"MATURE" JONQUILS

Can you believe this weather in February?  I am wearing sandals and short sleeves as I type.  Mercy...I thought it was supposed to be cold in February.  This weather has many people experiencing spring fever too early.

I have a row of jonquils that I planted up the side of my yard next to the woods.  I had some planted nearer to the house but the person who mows the grass (The Husband, of course) chose to mow them down.  Hence the planting on the wood line at the edge of the yard.  Yes, they, too, are blooming.  I've enjoyed a bouquet in my kitchen already.

Yesterday, The Girl again chauffeured me to a wedding shower of The Niece.  It was about a 45 minute drive and I took the opportunity to notice the beauty of the outside as she drove.  Of course, jonquils get my attention as I love seeing them grow.  I began to notice that many were growing in areas where there were no houses or maybe in the yards of houses that looked abandoned or deserted.  Beautiful, beautiful jonquils.  And many many of them.  They always seem to multiply each year and some areas had so very many.  Right there in the smack middle of "nothing".

I got to thinking about that.  Years and years ago someone had to plant those bulbs.  They had to nurture, water, and surely enjoyed the bounty of the blooms.  We passed the house of an elderly lady I was acquainted with that had moved to an assisted living home and had since gone on to heaven.  Her jonquils were so beautiful.  I could almost see her bent with her gnarled hands as she tended to them.  Then on a littler farther, there was a pasture of jonquils dotted in various places.  Beautiful flowers that spread sunshine to all who would see.  It was the same story all through the route to the wedding shower.

I wondered what I might "plant" that would inspire or spread beauty to others years and years and years from now, even when I'm gone.  I would hope there would be some kind of encouragement, dedication to the cause of which I believe, or just love that would bloom on and spread joy in hearts and lives.    I pray this would be so.  Multiplied joy on and on and on.

I think I need to seriously plant more and more beautyfor future generations.  Think about it....are you a planter, too?

"So neither is he that planted is anything, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase."     1 Corinthians 3:7

L-O-V-E

Ah, love....Valentine's Day, the "love" holiday.  No, I got no flowers.  No, I got no card.  No, I got no chocolates.  No, I got no physical gift.  Nor did I buy any of these for my Valentine, The Husband.  After 38 years, we feel past that.  Now don't take me wrong, if you got one or all of these items, I'm happy for you.  It's just that in our house, we don't "exchange" gifts anymore.

You might ask, "Why not?"  I guess when I consider that question, I realize that we enjoy using what little money we have in other ways...ways like buying groceries, shopping at Cabelas and Zulily and Amazon, and other things of that nature.

I think the bottom line, though, is that there are other "gifts" that are more important that we receive daily.  The Husband is able to work at his job.  I am able to do whatever it is I do that's constructive during the day.  We happily sit in our pajamas watching Jeopardy, then usually promptly fall asleep because we are so tired.  And we like that!  We have voiced our contentment lately about that very thing.

The Husband shows me love every single day in his own way.  His mama taught him to always compliment the meal he partook of.  I just know that if he says it was "filling", that he didn't enjoy it as he does others and maybe not make that particular dish again but he always comments positively.  And he doesn't have to.  He is the guy who waited all the times I've had surgery.  He's the guy that kept my temperature taken, brought me the frozen peas for icing spots, and on the nights I have been excessively busy doing what I do that is constructive during the day, he says, "Let's go get something to eat so you don't have to cook."  And I say, "Ok".  He's the guy that thanked me over and over again for helping care for his parents during their cancer sicknesses and deaths.  He didn't have to thank me.  That was one of my gifts to him because I love him.  So you see, it's Valentine's Day every day here.  And I like it that way.

Thirty-eight Valentine's Days is how many we have spent together.  The most special was 36 years ago when we had Italian food and played Scrabble.  You might ask how I remember such.  Early the next morning I went into labor and our sweet baby girl was born.  Yes, tomorrow is her birthday and when she came along, love multiplied many many times.  She has brought such wonderful joy to our lives and we consider her one of our greatest blessings.

Of course, eventually, she met and married The Son-In-Law and we love him like a son.  And you know what is next....the sweet Grandbaby.  Ah....love at it's sweetest.  Just look at that sweet face--hers, not The Gramma's.  😀💖  And isn't she sitting straight up like a big girl?  😍

So I guess while defining love is hard, or so I found as I tried to define to my 2's and 3's in Sunday School this past Sunday, it is as I said, "Love makes you feel really good."

With all of that said, the love my Heavenly Father is the very greatest of all.  I love Him with all my heart and thank him for the L-O-V-E blessings I have.

GUMPTION IN MY UMPTION

I am recovering from surgery.  Again.  Although not all surgical, I counted four general anesthesia/recovery room events in the past year.  This time it was the l/2 peach size lipoma that was growing in my right hip.  It had to come out so it did last week.  The big orange sized one growing in my left hip came out eleven years ago.  So glad I have no more hips.   I am instructed that I do no strenuous activity for two weeks until the stitches come out.  They come out in 6 days.  But who's counting?

My time of recovery last week was mostly in the recliner with pillows, pajamas, and frozen peas ice pack.  Twenty minutes on and twenty minutes off gets really old and cold but such is life.  And did I mention that my nurse, The Husband, has been VERY strict so that I COULD easily become lazy?

This week, though, I have been a bit more active, non-strenuously so.  My normal Monday babysitting gig with The Grandbaby was adapted a bit as my mother, The Great Grandmother, came to help with the lifting of the 18 pound 3 ounce grand baby.  Yes, she is really growing.  Lifting her is strenuous.  Walking with her in your arms is more so.

Today I rode with The Girl and The Grandbaby to the store.  (I have been chauffeured most of the time that I go anywhere.)  Being in a non-strenuous mode gives me a lot of time for really paying attention to things.  The Girl had one of The Grandbaby's musical CD's in the player during the drive.  Veggie Tales.  I haven't heard a lot of them yet but I was finding I like them.  Good old Baptist songs like "The Old Gospel Ship" and "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" were some I enjoyed...sang in Veggie Tail voices which are entertaining in themselves.

Then there on the sound machine was "Give Me Oil in my Lamp".  If you deal with children's music at all, it's a familiar one.  It's one that I used when I was Children's Choir director...one of my favorites.   It goes like this:

Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning
Give me oil in my lamp, I pray.
Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning
Keep me burning till the break of day.

Sing hosana, sing hosana, sing hosana to the King of kings.
Sing hosana, sing hosana, sing hosana to the King.

It just makes one want to sing so as I listened to the familiar verse of "give me joy in my heart, keep me praising" and began to sing along,  I heard the next verse...."Give me gas in my Ford, keep me truckin' for the Lord" to which I had to chuckle as I sang along.  (This is an easy song to catch on.)  Immediately after that verse was the best one...."Give me gumption in my umption, help me function....give me umption in my gumption I pray...Give me umption in my gumption, help me function...help me function till the break of day."

Well I bellylaughed (non-strenuously, of course) at that one.  It was catchy.  Really catchy.  Then, the more I thought about it, I realized how I really needed that every single day.  Umption in my gumption so I can function.  Then I can "sing hosanna to the king of kings!"

Ain't that just the truth?  😁