Just saw that I never published this 3 years ago....going to publish it now! Wow, has God been faithful!
March 2019
Do you ever feel like like you're riding the biggest wave of your life and you've never taken surfing lessons? My sister in law sent me this message 5 minutes after a VERY important meeting that would change our lives. And the coolest thing is....she didn't even know it was happening. Here's what it said.
Huge waves that would frighten us ordinary swimmers produce a
tremendous thrill for the surfer who has ridden them before. Let's apply
that to our own circumstances. The things we try to avoid and fight
against- -- are the very things that produce abundant joy in us. .....
The undiminished radiance, which is the result of abundant joy, is not
built on anything passing, but on the love of God that nothing can change.
And the experiences of life, whether they are everyday events or terrifying
ones, are powerless to "separate us from the love of God which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord" Romans 8:39
This past month the Lord has reminded me that He is my surf board AND my wave. And even when He brings us a terrifyingly great chapter in life that seems like it's going to completely swallow us up in it's greatness, we can just sit back on the surfboard and ride the wave baby. It feels like in the past month this wave has turned on a dime at least a dozen times. Yet, we're still afloat AND thriving! Praise God. So, here's our big update.
The Lord has brought us to a new chapter in life. Instead of 3 sons, we now have 4. You heard me right. FOUR SONS. Let me introduce you to Michael. He is a smart, loving, kind, thoughtful 13 yr. old. He came to America from Kenya about 2 1/2 years ago. Due to many circumstances, he needed a new place to live. He will be moving in with us as of the first weekend in April and we will be his guardians until further notice. Right now he is spending weekends with us. The boys all knew each other for 2 years now as Michael and his sister, Mary, have been going to our church and youth group, so that is very helpful that they are already friends. You know when you find out you're first pregnant and right away you know this baby is YOURS!? That's how Randy and I felt when Michael's dad signed the papers for us to have guardianship of him. I can't explain it. I didn't see it coming even 1 week before this opportunity was set before us. But here I am, the mother of 4 godly, strong, loving, kind, handsome, gentlemen of integrity!
Here's the cool thing. Randy and I started looking for houses in the Pennridge School District about 2 months ago (before Michael was even a thought in our minds) because Seth wants to go to Vo-Tech school and Quakertown School District will not pay for homeschoolers to go but Pennridge School District will. So....here we are 2 months later and the Lord has brought us Michael. He goes to a middle school in Pennridge. We REALLY want to let him continue going there so he has as little disruption in his life as possible. The only way you can go to a Pennridge school is if you live in the district. So, we're now actively looking to move. And we need to any way with 4 big boys and one small house that only has 2 bedrooms (tiny ones at that) for them to share.....and listen.....we only have ONE bathroom. That's ONE toilet......(First world problems I know). When we move and the Lord brings me another toilet I'm going to bedazzle it with jewels so that it's just mine....all mine (insert maniacal laugh here). This should deter them.... "Don't squate. Mom's pot"
So, that's the news from the Gehlert house hold.
We're just riding the wave and seeing where in Pennridge we end up.....Me, Randy, and our four boys.
