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Each year when the Fall of the year rolls around, something stirs deep within me. Memories flood my mind of some 39 years ago when I made my first trip to Mississippi. My parents had divorced and my father had remarried and moved to the deep South. I arrived in June or July, not sure which, but this I do remember...on my very first day there, I met Darrel. I remember the day several months later when I knew I loved him. We were driving to see his grandparents. They lived way out in the country. It was a wonderful cool Fall day and we stopped along the way to look at the leaves and colors. I remember drinking in the oranges, browns, yellows and maroons and thinking the trees were some of the most beautiful I'd ever seen. Maybe it was partly the intensity of the moment for me (after all, I am a nature FREAK) and the sights of God's hand at its' most beautiful, but I knew right then that it was not only the colors of Fall I was seeing but the colors of love.
You see, the colors of Fall make those first feelings of love come back to my remembrance with a vengance. The stirrings inside me that the depth of the colors brings about each year, warm my heart with long ago memories that I hold so dear.
The past 37 years of our marriage have seen many struggles, trials, tests and heartache, too numerous to mention. But, as each year passes and Fall approaches once more, God reminds me again of "The Colors of Fall" and the colors of our love. They are rich and deep and I am so thankful.
When I was a mere 2 years old, we lived in a pretty pathetic corner apartment up above a little store in Chicago. We were dirt poor. If I'm remembering correctly, we were given a nickel on Saturday to purchase whatever our little hearts desired from the store downstairs.....or we could save it. Of course, saving it NEVER entered my mind! NOT ONCE! I mean, come on, why would it, when the candy behind the glass counter downstairs was constantly calling my name!!
I waited all week for that precious nickel and once it was in my hand, my little feet couldn't carry me down the stairs fast enough to spend it. The candy was all behind glass and everything, as I remember, was 5 for a penny! Oh man, what a nickel could buy!!:) I loved licorice whips, candy dollars, satellite wafers, marshmallow cones, candy buttons and so much more! YUM! And you got 5...count em...1, 2, 3, 4, 5 for a penny! Man, you'd toddle out of there with a small brown bag FULL of candy and all for a nickel! It was great!
I have been a candy addict all my life! I'm guessing that I came out of the womb asking for chocolate as opposed to milk! My body craves it and it's a must have every day for me. I've been doing Weight Watcher's for a little over a year now and I still make room for candy every day! You'd think at my age the cravings would diminish but not so.
Man, a nickel....a little silver nickel would buy a whole bag of candy back in 1955.
A nickel won't even buy gum in a machine anymore. Sad, isn't it?
Candy and I have been best friends for a long time. I wonder if this friendship will ever end? I don't think so. As a matter of fact, I think I'll go open a bag of the pixy-stix I bought for myself a while ago!!!
Tonight at church, a man came forward who blessed my heart. He had recently been led to our church by a local eye doctor who knew he just needed to talk to someone. She had the love and foresight to call our church and ask for one of our pastors. This precious man was at the end of his rope and simply needed Jesus in his life. Our pastor talked to him and he made the most important decision of his life when he decided to follow Christ and give his life to Him. The joy on his face was priceless and in my mind, I could hear the angels rejoicing over his decision. Heaven was cheering him on and we were the lucky ones to have been able to receive him into our fellowship.
Now it is our responsibility to encourage him, love him, pray for him and be an example before him. I feel so honored to be a part of a fellowship who loves deeply, cares immensely and prays diligently.
This man's salvation and presence at our church touched me tremendously. It reminded me of the fragileness of life, the great needs of people all around us, of our purpose in this life and the power of the Cross of Christ. This man was at a crossroads. I'm so thankful that he turned to Jesus and I'm so thankful that there's power in the truth of the Word of God.
My Heart is FULL!
Well, it took me 4 1/2 months to do it, but I finally did it last night! What, you say??? Well, I made turning a "senior citizen" 100% official by going to our church monthly VIP dinner. You or your spouse must be 55 or older to attend these events. VIP stands for "Vintage Impacted People" and that is now me!
Man, it felt weird! I am so used to spending a lot of time with youth, not seniors! When I walked in I felt as though I wasn't supposed to be there. You know, like how you would feel if you went to a party uninvited. Oh, I was welcome, of course, but I felt amazingly weird!
Of course, within minutes, I was fine and was enjoying the atmosphere and conversation and the food! It was great. We had a wonderful time but I sat listening to the singing wondering, once again, how could I possibly be old enough to be part of the VIP group???? It was only yesterday that I was thrown a 30th surprise birthday party, the only one ever thrown for me. Now, I have children older than that! I looked around the room at the 40 something or so people and thought about the wisdom sitting in that room. I was sort of in awe as I sat there.
This December, for the first time at our annual VIP Christmas dinner, Darrel and I will "sit" at a table instead of "serving" one. Now THAT is going to be REALLY WEIRD! I guess it's another chapter in my life but it's going to take me some time to get used to it! Some days I'm thrilled to have the turned the page into this new chapter and others, I wish I could turn back the clock.
Ah well....it is what it is so I might as well embrace it.
Wonder where my AARP card is???
As I was leaving our fair booth tonight, Darrel called my cell. Naturally, he was just wondering when I would be home, wanted to caution me to "be careful" but mostly, just wanted to tell me that "he'd leave the front light on for me."
Inside, I felt warmed, loved, expected, anticipated and cared about. How sweet of him to want me to know that he wanted to "light the way" for me. His words comforted me and when I drove into the driveway, the light illuminated the door and gave me clear guidance but before I could open the door, he was there greeting me.
I know for some of you, this might be a stretch to parallel what this meant to me, but this is how my mind works. As Darrel greeted me at the door, I thought about Jesus. How HE makes me feel, is the same, even MUCH BETTER, than how this incident made me feel.
As good as Darrel makes me feel when he exhibits these feelings towards me, Jesus exhibits these feelings towards me every single moment of every single day. HE loves me deeply, HE anticipates my coming home to HIM, HE cares about me and most definitely, HE lights my way every step of every day. When the darkness surrounds me, HIS light is there to guide my way. Always HE is there anticipating hearing my voice and coming back into HIS presence. I am warmed by the LIGHT of HIS love.
How grateful I am that Jesus ALWAYS leaves the light on and waits for me to be in HIS presence again. My, isn't that good to know?
Early this morning, decked out in my robe, (only because I was late getting up this morning) Darrel and I sat out front in Sum/Dale's rocking chairs. I was waiting for Butch to get here with the kids and Darrel just sat down next to me working on last minute laptop stuff before he headed out for the day. BUT...there was a few passing minutes there that we enjoyed a delightful conversation about life and dreams and our hopes for the future. As our economy is failing more daily, Darrel and I discussed our future, our finances and our continued dreams in spite of it all. Our conversation lasted a mere 10 minutes or so but it was wonderful. As we sat sharing together, I thought about how quickly life passes us by and how seldom we have, or should I say take, these wonderful opportunities. My last blog before this one was about our oldest son turning 36. When I think about the fact that 36 entire years have passed since his birth, I realize clearly how quickly life and the living of it, is fleeting. James 4:14 tells us that life is but a vapor quickly fading away. Isn't it sad that it appears that we do not ever seem to fully understand this fact until we get older? I cherish every moment now so much more than I did when I was younger. Life is STILL good, despite the economy, despite things falling down around us. Life is STILL good...not because of anything that man has done but because of everything GOD HIMSELF has done and IS DOING.
It's amazing how refreshing, comforting and joyfilled a simple 10 minute conversation can be. Through it, God reminded me how fleeting life is and how each moment, whether shared in wonderful conversation sitting in a rocking chair, or shared in pain and strife, should be lived as our last. Life is a vapor...quickly fading away. It's our choice how we live it. Thank you God for a few moments in time when problems slipped away and conversation was sweet.
About 50 minutes from now, 36 years ago tonight, my firstborn son made his way into the world. I was young, scared and had not a clue about giving birth or having a baby for that matter. Those were the days that husbands were not allowed in the labor and delivery rooms and so, I labored alone with a nurse, and gave birth without Darrel close by.
The instant I layed my eyes on my little baby boy, I was in love. I was smitten as though I had never known love before. He was an easy baby and filled my young heart with joy. I learned much in those early years and made many mistakes as I went.
Today, Darrel and I celebrated DJ's 36th birthday together with him. As I hugged him goodbye, I couldn't help but cry. Where have the years gone? I would give much to have him back on my knee or in my arms, but those days are gone.
Happy Birthday my firstborn son.....I miss those days so many years ago when I held you in my arms, played Leggos with you and took you to the park. May God direct your path over the next 36 years of your life and may HIS arms be the ones you rest in and find comfort in all the rest of the days of your life.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY DEAR SON!
YIKES....they're here....I've finally got them......my Grandma's wrinkly hands! I remember as a little girl looking at my Grandmother's hands a lot. It wasn't that I simply sat and stared at her hands, it was just that her hands were ALWAYS busy and since I watched her and followed her around a lot, I noticed those precious hands. Those dear hands ironed, cooked, did the dishes and helped me button all those buttons when I was just a wee one. What I always remembered about her was those wonderful hands full of wrinkles! I don't mean that in a cruel way, it was just an observation as a child. I remember looking at her hands and wondering about all the things those hands had done in her life.
Now, here I am, just as of this morning, realizing that my hands are beginning to look like my Grandma's hands. For a moment, it made me feel old and a bit sad and then I realized it was a good thing. I thought, you know, if my hands could accomplish even a portion of blessings that my Grandmother's hands ministered to me, then it was an honor to have wrinkly hands like Grandma's.
Every single day I want my hands to be used to minister peace, blessings, comfort, encouragement and love, just as my dear Grandmother's did. NOW is the best time in my life with my grandchildren all around me and with so many in our church and community to use my hands to bless.
Lord, use my hands for your glory and let them be instruments of your peace....just like Grandma's were to me. After all Lord, there's lots of little hands in my life that are holding on to them.
Even Dorothy knew that truth...there is no place like home, is there? We can travel the world over, enjoy every moment and tuck the memories we made away in our minds, but in the end, HOME is where we want to be. At the end of the day, HOME beckons us to its' door. At the moment our foot steps through our front door, we are at peace, we are comforted, we are home. All is well with us when we come home. When we close the front door, trouble seems to cease. After all, everything is familiar there, our own bed, our own pillow, our own kitchen, our own space that we live, breathe and have our being in. Home...ohhhh, it feels so good and there's just no place like it.
Wednesday, one of our own came HOME. How wonderful to walk in to church Wednesday night and see our Kaitlin back with us. I have no doubt that her coming HOME brought peace and joy to her heart. I know her homecoming brought joy to mine.
Life takes us on many journeys. We travel far and wide for education, for leisure travel, and for business, but always...when we are HOME, we are at peace and all is right with us and the world.
Welcome HOME Kaitlin...welcome HOME. There's no place like HOME and we're glad you're here.
TRUTH....this single word seems to stir up trouble in many circles. I know, I have witnessed it personally amongst people.
I shall never truly and compeletly understand why it is that the majority of people really do not want to hear TRUTH. I am not speaking, for the most part, about biblical truth, I am talking about TRUTH in general. No matter how kind, considerate and gentle, many people refuse to listen to the truth and will actually get angered when it is spoken to them. Just a week ago, I simply spoke a TRUTH to somone, in a sweet but honest way, and if looks could have killed, I would have been dead. Then came the turn of their body and the silence.
Ah well....I pity them. What I spoke was TRUTH. It was not meant to hurt, discourage or put down, it was simply a TRUTH spoken in love from one adult to another and yet, it was not received well. I have a difficult time understanding and accepting the fact that millions of people across this great land refuse to ever do any better or act any better than what they do. When they are lovingly corrected and TRUTH is spoken to them, it is rejected the majority of the time. Do they not want to grow? Do they think they are perfect or do they simply just abhor the idea that anyone would have the nerve to speak to them about their speech/actions?
I'm baffled but I'll not stop speaking TRUTH.
