Encouragement when least expected

Yesterday was an awful day.

I woke up tired and grumpy even though I'd had a decent night's sleep.  I didn't feel very well for most of the day.  Sierra and I spent 2+ hours in the shop waiting for the car to be repaired.  (If you've never spent a couple of hours with a crawler who wants to walk and wants to eat everything in sight and needs to sleep after being up for 2 hours....I can lend you mine sometime.)  We came home, I got Sierra to sleep, and then the phone started ringing.  3 phone calls which all overlapped.  Wonderful conversations, but I really just wanted to eat lunch.  I managed to sit down with some food, ate, and then started packing up for a trip to the doctor's!

I woke Sierra up from her nap, got all ready to get out the door, but I couldn't get the dog into his crate.  I finally put Sierra down (which, of course, got her to screaming), terrified the dog into some form of obedience, and headed off to the doctor's office.  I got there late...and I wasn't prepared for all the lab appointment involved.  As I'm trying to finish all this up before Sierra's appointment with the pediatrician, she's taking plastic wrapped cups and tossing them around the room.  Thank God that Mike met me there for some back-up!  An hour and a half and three shots later, we headed home, put the baby to sleep, and finally had a chance to rest for a bit!

This morning, I woke up to the phone ringing.  Mike had taken his car (the one I got fixed yesterday) to work, had driven about 1/2 a mile, and then the "Check Engine" light started flashing.  From what I know, a steady check engine light isn't great, but a flashing one is really bad news.  So Mike turned around, came back, and took my car to work.  (At least that answered my debate as to whether we could go to the gym today or whether Sierra needed some down time at home...)  It also means we start thinking seriously about going down to one car....

So, today, we brought the car back to the shop, my mom picked us up, and then we headed to "Grandma's house" to play for a bit.

After lunch, we're all back home, Sierra's down for a nap (supposedly), and I'm finally able to curl up on the couch with the dog and cat and rest for a few minutes.

I just checked my e-mail and got a message from a friend saying that she'd been touched by something I wasn't even sure anyone had noticed.  God moved while I was unawares.  I love that about God.  He just does what He does.  He doesn't need us, but it's so awesome to get to be an occasional part of what He does in others' lives.  And just by telling me about her thoughts, my friend managed to make my whole day--my whole week, really!--lighter.  Thank you, friend!

So, here's my encouragement for you today: tell someone they've made a difference in your life.  Tell them that something they did meant something.  Tell them that God used them to bless or teach you.  You never know--it might just make their week!