Flying a little lower

Our SuperCape is ripped. We have been together almost three years now. We had some bumps and bruises when we first started but mostly they were from people outside of our home and we eventually sailed through it. But in just the 1st 6 months of this year the flaws, cracks and crevices have begun to come out of hiding and if you aren’t careful, when this happens (and it happens to almost EVERY stepfamily from what I studied) you can easily be overwhelmed.

We’ve got school issues, suspensions, bad grades and the like. We’ve got promiscuity issues and as a result new babies came, are here and are coming. We’ve got self esteem issues and we see desperation for attention in extremely unfruitful ways. There are diligence problems and anger issues and truth is you name it…we have dealt with it…are dealing it…or perhaps will deal it.

Mind you…that’s just the kids stuff..I haven’t shared with you my own struggles and things that John may be facing or working through. This blog entry would be too long.

Now it hasn’t all been rain..we have had some sunshine this year as well. We have had a college graduation and the announcement of two weddings. We got some awesome new furniture after three years of looking . We were proud parents/stepparent of two national band competition winners. One has managed a successful run in a student play. We have had two kids with major repair surgeries and both came out ok, with no alarm or issues.

Somehow, through it all we do not feel beleaguered or under siege. We just recognize that our Superfamily cape has rips and rips are ok...KEEP FLYING..just fly a little lower until you get the pieces back together.. We strongly believe that what we are facing is not just for us, but for other families who may be ashamed to admit to problems that they are facing and not know what to do. There has to be someone who has ridden a storm in order for others to see them and have hope. Willing or not, God chose us to ride ahead of others that are coming and stand on the rock like a lighthouse so others know that they can make it to the other side. A picture of a lighthouse is on our family mission statement and now more than ever God is calling us to be true to what we confessed our purpose to be!

Like them that dream...

This week is an important, pivotal week for our family. Our church is culminating "dream season" on this Sunday with a special service and offering. The offering will be used to fulfill the necessities of the dreams of the church as a whole. More importantly each family/individual was asked to consider working on their own dreams. What is it that you are dreaming about doing, achieving, completing, starting, changing???

One of the things the Superfamily is "dreaming" about doing, is being the subject of our own reality TV show. So.....Sunday after church we sat at dinner and 'dreamed" aloud what it would be like. It was hilarious!! They were coming up with episodes such as "Tune in next week...Jayna Returns! (She's lives away for college, but was home this weekend for cedar point). They were thinking of the conversations that people who watched the show would have..."Like girl, did you see the Superfamily last night? It was so good, I think the Jerica's are about to snap!" They were imagining their fan clubs, their websites, their new my space pages, who would be the most popular, would they have to act like they were in a disagreement to keep the show interesting. They talked about being followed with cameras to work, to school, to church, to the mall and around the house. They dreamed up tours, interviews, wardrobes, everything you could think of. They laughed, they created, they dreamed.....

While they were talking about it, my husband and I sort of well...watched. Laughed and watched. They were so excited. You almost thought that whatever they said was a possibility. They were so vivid, detailed and complete in thought. They went from one "what if" scenario to another just to be sure all the bases were covered. We didn't walk away from the table new TV stars, but we had a hope that maybe one day, at the right time it could come to pass. Right now, its a dream, but after we talked about it, laughed about it, came up with ideas and angles, for it to become a manifested reality doesn't seem too far off.

I shared that to say that some of us have stopped dreaming. My husband and I didn't even "dream" about the things we wanted to accomplish, we just took pleasure in watching the kids excitement. They had no problem going over and above anything they had ever imagined. But my husband and I, and you too...have something that you have dreamed of doing, dreamed of having, dreamed of accomplishing but are afraid to talk about it or even think about it. The kids had no fear, nothing was too outlandish, far fetched or unbelievable. Learn from them, I know I did. Dream it up...write it out...laugh about it, hope about it, broadcast it, take small steps to see it come to pass. The sky is not the limit, the sky and beyond is the destination!

I have a picture of them from that "dream session"...I'll post it soon.