Making Sense of the Sensory Overload

Shew, this week has been nothing short of a sensory overload.

Starting out with Monday morning - it's my birthday! ...finished with taxes, fun lunch date with my main squeeze, heard from some sweet fam&friends, family coming for dinner...thankful for so much lovins!

Then news of the Boston marathon hit - what in the world? A Lady Vol friend, teammate, and overall generous, positive, helpful person and her family were devastatingly affected by the Boston explosions. And then the TX explosion occurred later...uuuugh.

The past 6 weeks, my neck has been healing from a set-back that I thought was a silly, no big dealio thing at first and then it gave me some deja vu feelings of 3 yrs ago. Triple yuck.

Thursday I had to tell Rev3 Knoxville staff I couldn't race on May 5th. This Knoxville race was THE race I was most looking forward to all year for so many reasons! Ah, the week is spiraling downwards....and then I'm reminded that the background of my life the past year is still chugging along in below-par circumstances. We're still the couple that's paying for 2 mortgages while living in my parents' basement. Next month will make a year of this situation. Yes, if we were omniscient, we would have made more than a few different choices!!

Originally, we sold our Tulsa house for a great price in the 1st week it was on the market, but the buyers' financing fell through a weekish before we closed. The past 11 months have included with that house enough drama for a part-time job. Last Fall, we bought a house in Knoxville with the professional inspector's vote of confidence that it was "a great house!" with no major problems...so we plan to move in on day 2 (day one was ripping up the carpet) and meanwhile our handyman fell.through.the.floor. Currently, our new house has no working bathroom nor kitchen and lacks ceiling and all insulation. So, needless to say...we have 2 houses that are taking the time of 2 part-time jobs, not to mention some brain power, sweat equity, and cash. And along the way, we haven't kept a perfect record of dealing with the building-on-each-other nightmare situations as we would have loved to take pride in...but by the Lord's grace, we're not able to take pride in decisions we make that turn out well - we can only boast in the Lord and His goodness for being with us always, through the good, the bad, and the ugly. We have more than enough and are so thankful for my parents' generosity of letting us live in their basement!!

I'm so thankful that my neck is healing, and I'm getting back into all the sports. I've started working with a local-ish coach who I'm excited about (Jamie Ingalls at HUB Endurance bike shop in Chattanooga). I'm so very encouraged about the big picture of the season, and so thankful that Pilot Flying J, Provision, and Retirement Planning Services are all so supportive of not racing too soon with the potential to re-injure my neck. Better safe than sorry, and then have to re-set back to zero...or worse, ruin my season altogether.

Friday there was an earthquake in China that caused more devastation and killing 156. NO! ...As well as catching the 2nd suspect of the Boston explosions - YES!

Highs and lows. I read this article this morning and thought it was insightful about events and life, although I never want to ask for tragedy, trials, or suffering...

In the midst of the sensory overload, only enhanced by social media, I know that God is trustworthy and faithful...and unchangeable. He is with me always and lives inside me. And when life doesn't make sense, I'm comforted that my human, imperfect brain can't always wrap itself around the "Whys?!" of this short life.

Bethany