October news and Bleak reviews

Yay, me!!! It is my birthday month, and I may add, the birthday month-even the same date-as that of Henry Winkler (Happy Days, Holes, and many more.) Also, I will have the opportunity this month of weilding my mad pumpkin-carving skills. I have two detailed drawings for my large decorative vegetable.
Most interesting about this month, though, may be the reading I am doing of Bleak House. Esther, a main character, has become disfigured by an illness, and is now finding how kindly and graciously people are responding to her despite her changed looks. This seems very apropos to me and to some of my best friends who have found ourselves altered in appearance due to illness. It scared me much to think how my friends may respond to my unusual symptoms, but I soon found that all my friends remained my friends. And, as a matter of chance (or a matter of God's sovereign will), my friendships actually deepened and became more lovely and intimate. Maybe it takes being forced to slow down and halt your frantic pace of life to really savor and nurture your true friendships.
One of the most respected writers I know once wrote, "Sometimes the greatest gifts are ones we never would have chosen." I am glad for the illness that I would not have chosen, but has made me appreciate what others take for granted-a cool afternoon breeze, a loving husband, friends who stop by to say hello and share a cup of tea, and the big, shimmering tree I see outside my window.