~LIFE HAPPENS and it is GREAT~

Yesterday brought with it an unexpected trip to the eye doctor and the result was no blogging for me!  I found out you really can't SEE when your eyes are dilated! :)

If you are a subscriber (or even if you aren't) of FACE BOOK then maybe you've caught the latest buzz about the new movie about it's founder.  I'm actually a bit surprised at myself because I really do want to see it and generally I could give two-hoots about such a thing.  Even though there seems to be some credible controversy around who actually started the company, I've decided that anyone (or any-three) who can reach billionaire status by the age of 26 or 27 is worth at least a tiny bit of my attention.  Truthfully though...it's not the money that draws me in but understanding the amount of passion it took to create something that has ultimately taken on a life of it's own.

 Now...I'm not really into FB all that much.  I visit it...I've prowled around on it and on occasion I'll post new pics of my family.  When my brother-in-law suffered a stroke 14 months ago FB really helped my sister easily connect with family and friends.  She'd update her page nearly every day so anyone on her "Friend List" could read her hubby's progress without her having to send personal emails out to everyone.  That made FB more than fine in my book...

What I didn't expect (and I'm hearing about this all the time) was to reconnect with an old college friend my Mr. AGPMan and I lost contact with just before we married.  Finding him after years of searching nearly took my breath away.

I first met Dennis because he was the roommate of a guy I had gone out with a couple of times on campus.  I was immediately taken with his soft spoken voice and it was during the one shared semester we had at SNU that Dennis, my (future) hubby Steven (who I had just started dating), and I would become great friends.  I never dreamed when we all said our goodbyes for Christmas Break of 1977 that many, many years would pass before the three of us would ever speak again.  Because of illness Mr. D didn't return to school that following semester and it was over those next few months Steven would withdraw from school while passing.  

So many changes in so little time.  Thinking back on those days now I wonder what in the world any of us were thinking...

Life just happens...it just does!

Now...you must remember that back in the late 70's it wasn't as easy to find people the way it is today.  There was no internet or cell phones back then and all I knew was the name of the town Dennis was from.  I tried finding him by calling out of state "Information" but there was never a listing for his name.  Steven and I married and moved...and moved...and moved.  Then we had babies...moved some more and some more before finally settling back in Oklahoma only a few miles from where the three of us had attended school.

Over the passing years my hubby and I talked of Dennis often.  We found ourselves laughing more than once about

 

the water snake crawling over my feet while we were at the lake studying or of the two of them climbing up to the top of a very tall campus tree while I looked on in horror.  I remember screaming frantically for them both to come down as I was certain they would fall to their death or at the very least become wheelchair bound as a result of their silly antics.  I suppose you had to be there...but, trust me when I tell you they were acting like they were NUTS and taking really scary chances with their lives!  When they finally did make their way back to ground level I was so hoppin' mad at the two of them I could barely speak.  As fate would have it I had Steve's camera with me that afternoon and so somewhere in our keepsakes I have pictures of them acting like the two 21 year old boys men they once were...

Every now and then either Steve or I would talk about Mr. D and I would always end the conversation with "I wish we could find Dennis!"  So one day while surfing around on FB I spotted the name of his old roommate and I immediately went to his "list" hoping against hope our long-lost buddy's name would be there.  Fully expecting disappointment I casually scrolled down each name until I reached the "D's".  After gasping for a couple of seconds I called out to my guy to come quick!  I couldn't believe it.  I was in shock...

"I've just found Dennis!"  I said

"I'VE JUST FOUND DENNIS!!!"

Steven and I both just sat in silence for a minute without speaking.  It had been over 32 years since we'd seen or heard from our beautiful friend.  After contacting him through FB we e-mailed each other a few times and then had a marathon phone conversation to catch up on the passing of years.  Dennis, who never married, has had an amazing life and Steven and I both stand in awe of his commitment to his faith and the incredible calling he has on his life.  I'll be sharing with you more about his journey is the coming months...  Right now we are both trying to take it all in for ourselves~

So...in the end, no matter what we hear about the negative side of social networking I do believe the good always outshines the not-so-good.

Yes...Life just happens.  It just does...

And...it is GREAT!

Blessings for a beautiful day~

Love to you...

~WHEN DOES SAVING BECOME HOARDING?~

 

~TO SAVE OR NOT TO SAVE~

No doubt some of you have caught a glimpse of the current television show depicting people across our land who have become Hoarders.  If I'm being honest with you I never really thought about such a thing being possible.  Not to the extent I've seen on the show anyway...

Yesterday I received my annual flu shot and it did exactly what they do to me each and every year.  It brought about a full 3 hour long nap right in the middle of my day causing me to be wide awake at 1:00AM.  This of course led to really late-night TV watching and that is how I ended up catching the latest episode about Hoarding.

As I followed the camera it spanned mountains and mountains of STUFF and I was more than shocked by what I saw.  Trash and junk, papers, boxes, bins, food, clothing as well as heaven knows what else was piled so high the person who lived in the home, well...couldn't LIVE in the home!  What I saw with my own two eyes was overwhelming.  How in the world can anyone allow their home to become a sanctuary of trash?  It was then I realized the very home I was seeing on the screen, and the woman being featured on the show, lived in my own home town.  That is why she looked familiar to me...I've seen her about many times while I've been out tag sale shopping...

Now...I'm not a true 'collector' of things.  Although I have many pretty pink roses plates and cups and an array of decorative finds around my home everything is in order and they are displayed in a way where they can be truly enjoyed.  I don't like it when even the things I love begin to crowd in on me and that leads me to purge my closets and cabinets on a fairly routine basis.  This also keeps me from over-buying as nothing can upset me more than tossing out something purchased with my hard-earned money I once felt I couldn't live without... It can be a bit painful to realize that in the end I didn't want or need the item after all.  Worse yet is knowing something is languishing in a box that is rarely seen or even remembered.  This keeps my garage from becoming overwrought with treasures...both the good kind and the kind that need to be hauled straight away to the garbage dump.

However...there is one thing I struggle to let go of and even before the show I've wondered what to do about it...

~HOW LONG DO YOU SAVE...and WHAT?~

I do believe I have every greeting card ever given to me from my hubbs and every card I've given to him since the day we married in 1978.  In addition, I also think I have every card or note given to me from my children and parents as well.  Trust me when I tell you that's a lot of paper and it takes up several bins stored in my attic.  Up until last night I just couldn't bear the thought of letting them go.  Now~in no way do I believe that holding onto such treasured keepsakes is hoarding.  But I can understand, even on the smallest of levels, how collecting and saving can get totally out of control.  The local woman I saw on the show feels about everything she has on her property the same way I feel about my old love notes and greeting cards...

This morning, no longer even a tad-bit sedated by yesterday's injection, I feel clear minded and more focused.  I'm more determined than ever to haul those boxes and bins out from their hiding place and whittle their contents down.  Now...I'm not about to toss out truly treasured keepsakes...never, never!  But I do believe it's time do a little intense organization and place them in scrapbook form!  I'm quite sure even I'm going to be surprised with all I find.

Blessings as you begin to choose more carefully the things you give a place of honor within your earthly home...

Love to you~

~WERE IT NOT FOR GRACE~

 

WERE IT NOT FOR GRACE
(McHugh, Phillip James, Hamilton, David Ross)
(Sung by Larnell Harris)

Time measured out my days
Life carried me along
In my soul I yearned to follow God
But knew Id never be so strong
I looked hard at this world
To learn how heaven could be gained
Just to end where I began
Where human effort is all in vain

Were it not for grace
I can tell you where Id be
Wandering down some pointless road to nowhere
With my salvation up to me
I know how that would go
The battles I would face
Forever running but losing this race
Were it not for grace

So here is all my praise
Expressed with all my heart
Offered to the Friend who took my place
And ran a course I could not start
And when He saw in full
Just how much His would cost
He still went the final mile between me and heaven
So I would not be lost

Were it not for grace
I can tell you where Id be
Wandering down some pointless road to nowhere
With my salvation up to me
I know how that would go
The battles I would face
Forever running but losing this race
Were it not for grace

Forever running but losing this race
Were it not for grace

~*~

Blessings to you as you enjoy another day in His presence.

Love to you~

~HAPPY PINK SATURDAY...Pink Creations 4 U~

 

~HAND PAINTED PINK ROSE BOX~

After being busy with life-stuff for the past several weeks I'm excited about being able to participate again in PINK SATURDAY!  Thank you Beverly over at HOW SWEET THE SOUND for hosting this amazing party week after week!  We appreciate everything you do behind the scenes to make our little get together a success!  Thank you~  Thank you!  Thank you!

 ~THANK YOU, BEVERLY~
(Stop in and tell her hello!)

Let it be said (as if you didn't already know...) I LOVE PINK!  Yes!  Yes!  Yes I do!
All my life I have loved pink!  Oh my gosh!  I just realized...

I'M IN LOVE WITH PINK!

Who knew????

 ~PINK CORSET CARDS~

Today I'm going to show you some of the things I've been working on lately that have been taking up MOST of my time!  I'm living smack-dab in the middle of my PASSION! :)

Are you???

 ~SWEET PINK BUSTIER (Boost-tee-a)~


I've you've followed my Blog for any time (or even if you just peek in once in awhile) then you probably know I own a little on-line website called A Gathering Place.  I spent lots of time over the summer working on romantic cottage pretties for the Shoppe (some to be uploaded this week) as well as fresh new designs for my Altered de Papier line of paper-goods.  Let me tell you...it's been a RIDE! :)

 ~SOOO ROMANTIC~


Now...I'm just going to be flat-out honest with you and say right up-front that learning Paint Shop Pro and Photo Shop has just about kicked my Bumm to the the other side of the world and back again.  Wow!!!   What a challenge it's been for me to wrap my brain around the technicality of those Programs!  They've been hard to learn (at least for me)...but NO WAY was I going to give up!!!

So...if you are just starting to learn either of these computer programs please don't be discouraged!  If I can learn them you can learn them!

~SWEET PINK SANTA CARDS, TOO~


In addition to creating the Vintage Corset (coming soon) and Dress Form Cards the sweet Pink Santa Cards you see above have just been finished as well.  I hope you will check them out when you have time...there are matching Hang Tags, too!

I just can't get enough of those aging St. Nick graphics!  Yummo!

I've managed to do a little bit of painting and sewing and believe it or not I've even enjoyed a couple of Saturdays out JUNKIN' and SLUMMIN' for exciting treasures and neat old finds!

 ~SWEET PINK HANGING SACHET~


And...if I could get Blogger to STOP rotating my vertical style pictures to landscape style pictures I would upload them and show them to you! :(  Maybe next week I can figure out WHAT it is I'm suppose to be doing with them that obviously I'm not doing right now!  Argh...


Thanks for peeking in today to see my latest PINK PRODUCTS!  Don't forget to check out all the fabulous PINK SATURDAY PARTICIPANTS as they always have the most amazing things!  You will love it!


Blessings for a lovely Saturday!


Love to you~

~A LITTLE BIT OF WHINE...and A LOTof DIRTY DISHES~

~Hmmm~

I'm been laying low for the past two days even though I honestly planned to share a couple fun things with you!  For a day and a half I've had a splitting headache and it's gotten the best of me I'm afraid.  I don't get headaches very often and I have only had one migraine in my life...  That said...I'm pretty WHIMPY WHIMPY WHIMPY when any kind of pain makes it's way into my brain!

Is there a cause, you ask?  Yes!  At least I THINK maybe there is!

~OKLAHOMA STATE FAIR~

Enough said!

Anyway...that really isn't what prompted me to pop in just for a second or two (Um...RIGHT!  Like I can EVVAH be on my computer for less that 20 minutes at a time!).

It's this:

As many of you know this past Summer the Dishwasher Industry (think of products Cascade TM, Electra-sol TM, ALL TM, etc.) was required to go PHOSPHATE FREE.  I've known for quite some time this was coming as Phosphates cause more problems to our environment than most consumers know.  Excessive levels of this nutrient can fertilize our streams and this can lead to nuisance plant growth, unsightly and smelly lakes and ponds that are unable to support fish and other aquatic life...

So hear me...I'm fully supportive of removing Phosphates from all products because I LOVE LOVE LOVE our beautiful Planet Earth...(that means please don't write and yell at me, OK?)~

I just don't appreciate it when I'm lead to believe from every corner of the advertising arena that all is good, things are under control, and that we can believe a Company (and their Ad) when they say their product works.

Feels like I'm being lied to again by a big-wig, minuscule politician...

  In my mind the companies out there who are manufacturing household products have known LIKE FOREVER for a measurable length of time the new "Phosphate Free" standards would become law in 2010.  This means that SOMEBODY SOMEWHERE needed to begin working on creating a DECENT product many, many, many moons ago OR TELL US THE TRUTH that they are stymied!  I'm actually OK with hearing that...but don't try to snow me in the process!

Well...I'm now on my 3rd box of Cascade Powdered Dishwasher Detergent and to me it's absolutely WORTHLESS CRUMMY PATHETIC HORRIBLE!  Simply put to me it is the worse cleaning product of ANY KIND I have ever purchased during my years of marriage.  It did NOT get my dishes clean and it did NOT make them sparkle and shine like it claims it will do on the outside of box.  In disgust (and with that headache I told you about) I unloaded my dishwasher and washed every single glass, plate, cup and pan by hand before I could put them away.

Whatever P & G put in their bright green Cascade TM box it didn't even remove the lipstick on the edge of my teacup!  GAAAAAHROSS!

So~after using almost three boxes of the stuff (I think I was hoping it was going to get better) I finally decided to sit myself down (head-throb and all) and pen a little on-line-lettah to the 'powers that be' at Proctor & Gamble.

Now...I was nice.

I'm almost always nice! :)

I just told the Company that I had given up trying to get their product (again, that would be CASCADE TM) to work and that I would be washing ALL my dishes by hand and scrub them clean until I could figure out something better to  use that might work.

Well...this afternoon I gots me a litta-lettah back from P & G!  Would you like to know what it said?

Basically the five line NOTE commented on the fact the entire industry was required to go Phosphate Free, NOT JUST CASCADE/TM!  They are also sending me a coupon for "Action Pacs" (which is nice since I'm tossing OUT the remainder of my almost full box of Cascade TM)...

Looks to me like I'm going to be doing a bunch of hand dish-washing this year...

Thanks for allowing me to RANT! :)  You can betcha I'll be looking REALLY CLOSE at both my drinking glass and eating untensils when dining away from home!

  

 (Oh...I still have my headache, but at least now my dishes are now clean!)

Love to you~ 

~A WEDDING TO REMEMBER~

~SEPTEMBER 22, 2007~

 Micah and Our AdrieGirl

Three years ago today our beautiful daughter, Adrienne, walked down the aisle and married her beloved.

~THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BRIDE EVER~

Truly I've never seen a more radiant bride...she was absolutely lovely.  But then...she was always lovely...

Both inside

and out!

   The Groom was incredibly handsome, too! :)

 My prayer is for them to be as happy together as they were on their special day~

~ADRIE and her DADDY~

This will always remain my favorite picture!

It's worth showing you again!

My beautiful girl dancing with her Father...priceless!

(She just grew up waaaayyyyy too fast!  I'd live her childhood with her all over again if I could!)

Love to you~

HOME SWEET HOME

Sometimes it's as if I've been gone only for an hour or two...

It's been 36 years this month that my parents and their four children loaded a lifetime of belongings inside a large moving van and backed it out of the driveway of the only real home any of us ever knew.  As we crammed into our aging family car we headed east towards Pike's Peak Mountain and as we drove away I knew only one thing to be true...I desperately didn't want to go.

My heart was never quite whole after I left Sigman Street and if the truth be told I never really considered any other house I ever lived in as a child my home.  And, although I am never to know how my life would have been different, I somehow know I would have ended up in the very same place I am today.  I may have taken another road to get here...traveled a different path...walked down a different street, but I believe I would be living the life I am now living just the same.

I pulled up the picture at the top from the Internet and it shows what our California home looks like today.  It's a shadow of it's former self for long gone are the crank-out windows and the soft brown facade that set the home apart from those around it.  The Fruitless Mulberry Tree planted when I was seven has been uprooted and the original landscaping has been changed as well.  In it's place an extended concrete driveway has been poured and it now sits on top of the very earth where the photo of the three of us kids was taken back in 1963/64...

This morning as I went outside to water my garden flowers I couldn't help but wonder about the house standing so proud and tall in front of me.  Who might be driving by my La Chaumière de Briarwood questioning the changes made to what might very well be their childhood home?

When I was still a very young girl my family visited the plot of Texas land where my Father lived as a boy.  The house hand long ago been torn down and I remember watching as tears formed in his eyes as he talked about Conroe and how he deeply he loved it.  At the time I did not understand his passion for the earth beneath his feet or why the demise of 'Crystal Creek' caused his booming voice to crack and tremble...

Not long ago I was chatting with my grown son about possibly one day selling the house he lived in as a child and the Oklahoma home we still live in today.  Once we have grown older it's hard for us to imagine being able to climb her aging stairs...

"Oh Mom!" he began

"I want to live in my old house again someday!  Please promise me you won't ever sell it without giving me a chance to buy it.  I hope one day I'll again call it home..."

 Today I'm happy to know that as everything about life and the land seems to change about me daily, thankfully the love of home continues to live on and on...

UPON RETURNING

May Smith White

Is this the lane where lilacs used to bloom~

Or have I missed the road that once I knew?

As here above the fence, no longer loom

The wind-blown lilacs I had longed to view.

For years I somehow knew I would come back~

Although a silent voice had said to me:

Old scenes will be subdued, in someway lack

The beauty known upon each hill and lea!

But yet, I know I will return again

To claim a dream before it fades and dies;

To see a greening hillside washed in rain

And soon, the clearness of the cobalt skies.

I will return again I know~I know~

To walk remembered paths of long ago.

Blessings for a lovely day!

Love to you~

SWEET VINTAGE ANGEL CARDS and Something Else Amazing

~ALTERED ART CARDS~

Happy Monday...are you ready for a wonderful week?

Two things to share with you today...one business and one more personal!

First...I finished the last of four vintage image Angel Card designs over the weekend and they will be ready for print this week!  Eeek!  So exciting for me!  I also uploaded the Pink Santa Christmas Cards (I know...it's early so PLEASE DON'T FAINT!) I shared with you last week to my A Gathering Place website and I hope you'll mosey on over and check them out when you have time!

SWEET PINK SANTA CARDS

You'll find several different Pink Santa styles in this line of Altered Paper Goods.  Glittery Hang Tags and Full Size Cards, Note Cards (to be uploaded this week) as well as To/From Gift Tags you can cut out for yourself!  Lots of time went into creating the Cards and Complements and I hope you will just love them!

 

Now for the second thing...

If you've followed my blog for a while you may remember the picture above from a post I did last year...

The photo was taken of me (on the left), my sister, Linda (standing beside me), and our two cousins back in 1962/1963 when I was in Kindergarten.  Linda's 2nd Grade Teacher is standing in the middle of us four little girls dressed up as Pilgrims.  We were getting ready for a photo shoot for our local newspaper and this is the only picture captured on that day by my Mother...

Anyway~back then her Teacher was a young woman...just starting out her career at Bixby Elementary School in Hacienda Heights, California.  She was much beloved and I wish I could have been taught by her as well.  But, sadly she married and moved away and our entire family lost touch with her.

Fast forward nearly 50 years...

As crazy as it may sound I was told just this morning that my sister found her dearly loved Teacher after all these years.  Is this incredible or what?  I was only 4 when the picture was snapped and Linda had just turned six.  That means her Teacher has to be at least 74...

I'm feeling a little reunion coming on~

Isn't life just great???  I don't believe in coincidences one little bit...  What was 'lost' now is 'found'!

I'm back to work!  Lots to finish up today!

Love to you~

~PAUSING TO REMEMBER~

~Thoughts on a Sunday Morning~

When I was a wee little girl my beautiful Mother wrote the following inspirational poem.  Unlike my father who lived with a fountain pen in hand, my Mom didn't do too much writing.  Although I think she was very, very good I realize today the confines of working a full-time job while raising her family probably gave her little time for creative expression.  I couldn't have been more than nine or ten when she penned the short little verse I easily memorized the very day she read it to me aloud...

Ever since I've carried it's message in my heart.  I pray today it will bless you in a mighty way.

~REFUGE~

 "IN STRESS AND STRAIN

BY BODY WORN~

MY SOUL SEEMS ALL

BUT REJECTED AND TORN~

YET IN MY WEARINESS 

HE GIVES ME REST

SENDS ME STRENGTH

TO ENDURE LIFE'S TEST~

AND WHEN I AM WEARY

AND TEMPTED TO FALL~

I PAUSE TO REMEMBER

THAT HE PAID IT ALL"

~Barbara Martin Elliott~

Love to you this beautiful Sunday...

~SO LONG LOVELY SUMMER~

~INDIAN SUMMER DAYS~

Just like all of you we are feeling the change of the seasons here in Oklahoma.  I woke up early this morning and could definitely feel a cool down of the temps and even noticed several of my most favorite garden shrubs are beginning to die back...

We have lots and lots of big (and old!) Oak Trees on our property and when Autumn just begins to knock upon our door their leaves start to turn color and slowly blanket the ground.  Seems we were racking up and bagging leaves (from our yard and everyone else's, too) for more weeks than it seemed they lived on the tree's branches.  My two children would run and play in big pyramid shaped piles for hours and to this day watching them chase each other around the yard remains one of my dearest memories.  Now that they are both grown and gone clearing the grass isn't nearly as much fun as it use to be.

 ~OUR NEW BLACK SHUTTERS~

Mr. AGPMan now does most of the work with a high-powered gas blower and it seems like in the blink of an eye it's all done (until the next day).  :)  I never sometimes help him...  :)

As a family we've always celebrated "Pumpkin Days" in style and this year will be the same.  Our front porch is decorated in traditional Fall colors and I'm loving how our newly installed black shutters look against all  the muted oranges and yellows...

~DRESSED FOR FALL~

Still...I'm feeling a little bit melancholy as I bid farewell to Summer 2010 even though I am looking forward to to what has easily become my very, very favorite time of the year...

 ~

Now...as long as I remember that it's during the last three and one half months of the year that I gain those TEN extra 'pumpkin pie pounds' (and then avoid doing so) I'll be sure to enjoy every single moment of it...

 ~MAYBE THIS WILL HELP?~

Love to you~

~ LA PINK PARISIENNE...and I Love Paris in the Fall ~

 

~La PINK PARISIENNE CARD~

Before I share anything else with you today I want to say a huge Thank You for the kind words you left for me on my previous post and the private emails regarding my Father...  I haven't been around to visit very many of you, but I will.  Promise.  Thank you.  Thank you so much again...

~You Bless me~

~La PINK PARISIENNE TAG~

Now...it seems like it's been forever since I started working on new "Altered de Papier" paper goods and complements for my A Gathering Place website.  I've nearly sold out of both the cards and tags currently offered for sale in my Shoppe and it's long past time for some fresh and fun designs! I'm excited about the new pretties coming your way...

~PERFECTLY PARIS PINK~

The sweet pink paper goods you see above are just a sampling of what I've been working on!  There are five different vintage Dress Form (or Mannequin) designs in the "La Pink Parisienne" line.  In addition to the full size Cards and Hang Tags you see before long you'll also be able to purchase a single sheet of Hang Tags offered in a reduced size.  Just perfect for tying onto those smaller little gifts of yours...

~GLITTERED UP, Too!~

Yesterday I received a HUGE box from UPS and filled to the brim were the "in the raw" Ornaments I'll be offering up this year for Christmas decorating and gift giving.  There will be Angels, Santa's, Snowmen all decked out in shades of soft white and soft sugar pink!  Can't wait for you to see what's coming...

~Designs by A Gathering Place~

(~~that would be :) me~~)

Thank you for peeking in today!  Hope your weekend is full of everything lovely...

Love to you~

~IN MY DISTRESS...and Other Joys That Matter~

~Creating With Joy~

I planned today to share with you a lots and lots of newly designed Hang Tags but~ try as I might I just couldn't free my mind from something that's been pressing in hard on me for quite some time.  Lately it seems the second I sit down to work (or even play) I find I'm continually plagued with the same disturbing thought and have struggled to keep my very real concerns from turning into outright fear.  The possibility of great loss is overwhelming for I know in my heart if someone I deeply love doesn't change the path their life is on they will not live to see many more birthdays.

If you've read my blog for any length of time at all then surely you know by now that I am a person of deep faith.  I know there is nothing I will ever face during my time here on this earth where God is not standing by my side.  I believe in healing, redemption, forgiveness and grace and I continually seek the face of the Most High in all things...even more-so when the storm clouds roll in and darken up my usually bright and sunny disposition.  

~My Father~

This morning I found I was having an especially hard time and trusting God for a positive outcome regarding one I desperately love...it just seemed too out of reach.  It's on days like this, when I feel incredibly confused and unraveled, that I miss the wise counsel of my Father the most.

So~ I decided to pay him an unplanned visit...

Generally I find my Dad sleeping when I stop by his Nursing Home to say hello.  He was never a nap-taker when I was growing up so even though this is now normal for him I can assure you it is not normal for me to see.  He was once very active and never seemed to tire from all things family and ministry related.   But...these days I rarely catch even a glimpse of the man I use to know...

The monster that lives inside my father's head continues to devour more and more of  his once brilliant mind.  I've grown accustomed to one-side conversations and even more recently, painfully silent visitation.  However, this morning as I crept quietly into my father's tiny room I found him both awake and speaking with clarity and purpose...

"Hi Becky Sue!  I was just thinking about you...Dad's been missing his middle girl!"

I stood there for a moment...feeling as if I was caught in some Twilight-Zone chasm, somehow suspended between matter-of-fact reality and my very real dreams...

he continued...

"I was just sitting here trying to remember the words to a hymn we use to sing in church..."

And with that he began to hum the tune to an old Elisha Hoffman song I had learned when just a child...

As I quietly sang aloud the words carved long ago into my memory I smiled as the deep sound of my father's baritone voice began to easily overpower mine...

"I must tell Jesus all of my trials;

I cannot bear these burdens alone;

In my distress He kindly will help me;

He ever loves and cares for His own.

I must tell Jesus!  I must tell Jesus!

I cannot bear my burdens alone;

I must tell Jesus!  I must tell Jesus!

Jesus can help me, Jesus alone."

Suddenly I knew the reason for my visit.

"Don't be dismayed at good-byes.  A farewell is necessary before you can meet again.  And meeting again, after moments or lifetimes, is certain for those who are friends."

(Richard Bach)

Love to you~