Thankful In All Circumstances...

Thankful in the Circumstances... Tuesday, November 9,2021 Leigh Droescher O'Donoghue

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. Isaiah 61:1-3 In July 2018 I stepped off a cruise ship onto the dock in Helsinki, Finland. My husband’s sister had called me the year before with the following message, “I’ve just booked you and me on a three-week cruise through the Baltic Sea next summer to celebrate my birthday! Please say yes!” Janice and I had never traveled together, I didn’t like being away from my family, and I didn’t particularly have any desire to go on a cruise, but my fate seemed to be sealed. So, the calendar sped to June 2018, I made sure my passport was current, and off we went! It was fabulous! Our friendship grew to sisterhood. We saw breath-taking sights, met fascinating people, slept as if we never knew what it meant to sleep, and savored every moment. We arrived in Helsinki after three days in St. Petersburg, Russia. Everything we saw there was so jaw-dropping we were only dimly conscious of the fact that we were unreachable by cell for those three days. But while we were wide-eyed in Catherine’s Summer Palace, big things were happening back in Orlando. My oldest daughter Alison had just finished her junior year at Florida Gulf Coast University. She was home to complete her hospitality internship at a large local catering company. Though she was excited about her blossoming career, there was a heaviness over her days and heart because her college boyfriend of the last two years, whom she thought she would marry, had broken up with her when he graduated in April. Alison was crushed and completely taken by surprise. I did my best to nurse and nurture her broken heart, and wasn’t terribly surprised when, for the first time in her life, she started gaining weight. After a few weeks we asked if she might be pregnant. She had thought of that as well, but Alison had been put on birth control pills as a teenager to moderate debilitating cramps and bleeding, and she shared that she had never missed even one pill. In fact, she was never even delayed taking a pill. On top of that, she had never missed a period, hadn’t been sick, and had no symptoms. So, I left for my three-week adventure. And that leads us back to the dock in Helsinki. And the life-changing phone call when my husband and Alison let me know that she was in fact expecting a baby. Earlier in the spring, Bruce and I were facing a number of big decisions and had decided to do a fast together. As part of the fast we were going to a worship service each day at various local churches. Our Wednesday service turned out to be a healing eucharist with a short teaching. We both loved it, so we kept attending that Wednesday noon service even when our fast ended. One day, the priest called us up after the service and told us he felt he had a word from the Lord for us. Would we like to hear it? Um, YES! And he wasn’t understating it, he literally had one word. “Pivot” He said the Lord had told him to tell us to get ready to pivot. Oh boy, buckle up, Buttercup! With that word ringing in our mind and hearts, we made some new empty-nest plans. We put a contract on our dream house in St Simon’s Island, GA and made arrangements to leave Orlando. That’s a pivot! Some things happened in our business that made us think that was surely our pivot. But on that dock in Finland, 5000 miles away from my family, I was like Ross from Friends moving that sofa up the stairs. “PIVOT!!!” In the London airport I bought a book and stuffed animal for my coming grand baby, and had barely thrown my suitcase in the front door when we headed to the doctor. There we learned that Alison was indeed pregnant, and that she was already 31 weeks along. (Sounds unbelievable, I know, but apparently it happens all the time! She got her period right up until she gave birth. And somehow her tiny little frame just absorbed that baby bump until close to the end.) We had to pivot and pivot fast. We pulled out of the St Simon’s house and quickly found a house back in Orlando with appropriate space for a 22 year-old daughter who needed to be independent in a codependent sort of way, and a growing baby. Ava Joy O’Donoghue turned three last September 1st. She is perfectly healthy, precious, hilarious, beautiful, smart, and cherished. Alison is a natural mommy, with endless patience and love for her little girl. Ava’s father, Alison’s former boyfriend, reacted badly to the news and has no interest in being a part of either of their lives. Alison’s broken heart was crushed even more by that reality, but she’s emerging from that blow. More and more I see glimpses of the former bubbly young woman ready to take on the world. And I look at Ava and can hardly contain my love for her. She brings joy to us like nothing else I’ve ever experienced. She is a gift beyond measure. And I firmly believe it was important that I was on the other side of the world when Alison found out she was pregnant. If I had been home, she would have told me first. And it would have been fine. But not best. I wasn’t available so she called her Daddy. Bruce took her call during a business meeting about an hour away. His precious baby girl was sobbing. She had taken a pregnancy test and it was positive. He excused himself from the meeting and drove home at break-neck speed. Then my husband wrapped our first born into his arms and held her for three hours while she sobbed and her heart and future and plans shattered into a million pieces around her. He stroked her hair, wiped her tears, and just kept whispering, “It’s all going to be ok. You’re not alone. God’s got this. It’s all going to be ok.” Our gracious Heavenly Father knew exactly what we all needed in order to properly navigate this pivot in our lives. Just like he always does. So, wherever you find yourself today, dear sister, my message for you is this: It’s all going to be ok. You’re not alone. God’s got this. It’s all going to be ok. The battle has been fought and won, and we have victory in Jesus. His lap is always open for us to crawl in and sob, for as long as you need. Then wipe your tears, lift your chin, and watch as he brings beauty from the ashes. Heavenly Father, thank you for being our Abba/Daddy. Thank you for having a good plan for us, even when we can’t see it. Thank you for knowing us so intimately and stretching us where we don’t believe we can be stretched. And thank you for catching and cherishing every one of our tears, not allowing even one to be wasted. In the healing, comforting, unchanging, trustworthy, and powerful name of Jesus. Amen.