Reassurance, Discovery, Compassion: Friday's Fave Five #3

January 15, 2010

Time for Friday’s Fave Five, a rundown of five of my favorite things from the second full week of January. If you’d like to jump into FFF, visit here and read all about it.

I like to look at this as blessings from the week. My list is always filled with things that have touched me, spoken to me, and reassured me. Hope they do the same for you!

1. A reassuring word for the mom in me. In my daily Bible reading this week, I came across a passage I’ve read before, but it struck a chord this time.

Matthew 9:36 says, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

Harassed and helpless – those two words jumped out at me. They describe how I have felt so many times in this mothering journey. Harassed by time demands, by lack of patience, by my and others’ expectations… Helpless in the face of the clock; I want to speed it up or slow it down, preserve this moment or quickly get past it.

But “…He had compassion on them.” He sees my moments of helplessness, senses my feelings of harassment. He sees, He cares, He shows compassion.

2. The discovery of a new author. For me, at least, Sibella Giorello is a new author. I read one of her books during December, finished the second this week, and am looking forward to her upcoming release in March. A Christy award winner, she packs a lot of meaning into few words, says so much with so little. And that’s not easy to do! Her fiction is entertaining and full of meaning. Just click on her name above to check out her books.

3. Compassion in the hearts of the young. The earthquake in Haiti has brought so many needs to the surface. My school has some ties to Haiti – after all, in South Florida we are just about an hour away. Some of our students have extended family there and a number of our kids have participated in mission trips to a church and school we’ve “adopted” in Haiti. These kids have seen Haiti firsthand; they remember the children, and they hurt for them. For the last two days, these students have met at noon to pray and are exploring how they can help the country of Haiti.

For a word from one who has been there (before this crisis), see this blog. It happens to be written by one of my own boys, and it contains links to organizations that are helping the Haitians through this tragedy.

4. Two lovely blogs. In the craziness that is sometimes the internet, it’s refreshing to find little havens, pockets of peacefulness. I came upon two blogs that fit that description this week: Muthering Heights and A Feast of Light.

I’ve run across some great places with wise words and met a lot of new blog friends, but I have to say that when I leave either of these two blogs, I feel like I’ve just taken a nice, deep breath. The combination of sentiment and beauty in both of these blogs just kind of slows me down, and these days, that’s a good thing! Go see. Take a nice, deep breath.

5. Some kind words about my youngest son. Of course, I think he’s great, but you do wonder once in a while how they are when you’re not around – with peers, in different settings. A couple of friends told me this week how wonderful my youngest is, and they see him in settings that I don’t. Every mom needs to hear those good words once in a while. I have a friend who sees nothing but good for my boys, even when I have valid worries. She’s usually a realist, not a Pollyanna, so her faith in my boys really encourages me. I suppose friends like that would be my FFF 5.5. So much to be thankful for!

How about your Friday’s Fave Five? I’d love to hear about five things that graced your week in the comments – or visit Living to Tell the Story to get the details.

Hope you had a wonderful week and your weekend is filled with smiles!

Laura