Pardon the Dust..... Life in Process: January 2008

LOST is Found

LOST can be found on ABC tonight at 8p.m. and loyal fans of the show are ready and waiting to get this final season under way. The suspense of how the writer's choose to end the show is almost too much, but I think it'll end up being much more interesting than all of the previous shows. Can't believe that a show I swore I wouldn't start watching when it came on about 4 yrs ago is now the one show I watch regularly. Guess I have Ben to thank for that one. And so I have to ask Ben: Are you and Kelly going to pop some popcorn and watch the last season (for old times' sake)? Hope you do, and thanks for all of the fun times at your house on David St., and thanks to Kelly for the awesome popcorn. I guess we'll be LOST just one more season.

What I Thought I Wanted

Do you ever hear songs that contain small phrases that for whatever reason seem to stick with you? My favorite contemporary Christian singer/songwriter is Sara Groves, and she has written several songs that contain lyrics which get 'stuck' in my brain, and I mull them around for days on end, dwelling upon the concept or truth that is presented, thinking about how it applies to my life in the here-and-now.
'What I Thought I Wanted' is a song that Groves penned after she had a close friend call off his wedding just days before he was to be married. In a follow-up conversation with that friend, she got the 'behind-the-scenes' scoop on what was occurring within the life of that friend that led him to decide to call off his nuptials, as well as his response to the difficult event.

"What he thought he wanted, what he got instead / Leaves him broken yet grateful. "

Groves also brings across her message by touching on the life circumstances of a familiar Old Testament Bible character: Job. When I think of Job, I think "what DIDN'T that man endure?" And I think I understand where she's coming from as she writes:

"When I get to heaven, I wanna go find Job/ I wanna ask a few hard questions , I wanna know what he knows/ About what it is he wanted and what he got instead/How to be broken yet faithful"

We know Job 'asked a few hard questions'; they're recorded in Scripture for us. And, we also know that God answered them with resounding clarity by giving Job an elementary lesson on Who He is, in all His grandness and glory. Job ended up seeing that the answers he wanted were not given, but what he got instead? Well, it was enough to make Job, a man who endured much brokenness and yet remained faithful, grateful for the rest of his lifetime. He asked the tough questions, but that didn't mean His faith had disintegrated.
Can you hear yourself in these next lines? I know that I could, and they've caused me to dwell on several things lately, as they have intermittently since I first heard this song.

" I keep wanting You to be fair/But that's not what You said/ I want certain answers to these prayers/ But that's not what You said"

I'm grateful that in my wanting to define what God should do under the auspices of being "fair", He shoots down with His intrinsic characteristics of omniscience, omnipotence, etc. He is not a God Who is defined by His creation, and I'm grateful He is so much more (and His ways are so much more) than what my limited mind can comprehend.
So why all of this Sarah-babble? First, I wanted to write out a little bit about some things that I have been pondering the past few months. My life at present is not how I would have pictured it 10 yrs ago. What I thought I wanted and what I got instead.....it leaves me broken and grateful. God has taken many of my life's "pieces" and gradually, lovingly, graciously put them together again, and He has filled this broken pot with joy that cannot come from circumstances or people, but from Himself alone. They were lessons He brought me through little-by-little, small and big changes that were given to me in little bits that I could handle and gradually embrace as my own----changes in thinking and acting and believing. And these changes didn't happen overnight! It's a process....as it is for all of us. In between the "what I thought I wanted" stage and the "what I got instead" stage is the grace of God carrying me along. Second, I wondered about the stories of other people's lives. In your journey, have you had any "what I thought I wanted...what I got instead" circumstances that have left you broken and yet grateful/faithful/peaceful? I know that I have, so what about you? Perhaps you're in-between the 'what I thought I wanted' part .... waiting for the 'what I got instead' part to show up. Waiting to see how God's plan unfolds. Trusting that God's plan is bigger than the answers to your questions.
I'm grateful that even in the waiting, there is a 'growing' that takes place. And in the meantime, I hope we can sing along with Groves:

"I want to be grateful, peaceful, thankful, faithful...."

I'd love to hear your story. If you don't want to post them on the blog, email me at nurseglup@msn.com

Honduras, The Human Front----Nov. 2006

Below are a few snapshots of some of the Honduran people I met during my travels. I have many, many more that I could share. The people loved getting their pictures taken, and then being able to see themselves on the digital screen was an added treat.

A little girl staring out of curiosity at the Americans outside her home
in Seguatepeque.

Kathy is hanging out in Santa Rosita with a group of girls who enjoyed a daily visit to our clinic. As a 70 yr. old woman, Kathy went outside of her "box" and took a missions trip for the first time in her life. She had a blast, and I got a kick out of her humor. She's a funny lady with a big heart for people.
I clearly recall when this Mom brought her 2 yr old daughter to us. She wanted us to fix a rash she had on her scalp (she had a fungal infection), but I happened to catch some dried blood on the side of her Lt ear. Dr. Whiting had an otoscope with him and he checked it out; sure enough, she had had a ruptured eardrum. That poor mother must've endured some nights of crying, and that child endured some nights of pain; there are no pharmacies in the little village of Santa Rosita. As you can see, the little girl is all dressed up upon her visit to see us. Many of the mothers would dress their children up to make the visit to the school. The little girls' dresses were always very frilly and lacy.
This is the resident midwife of the village. She has birthed hundreds of babies in her 80+yr lifetime. She came to 'chat' with Dr. Whiting, and to get some Tylenol for arthritic aches.
I took this shot the morning we rolled out of Santa Rosita. I had snapped a shot of these women 'sweeping' their yard, which, as the picture shows, consists of dirt. And, I decided I would come say Hola to them and see if they'd like their photo taken. They agreed to it, and so I held the camera out in front of us and this is what I snapped. It was between 7:30-8:00am and these women had already started a fire, swept their yard, washed their clothes and hung them out to dry, and were hard at work doing other domestic duties. There are 2 hard workers housed within those 2 small bodies!!

Honduras, Round 1 --Nov. 2006

While 'Overdue' may print out on a slip of paper from the library, it the word is now
finding itself on my blog, and rightly so. Yes, my trip to Honduras, Central America did happen in November of 2006. To briefly review: I went with 10 people from Frankenmuth Bible Church for a 10-day medical missions trip. The trip was led by Dr. Larry Whiting, a full time missionary based in Seguatepeque, Honduras. We ministered in the tiny village of Santa Rosita for 5 of those days, delivering medical care and dispensing medications, and a tiny (yet spunky) Honduran woman nicknamed 'Paz' delivered dental care, which we assisted her with. She has a heart of gold---she constantly gives and ministers to the physical and spiritual needs of her countrymen/women, both in the villages she travels to, as well as in the city of Seguatepeque. We often give out of our surplus; this lady gives out of what little she has, and God meets her needs. As defined in Scripture, she is one 'beautiful' woman. Enjoy the pics! I'll have to use two posts to show the ones I want to share.

Beautiful Honduras. View of the mountains as we traveled via bus to the remote village of Santa Rosita. The road to the village was just 'formed' by the government in 2002. Prior to that, Paz had to travel by donkey along a trail to get to the people.

Typical city street in Seguatepeque.

The kids came out to greet us with big smiles as we arrived via bus
into Santa Rosita.

The medical clinic was set up in one of the cement block school buildings.

The people were assigned a number, and then they waited in line to see us.
These people were tough...their teeth were terrible (I'll give credit where it's due), but they endured much with only a little bit of Lidocaine to help them through. Here I am helping Paz remove some decayed teeth. People would come from neighboring villages to have Paz take care of their bad teeth. It was a needed service that we could provide for them.

Christmas 2007---ALL about Christ...A lot about Owen

All within the John Glupker clan were home for Christmas except for Drew and Amanda, who spent time with her family in N. Carolina. We enjoyed time together playing games, relaxing, chatting, and eating. Baby Owen's 1st Christmas was not very memorable for him, but we all had fun having him there as part of our family Christmas. Besides his nose (which he inherited from his mommy), he seems to be turning into a 'little Ben'. And, he is absolutely adorable.....quite possibly the cutest baby around (according to this proud Aunt). Below are a few pics from our time together.