Pain...

Most of you know that my family is into the outdoors! We camp, bike, hike, fish, hunt, etc... From time to time we've also done a bit of caving. So when the opportunity to go caving came up through the boy's boy scout troop, I signed us all up! Not only that, I signed us all up for the hardest cave on the list. No problem, we're the McGuckin's, right!? Well let me tell you, this cave kicked our butts! The first hint of trouble should have come when the required caving gear was a helmet and knee pads. We aren't talking Mammoth Cave with concrete walkways and handrails. I wasn't troubled by the helmet/knee pad business, because we've been in smaller, crawl through it yourself caves. There was talk ahead of time about some mud water and crawling. That talk scared my youngest son, Damon. He opted to go in another cave. So, the rest of my family and another boy from scouts stuck with the original plan. We did encounter water. Water up to our thighs; water in a cave which is only 54 degrees. We did encounter mud. Mud up to our knees. The kind where your shoes get stuck, and which is really slippery when packed down. My husband found that out as he slid down a mud slope and smacked into me sending us both toppling into the mud. And, yes, we did encounter crawling. We did the army/belly crawl for 100 yards, the length of a football field. That's not all. The maximum ceiling height was 11 inches. You had to turn your head sideways, scoot your pack in front of you and belly crawl through the dirt and rocks. If that wasn't bad enough. This was a one way cave. Once we got to the end, we had to turn around and do it all over again. It really wasn't too bad while going through the cave. I felt pretty good. I wasn't too winded, and was actually having fun. It was quite the challenge, and we survived. It wasn't until I got out of the cave that the pain took over. I have bruises all over my body, my ankles, legs, hips, ribs, elbows, wrists, etc... It was then that I decided I really was getting old. My husband agreed and he never complains about anything.

Wrestling

I applied for a new job at work not long ago. It would be an upward promotion, and a positive step in my career, but I'm not sure I'm totally qualified. There are only two candidates in the pool, so I have a 50/50 shot at it. I had my interview earlier in the week, and kept anticipating hearing something. Days went by, my hopes dwindled, and self doubt began to kick in. I was feeling rather low on my way home from work, and mumbling my complaints to God. (I have a love/hate relationship with my 40 minute drive home.) Now keep in mind that I haven't officially heard that I did or didn't get the job yet, but I was just feeling totally rejected. My mind is telling me that they've probably offered the job to the other lady and just waiting on her to confirm before they tell me no thanks! It felt like God and I were having this wrestling match of emotions on that long drive home. Then it hit me that Jesus was absolutely rejected while here on earth. So, at least I'm not alone! :) My next thought was Jesus' response to that rejection. Well, he immersed himself in his Father and prayer. Christ's mission was to totally please His Father. Then that got me thinking about who I am really trying to please. I had myself absolutely worked up over what other men and women thought of me. If at the end of each day I know I've done my best to please my heavenly Father, than that day was a success. That is true if I keep my job now or get the new job. My focus should be the same. It was one of those light bulb moments and I suddenly came to peace with the whole situation.

In case you're wondering, I still haven't heard. I did have a meeting with the Director of Human Resources, two Vice Chancellors and the Chancellor today. At any rate, my life is in God's hands. Sometimes I need those gentle reminders when I try to hold onto it myself and get things mixed up. Peace!

Can you believe this?

So, my husband sent me this e-mail yesterday at work. It sounds like one of those weird fill in the blank word stories. Listen to this...

"We have a new pet! I was at the John Deer dealership in Bloomington trying to get the gator serviced. As I was leaving the parking lot, I saw a parakeet sitting on top of a truck. He seemed very friendly, but didn't want to be caught. There were some guys there selling fish who gave me their net. I caught him and he proceeded to bite me several times. I have him in a cage at work. Unless you are opposed, I plan to get a cage and supplies for him and keep it?"

Here's a picture of our new pet! I think we might name him John.

Where did August go?

I'm sure I say this often, but where does time go. The whole month of August flew by without any postings. Here's a few updates on what our family has been up to.

• Dan went to California to fight fires for 2 1/2 weeks.
• Jordan started High School this year! I really do feel old. I continue to pull a few gray hairs out to reinforce that feeling.
• Damon started Jr. High. They both seem to have adjusted fine, but I don't get much feedback from either of them.
• My work was a crazy zoo for about 3 weeks surrounding the beginning of class. I feel like I can finally breathe again. Our enrollments are up by about 20%, we got a new computer system, a new bookstore and are working with the same number of staff that we have for the last several years. All of those things factored into a "perfect storm" at Ivy Tech!
• We are all getting geared up for deer hunting season which starts on October 1st. This will be my first year of archery hunting. I've hunted during gun season the last two years and come up short each year. I think this may be the year I'm actually successful! Keep your fingers crossed!

I better run for now! Hope all is well with you and your family.