The Lord Sees Us

For the most part, I haven't had the extreme emotional lows or despair that the pandemic has a tendency to induce in folks. Obviously, I've experienced the frustrations and the normal anxieties that come along with living life like this for as long as we have, but generally speaking, I've been pretty ok. The normalities of my life didn't come to a crashing halt because of the pandemic (it did that before the pandemic, actually, thanks to pregnancy), Brad has been great throughout COVID life, and my children have held up very well over the past year, which has been such a blessing.

That said, I have had a few things that have brought me down and discouraged me over the past year. Things that might have happened, pandemic or not. Back in February, a couple of those things came to a head, of sorts, and I was feeling particularly blue and very sad. I didn't really talk about it with anyone but Brad, though. And the Lord. I did ask Him "But WHY?" quite a number of times. 

That very week when I was feeling so sad, I got a package. A very unexpected package full of things that made my heart so happy! My beloved Amanda had sent me a box from a company that curates treat boxes from around the world. She saw that they were doing a Ukraine box and sent one my way. 

Brynn was a little overly enthusiastic with the map...

I couldn't even handle it when I saw all of the Roshen treats! Roshen is local to the oblast that I lived in while in Ukraine.

Look at all of those goodies!

I was so tickled by some of the VERY Ukrainian things in there, like veal-flavored chips and black bread chips. The girls were so into all of the gummy snacks, and none of the treats lasted long at all.

I know Amanda sent it because it was Ukrainian and she knew I'd like it (GAH- everyone needs a friend like Amanda!), but it was a very tangible reminder to me that He sees me. Much like Hagar in Genesis when she is so abandoned and lonely and He came to her. I was feeling so lonely that week (which is always funny to say, given that I live with so many people!), and a box from a friend, full of reminders of a place that I love showed up on my porch. Quite a gift, indeed.