Creating Something Special

One day, in heaven, God could not be found.  The angels could see His light shining but could not seem to get His attention.  "I think He's at it again."  one of the angels whispered to another.  "Yes", he replied, "He's creating something special."  Some others overheard them and nodded, saying. "He only does this every so often...it's not like a daily miracle.  He's working on something so special."

Soon, He was there among them.  "I have a wonderful gift to bestow on the earth.  Let us look for a special family, one full of love and peace.  One who knows Me."

It did not take long, and the household was found.  It had one father, one mother, and one young son.  God could see the patience the parents had for their son and the love that flowed in and around their home.  He looked at the mother and father in their workplaces and observed the flow of love that did not stop in their own home.  He also noted that loving grandparents, of each, were close by and had willing-to-help hearts.

"I think they are perfect", God said.  "We will send my new wonder to this family.  He will be a blessing to the family and the family will be a blessing to him."  The angelic host was in one accord.  They praised God for His gift.  "This family will grow.  They will be a beacon of hope to others.  They will abound in love and blessings directly from us."

God whispered to the little gift, "You will teach them so much and you will learn so much from them.  There is nowhere else on earth where you will be loved so much and one day you will all return to live with me."  The baby smiled as God kissed him goodbye-for-now.

And that is the story of how Briggs Benjamin was given to Jeremy, Tracy, and Owen!  Praise God!


NOTE:  I wrote this before Briggs got home from the hospital and shared it with Robin, who had come in from Seattle to be with her sister and family.  We agreed I should 'sit on it' and I just found it while cleaning out some papers and thought I would share it.  It's nothing fancy, but I believe God put it on my heart, as I wrote without thinking about anything except grateful love.  I love you, Briggsy!

Dedicated To Our Children

On a treacherous drive home from Florida Wednesday (flat tire), searching for soothing music, I tuned in to Delilah. A man called in who said he had questioned for years and years why his wife, Annie, had died, even after he was remarried...wondering what good had or could come from a death. He had always believed that 'all things work together for his good', but, still he questioned.

Recently, he went to her gravesite with his daughters, 11 and 12 years old, with flowers for her. As they were leaving, his 11 year old grasped his had and said she wasn't sorry Annie was dead, because then she wouldn't be alive. She asked if that was bad. Through his tears, he said no, that wasn't bad...that was good, very, very good. You see, Annie had died the first year of their marriage. He had his answer, which was really there all along!

He dedicated this song to his two daughters, and as I listened to the words more closely than ever before, by an artist I absolutely adore, I thought...what great wishes for our children! So, here's to you, kids!

FOREVER YOUNG, Rod Stewart

May the good Lord be with you

Down every road you roam

And may sunshine and happiness

surround you when you're far from home

And may you grow to be proud

Dignified and true

And do unto others

As you'd have done to you

Be courageous and be brave

And in my heart you'll always stay

Forever Young, Forever Young

Forever Young, Forever Young



May good fortune be with you

May your guiding light be strong

Build a stairway to heaven

with a prince or a vagabond



And may you never love in vain

and in my heart you will remain

Forever Young, Forever Young

Forever Young, Forever Young

Forever Young

Forever Young



And when you finally fly away

I'll be hoping that I served you well

For all the wisdom of a lifetime

No one can ever tell



But whatever road you choose

I'm right behind you, win or lose

Forever Young, Forever Young

Forever Young ,Forever Young

Forever Young, Forever Young

For, Forever Young, Forever Young

From Rejection to Hope

At one point, in my young life, I sent a true story to magazines.  My grandmother and most faithful cheerleader urged me and helped me with a list of magazines she thought would snatch it up.  None did.  They didn't believe it was true.  It was about an LSD trip, my one and only such trip. Looking back, it was really 'out there'... though well written, we both thought.

They trickled in, one rejection letter after another.  I thought I would never write again, and then Reader's Digest accepted a short anecdote and I felt somewhat avenged.  I had been published! 

Yesterday I was pretty down in the dumps.  I was rejected by a cable company.  The job seemed to fit my resume, but I didn't fit what they were looking for, apparently. 

So, today I am on Craig's List and have applied for 8 other jobs in the area.  I also spoke with my previous manager and feel assured I could maybe find work in my old company if I am willing to move.  So, there is hope.

No one knows the future, but God knows the plans he has for me and I am trusting Him.  With God, there is always hope for a new tomorrow, for a new life, for a new home with Him!

Another death in the neighborhood....

A couple years ago we started going to the lakes for the summer.  The last two years we have had winter stays in Minnesota, as well. 

One time, we came back to a next-door neighbor who had a brain tumor.  He died a week later.  We kept watch and cared for his widow, a dear, confused lady.  The next time we came back home, she died a few days later, before we had a chance to reconnect with her.  I remember being very concerned because I hadn't seen her.  I went next door and knocked but there was no answer.  I found out later that she had been living in a retirement home the last few months and her funeral was less than a week after we got back. I heard this from another neighbor the day after her funeral.

So fast-forward to this present year.  I have renewed my morning walks with Belle and, although we stop at her "boyfriend's" house every day, he doesn't run to the fence for a kiss, as usual.  Yesterday, I stopped to talk with the kids who were delivering groceries for their aging mom...I explained who I was and asked about their dog.  I was told that his kidneys had failed and she had to 'put him down'.  We were so sad that I didn't think it was very polite to ask the dog's name.  We always referred to him as Belle's boyfriend.

She was always excited to go there and they went through the peeing ritual, as close to the fence as possible.  The aging male labrador would get on his hind legs on the corner of the fence, then she would look, pleadingly, up at me for a lift.  I would lift her up and she would turn her head away like she was tolerating his sloppy lick on the neck but not enjoying it, and then want down.  I know she enjoyed it.  I know she misses him.  Everyday we cross the road, we go to the fence and she looks for him.  Eventually, she won't.  She may even find a new boyfriend.

He was so faithful, always waiting.  She knows he is gone.  Maybe she understands english better than we know.  Maybe she has an inner instinct that tells her after a week, he is history.  Maybe she didn't care as much as I thought;  I hear that we try to give human characteristics to our pets.  However, I believe she is being brave, perhaps she cries in her pillowed bed, but I know that pets make us feel good...and I think she is being brave for me.

I love you, Belle, and he did too!  We didn't know his name, but he was a neighbor, created by God, and we miss him.

Angels at Toys R Us

Tell me that you, too, have been in a hurry...trying to get a number of things accomplished in a specific, unrealistic amount of time. Unfortunately, it is sometimes seems like a way of life for me, especially when I am 'on the road'.

Like now, I am a visitor to the 'homeland' where I grew up, staying with my daughter, trying to help out and trying to DO Christmas. In fact, I am trying to DO Christmas without my best friend and help-mate, Jim. In fact, I am not even ready to TRY to DO Christmas.

So, I had 2-1/2 hours when I left the house. Plenty of time to get an oil change and do some Christmas shopping before supper. That was before the 1-1/2 hour oil change...ok, 1 hour left. I can at least make a quick stop for toys. And I would have made it home on time if I wouldn't have had to get off the Interstate to go back, risking life and limb (ok, that is a bit dramatic) on an icy highway then hitting all the red lights before getting back to Toys R Us.

Crying, pleading, and praying all the way...I called on God, Jesus, The Holy Spirit, my guardian angel, and any guardian angels who may be in the area...please, please, please! It only took me 12 minutes, but it felt like 30 and I drove right up to the outdoors buggy corral in the row I had originally parked...No! Not There!

I ran into the store and cried out over the other customers at the courtesy desk..."Did anyone find a purse in the parking lot?!!" Oh, yes, some nice man brought it in! Follow me, ma'm! "Oh, thank You, God!" What color is it? "Brown! Yes, that's it!" I hugged that young man so hard he had to cough and clear his throat before I backed off!

So, I have to thank the angels at Toys R Us!  Once I got home, I checked, nothing missing! Oh, God, I am so sorry that I am rushing through this season of Jesus' birth with so many mundane thoughts in my head and errands on my mind. Help me be mindful of You and the greatest gift the world has ever received!

Savoring This Time

I am sitting in a cold, dark motel room watching my sweet, two-year old grandson sleep. He is covered up in a Mickey Mouse towel and his Grandma Mavis' sweatshirt-style robe...you could say he is wrapped in love.

As I look out on the ice and snow, listening to the cars and trucks lumbering tires upon the snow-packed pavement, I think that this is where I am supposed to be at this place in time. It is, in some way, a desolate place to be just before Christmas, certainly not for those who live here...but perhaps for those who have to be here and away from home. It brings to mind the plight of Mary and Joseph on the night baby Jesus was born. They did not pick that place.

We are here for our miracle, believing God. Briggs' heart sugery is scheduled for 9:30 am tomorrow and Grandpa Chet and Grandma Kim will take over caring for this sleeping angel while I wait on Tracy and Jeremy's family: Mom, Mavis...Dad, Curt...sister, Stacy wait on him. We will all be waiting for good word from the surgical staff.

In the recovery days that follow, I will have the privilege of accompanying Owen in his coloring endeavors, walking around, playing, puzzling, reading...etc. I am not just putting in my time but will savor this time, make memories with this time and enjoy every minute I can with him.

Oooo Smell That Smell...

No, not the song. I am talking about the memories that certain smells evoke. No, not the one where Dad says, "Pull my finger!" I think we all have that one somewhere in our past---a Dad, brother, uncle, Grandpa...but always a guy. The men just seem to master control of muscles and body functions that we girls would never think of!

I've gotten back into the somewhat daily routine of walking with Belle and it is Autumn is Georgia. The leaves are starting to fall and they are beautiful in their death robes of crimson, brilliant orange, and yellow. Of course, Belle has more primitive urges to take care of while I contemplate God's beauty in Nature...smell that mailbox, squirrel!, smell that ditch, squirrel!, oh look-another dog, grrrr!

AS I walk along, I can pick out scents that I can see no evidence of. The air smells not just of freshly mowed grass and back-yard grills, but radishes, sweet peas, carrots, onions, corn husks all jumbled together. Then FLASH, I am back in Dad's garden, weeding, helping harvest, pulling up a carrot, wiping the dirt on my jeans, and taking a big bite with a huge smile on my face.

That was in north Moorhead (MN.) in the corner of the backyard. I thought our garden was huge until I got a little older and we were living on the old Cook farmstead south of Fargo (N.D.) and we had a whole pasture at our disposal. First we used a little piece of it, which grew each year...then started to dwindle down again as we kids got older and weren't around as much.

I sure miss the garden and I sure miss my Dad. I think about him so often, and especially in the Fall when the air is so rich with the scents that seemed to cling to him. Do you smell that smell? Isn't it glorious!?!