A Heavy Heart

Brokaw woke me up at 3:36am.
The alarm goes off at 4:00am.

I know this is minutes, but when this happens, I get really mad.
I need those 25 minutes or so of sleep! 
Michael learned very early in our marriage if he needed to be turned or adjusted, to not wake me up unless he was going to like, um, die.
Brokaw somehow never got that memo. And now, Brokaw is sleeping on a pile of clean laundry as I write this. Not fair.

So, Mommy is tired this morning.
But, it has been much worse than this, so, I journey on. Sip coffee.

Remind me not to drink Diet Coke with dinner. Why do I do this to myself? Not again.

My heart is heavy this morning for my mom, and her community. I’ve been seeing more and more photos of the damage from Hurricane Irene. I’m talking entire houses washed away. The community of Hatteras is completely cut off from the world because Highway 12, the only road in and out, is gone. If I see one more mainstream media newscast or newspaper article about how NYC “dodged a bullet,” I’m going to scream.

There are plenty of people in North Carolina, New Jersey and Vermont (and probably other places that I’m not hearing about) that are under water.

My heart is also heavy for another family.
For weeks, I’ve been following the story of Derek McConnell. Derek was in my brother’s unit in Afghanistan, and Derek was just feet from my brother when he stepped on two IEDs, and lost both of his legs. His injuries are devastating. His road to recovery is long. And his mom and girlfriend are so brave and strong,, it’s humbling.

Last night, Derek’s mom asked for prayer for a woman named Amanda. Amanda’s husband was shot in Afghanistan, and is on life support. She has to make the awful decision whether or not to continue. And she has a 2 year old and she’s pregnant. And, she’s facing a lawsuit from her in-laws. And right now, there is little hope.

Oh, Lord. There is so much pain. So much that we don’t understand. Give these suffering people your grace and peace and wisdom this day. My heart aches.