TAMMY UNLEASHED!!! (photos at end of post)

We absolutely cannot stop grinning in the Barnes' household. It is absolutely astonishing to look across the room and see Tammy breathing on her own.  She hops up and down off the couch, "just because she can."  She was up and down so much yesterday that she was too tired last night to try the stairs to take a shower. So today, she is gonna take a nap.

It is as if a sense of freedom has enveloped her spirit and her mind, and it can't help bubbling out as she does things for herself.  I think I take too much for granted.  I watch her celebrate being able to clean off her shelves, and I am convicted of all the jobs I am putting off around the house.  I see her satisfaction because she has been able to walk all the way from the parking lot, across the lobby of the professional center, and up the elevator to her clinic appointment.  Then, I am convicted that I need to be more active.  Last night she threw her cannulas and oxygen tubing in the trash can.  As we all clapped and celebrated, I thought of some of the things that I have in my life that are keeping me "leashed."  So, yet again, I am learning about me by looking at Tammy.

I guess that is how God created us.  The Bible talks of "iron sharpening iron."  As we interact with, live with, and love others, we see our real selves better.  Or, let me say, we should see our selves better.  Life happens so quickly that I look at life, but I forget to "see" truly what is before me.  In the movie "Avatar," the characters greet each other with the phrase, "I see you" meaning more than the outsides of the person, but the depth of the person they are greeting.  It implies a deep and intimate knowledge of the other person.  What I observed as the main male character progressed through the story, he had to learn to "see" himself before he could really connect to the others.  He had to quit pretending, to evaluate what was important, and to make a choice.

Tammy's limitations over the last year have been beyond her control.  Right now, she is discovering what the limitations of her new life will be and how far she will be able to move forward.  And she rejoices at every small thing. But we learned last year when we were watching numbers as she laid in her bed in ICU that there are no "small things" when we are talking about progress with our health.  I challenge you to look at your life.  Are you "leashed"?  Do you feel as if you can only get so far with a problem, only to find yourself abruptly stopped?  Is there something you can do (you probably already know what it is) to unhook the leash and step forward?  I urge you to search the Bible, see what God has to say about it, then follow His instructions.  Sometimes coming unleashed means choosing to hang on and fight (like marriage or Tammy hanging on to her health) and sometimes it is letting go (like grief or addiction).  I know that God promises when we seek Him, we will find Him. I also know from experience the best way to interpret what you are seeing about yourself through others is to look into the mirror of scripture.  Let me know how it goes.  Tammy and the whole family would love to hear what God is doing in your life as we share ours with you.

Here are the first pics of Tammy and Cydney sharing their first day after Graduation Day.  I hope they make you grin too!