Prayers on Tuesday.

My girls are getting up earlier and earlier. I don't really understand it. We used to be a 7:30 to 7:30 family and now we are more like a 6:15 to 8:00 family. I have no idea what changed , but if you know how to fix it I would appreciate an email. I am NOT a morning person, I do not want to be awake before dark, I have no desire to eat before 8:00 AM and unless I am going to the beach, I am not usually awake enough to drive anywhere before 8:30 AM. I get that there are those of you who bounce right up at 5:30 AM, and I commend you for it but I have no desire to join you. Doc has a few mornings where he has to get up really early, Tuesday mornings and Friday mornings, poor guy is not a morning person either. If I were a REALLY good wife I would jump up and cook him some breakfast to start his day. But, unfortunately for him, this is a lacking area for me. Occasionally I can get some fried eggs or a protein shake in him before he goes, but that is usually on a "first patient at 8:30AM day".

So I am sitting here chatting with you at 7:30 AM and I have been up for over an hour. Doc left with me laying on the couch, he was just laughing at me and got in a "tough life you got Hall" before he closed to the door on his way out. ;) Okay so he is right, 7:3o AM on the couch is WAY better than 9:00 AM in the office. I will let you all know, that I have done my share of 9:00 AM in the office, I have even done 7:30 AM in the office. Until I was through my first trimester with Presely I worked full time and had for my entire adult life. So, I may not be part of that world now, but I do understand what it means to be there. I know, this does not make you any happier as you read from a cubicle.

It's only Tuesday and two of my closest friends have had their whole lives changed this week. Both involved in custody cases with their children, two completely different circumstance, but essentially the same outcome: they have to share their kids. This idea is hard for me to even comprehend. I don't even like to leave my kids with my own mother over night, I cannot imagine being court ordered to leave them with an ex-whoever for three days a week, every week. Further more, I do not understand how someone who does not know either parent involved, their history, their parenting skills or their capabilities to take care of a child, gets to decide who gets the children when!? Whose idea was this!? I personally think each parent should have to provide character references in court before anyone makes any decisions. I am "not a mama should always get the kids" person. I get that there are just as many unfit mothers as their are unfit fathers. I am well aware of that fact that some daddies (like my children's) are just as capable of taking care of their kids as their mama is. And this furthers my point of the judge needing to know more before making a decision.

Regardless, this is not always the case and sometimes it does not work out the way we think it should. Yesterday was a perfect example of this. One of my friends could have used some character references. I wish I could have been there for her. Today I will wait for yet another judge, who knows nothing about the three people involved, to decide the fate of another child that I love. I pray that the Lord gives this judge the wisdom they need to make the best decision possible with limited time and facts.

This morning I look at my sweet girls and I am so thankful for their daddy, not because of the daddy that he is, because of the husband that he is. After all, isn't it usually the type of partner a person is that keeps you out of court rather than the type of parent? Today I will pray for my friends that will be sharing their kids for many years to come, I will pray for the judges that will make these difficult decisions, I will pray for the children that will be shuffled back and forth in all of the chaos, and I will pray for the marriages that are still in tact asking God to protect them from this crazy world that results in more split families than whole families. If you have a moment today I hope you will pray with me, and if you are lucky enough to be part of a family that is still whole, make sure to send up a praise for that too! Have a blessed day friends.

Love,
Melanie