Back to the land of the living and some thoughts

So Jon and I had some awful stomach flu this past week. It laid us up for quite some time, and made life pretty miserable with both of us sick. I don't remember ever being that sick! But were back and feeling better than ever, being truly thankful for the health we do have. It kinda makes me want to go help sick people, because being sick sucks. When you don't have your health it seems that everything of normal life just goes out the window. We're pretty dysfunctional when were sick. Seems like that pukey flu bug is going around everywhere. So were pretty excited to be done with it.

So our blended family is getting pretty tough here. I grew up in a blended family where people were very different, and i think that may be helping me out a lot here. I'm very thankful for the family God put me in. We're full of people of all shapes and sizes, with personalities all across the board, and with diverse interests and diverse ways of interacting with people. Its a greatly bizarre crew and I love them all! so here I am again blending two families- but these two are much smaller than my ones back home. Its just Jon and me, and our friends John and Stacey. But we are two individual family units none the less. Which provides from some pretty interesting interactions. We love our friends so much, there is no doubt about that. but it doesn't mean that living together and blending our lives is easy. We step on each others toes, most often without even really knowing it. We are learning to be ourselves, wholly and completely, the way we should be, in a shared living space. I feel like I am learning so much about how to draw people out, how to make them comfortable to be themselves. Not the selves that they show most people, but who they are underneath it all- thats who i want to know. and i think that most people want to be known that way. Our lives just seem to be so easily covered up with business, or pleasure, or trying to be something we're not just so people will like us. I want to be someone who is known to be genuine at all times and at all costs. someone who people can come to and know that I want to know them, really know them, and be confident that I will love them, no matter what. Because really underneath it all- i think we all have something in common.
In our home being honest is so important, yet at times it means going out of our comfort zone and putting others before ourselves. isn't that what we should always be doing- putting others before ourselves- without losing who we are- but sacrificially loving people who may not feel like loving you in return. The life that Jesus leads tells me that is what we should be doing. Well, were trying. our best. but we arent that good at it yet. Jon and I are realizing that we don't think that we have ever truly loved anyone who hasnt loved us back. Feeding the homeless doesn't even count because i think they most often show some gratitude and thanks for your service- so you get that warm feeling in return. But to really love someone who doesn't love you? Don't think I've ever truly been there. But I know we want to be. We want to be so sure of who we are that what we get in return doesn't mean anything. Sure enough of ourselves that we carry a joy for being who God made us to be, without relying on what we get in return. So thats our goal, to love like Jesus loved, expecting nothing in return and doing it with heart felt joy. How about you?