28 YEARS

Yes, for all of you faithful blog readers, you might know that June 21 is the "birthday" of this blog.  You will also remember that June 21 marks the anniversary of The Girl's diabetes diagnosis which was the first post in this blog.

Today marks 28 years since that diagnosis.  I usually write something to commemorate but The Girl just directed me to her Facebook page where she had written about it herself.  After a tear or two, I got myself together and asked her if I could post her comments to my post for this day.  She says it so well.  She agreed so if you a blog reader who has already read her Facebook page, you can read again or stop reading here.  If you haven't read it, grab a tissue, settle back, and read on.


*****************************
In The Girl's words:

***THE REAL STEEL BEHIND THE MAGNOLIA***

This post has been spinning around in my head ever since I started reading all the hubbub about this year being the 30th Anniversary of Steel Magnolias. Every good, well-bred Southern Belle knows this movie, and I daresay many of you are among those that love it. I myself love a good rom-com and am not one to turn down the likes of Dolly Parton, Sally Field, and Julia Roberts. 

But.

I first saw Steel Magnolias in high school. Or, perhaps I should say I first and last saw it in high school. I remember sitting in the basement with a group of girlfriends and felt like running for cover. If I’d wanted to rent it from the local Blockbuster, I probably would have gone straight to the “Horror Films” aisle and looked somewhere between Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream (which may not have been out yet. I’m knocking on the door of 40, folks 😆). You see, I looked at Julia Roberts’ character, Shelby, and saw myself. Julia was from Georgia. I’m from Georgia. Julia/Shelby had blush and bashful (right?) bridesmaids’ dresses at her wedding. I had visions of the same (but ended up choosing hot pink. You’re welcome, friends 😊). Julia/Shelby was a honorary Phi Mu. I pledged the same sorority in college. But, most of all, Julia/Shelby had Type I diabetes. I was diagnosed with Type I when I was 10 years old. 28 years ago today, as a matter of fact. Too. Many. Similarities. So, when Julia/Shelby passed away from kidney failure when her child was very, very young… you can imagine the fear that ran through my teenage mind. I saw all of my hopes and dreams for the future being drowned right there in the tears of Dolly and Sally. 

So.

The years passed, and I kept on going. The dream of family and children didn’t end, but neither did the fear of “what if it can’t happen” or “what if I don’t survive it?” Pretty heavy stuff for a girl whose next thought is “which pair of sweatpants am I going to wear to class today?” I can recall a specific night before my sophomore or junior year of college where I was really having it out with the Lord. I knew that the care of my diabetes was less than stellar but I begged Him to bless me with a child. And, even more than that, to save that child when he or she was old enough. Then, having felt like He had given me that promise, I promised Him that, should it happen to be a girl child, I’d name her Grace. 

More years passed.

When I was 29, I met a guy on eHarmony who I thought was pretty great. Thankfully, he thought I was pretty great, too, and we decided to get married. A few years later, we found out that we were expecting a baby. Hallelujah! I was equal parts thrilled and terrified. But I prayed for a healthy baby and a healthy Mama and did the best I could with the help of my family and the world’s best endocrinologist. About halfway through my pregnancy at a regular checkup, the nurse told me that the protein count from my kidneys was high. A red flag, but not a major cause of concern. However, I can just remember getting to the truck and falling apart on my husband’s shoulder. I didn’t want to die. I didn’t want my baby to die. But Shelby/Julia did. Because of her kidneys. So, somehow, that fear from years before resurfaced right there at the forefront of my mind. I continued to repeat that same test every month. And those numbers went down. Every. Single. Time. You can’t tell me that God doesn’t answer prayer in His way and in His time!

So then, at 38 weeks and 1 day, my precious baby girl was born. 7 pounds and 1 ounce of pure joy. With a working pancreas, no less! Caroline GRACE… a daily, tangible, and precious reminder of God’s amazing grace in my life. The answer to a prayer and the fulfillment of a promise made so many years before. I’m still believing that the other part of that promise will be kept when she gets older and God knocks at her little heart.

Now, I know that there are so many situations in the world, many harder and scarier than mine. But this is what I have. This is my story, He is my song, and some days, I can’t help but praise Him. He is bigger and mightier than my fear… and there are still days that I have fear. I don’t know what the future holds, but I know He overcame this obstacle in His way and His time, and I have to trust Him to do the same with whatever my family and I face. He is truly the Steel behind this little magnolia 🙂. It’s not always easy, but He’s always the answer. And… if you are reading this and facing a giant of your own, He will do the same for you. Just ask.

“…from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace” John 1:16

“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me…for when I am weak, then am I strong.” 2 Corinthians 12: 9-10

*************************

All I can say is quite a girl is mine and quite a Heavenly Father who cares for us all.  Enough said.

Consider.........

VBS 2019

VBS week at our church has now passed.  What a week it was!  It was a week that focused on the true meaning of our Christian faith--JESUS!  Grace and faith abounded as souls were saved.  It seemed to be a week where adults all the way down to children were revitalized.  Was I tired?  Yes but as my body tired, my faith and praise grew and grew stronger throughout the week.

I was the official photographer.  I have done that job often but not in the past few years.  I had forgotten how hard it can be even though I do love taking pictures.  I decided "the old gray mare, she ain't what she used to be".

The Grandbaby enjoyed her third VBS immensely.  I know you will enjoy a few pictures from the week.  I didn't want to disappoint my three faithful blog readers.  😁

The theme was Mega Sports Camp....

and ended each opening service with a cheer for J-E-S-U-S!

Food was delicious as usual and involved a lot of hard work all week from the food committee.

A good friend was a visiting adult class teacher one night.  What a blessing he is to my family!  I tell him he can speak at my funeral some day.  I needed a younger guy as a choice.  We laugh about it but I am serious.

The Grandbaby had a great time!

She did love that green frisbee.

The Poppa and The Neema really enjoy being a Poppa and a Neema.  Just sayin'....And after this particular photo moment, The Poppa and The Neema both had trouble getting up from a kneeling position.  Ahhh.....

A funny happening during the week was when the teachers of The Grandbaby's class asked me to take individual pictures of the kids for a project.  I had taken pictures of all the kids, actually having to be inventive to get them still enough for a somewhat decent shot, and then it was The Grandbaby's turn.  Now usually she is exactly like these other kids and it takes several shots to get a good one.  Did it that night?  Nah.  She just walks right up with her Bible, stands still in the spot, and smiles.  It brought a lot of laughter from the teachers as they said she surely must do this a lot and is trained.  Nah.  I just got lucky.  Look at this nice picture....

I am always reminded during VBS week of my favorite VBS ever that I attended as a youngster.  It was a neighborhood church during the morning time.  Seemingly, all the middle school age kids in my class were kids that rode my school bus and went to school with me.  Yes, my age will show as there was only one school in my area at that time and only two or three bus routes.  Anyways, I remember that VBS and the fact that I learned the books of the Bible.  There was a lot of teaching of Jesus by then younger teachers as the ones at my church did this year.  Now a lot of those teachers have gone on to be with the Lord.  Sometimes if I close my eyes and think of that time, I can feel myself out by the concrete table in that church yard talking to those kids I knew and I can taste those store bought cookies and that red punch.  More so, I can feel the love that was there.  That's what VBS is all about....when it has Jesus, you feel it.  I'm so thankful for that and pray those kind of memories for The Grandbaby,  And I pray she learns the books of the Bible.  In order.

VBS 2019 has joined the bank of memories but what memories they are.  Life changing for some.  A reminder that God still answers prayer for others and so much more.

Consider.....

COLORS IN THE CLASSROOM

Is it just me or is this normal day-to-day thing we call life just like a classroom?  It seems to find so many different ways to teach me about many subjects.  Learning can be a wonderful thing--but only if I choose to learn.

One of my sayings that I say on a really regular basis is "It is what it is."  Well ain't that the truth?  Sometimes there's only black or white and no gray, then other times there is a whole crayon box full of different colors.

Let's take a look at yellow for instance.  I told The Grandbaby that yellow is my favorite color.  At least it is for now.  There's all those tones of yellow--the golds, the buttercreams, the pale.  Yellow to me is a very happy color.  It reminds me of sunny days--days when learning is a recognition of the joys that abound in my life.  It doesn't take a whole lot of effort to find those joys and learn from them.

Green is a bit like yellow for me, too.  Have you ever seen any prettier color than the green grass after a rain?  It's as if the world has a new vitalization.  Green signals growth to me, not only the growth of the plants and trees but growth of my inner spirit.  After a rain storm in my life, the green sprouts again and helps me to grow in grace, in faith, and in the Lord.

With that said, that brings me to blue.  Well The Grandbaby will tell you without hesitation that blue is her favorite color.  It's the color of PJ Mask's Catboy, her favorite cartoon character.  She has loved the color blue for a long long time.  When I think of blue, though, I think of times that caused tears in my eyes and in this classroom of life.  Tears for losses of loved ones, tears for regrets I can't redo, tears for things I couldn't understand the "why" of, and tears for my own anxiety and fear.  As I ponder the color blue, I realize too that the sky when there are no clouds is also blue.   This leads me to think of blue in two ways--sorrow AND happiness.  I am reminded the most of all the answers and resolutions that came from the tears I shed for various reasons.  You know, it's that Pollyanna thing--you can always find something to be glad about.  Even when you are in the depths of raining despair, one knows that eventually the sun WILL shine again.  And that to me is faith.

Orange, of course, brings to mind family and the favorite color of The Son-In-Law.  His beloved college has orange as one of it's colors.  War Eagle!   That reminds me somehow of answered prayers from way way back.  Prayers for a mate--a right mate--for The Girl, prayers for a family for her, and prayers for her health.  All these have been answered prayers in just the right way because my God knows the right things for us all.   Often those right things are so very unexpected.

Red makes me think of roses and the opportunities we have to stop and smell the flowers.  I get so caught up some days with my anxieties and busyness in the life classroom that I forget the learning.  I got some test results the other day from my doctor.  She has known me many many years and the two of us had a huge long talk about my stress level and how it has to decline for my own physical good.  I told her that my high stress level should come as no surprise to me or to her as we both know me well.  I took away from that lecture that it's important not to sweat the small stuff....and it's all small stuff.  That is said often, I guess, but true.  So I try.  Red can remind me of that.  You know, red also reminds me of the blood Jesus shed on the cross.  For me.  And for you.

There are many colors in the crayon box that man's experimentation has developed and they are beautiful colors in their own right but I will say that one of the least used crayons in the box is the white.  Some folks would rather just leave the coloring page it's original color and not go to the effort of coloring a color that won't show up.  I see white as such a clean, clean look that we should all learn that it is one of the most important.  How nasty looking is a piece of clothing that is stained with all sorts of dirty junk?  How beautiful is that same piece of clothing after it's washed and brought back to it's original whiteness?  White to me signifies everything that is right in the world.  It signifies to me most of all how a heart becomes clean after the washing of Jesus blood.  How, you say?  John 3:16.  It's hard to understand but it is so true....or at least I've learned in my classroom that it's true and I will continue to hold fast to that knowledge.

Put a lot of colors together and you get a rainbow.  A beautiful array of colors come together after the storm  and makes a scene that always makes one smile.  Rainbows have a special place in my family.

I guess this post turned out to be not what I expected when I started typing but maybe it's just what it should be.

Consider.............

THE ANCHOR

The definition of "anchor" is "a heavy weight to hold a ship in place.  Granted I have not been on a big ship for any length of time except to tour.  Ever.  Nor do I expect or want to be.  But if I was on a big ship, I would want to be certain there was an anchor heavy enough to hold it should an anchor be needed.  I do remember many years ago on a vacation to the west coast, we toured The Queen Mary, a huge ship.  It's anchor had to be heavy.

I have a dear friend who for many weeks now has been by the side of her husband who has been very seriously ill.  She has shown me what it means to be there for a spouse in sickness and the love she has shown for him should be a lesson in love to us all.  Her text about an hour ago said his home going around 5 a.m. today was so very peaceful.  My heart hurts for her loss but I know that she is a strong girl with a deep faith and a heavenly Father who will be her anchor.  Her anchor in the time of her storm.

All this came to mind as I pondered after her text to me.  A song from way back began to play over and over in my mind.  Yes, this is the same mind that can't remember why I went into a certain room but can remember a song from mega years ago.  Go figure.  Must be meant to share with you blog readers is all I can say.

The song is titled, "In Times Like These" and was sang often by George Beverly Shea who was seen a lot at the Billy Graham crusades.  Sadly, youth today won't know much about George Beverly Shea or Bill Graham but hopefully they know about the anchor in this song.  Here are the lyrics:

In times like these you need a Savior
In times like these you need an anchor
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

This Rock is Jesus, Yes He's the One
This Rock is Jesus, the only One
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

In times like these you need the Bible
In times like these, O be not idle
Be very sure, be very sure
Your anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

In times like these I have a Savior
In times like these I have an anchor
I'm very sure, I'm very sure
My anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!

I am very sure that MY anchor holds and grips the Solid Rock!  I hope you are sure, too.

"Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast..."  Hebrews 6:19

Consider....

A DIY FIX

Most of my faithful blog readers know how much I love birds.  I love watching them, learning from them, and photographing them.  One of the popular places for birds to build nests is my front porch.  I have watched them diligently bring in all these twigs to make a safe haven for their eggs and young.  I gain encouragement and confidence from watching these mamas.  They are a sermon in themselves.

Last year we got our trees cut from our front yard  They were becoming problems and The Husband and I try to avoid problems as we age.  The yard is wide open, nice and pretty.  However, in the summer, the sun has no blockage with no trees to shade.  My front porch is too painfully hot as is the front of my house which houses the kitchen where I cook.  Ovens make a kitchen hot and add the heat of the sun coming in through a porch and it's REALLY hot.

The Husband and I decided to get some rollup/rolldown exterior shades for the porch.  They are perfect and keep things cooler as we had hoped.  The shades were not up even one day before one of those wise mama birds found the top of one.  Oh woe.  For the first time ever, I had to sadly clean that up and come up with a plan.  After researching online, I took one of the suggestions that was a simple painless fix.....

It works.  A good quick fix for this issue if you have a need.

"LELLOW' FLOWERS

When springtime comes to our world, our grass will green up pretty fast.  We do laugh a bit, though, as what's really turning green is the weeds.  We have tons of pretty weeds.  Amongst these weeds are a world of those little yellow flowers.

A month or two back, The Grandbaby and I were outside.  She wanted to pick those yellow flowers.  She said they were for her mommy because her mommy likes them.  Duh.  We went inside and got a large Solo plastic cup and she began picking while I held the cup.  We smushed "lellow" flowers into that plastic cup until it was overflowing.  The Grandbaby picked every flower in the huge front yard and in the fairly large back yard.  Every.  Single.  One.  I promise.  And she gave them to her mommy just as she said.

I was reminded of this experience as I headed out fairly early for errands the other day.  As I stopped at the end of my driveway to pull out, my attention was caught by my across the road neighbor's little field behind the fence.  The sun was shining on those yellow flowers and it was a beautiful sight.  I longed to have the time to get my camera and shoot pictures but instead  I went on to my errands.  Before I headed home, I texted my neighbor and asked if they would mind if I took some pictures of the flowers.  They didn't mind so as soon as I got home, I went in for my camera.  By then, the morning sun had disappeared and the photos were a bit more challenging but I had a wonderful time! Here are a few of the pictures I took....as I see them.

HAPPY HEARTS

Usually, I prepare supper for The Girl, The Son-In-Law, and The Grandbaby on Wednesday nights.  I have done this for seven or so years....began as a way to help get to Wednesday night choir easier but seemed to evolve into a regular weekly event that all looked forward to.  And yes, we are still in the mode of eating breakfast, lunch, and supper....just can't make it breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  Just sayin'.

This week I changed it up as my today's schedule leaves little time for cooking and preparing.  We ate here together last night instead.    When there is Wednesday night choir, I insist on doing the cleaning up and send The Girl on to the early kids practice as she plays piano for that choir and the practice after it for the adults.  Now that choir practice is on summer hiatus, The Girl helped with the clean up last night.  As we worked together in the kitchen as we had done in the past, I began to pay attention to the sounds.  In the "wivving woom", I could hear The Grandbaby singing one of her many songs.  She is quite the song learner and is becoming a song composer.   Then I realized that both The Girl and I were humming different songs as we worked.  Somehow, those sounds just made me happy.  I love it when there are happy hearts that come out in the form of sounds of joy and praise.  It just makes a happy heart happier somehow.

This morning I just finished reading my scripture.  As I sometimes do, I just opened my Bible and read what I opened to.  Today it was Psalm 96, not a typical Psalm I can remember and quote so I read it.  Here are the verses that stood out to me:

1-O sing unto the Lord a new song: sing unto the Lord, all the earth.

2-Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; shew forth his salvation from day to day.

4-For the lord is great, and greatly to be praised...

6-Honor and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

I just love that!

Hearts are happy when you have a "song" whether you can carry a tune or not.  Consider.....

NO BABY JESUS?

I have done some changing around today by moving in the vintage handmade doll house for Barbies (yes, The Husband made it for The Girl many, many years ago and it's a jewel).  That merited that I reorganize the other toys as well.

The Grandbaby came to visit while The Girl went grocery shopping.  Yes, she was thrilled with the doll house but she was just as thrilled with the older toys that had been at the "bottom of the barrel" so to speak.  I was gifted before The Grandbaby was born with one of these wonderful Fisher Price nativity sets for the kids.  The Grandbaby has loved it since she began playing with it and can name e'erbody in the box.

Today she wanted she and I to play that.  We took to the newly located kids table and began taking e'erbody out of the box.  All were unloaded, angel placed on top, Away in a Manager playing from the angel, and wise men and animals were in place.

The Grandbaby says loudly, "WHERE IS BABY JESUS?????"  Well, ain't that the truth?  What's a nativity without the star of the show?

My Neema mind began to do a little fearing.  What if Baby Jesus was lost?  What if he'd accidentally been thrown in the trash?  So I began to search.  Finally I found him in a bag with the palm trees (which we did not use in the nativity).  I breathed a huge sign of relief.  He was in the bag with the palm trees and a sheep.  I headed back to the living room and held out the sheep and The Grandbaby smiled.  When I held out the Baby Jesus, The Grandbaby smiled and yelled happily, "Yay!!!"

The Lord immediately spoke to me with the message of my day.  Anytime we "lose" Jesus (and we do--all of us have), we can find him right where we left him.  And, he's always ready to return to being our Jesus, our guide, our protector, our all.  There's a lot more in that sermon but I'm gonna leave you to ponder it.....

Consider.....

HOW HE SPEAKS

Many may wonder how I know that Lord speaks to me or sends me his assurances when I can't audibly hear him with my physical ears.  It's a spiritual thing of the heart.  I just KNOW.

I had a great example of this yesterday after a week of uncertainties and even fears.  And yes, the scripture says to "fear not" many, many times in my Bible.

I was pondering and one of The Girl's favorite scriptures came to mind.  I turned to it and put my cute but aggravating-to-clip bookmark there.  It clips and didn't clip well, so I reclipped it to more pages so it would hold and not slip.  I read the scripture from Proverbs 3:5, 6.  Here it is:

After I had read it and thought a bit about it, I considered one of my own favorites in Isaiah and began to turn to it.  It is Isaiah 41:10, 13.  Here it is:

Notice where the bookmark is clipped.  I didn't move it.  Uh huh.  Coincidence?  Nah.  😁  That would be a witness of the Spirit as often described by a woman at my church.  No coincidence.   He speaks.

Consider....

EASTER EGGS!

While the most important reason we celebrate Easter is Jesus, there's still fun for the children with the egg hunting.  The church had their annual egg hunt on Palm Sunday afternoon after a morning of storms and rain.  The eggs were "hidden" in the parking lot of the church but fun for the kids nonetheless.  The Grandbaby liked the eggs but I found it funny that she would shake them to see if they made a sound with their contents before choosing them.  And, as Peppa Pig, she loves "muddy puddles"!

Easter morning's new tradition at my house is breakfast after the sunrise service.  This year I entertained eleven at my tables.  After the food, I had a few eggs for The Grandbaby to hunt.  These, too, were hidden on the concrete and around the cars as the grass was wet.  The weather was a bit nippy, too, but a good time was had by all.

The Grandbaby plays mostly with vintage toys at my house.  The Fisher Price binoculars around her neck are at least 34 years old.  Just sayin'....She does love them....

This year she was a really big girl...potty-trained AND standing alone in her family picture.

After getting to church, our family took some quick dressed up photos before church began.  The "bracelets" around her wrist are actually ponytail scrunchies that were in a couple of her Easter eggs she found a couple of hours before.  They didn't match the pretty bunny dress, but The Girl has learned which battles to fight.  Scrunchies around the wrist on Easter was not a battle worth fighting, even if they don't match.  Unmatching scrunchies around the wrist on Easter morning don't deter the joy of the resurrection.

It's becoming equally hard for The Poppa and The Grandbaby to provide normal faces during photos but I will keep them both anyways.

Yes, blessings abound this Easter season in so many forms.  Hallelujah, He arose and still reigns!  We still hunted eggs and took family photos.  The new life of the world around us has burst forth this spring season.  I will end with a few pictures that I love of the new spring life.

I. Am. Blessed.