doesn't matter what she's wearing, she has to wear her black shoes and she even has to sleep with them. Rayna has been so sweet during this last week too and asking me if I need hugs and if I was ok when the tears just didn't seem to stop at times. I know I've learned a lot of things this last week dealing with the grief, but the greatest lesson is that God's promise of new mercies every morning takes another reality when you don't know how much you're going to need for that day.