Thank you so much, Friends! !
Such encouragement!
On Fri, May 31, 2019, 6:36 PM Carrie Hub <carriehub060300@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Ditto to Liz's beautifully put words! She is speaking truth. Have hope,
dear friend!
I remember Liz telling me that she understood something that I shared with
her when she came to visit me in my first year of marriage. It felt so good
to hear. Marriage is wonderful, but it can be lonely. The same with
parenting. Both stretch us to our limits "like butter stretched over too
much bread."
God has been teaching me through the years to hold loosely to people, to
love them, to serve them and enjoy them as I can, but also to let Him move
them away if He wishes and to focus on those right in front of me. It is
hard and it hurts, but I trust that I am where I am supposed to be and so
are they (whether that is a place or a season of life). I have to trust
that He will provide all they need and all I need. Again this is hard as I
miss them. It has made me start looking forward to heaven more and more. I
am tired of saying goodbye.
By the way, weaning hormones stink. I was so thankful that a friend warned
me that she struggled with feeling very depressed after each of her kids
were weaned. It stunk! I recommend lots of Kayla snuggles!
You are loved. You are heard. You are not alone in your struggle or
feelings. Hugs from far away. And prayers for comfort and clarity and peace.
On Fri, May 31, 2019, 1:54 PM Elizabeth Lovelace <
dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi, Renee,
I want to start by acknowledging your loss and grief. I see how strongly
you yearn for and miss these relationships. Hormones or not, your feelings
are valid. Wish I could come hug you.
Yes, you're in a new stage of life, and it has changed more aspects than
you expected. I think you're doing great recognizing what you're capable of
and what you're not. That's such a huge step. Being ok with it, is
different, though.
Sounds like you guys have been stuck in "limbo", house-wise, and that has
to be so frustrating. Hang in there.
And while it's not the same as face-to-face encounters, there is a lot
you can do with technology. If Kayla goes to bed early, maybe you can pick
a few nights a week to spend time on the phone with friends and family to
catch up. Sending a text or quick e-mail to check in with people is valid,
too. I was so encouraged when you wrote me out of the blue one day to tell
me you were thinking and praying for me.
And people get it. You have a baby. Of course your life is different and
your time is limited. All those that love you will still love and
appreciate you even if they don't see you as often.
Yes, sleep is important! Does Kayla fall asleep in a stroller? My kids
have napped and fallen asleep in so many strollers and car seats! :) Still,
do what you feel is best for your child and your family.
Love you!!!
PS: the fact that you care so much makes you a great friend, by the way.
On Fri, May 31, 2019 at 9:35 AM, Renee O'Leske
<larsen.renee@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Girlfriend chat here. I am very hormonal. Finally weaned Kayla
completely. Etc...
And feel in need of some sister's encouragement. I am not even dressed
yet, since 6am I have fed and played with Kayla, put her down for a nap,
replied to a few text messages, took out the trash, made a healthy snack
for the family and composed this email. Still not dressed yet... and I am
sure Kayla will be up soon.
But anyway, I am just wondering if anyone can relate to this. It is
long. Please don't feel obligated to read or respond. I know you have
many priorities!! But if you feel led... here are my thoughts this
morning:
So... Craig and I have a sense of loyalty to many friends and family
members... yet, since we have been married and now have a young child, we
are "losing" our friendships based on our own capacity. We literally
cannot maintain them. We had very full lives with work, church families,
family, friends... but they did not intersect at all (none of my friends
even intersect much, they are all separate "families" to me). So to
maintain this in marriage and with a family is impossible.
(We're struggling to find time to connect with a local church - we're
pursuing serving on Sunday mornings b/c it is the only time we can commit
to... Let alone try to get together with friends or even my own family
visiting from out of town! b/c Kayla goes to bed at 7:30pm... Are we
being too strict? I only read about how important sleep is for children!!)
I find myself being stretched in ways I would never expect. "leaving
father and mother" (which as an older single person seems to also include,
your sisters, brother, and all your friends) - I didn't expect this meant
losing them...
But I think of Christ... Christ *lost *the Father, and the Father turned
His back on His Son, so that we could be Christ's Bride. What a cost!!!!
I wasn't able to see any of you when you were here in WI. Joanna is here
from NZ and I am not sure I will be able to see her. I am seeing Naomi and
her family twice.. hopefully 3 times in the 3 weeks she has been here from
TX! (And these times are like a few hours in one day... that's it.) I
am so used to spending as much time as possible with my peeps!
(To make things more challenging, we don't have much energy or space to
have many people over - especially if they have a lot of little kids. We
have no yard or basement or separate room for them to play... Kayla barely
has a room to sleep b/c so much of our stuff is packed in hopes that we
will find a house someday. plus we live a good bit north of the city, so
it's not really close to anyone...)
I feel like I need to say, "The Lord gives and the Lord takes away,
blessed be the name of the LORD." But... I never expected I would lose all
my relationships He's given me. Isn't that not being a good steward of
them? Isn't that mean to these precious people? Won't that mean that I
will be isolated? I just struggle with this... yet, I honestly don't have
the capacity. I feel like we moved far away but we didn't...
And my sweet little girl is now awake. :)
