Friday, March 12, 2010

Angels Abound

It has been a day or two since I have last posted and I wanted to let you know what is going on.... Elizabeth and I are in London! Weeks ago, Doug and Dena Howard offered to take Elizabeth to London to visit Jeff and Sherry Price for Spring Break. Jeff has been stationed here at the Embassy for almost two years, and we knew we wouldn't be able to bring her here before his next assignment. So we prayed about it and decided she should go. We even talked about it again the day before things went downhill for Mike. We both thought she deserved the break and the opportunity to get her first stamp in her passport. Well, when Mike went to be with Jesus, I decided to buy a last minute ticket to run away and escape for a bit. Jeff and Wendy Webber offered to stay behind at the house and collect the "packets" of stuff coming in the mail from every agency under the sun. In fact Wendy is staying for an additional 2 weeks after I get home to help me wade through the paperwork. I am so blessed... how many people have a friend that is willing to move in with you for over two months to help you through what we have been through?


So here we are. We arrived today and surprised Sherry. Oh yeah, we didn't tell her I was coming. We are hoping to have fun, visit friends, laugh, cry, see the sights, and escape.


I wanted to blog a little bit about God's hand all around me right now. The day of the funeral, I got a card in the mail from Myra Cakerice Huff. Some in the B-1 community will remember "two foods" and the day the B-1 went down in Wyoming. Myra sent a card with great words of wisdom about grief and loss that I will treasure forever. The card was perfecting timed.

The night of the funeral, I stayed at Scott and Kathy's very late. I didn't want to go home and I am sure everyone knows why. But I did and Elizabeth didn't even make it to bed. She passed out on the couch. She was so tired. I am so proud of her. But I couldn't sleep, so I emailed and then eventually went to check my phone and responded to texts. I returned a text to Bruce in Washington state and he responded back telling me to go to sleep. I texted back and said that I was trying but that is was hard and that I am letting Jesus rock me for awhile. He responded back with such a sweet text that said, "He is the expert". I thought about that for a minute or two and thought "He is right" just lay down. I did and I went to sleep. It was a simple text, but what I needed. Thank you Bruce.


I woke up that morning at around 6:30 am and I didn't want to get out of bed. Not the I am "too tired" version, the "how do I face the day" version. I wrestled and went back to sleep. Then I got a call from Steve. He was thanking me for allowing him to be apart of Mike's Celebration (go figure that one..He blessed us) and we talked a little bit about Tessa going to heaven and now Mike. Steve said (or I heard) something like you just have to get out of bed. We laughed about the Marine/Nacho Libre/Fighter Pilot words he said and he hung up because he was headed back to Robin. That call got me out of bed.

I spent the day trying to pull everything together to get on a plane to Omaha with Elizabeth. We flew to Omaha and spent the night. I managed to pack in 4 hours, and make the plane. Then Elizabeth and I spent the night at Doug and Dena's in Omaha. Yet again, I was able to go to sleep for at least a bit because of Doug's and Dena's care for us.

I then had to fly the first leg of the trip by myself and then Doug, Dena and Elizabeth would meet me 2 hours later in Chicago. I didn't want to be by myself. I didn't want time to think about everything. I didn't want to be alone. But I had no choice and got on the plane. It was a great seat - bulk head window. A guy sat down beside me and he put an interesting book in the magazine holder about Napoleon. It looked interesting. Most of the flight I kept to myself, but then I finally asked if I could glance through his book. He said sure. I was actually interesting (except the flanking attack stuff ) and I kept it a little longer than I thought. I then looked at him and noticed the short hair cut and I asked, "Military?" "yes" he replied. "Air Force?" "Yes." "Offutt?" "No - Rhode Island." Then I said congratulations on school. He then said something like Air Force too? And I said yes and it went from there. I only got his first name, but Christopher was yet another Air Force angel sent to me to guard and lift me. The conversation came around and by the end of the flight he knew about Mike and he was a believer. I was so close to tears at the beginning of the flight and by the end was ok yet again. So thank you Christopher.

So, then we boarded a very long flight to London, got through customs, took the Paddington Express, ate a "pasty", got to Jeff and Sherry's, took a nap, took a shower, and woke up for another day - even though I don't know what day it is technically. We also had the joy of walking the neighborhood, afternoon tea, and hopefully a pub tonight. Thank you Lord Jesus for friends, strangers and the angels that are all around us.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am so proud of you. Keep going, one foot in front of the other...DO not pull the blankets over your head. You have had way too much going on for way too long. Escape if you want, do not feel guilty.
Mike is at peace, Mike is healed, Mike wants you to live now. I have so many friends and relatives in Heaven, they all rushed to the gate to welcome Mike in, took him by the hand and led the way to see Jesus. Oh can you imagine how beautiful that was?
Please enjoy London, (Steve and I got married in England)...enjoy Elizabeth in London. And if you feel like it, take a nap. Oh, if you are going through here, Wash DC, National or Dulles, call me and I will come see you on a layover, 703-250-0205.
XO, Mary

Anonymous said...

I love that you are in England! I'm glad you went. It's going to be difficult enough to establish a "new normal", so why not break with routine altogether? Why try to do what you think you're "supposed" to do when in fact your lives have to be reordered anyway? May you find joy in your visit, joy in your travels, joy in the company...in spite of grief.

I love how He is taking care of you!

And Wendy Webber, you are an angel!

Jennifer said...

Gave me chills. God is so amazing! Glad you made it to London safely. Relax, enjoy, and most of all REST!

Yes, Wendy Webber IS an angel!

lynn / kev said...

Have a wonderful time, Deanna & Elizabeth, you deserve it and God is always watching over you, but you know that! Thanks for keeping us informed on the blog. We're still praying for you! Love, Lynnette

Anonymous said...

What a FUN surprise to read you're both in LONDON!!! Way to fly :):):) Love, Gini

Anonymous said...

Enjoy your much needed break and let Jeff and Sherry take care of you! This trip is just what Mike would want you to do. Try to get some rest and do rest when you feel you need to. Grief will play with your version of normal for the next several days, weeks and month, but you and Elizabeth will get there.

I'm so proud of Elizabeth's strength to get up at the church and speak so lovingly of her daddy. She is stronger than I'm sure anyone realizes and it's so easy to see why her parents adore her.

Wendy--Thank you for being by Deanna and Mike's side and helping Deanna and Elizabeth now! You are a true blessing in every sense of the word!

Hope you have a wonderful time and safe travels!
Love,
Cynthia

Bruce said...

Don't miss Hyde Park!

Sandie said...

You have more B-1 family out here in England. If you make it to the British country side Lucien and I are minutes away from RAF Croughton (we live in Bicester). The Lord blesses us in so many ways. It's for us to open our eyes and realize what those blessings are and to appreciate them.

Safe journey and know that the Lord is always with you.
Sandie Grisé
RAF Croughton, England