Dream to Reality

Last night was crazy. Truman, August, and I spent the Superbowl at Fox n' Hound, a restaurant/bar with hundreds of other Saints fans. The excitement, hope, and joy filled the place as we waited and watched to see if our team could pull out a victory.

The first half was tough. Payton Manning and the Colts did not let us have anything we did not deserve. Once the second half rolled around it was as is the half time break erupted this sense of fire in our Saints. They came out with fire and on fire! The cheering, the high; it was euphoric. Watching the big screens, seeing the Black and Gold everywhere, cheering. It was intense! I had to calm down quite a few times for fear that such excitement would induce my labor. Thank the Lord it didn't.

At the end of the game, when we intercepted the ball, Truman all at once cleared the table and jumped on it, with child in hand. He was elated, high fiving, screaming! He then noticed that my 19 month old was not as jazzed about the excitement and being on the table, the sudden jerking and screams. He passed the now upset child to me, and continued rejoicing. I was like, "Wow, is this really happening? Are we gonna win?!?!" The cheering didn't stop there.

Truman went out to Bourbon Street, which he hates most nights, but wanted to experience this new page in history. The streets were packed. The "Who Dat" cheers, music, and celebration showed him a little bit of what Heaven is going to be like- everyone rejoicing and celebrating in complete joy with a common purpose. When he arrived home early in the morning, his joy was contagious. Even though I had been asleep for hours, I was so blessed that he had the opportunity to participate with his community, his home, his people and celebrate something that until last night was only a dream. There was unity in the city.

Deep within me, my deepest prayer is that the cheers, excitement and unity would not stop here. Somehow in someway, God, would you see that these people need true joy that does not fade and send your redeeming power on this city? May the joy that was found from this victory become a daily reality for New Orleans because of the joy that is found in you.

The Simple Joys of Motherhood

My sweet boy wakes up every morning crying. When I go get him from his crib he is quick to point to the kitchen and say, "eat?" Oh, how that brings a small smile to my tired face.

This morning, however there was no "eat" but there was much crying. Even after I took him to the kitchen and tried to feed his tiny body, he still was unsatisfied.

Lately, God has been teaching me patience. At least this unstoppable crying did not come at 6 am, but nontheless, it was unstoppable. It went on for 15 minutes or so. Eventually calming down, he returned to the pleasant boy I knew before he went to sleep.

As the morning has progressed the crying is no more. My pleasant, curious, always hungry child, is back to normal. This brings me joy, that even when the crying seems unstoppable, eventually, eventually, he goes back to the laughing, smiling, pleasant child I knew the night before.