Miyazaki Moves Me

So, after being tantalized without any satisfaction by all the movie posters I saw in the underground every time I went to London this past summer, I finally saw Howl's Moving Castle last night after Sam & I had a lovely dinner at Sweet Basil. So, so tasty.

It was such a fantastic movie, though. I highly recommend it! Wonderful creative fantasy, actually humorous side characters, and of course beautiful animation. Good for children, too, other than them not understanding what is happening in the plot really, but do they understand anyways half the time? Anyways... I was not at all disappointed, and I had built it up a lot for myself, just from the posters.

Ah, to be well again!

So, today is the 3rd or 4th day that I've felt like my usual healthy self again. And its so great! It was so exciting to ride my bike to work again on this beautiful day, to have energy to really engage the kids & play with them without just wanting to sit down. And, to have energy to do more than lay around when I get home from work, and feel sorry for myself. Health really is an overlooked blessing, at least by those of us that possess it 99.9% of the time.

One night last week I was having a hard time. I was just so vexed with being sick and I was so ready to be well. I told Sam and I didn't understand why I had to be sick; it seemed like God was forsaking me. There was so much I wanted to do, so many good things. Why did the Lord not want me to do them? Why did he let other people be well who didn't want to do good things? Sam just helped me remember the lessons we learned reading through Job, which we had finished, I think, only the night before I was in the dumps. So, I had a real heart to heart with God about my frustrations, and just repented for being so presumptuous and fighting against the path he was leading me down. A path of a few weeks illness. I just had to resign myself that he is sovereign, and whatever plans I have for when I am not sick, will have to wait. It was a difficult lesson, but so simple. How did I not see?

Its just so easy sometimes to, like Job, want to question God for what he is doing. Because, obviously, I have a better idea of how my time, energies, & talents could be spent. But, that just isn't the way God works, and thank goodness. I know that at least one fruit of my illness is thankfulness for vitality & strength. So, the daffodils seemed that much prettier today when I came home on my bike. And how I enjoyed sitting on the front porch with Sam, reading, and smelling both his pipe and the chicken curry baking in the oven.

Thank you God for all the blessings & pleasures you give us. We forget to thank you for them daily, and complain far too much when they are temporarily removed.