Okay, so you can see from the title that my attitude is lacking. We spent the last weekend traveling to 7 hours each way to Kampala, our capital city, for our scheduled two day “break” from the term and mostly to have Naomi’s tooth fixed. It wasn’t much of a break. However, I have MUCH to praise God for: we were able to travel to Kampala quickly, the roads were passable; David had a break in the UNEB exam schedule so I didn’t have to travel alone with the kids; we got to fit in a last minute visit with the Masso family who were just about to leave for Sudan but were still staying in Kampala; and most of all, Dr. Chapman, the American dentist had no-show appointments all morning on Monday so we got HIS services for 2 1/2 hours.

So that is some of the much I have to be thankful for. Many answers to prayer including the miraculous provision of Dr. Chapman. Having said that, it was a long 2 1/2 hours at the dentist with two shots, lots of blood, half a tooth gone and a a silver cap to end it all. Since this is our first experience with anything other than six month cleanings; it was a doozy of an introduction to pediatric dentistry.

Naomi is quite proud of her silver cap and wears it as a badge of honor. I am horrified, somehow taking the thing as proof of inadequate mothering though the dentist assures me there was little I could have done to prevent it. But Naomi, despite her good attitude, is having a very hard time with life. She cries a lot and wishes her life were different and is generally struggling to see the goodness of God right now. Night before last she had a truly terrifying nightmare which I see as direct attack from Satan. She has had a lot of loss in the last months and needs your prayers.
That’s right where I’m at too. Even though on the surface I have so little to complain about, somehow my heart is still unsure and tired and lonely. I had a chance this week to read The Shack on the advice of my counselor and as sent from a dear friend. What a gift that has been. I don’t dispute that the book is certainly controversial, but there is so much truth there that my heart needs reminding of. God is active, alive and deeply invested in me as well as the great big world that I worry about. I took an hour this morning to breath deeply, to finish The Shack and to let God seep a bit of that truth into my soul as I cried. I feel lighter now, still sore and weary but not quite as heavy as I did.