Mom-in-Love

Happy first-year-in-heaven anniversary, Mom. You finally made it! We all really miss you!

What I would give to have one more sit-down with this gracious and feisty woman — my Mom-in-love! She was always so good to me.

We don’t drive by Countryside Care Center without feeling a magnetic pull to turn in, and then we remember … she’s gone. But she’s gone to a better place — a place where she longed to be her last few years — sitting at the feet of Jesus — or digging in some celestial garden somewhere! When she lived here, she made it her life’s mission to rid the world of every single weed she passed.

No weeds where she is now! How that must please her!!!

I miss our Bible studies at the center with her lady friends. But she was always the first to show up and always had her Bible opened to the passage that she had diligently studied ahead. She also looked forward to church service every Sunday at Countryside and was a faithful attender. She won the hearts of everyone there!

I miss our “spa days,” too, when I would do her nails with Color Street strips. Oh, how she loved them … and, according to her, was frequently complimented for her pretty nails by the nurses. I don’t get a manicure today without thinking of her!

I’ll never forget the time Mom purchased herself some of those magnetic eyelashes from a catalog when she was around 92 years old. One of the funniest memories I have with her was when I tried putting those crazy things on her! We laughed so hard, we cried! I mean, literal tears! We never did get those blasted things to work!

I also remember a trip we took to Philadelphia together in 2020 to the Republican National Convention. The two of us held up a plane at one of our layovers … long story that I won’t go into here, but we ran as fast as we could, jumping over and/or crawling under roped-off areas to get to our gate. We huffed and puffed our way onto the plane and scurried down the aisle among glares from the other passengers. Mom kept her head down and kept moving. I felt compelled to announce to everyone that it “wasn’t our fault!” When we finally got to our seats, she plopped down and whispered to me with tears of suppressed laughter, “If it wasn’t our fault, then whose fault WAS it???”

The memories abound with this dear woman. Suffice it to say, she was one of the greatest blessings of my life!

It’s Normal (for Me)

I want to give a great big shout out to Alicia Thompson for stepping out and talking to us about something that would change our lives!

Granted, I’m her mom, so it wouldn’t have been that scary for her to approach me … but being assertive with the woman who gave birth to you can’t be easy!

When she told me what she was doing to improve her own life, I remember telling her, “Your dad really needs this,” (even though I knew he wouldn’t take it because he was “fed up with ‘gimmicks'” that I had previously thrown at him)!

Her quick reply was “Mom, YOU need this too!”

ME??? 😮

I wasn’t “sick” — everything I was dealing with was just “normal”! 🙄

Okay, so yeah … I woke up with throbbing discomfort in my head every morning (which had caused bleeding sores in my stomach because of the OTCs I was taking, sometimes twice a day), but that had been my modus operandi for years! Not a big deal, right? 🤯

Oh, and … yeah, I had dealt with constipation for as far back as I could remember — going maybe 2 or 3 times a week — but that was “normal,” too — (at least for me)!

Oh, and I had that adrenal and thyroid problem that I was being treated for … and, yes, the drain was full of hair every time I shampooed … but I still had hair, so I guessed THAT was normal (for me)!

And there was that little thing they told me I had back in 2013, after an upper GI, that they were “watching closely” and treating me for.

And I DID wake up several times a night to go potty (and sometimes had trouble falling back to sleep) … but that was just normal (for me).

Oh, and there was that little matter of a bronchial infection that I couldn’t shake, even with all manner of antibiotics, inhalers, and steroids. “But it’s ‘normal’ to get sick, and some battles are just plain hard to fight!” I thought.

Sure, my blood tests always came back with high (and low) numbers in many categories, and I was taking a symptom suppressor for the pressure of my blood in the circulatory system, but, hey! I was functioning. After all, I wasn’t “sick and stuck in bed” like my husband was, with a debilitating autoimmune disease!

But, to help my girl out, I said, “Sure. I’ll order from you.”

Here’s why:

I’m a sucker for buying things from our kids!

Years earlier, I had talked Warren into buying a timeshare from one of our daughters who had been telemarketing while in school.

We had also invested in a mutual funds company that one of our sons-in-law had worked for.

We always wanted to help! What was different about this???

Well … little did I know that I would begin to notice subtle changes early on! As time went on, my husband started noticing big changes in my energy and mood.

One day, out of the blue, he said to me, “I think I’d like to try that stuff!” 😮

WHAT???? 💥

To make a long story short, ten months later, Warren was completely off of ALL his medications, including regular infusions at the hospital, and I was no longer dealing with all of those “normal-for-me” things!

All praise and glory to the ultimate Healer, who is a prayer-answering God. Can’t put Him in a box! He chooses many different ways to deal with His children. Sometimes He sends them a daughter with the answer they need!

So … yeah! A big shoutout to this girl pictured above.

We think she’s pretty special! 💖💖

Plain and simple!

(The supplements we started taking in the summer of 2018 were Plexus products. Life. CHANGING!!!)

Risk

This post is my contribution to a Five Minute Friday Link-Up, hosted by Kate Motaung.

Risk.  

Definition:  The possibility that something unpleasant will happen.  

I am not a risk-taker by nature, so this “word prompt” is not easy to address.  

But, when we stop and think about it, don’t you think that every day greets us with potential risks? 

There have certainly been a few days when I have awakened, just like any other day, and the call has come: 

“Your son has been hit by a car.  You need to come to the hospital.”

“Your husband has been in a collision with a semi and they are extricating him now.”

“Mom!  Hadi has lost her fingers and is on her way to ER in an ambulance!”

“Mom!  Tyler is took his life!”

Yes.  Every day is a risk. The phone may ring. There may be a knock on the door … and it could change your life forever.

So do we “safely” cower beneath our cocooned covers, tightly tucked in “safety” when the morning sun crests the horizon?

Or do we bravely set our feet on the ground each morning with trust, knowing we will be strengthened and supported, come what may?

I choose to step into the great unknown, confident that all the days of my life were written before there was yet one of them.

Nothing catches the Author and Finisher of our faith by surprise.

And He stands ready to pull us out of the pit … the miry clay … and to set our feet upon a rock … and steady our steps.

That’s our God.

Risk: the possibility that harm, danger, or unwelcome news will come.    

Yep!  

Welcome to planet earth – a place of perpetual risk.

But it can be risk without fear … for those who have fallen into the hands of a gracious, loving, and living God.

There is no safer place to be.

Sick People Need a Physician

So Warren and I were singing our hearts out, standing next to each other in church, making a “joyful noise”!

As we worshipped, an overwhelming sense of joy swept through me, even though everything in life wasn’t necessarily hunky-dory!

It was all so foreign to the way I was brought up!

To think “this world” was out there the first 25 years of my life, and I knew nothing about it! While we sang, something BIG was going on in my heart!

We could have joy even when our hearts are hurting!

I thought about how wonderful it is to be in the body of Christ – the church – and remembered the day I became a part of it by placing my trust fully in Jesus’ work on the cross and nothing else.

Is the church perfect?  Not by a longshot!  

The Bible says that we believers are “peculiar” people– yes, it’s true!

And we are ever-so-different from one another!

(See the attached picture that our grandson Jordan drew depicting 1 Corinthians 3:9 with all of our differences):

“For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building.” (One building — many different sizes, colors, personalities.)

So here we sat with all these people at the Lord’s Table — one body — with all of our differences — taking in the bread and fruit of the vine in remembrance of Him.

Wow! A bunch of flawed people just like me, needing a Savior … a Physician!

This isn’t a “holy huddle,” I thought. “This is a “hospital!”

We all were coming to the Lord for healing from the week’s battles and for strength to carry on while we tarry on this earthly sod.

We definitely do not gather because we have it all together!

We gather because we need the Healer and long to worship Him.

And our Healer does not disappoint.

It is the most beautiful thing when imperfect people can sit together in unity – even people who perhaps have had “set-to’s” with one another!

Do you know that when a broken bone heals, it is stronger in that once-cracked spot than it is anywhere else?  

People are like that, too! When we “work it out” God’s way, the relationship can become stronger than it ever was before!

Sometimes we can be a little prickly with each other, but what (or Who) binds us together is much stronger than what (or who) threatens to tear us apart – i.e., socio economic statuses, education levels, various backgrounds/pasts, disagreements, personality clashes — the works!

As we were sharing the Lord’s Supper together today, I thought, I am probably a “prickly pear” to more people than I perceive – but, guess what! They love me anyway – it’s an “agape” kind of love … an “unconditional” kind of love … the kind of love that is placed in a person’s heart by the Spirit of God!

It’s the way I love them.

And so here we sat, imperfectly, and undoubtedly with an offense or two — rolling those flaws and offenses onto Jesus whom we were all there to worship, being diligent to preserve the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace! (Ephesians 4:1-3) … knowing that Jesus died and rose again for each one!

Yep! It’s a different kind of world than the one I grew up in … and, do you know what???

I like it …

I like it a lot.

Related verses: Romans 12:5, 1 Corinthians 12:27, Ephesians 4:16 and 5:30. (That is who we are!)

Just Dropping In!

I remember the days as a child when people would “drop in” on friends. I remember my parents deciding to go visiting, and they would take us kids along. We would be excited because it meant we would be able to play with their kids. It was always someone different. If the people didn’t have children, we had to SIT on the couch and not make a PEEP until the visiting was over! (We were to be “seen and not heard,” to Dad’s way of thinking.)

Sometimes people would “drop in” and we would get to share our toys with their children! Never were we allowed to go into where the adults were without being invited — whether our company brought children with them or not!

Those “black and white” days were good days!

I wonder when people stopped doing that.

Was it when “color” came along?

This morning we were delighted with “drop in” visitors — should we call them “black and white” visitors? Being an older couple, it probably seemed completely natural for them. It felt good! The four of us sat in the living room, sipped tea, and visited up a storm!

There’s nothing like a little “monochromatic” nostalgia to warm the heart!

When We Faint

“I would have FAINTED, had I not believed I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living,” said David in Psalm 27:13.

God tells us in Isaiah 7:4 to “be quiet; fear not, neither be FAINTHEARTED …”

Jesus tells us in Luke 18:1 that we ought always to pray, and NOT FAINT.

But what about those times when we DO find ourselves “fainting,” despite His instructions … because, let’s face it, it DOES happen!

As I read those verses, I imagined the old-time movies where women collapsed into strong men’s arms while bystanders hovered over them with concern, offering smelling salts and comfort.

I recalled that those fainting ladies of yore were completely helpless! They couldn’t do ANYTHING! In fact, their legs bore not the weight. All these damsels in distress could do was to fall into the arms of a nearby strong man from Hollywood!

Well, we, too, have Someone who’s nearby …

but He’s not from Hollywood.

He’s from a far greater place!

He is a Strong Tower, mighty to save!

Strong enough to bear the weight of our heaviest load!

So when we grow faint because of life’s burdens, can we not just collapse into Him? Oh, that we could BE STILL and know that He is God!

Lord, help us all to lean into your strong arms today … knowing that, in Your time, You will administer Your celestial smelling salts and revive us again!

Someone needs to hear this today!

Like a Tree by the Waters

From Psalm 1:1-3 and Jeremiah 17:7-8 — paraphrased and made gender specific:

Blessed is the woman who delights in and meditates on God’s Word day and night and who trusts and hopes in Him. For she shall be like a tree planted by the waters which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes. She will not be anxious in the time of drought, nor will she cease to yield fruit.

Oh, Lord, will you please give every woman reading this vibrant, luscious fruit that spills out of her basket onto everyone she meets today, no matter what her circumstances — yes, even if she’s in a time of drought. Fill her up, Lord, as she extends her roots to the Stream of Living Water!

Lesson from a Hoe

The other day, things weren’t going well and my heart became overwhelmed! Does that ever happen with anyone else?

I knew I needed to “change my scenery” and get some sunshine.

I thought, “I can walk! Yes! That’s what I’ll do! I’ll take a walk!”

I started to walk past my garden and saw all the WEEDS.

Further angst welled up inside me. 😖

“Now I have WEEDS on top of all this other stuff!”

(If you know me very well, you know that I do not relish yard work.)

So I bit the bullet, grabbed the hoe, and tackled the weed infestation FULL ON, much to my chagrin! And, believe me! It was DEEP chagrin!

The battle ensued and, admittedly, it felt good to attack those weeds with wrath!

It came time to haul them to the alley, so I leaned the hoe against “something” (I was sure!) and went into the house to grab some bags.

When I stormed back outside to get this blasted job over with, I was met with further consternation.

My hoe was missing!

“What??? I don’t have time to hunt for a hoe!”

But what choice did I have with a half-baked job!

So the search ensued. I looked EVERYWHERE! All around the house (and even INSIDE the house)! — that’s how desperate I was!

That hoe was NOWHERE!!!

It had to have been a thief!

Yep. That was IT! Some scoundrel had stolen my hoe while my back was turned!!!

I determined that our little village, nice and peaceful as it was, apparently had a hoe thief!

I trudged myself up the stairs to sit down on my porch to bemoan my current situation (on top of my “other” situation).

After I had sufficiently soaked in self pity, I arose to survey our yard one last time.

But wait! What’s that???

Looking down into the garden below, I spied something that looked like a hoe handle! With anticipation, I scurried down the steps to get a closer look. It WAS a hoe handle!

And it WAS MY HOE!!! 😅

I have never been so happy to see a hoe in all my life!

The lesson learned?

Well, I sensed God was showing me the importance of looking at my initial situation from a different perspective — a HIGHER perspective … as in a heavenly perspective … just as looking “down” over my yard, I was able to see the missing hoe that I had not seen while standing at a lower level!

And, lo and behold! Here I stood now, with the necessary tool in hand to continue with my weed war! 😄

This isn’t the first time I’ve received God’s instruction from nature! He seems to do that with me a LOT! (Just peruse my blog and you’ll see!)

Suddenly, the initial irritation that had sent me out there in the first place seemed not so bad after all!

He’s doing a work in all of us! We can’t always “see” the purpose from our earthly perspective! And as we learned at Bible study last week, it does us no good to “kick against the goads.”

Goads hurt! Surrender is much less painful!

This Psalmist was a smart guy! He had the right idea about perspective … AND surrender when he said:

“From the end of the earth I will cry to You, when my heart is overwhelmed; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.” ~Psalm 61:2

Better than a Bonnet!

Easter. When I was a little girl, EVERY year my sister and I would get brand new fluffy, frilly dresses and new Easter bonnets, and our little brother would get all decked out in a white shirt and tie … but we never went to church! Now that I look back, I wonder why our mom made all the fuss! I have to admit, though, that I really did like getting gussied up and never questioned it!

There we were, all foo-fooed up, and running around the yard filling our ribboned baskets with colored eggs, stopping to smile for a picture here and there! 

I knew a lot of nominal Christians back then, but I’m not sure if I ever met a bona fide follower of Jesus until I was a young adult. Somehow I knew that a guy named Jesus died on the Cross, and I was pretty impressed that someone would do that, but I never understood WHY someone would do that! But on June 6, 1977, a stranger opened the Bible for me and I read these verses: Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Romans 10:9-13, John 3:16, John 1:12.

I was astonished! All those years I had been looking for the “one true church” and feeling very frustrated, mind you! I had left no stone unturned in my search! You would not BELIEVE all the belief systems I looked into … it makes me shudder now! 😰 Yet God’s hand was on me, protecting me.

After learning the basic verses explaining why Jesus died and rose again, I then understood why the things I had been exposed to had never “lined up” in my thinking, even though I hadn’t had one single scripture to base my misgivings on! I threw all of my hope for heaven on Jesus that day, and received Him as my personal Lord and Savior and have never looked back!

Now Easter (which I prefer to call Resurrection Sunday) means something to me! We don’t need the fancy dresses and Easter bonnets! All we need is Jesus! 💖

I’m curious. Did you all understand what it was about, or were you like me and didn’t have a clue? This year will be with my sister on that very special day — the sister I mentioned earlier — but this year we won’t be wearing bonnets. This year we’ll be “wearing Christ” (Romans 13:14). He’s much better than a bonnet! 👒👒

He is risen indeed!!!

Be Still

There is strength in sitting still.  That’s what it says in Isaiah 30:7.

It is a stillness borne of trust.

Not quiet tension, for quiet tension is not trust; it is compressed anxiety.

It all boils down to what Jesus said in John 16:33.

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

Do we believe that or not?

Okay, let’s stop with the “we”!

Do *I* believe that or not?  Yes!  Let’s personalize this!

On occasion, I am prone to fly to pieces with inward turmoil …

when suddenly that familiar and gentle still, small voice whispers in the deepest part of my soul …

… Be still and know that I am God.

And so I compose myself into perfect stillness and constrain my troubled spirit into quietness.

And, strangely, out of this stillness seems to arise a power to deal with the disorder.

And I am at peace.