Life is not Always as it Seems

A Couple of Months ago...

I got laid off at CRA and at the time I thought, "This really sucks! What an awful thing!" Today I am on the verge of getting a permanent full-time position with Service Canada and I have CRA to thanks for it. When they laid me off they gave my name to Service Canada to do a casual term position with them for a couple of months and then CRA would call me back. This tempoary position has worked out so well that they want to keep us all now. What seemed to be really "bad" has turned out to be really "good". This past week I went to COHO and Pastor Stew spoke on the following: (I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Here is an excerpt!)

The Wall

Week 7 of “Life Is Too Short To Be Wasted Being Mad, Angry & Emotionally Wrecked”

The good times and the bad times are not always what they first appear to be.

One day, a young man’s horse ran away for no apparent reason and was subsequently taken by nomads across the border. Everyone tried to offer condolences to the young man for his bad fortune, but his father, a wise man, said, “What makes you so confident that this is not a blessing?”

Months later, his horse returned, bringing with her a magnificent stallion. This time everyone was full of congratulations for the son’s good fortune. But now the father said, “What makes you so confident that this isn’t a disaster?”

In fact, their household became richer because of this fine horse, which the son loved to ride. But one day he fell off the horse and broke his hip. Once again, everyone offered
condolences for his bad luck, but his father said, “What makes you so confident that this is not a blessing?”

A year later neighboring nomads mounted an invasion across the border, and every able-bodied man in the village was required to take up his bow and go into battle. They lost 9 out of every 10 men. Only because the son was lame did the father and son survive to take care of each other.

Vanessa is TOOO BUSY!!!!!

Yes it is true! My sweety is being run ragged these days with way to much work. Everyday she goes to work and more is being piled on. If you know her then you know that she is very accomplished, is a hard worker and gets copious amounts of stuff done. She is often staying after work to get stuff done and regularly works through her lunches and breaks. I can tell she is very busy because she has absolutely no time to answer my emails throughout the day. As a single mom with three kids her evenings are spent driving here and there, getting supper organized, doing homework and projects. She is one busy woman. Now before you think that I am just complaining because there is very little "Mikey time". Hold your shorts! I am more concerned about her burning the candle at both ends and looking like she is going to drop. Summer which has been traditionally a couple months of catch-up was anything but for her this year. So she has come into the fall with very low reserves of energy. Some things are going to need to change. Pray for her as she makes decisions about her future and sets up the boundaries that will enable her to succeed.

Ronnie Tkachuk

So my dad is living with me these days. It has been a fairly stressful endeavour. You see my dad is not well. He is only 60 yrs old but has the body of a worn out 90 year old. Dad doesn't think to clearly and is compulsive about his stuff. I recently helped clean out the house he was living in and we had to use a 30 cubic dumpster 4 times to get most of the crap out. Dad had frozen food in his deep freeze from 2000 that he wanted to keep. He could never let a good deal go by. In the last few years his health has deteriorated and he now cannot hold his head up. The other night he asked me to help him to lie on the ground so he could stretch out his neck. As I helped him move gingerly to the ground he whimpered in pain as tears filled his eyes. At that moment I felt great compassion for this man who has made the bad choices that have brought him to this state.
It is hard to see your dad so frail and in so much pain. I weep for him and pray that this pitiful existence would be short. Don't get me wrong: I don't want my dad to die, but I don't want him to be in the emotional and physical pain he deals with on a daily basis. He won't make the requisite changes that are needed to have a better quality of life. He just doesn't have it in him. For many years I was angry and dissappointed with him. Now I think he just did the best he could. I have talked to him about God and about his days that are quickly coming to a close. He still frustrates me at times. But I love him and more than anything I want him to know that. I want him to know he is loved. I want him to know that in many ways I am proud of him. He is special and a beautiful creation. I want him to know that God loves him and accepts him as he is.

Trekker out of the Closet

Star Trek has turned 40 years old this year. I love the stories....the drama...the character development! I love the Enterprise, Voyager, The Borg, The new series and the old. Yes I have watched every single episode and some more than 5 or 10 times. I love the adventure. Why am I writing this? I really don't know. Perhaps to say "yes" I am the geek some of you think I am. Yes I am that geek who loves everything Trek.

Change is Inevitable

It has been a while since I blogged. Life has been going at a rapid pace. I have been working at Service Canada and have been moving my DAD into my home. It has been stress filled to say the least. But I am learning lots about how the “system” works and what you should be doing. My dad is on AISH but is now 60, because of this he should apply for an early retirement because if he doesn’t by the time he is 65 his payments will greatly be diminished. He will make more on early retirement than waiting. So I guess it’s a blessing that I found that out for him. I have also had to juggle things because it was almost 6 weeks before I got my first paycheck. Everything is fine now. Like I said it has been a learning experience. I am grateful for the job and the experience. I have some big decisions to make in the near future as to where to live, where to go to church and the kids and stuff. Change is a constant these days. I would appreciate your thoughts, prayers and anything else for myself and Vanessa as we consider our future together. Blessings on you all!!!