Ah, the weekend . . .

We had a weekend of ups and downs.  Really Dark Valleys and really High Mountaintops, that is.  I'm choosing to focus on the Mountaintops.

Except to say that we had snow on Saturday.  Not exactly a Dark Valley, but annoying as all get out since it's well toward the end of May now.  Hmph!

Okay, on to the High Mountaintops.

A family party was planned to celebrate #6's completion of his truck driving course, receiving his Commercial Drivers License complete with hazmat endorsement.  He's certified to drive anything now.  It was #6's moment in the sun and we were so proud of him.  Dad made a little speech, everyone applauded, and stepmom cried. There it is.

Lots of good food and fun company for the afternoon -- that's the order of the day for all our family parties.  Most of the kids came over early to help with food preparation, for which I was truly thankful.  We all piled into the kitchen, cutting fruit and cheese, making salad, putting out dips, crackers and chips, and on and on.  No one got cut with a sharp knife and there was minimal bumping into each other, despite the fact that there were seven or eight of us working in there.

#7 outdid himself in food preparation, seasoning meat, cutting fruit, making salad -- even making a batch of gluten-free brownies for his Dad to eat.

Later that evening, when everyone had gone home, Tim and I put our feet up and vegged out on the couch in the family room. As we mindlessly watched TV, Tim's phone rang.

A family member.

One with whom both of us had had a difficult relationship for several years.

We began to talk.

To our utter astonishment, in less than 20 minutes, God had answered our prayers with a miracle of reconciliation!  I know we shouldn't be astonished, but this really took our breath away. Tim and I just looked at each other when the phone call was over, marveling at how thoroughly God heals the things that are broken and how good He truly is.

Mountaintops. 

Really, really, really High Mountaintops.

- Catherine