In Care of Spring,

I was reflecting on your soon-to-be arrival. I’ve been waiting quite some time for you to come. Winter has been overstaying its welcoming. And I’m more than ready for you to visit. As I enjoy a fresh glass of my “Constant Comments”, Biglow Tea, I am reminded how nice it would be to spend it with you on the back porch.   The Irises are sprouting green leaves in the backyard. And I check every day for the Crocus leaves, but they haven’t popped up yet. You know how much they enjoy you too. The dead growth from fall is still laying in our yard and we can’t remove it until you come. As you can see, many of my plants are waiting for to come, too. And we can’t do much without you. Spring, you always seem to bring the nicest beginnings to the new year. And quite frankly, I need a little of that this year. If at all possible can you pack some warm air with no rain? I need a few weeks to get my garden in order. I promise to greet you with fresh Geranium baskets on my front porch and nice cozy campfires in my backyard. Oh, Spring, how we’ve truly missed you and we look forward to your coming. Meanwhile, I will endure winter’s stay. In short, I hope to trade in the winter coat and wool gloves for a pair of hot pink flip-flops and an Easter dress.

Waiting Patiently,

The "Unexpected"

Starting out this week, I WAS planning to start my new job. However, I HADN’T planned on shopping at Kroger’s on the eve of a giant ice storm. And I sure hadn’t planned on scrapping two inches of ice off my car. I didn’t expect my husband to get the stomach virus. And quite frankly, I was planning to serve tacos for dinner on Friday night, not Wednesday. Prior to this week, I hadn’t planned on being out of full-time work for five months. But then again, it’s funny how the “unexpected” always come full circle.

As my mom always says, “Sometimes, you just have to rise to the occasion”.  

For example, I rather enjoyed myself at Krogers on the eve of the ice storm. It was like an adventure: “Survival of the Fittest”.  I amazingly found a very short checkout line and paved the way for other frustrated shoppers. One lady shopper said I was her heroine in the Kroger shopping experience.  No applauds, please.

Scrapping two inches of ice of the car was a little challenging. However, it was fun to slide around on the ice with the husband. It reminded us of our first time together on the ice: We slid and fell on top of each other, kind of like in the movies.  

I felt really bad for the husband as he was hugging the porcelain God. However, I have to admit, his stomach virus afforded be the opportunity to enjoy more of the chocolate cookies.

I did serve tacos on Wednesday night because the husband could finally eat. And tacos happens to be one of my favorite foods. So, by the end of the week, we made tacos again. I had the chance to enjoy tacos two nights, instead of just one time.

It is true that prior to this week, I hadn’t planned on being out of full-time work for five months. But then again, two weeks ago, I didn’t know I would be starting a new job this week.

So, I guess my week all depends on perspective. I have to say, in the midst of a crazy week, I was a heroine to some, a romantic to one and I enjoyed my favorite food and sampled yummy chocolate cookies.

I guess the “unexpected” of this week reminds me that even in the midst of frustration, we can find a blessing or two.  Hmmm, I wonder what unexpected events are coming my way next week?

Frozen Moments

My dear friend giggled, “Come on you two.” Putting his arm around me, I tilted my head in and smiled all over. With a click and a flash, our very first picture together preserved our new found love. A few weeks later, this picture was on my college room wall. And now years later this picture is buried in our wedding photo album. We laugh at our youthful skin, and I smile at the glow in our eyes. I wonder:  Did I know I would marry him? Did he know he was going to marry me?

As the ice storm continues to pour more ice on the heavy-laden trees outside, I am buddled up inside, with grandma’s quilt and a cup of hot tea. I continue to flip through the photo albums and simply remember.  So many other pictures in the album preserve other special moments - the smooch at our wedding, dancing with my Uncle Fred, college graduation day with mom and dad, high school graduation party with Grandma, Aunt Shirley and Uncle Dale. Years later, some of these people are now deceased. I somehow wish I could jump into that picture and converse with them for just a little while.  I could hug my grandma one more time. I could listen to Aunt Shirley laugh or watch Uncle Dale enjoy one more piece of delicious strawberry pie.     

Pictures are like frozen moments in time reminding us of loved ones, starts and finishes of milestones and a chance to see just how far we’ve come.  I’m not quite sure how far I’ve come, but I know that I’ve had so many one loved ones that have blessed me and filled the pages of my photo albums.  We all are truly blessed with countless memories and precious people as we go along in the ebb and flow of life.

Do you have a picture of a loved one that reflects God’s love for you?

Tip-Toeing on Hot Cement

The high school doors flung open as I raced out of the school building. My parents were waiting on me, so I kicked off my sandals, grabbed the straps and began running down the sidewalk. As my graduation gown flapped in the wind, I skipped with success and jumped and twirled with excitement. Behind me, I could hear the cheers and chatter of my fellow graduates. I was filled with a reminder of all my friends and teachers. It was as if, the years and memories rippled through my hair. And reality hit, I had survived the years of trials and lived the years of successes. All the sudden, I noticed the hot cement, so I started tip- toeing. As I waved farewell, I mumbled, “Good bye, High School and Hello, College". And as I squinted into the future, I could not help but celebrated the moment.

Is this not true for so many of us, right now? We’re not for sure, what’s around the corner. Or where we are headed.  As I look back at the time, I wish I could have whispered to myself, "Here’s what’s going to happen: You are going to go to college, meet wonderful friends, get married and start a writing career.  You are going to have countless opportunities. You will stumble. You will cry. And once again, as you have found, you will survive and you will live". But then again, isn’t that what God whispers to us every day. As his word says, Hebrews 12:1 “… Let us throw off everything that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”  

What new opportunity do you need to explore today?

From the Sewing Room

“Oh, look at this mess,” grandma chuckled as she pulled the sheet off a huge pile of material. Homemade wooded shelves bowed from the heavy weight of the material. Scrap pieces of material dangled off the sides of the small table.  

“Oh, look at this darling piece,” Grandma said as she pulled a small flowered color print out of the heap. “Wouldn’t this be lovely with something?”

No matter, grandma still kept buying material. She lived by a unique motto, “she who dies with the most material left, wins”.

I still remember the special times as a child that I spent with my grandma in her sewing room. I remember the first time I learned how to sew. It was in the fall, because that was when we made a pumpkin pillow. We always had time to create something while waiting for dinner to cook or to enjoy an afternoon together.

I was given my very own needle and one of grandma’s homemade pincushions. I felt so special to have my own needle, especially when I was only eight years old. With black thread, I followed the outline of the pumpkin.

“Make sure and pull the crease through,” Grandma said as she peered over her wide framed glasses to examine my handwork. I usually made just a small pillow. While I didn’t have a talent for sewing or a passion for it, I loved being with my grandma.

“The fun part is stuffing this guy,” Grandma said. She pulled out a bag of cotton from underneath her sewing machine and handed me a pencil.

“Push it down in there. Make him nice and full,” Grandma said.

Looking down at my fat pumpkin with stuffing coming out of its head and sides, I said, “Grandma, my pumpkin looks funny. What did I do wrong?”

She picked up the stuffed pumpkin, paused for a moment and said, “I think he kind of looks like a Sam, don’t you?” She patted his pudgy head.

“But, Grandma,” I said, “Look at the stuffing…”

“Oh, well, next time we will use a smaller needle. Now, what else can we make today?” Grandma said as she turned to examine other pieces of material. 

It was in these moments, I never realized until I was much older that she wasn’t just teaching me how to sew, but she was teaching me how to live. This lesson reminds me even today, that patience with ourselves and with each other is more important than the task at-hand.

It was in the hours spent in the sewing room, that my grandma stitched together the foundations of my faith in Christ and my creative spirit.