As I sifted through all of my neglected blog material I dreaded this update the most. Somehow ignoring this next post delayed the reality of admitting that our lives are truly out of our control. Of course, I am very well aware of this fact, but my humanity tells me to tuck tail and run away! So, to tie up some loose ends...
Papa passed away in January, shortly after my last update. His departure was not terribly peaceful, but rather crowded and physically uncomfortable. Our consolation was that he would have been happy to have all of his children and grandchildren surrounding him.
The day that Papa passed was the same day that we brought Maggie into our home for the first time. Though we unexpectedly disrupted her nap time and spent most of the day at Hospice, she remained an angel through the whole ordeal. She was with us when Papa died. In God's infinite wisdom she brought a peacefulness to the day. As our family arrived to say their goodbyes, they met Maggie and fell in love with her.
In the following weeks we pursued Maggie's adoption with vigor. We were in contact with her case worker, became approved by the state, and participated in the necessary classes to move the process along. All the while we were growing to love Maggie more as we spent a great deal of time with her. Then, with little warning, another family stepped forward and expressed interest in her. In essence, due to many factors that would be too complicated to explain in a blog post, this ended our adoption pursuit. We had little to say about the matter. Our last day with Maggie was spent praying over her before she went to her new family. Her new name is Isla.
Needless to say, we felt blindsided by this change in interest and were heartbroken. In all of our years of pursuing adoptions, we felt that this was the closest we have come to following the process through to completion. Looking back on the whole situation, I can only praise God. For every heartache, there was a moment of joy that made the rest well worth the pain. Maggie was healing for us and she carried us through a difficult transition after Papa's death. She caused us to restructure our home and reevaluate our approach to family worship as we considered rearing another child. She brought us closer together. The fact that she is not with us now doesn't make me love her any less or value her any more. She was a blessing during our time with her, and I pray that her new family will break their spiritual silence and bring her up to know her Savior. If having her with us for a short time served only one purpose, it would be to saturate her in God's Word and in prayer during the first months of her life. I pray that she will someday learn about her time with us and be encouraged to turn to a life of holiness as she grows older.
After we recovered from the ordeal, Collier came back home and made our family complete! It is fantastic to have him back at home. The real challenge has been to keep him from idleness! In August, Collier enrolled at FSCJ and began with 12 credits including Chemistry and Pre Calculus.
In August we learned that Dad would be retiring from the Navy after 24 years of service. The next few months were spent preparing for his retirement ceremony, which took place on his 43rd birthday, November 5th (pictures to come) and looking for a job. We have not yet hammered down the job, but are confident that God is in control of this detail!
When I learned of Dad's retirement we assumed that another move is looming on the horizon. Because of this, I elected to discontinue my studies at the Florida School of Traditional Midwifery. I withdrew from the program and enrolled at FSCJ with Collier. I am currently fulfilling the nursing prerequisites. I have changed tracks from Direct Entry to Nurse Midwifery. This track will take longer and require more schooling, however I am confident that God is directing me down this path.
I was blessed immeasurably by the ability to remain as a student midwife at Fruitful Vine Midwifery Service here in Jacksonville. Since beginning there in January 2010 I have attended 34 births and many, many more labors. I am in the clinic daily assisting with prenatal and postpartum visits and learning how to provide routine prenatal care from a natural perspective. I value every day that I have with my three midwife-mentors, and look forward to gaining new responsibilities as I spend more time there. This is consuming the majority of my time between being in the clinic and maintaining a call schedule. There is never a dull moment and off-time is precious (though only in small quantities. I tend to itch for it again after a weekend off!)
As time goes by I would like to bring more messages to this blog of a theological nature. Specifically, I would like to recap our family worship, as we have been delving into some rather thought provoking topics and discovering new teachers like Paul Tripp. Our nightly studies may consist of a sermon from Sermon Audio, a CD from a favorite teacher, a plop, a curious prompting, a topic study, a study through a particular book, or other specific interests. Family worship is a pivotal part of our lives. I praise God for motivating my father to lead us to take this time and encouraging our family to view family worship as a welcome necessity rather than a check-in-the-block each day.
As time permits, I will attempt to update more, however I have finally eliminated my guilty feelings for lack of updating. Blogging has its place and is a good thing, but not if it takes away from more pertinent tasks. I have finally conceded to the idea of simply getting to it if I can get to it! Hopefully I can keep our few friendly readers engaged enough to check up on us from time to time.
Blessings to all, Servus,
Chelsey for the McGehee Family
November 21, 2010
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