Irony

It is ironic that our blog is titled "Good Words from the Goodwins". Right now we are both sorta feeling crummy. However, God's word is good, and it is holding us together. We read this the other night out of 1 Corinthians 15: 19: "If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men." This reiterates what we mentioned in our last post. How selfish we are to have wanted Betsy to stay here! I know God understands our grief, but we are hopeful that he will continue to remind us in the coming days of how this life is but a fraction of what he has in store for us.

Our friends Jen and Justin will be arriving back from Cancun in a few minutes. Marc contacted their parents when news came of what happened, and everyone decided it was best to wait to tell them. We are aching for them because we cannot imagine the pain they'll endure...late at night, returning from their honeymoon, and finding one of their best friends was killed. We have prayed for them, and that is all we can do, but we so wish we could be at home. It's hard to be here in Louisville when things like this happen.

We found out more about the wreck. They are saying that the guy fell asleep at the wheel. He had been on his last hour of the max he could drive. The trucker behind him tried to yell into the radio....we will be praying for him. He is trying to say something messed up with the wheel, probably out of fear. But witnesses say he was drifting and didn't break. We saw pictures today of the accident and were horrified. We know Satan is going to try to keep the horrific details of what it must of been like on our mind, but we're not going to let him! We are thankful that two people got released from the hospital! We are awaiting news of the funeral.

On top of all this...Steph had a real hard day at work Friday. That morning we had just found out that Bets was one of the passengers ejected, so naturally she had a sick feeling for most of the morning. The kids were great on Thursday. Steph allowed herself to grieve in front of the kids because she knew they cared, and they did. Overall she has a great class, but select students are really wearing on her. Two in particular have anger management issues, one to the point of needed evaluation. On Friday the one student who has severe issues came in the class first thing and just ran around the room running into people and then attempted to throw a chair. He's had a hard time on the bus lately (basically he fights everyone), and his mom has hung up on the principal several times. Stephanie has had positive experiences with mom, so she called her immediately and left her a message about the situation...the student usually responds positively to that action. Well mom called a few minutes later and demanded she talk to her son and started going off on Steph with the kids around able to hear. Later in the day the mom came to school and they had to call security. Luckily they had Steph hide in the lounge and she just took her son home.

We won't get into the other situation with the other student...basically teaching can be a thankless job. Most days, I (Steph) can handle it. I know with more experience I will take things less personally. For that I am thankful! But on a day where you have other things on your mind, it is hard to swallow. When you bust your tail day in and day out, and parents just spit in your face, it breaks your spirit. My how I am thankful that I am working for the Lord and not for men! I cling to that truth. I can't quit. God has orchestrated me getting this job...that is a story I will tell the rest of my life! I can't just quit when it gets hard.

We are hopeful of what God will teach us in the coming days through this tragedy and other difficult situations in our lives. He works all things together for good for those who love Him!

Taylor Tragedy

Late last night five Taylor students were killed in a horrific accident. Click here for more info:

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060427/LOCAL/604270502

One of those five was our aquaintance Betsy, better known as "Bets." She was roommates with Jen (see below) freshman year, so Steph got to know her pretty well, and Marc hung out with her and others often. She was vibrant, fun, and always was sincerely interested in what you had to say. We just saw her at the wedding this weekend and got to catch up with her. Of course, she asked about us first, then she told Marc that she was going to stay in Marion and work for an inner city mission. What a beautiful young lady she was!

We both talked a lot tonight about how we as humans assume that we deserve God's mercy and that we're always shocked when bad things happen. How thankful we should be that God sent His Son to save us! Additionally, we have to remember that our loved ones do not belong to us, but to God. What comforted us most was the truth that God has numbered our days before we were even born. He gives and takes away. We can hold fast to the truth that God will not take anyone away from this earth until his purpose for them is fulfilled. Betsy served her purpose.

We'll probably write more soon and share some verses that have touched us in this time. Until then.

Jen and Justin's Wedding

This past weekend, we were able to be a part of the wedding of two of our greatest friends, Jen and Justin. Justin, who is pusuing a career in ministry, was Marc's roommate in college, and Stephanie has come to be close friends with Jen, who will be an elementary teacher. So our lives are probably going to follow pretty similar paths....It was exciting and refreshing to see people with such joy....We were reminded how silly we can get with being so consumed with work/school, forgetting the primacy of our relationship with each other. It was truly a blessing and honor to be a part of their special day!
Here's a picture of the newlyweds:

Spring Break

We had a fun time last week. We had spring break at the same time, so we were able to do a bit of traveling and relaxing together. We went to Indianapolis to celebrate Megan's 18th birthday and had a great time visiting with the family...Then we headed back to New Albany for a few days of relaxing before heading off to Cincinnati to visit with Steph's family. We did some shopping, went to a Reds game, saw Sanctus Real play, and had a great time while we were there. But it's back to the grind of school and work! Regardless, though, we enjoyed our week and are looking forward to celebrating the resurrection of Christ this Easter Sunday!Us at the Reds game