Perfect Timing & Hope

A few days ago, I wrote about how Amylia sent me this wonderful sussy when she knew I wasn't feeling well. She sent me some great gifts which you can read about here.

But one of the gifts I didn't elaborate on was this lovely plaque.

It says,
The Potter's Wheel
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
-- Jeremiah 29.11

This is such a comforting verse. It tells us to have hope - something those of us with diabetes need to have. Hope for the future, hope for good AICs, hope to be complication-free, hope to get through the day-to-day struggles of diabetes, hope for a cure.

This verse also comes in handy in other situations - which I found out last week. Things are changing where I work. Personnel are being let go, people are having to retire early, a lot is happening. Last Friday was a bittersweet day for us.

We had two ladies retiring so we took them out to a really nice restaurant for lunch, reminisced, laughed, cried, hugged - yeah, that's right - I actually hugged them. For those of you who know me - I'm not a huggy kind of person - it's that social anxiety thing. I can hug my family - but that's about it. So that should tell you how special these ladies are to me. When I hugged one of them, she said that was the best gift I could have given her. She knows how I am.

It was also a very gloomy day because one of our other co-worker's job was eliminated & Friday was her last day. She's a single mom with 2 kids & 2 dogs at home. Sad. :( When I told her goodbye, it was really tearful. We cried & told each other to take care of our puppies.

The verse on the plaque from Jeremiah was so appropriate for all of the situations these three women were having. The two who were retiring are going into uncharted territory - retirement & everything that comes with it. The one who was being let go - unemployment, uncertainty, loss of income, loss of health insurance, loss of security.

When Amylia sent me the plaque, it made me feel good. It reminded me to have hope. That was so appropriate for all three of these ladies, too. This all came to my mind on Thursday afternoon. I didn't have time to go find a plaque like this for each of them. So I decided to make them myself. I ran into Walmart, bought some pretty frames, and typed this verse on some nice paper. I put them all together & wrapped them in pretty tissue paper. Then I gave them to these three ladies on Friday. They loved them & loved the verse.

Who knew that Amylia sending me the plaque could be so appropriate at this time? God did. Again, thank you Amylia, for listening to God's leading.

For those of you who pray, could you please remember these three ladies in your prayers? The two who retired have been planning it for a while so they are a little more prepared. But the one who was let go didn't know it until a few weeks ago. She could definitely use our prayers. She does have a good attitude about things & knows that God has a plan for her. And that's good. Now that's what I call HOPE.