The Journey Is As Important As The Destination

"May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting comfort and hope...encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word." - 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

As a family when we are faced with difficulties one of the ways that helps us focus on what God is doing in the midst of our trials is to apply these three principles:

- Reach back in our lives and learn all we can from the past

- Embrace the present, no matter how hard it may be, believing God is with us

- Look forward to the future

In case you haven't noticed all of us gets a little older each day and Jimmy and I are no exception. One of the main concerns for us has been our youngest daughter, Shelly, who is mentally challenged.

We know that we need to have a plan for her future beyond us. She is in her 40's now and is a wonderful person to have in our household as well as working at Loving & Caring. We have been able to keep our protective hand on almost all areas of her life.

Now we know it is time for change. Could she adjust and make a change? Could we seperate from her? Could we trust God for her future?

This has been an especially hard journey for Jimmy. He has been her father, coach, boss, protector and most of all has stood and believed in her all these years. Now he has to let go of her in the area of employment. We must work to give her a future and a hope beyond us.

Shelly had an interview at a local hospital. When se didn't get the job she started to volunteer there. She did this for a year in the department she wanted to work for (food services). Finally the door opened for 12 hours of employment.

Through out this journey she never missed her three hour Tuesday night volunteer shift! She did this after working 8 hours in her present job at Loving & Caring. We all understood that because of her handicap the journey of finding a job would be difficult, but we believed that if they had the opportunity to see her work and saw her attitude they might give her a chance.

Shelly started her new job on January 5th. She had the opportunity to share her journey at our church last week and here are a few comments:

"I decided to do a great job in the kitchen like starting the dishwasher and loading it. I learned how to roll the silverware up in a napkin. I swept the kitchen floor. I wanted to show them I could do it and would be faithful and patient. I believed that my faithfulness would show them I would make a good employee. I wanted then to know that I don't give up and I am loyal."

May we all learn from Shelly's journey and maybe we will get our dreams.

Anne