Harder Family

Harder Family

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

A Country Experience and a New Member of our Family

"Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country." Deuteronomy 28:3

After living in the city of Chicago for 18 years, moving to a smaller town in Kentucky has been an adjustment. I have to admit that most of the changes have been welcomed: the slower pace of life, less traffic, country air. Last week, we were informed about an event called Court Days. Wayne and I decided to check it out, since we had heard it would be a way to experience Kentucky. Court Days was unlike anything I have attended before in my life. It was like a huge flea market, garage sale, animal sale, carnival food, and masses of people all wrapped up in one event. If you can think of something to buy, it was probably for sale. We saw chickens, miniature goats, ducks, turkeys, bunnies, pigs, etc for sale. We also saw thousands of guns and knives for sale and hundreds of people who had purchased said items. I snuck a picture of one such customer as he was carrying a gun on his back and a hand gun in each hand. I have to admit when I saw some of this, I couldn't help but wonder what people in Chicago, if they were instantly teleported to the event, would think. We enjoyed purchasing apples from the local Amish, picking up Sophia a pair of nice cowgirl boots for her 4H class, and eating some fried pie. As we were leaving the event, we even found a new member of our family, Bandit. Yes, we added another animal to the house. This time it is a kitten, who will hopefully grow up quickly and be a fierce mouse hunter. We found two mice in traps in our basement garage! Seriously, the day before Court Day, Wayne said we would be looking for a cat. Little did we know that 24 hours later we would be the proud owners of a kitten!







There is a gun in each hand and one strapped to his back. At least he is part of the 4H Shooting Club!


We have also been working on a huge project at our new house in Kentucky. We recently took out trees that were dying, were already dead, or were in a bad spot. We also extended and widened our drive way. My yard is a huge mess, but I know that the end result will be worth it. The next step will be to re-landscape the yard. I have been taking notes and pictures of plants that I would like to plant in the yard. We are hoping to replace the old trees with fruit trees. I am exited to see how it all turns out. 







Prayer Requests:

Our sweet friend Emily, who is 17, just found out that her brain cancer hasn't responded to the treatment she was on. She is currently on her way to Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN to see what other treatments would be available to her. Please pray with us that the doctors have wisdom and can help Emily. 


Friday, October 11, 2019

MRI Day: Scanxiety and Results

Psalm 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"

This morning was Wayne's MRI. I noticed this week that I was struggling with patience and everything seemed really big. Have you ever experienced that? Something that would normally feel small suddenly feels like a giant? That is how last week felt. One morning during my quiet time, God showed me that under the surface, I was feeling anxious about Wayne's upcoming MRI. I thought I was doing okay with everything. I even tell people I have faith and trust God with the future, but in reality, in the depths of my heart, I struggle with fear sometimes. Fear of the future without my husband, fear of the unknown. Some people call the week before the MRI the week of scanxiety time. I can attest that it is a daily battle to surrender my trust to God and not allow fear to rule. 

This morning on the drive to Northwestern, I had to once again surrender the fears that were swirling in my mind. Since we had overlapping appointments, I had to take Shan Chen to his prosthetic appointment while Wayne went to his MRI and neuroncology appointment alone. Two hours later, when my phone finally rang, I have to admit that I held my breath waiting to hear the news from Wayne. When he told me it was another clear scan, I felt like I could finally breathe. Daily surrender to trust. We are all called to do that, but sometimes it takes "BIG" things in our lives to force us to take this step. 

I hate to admit that too many times I take for granted each day that I have with Wayne. Every four months, I am reminded of this truth. I am also reminded each time we hear of someone else passing away from brain cancer. When I answer someone's questions about "how we've made it this long and what is the secret", I have to tell them there is no secret. For some reason, God has allowed us to continue on this journey, while others journeys have ended. I will share what we have done, but I don't think it is what we have done that keeps Wayne here. It is because God isn't done using Wayne yet and He has some other plan for our lives. We just have to daily live fully surrendered to Him and not waste a moment of this life that He has given us.