Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

Yesterday when I came across a parable that begins with a man sitting beside a river bank-my thoughts immediately took me to Mepkin Abbey-one of my favorite places to go and just let my thoughts free to ponder and float idly…like the Cooper River. ( title picture)

It is so easy to detach oneself from the busyness of daily life there and instead contemplate the real meaning of giving.

The name of this Indian parable is ” Rich Man and the Beggar.” The story begins with a man enjoying his quiet contemplation time in a beautiful river bank… until he is disturbed by a beggar.

The beggar yells excitedly that he had a dream that told him to go to the riverbank and find a man who had a precious stone for him. Was that him? If so… it would end his poverty forever.

Slowly the man pulled a large diamond out of his pocket… and without any hesitation handed the stone to the beggar. The beggar couldn’t believe his good fortune and quickly ran away before the other man changed his mind.

A year passed and the beggar,dressed in wealthy clothes, came looking for the anonymous benefactor.

The man still sitting in his favorite spot along the riverbank was enjoying the peaceful flow of water before him.

” Well… you have returned my friend… what has happened?”

” Many wonderful things, I have become wealthy, found a wife, built a home… I can do what I want, when I want, with whomever I want.”

” Then for what have you returned?” asked the man.

“Please… teach me whatever it is inside you that allowed you to give me that stone so freely. “

…………………………………….

As I grow older… the less I need or especially want any more… outside of good health for as long as possible… there is nothing I need than to just be with loved ones and share life’s thoughts with friends. Thoughts, these days, are my diamonds!

So until tomorrow… Giving away experience and wisdom freely through stories enhances my spirit of detachment-take any thought and use it to help you along your path.

” Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

My natural precious ” gems.”

Dear Reader:

You might remember a few posts ago-we learned that we averaged around 70,000 self-thoughts per day. So when someone assures you-you will ” think of something” to a problem … they are right.

The trouble is, trying to match the right thought solution to the right problem. Yesterday. I came across such a situation in a little true short story in Guideposts called ” The Good Seeds” by Mike Frezon .

Like many men he had recently retired and found himself at loose ends for the first time. His career as a radio and television host had propelled him into many important meetings with state legislators-now he felt useless.

His wife, however, was thrilled to have him home because she had a pile of ” honey-do” lists that needed addressing… starting with the garage!

With a big sigh Mike stared at the cobwebs hanging from every corner and silently asked God if He still had a use left in life. While reaching back to clean off a back shelf his fingers wrapped around a dirty round metal tin. Excited he wondered if there was dollar bills in there like he and his father found after his grandfather passed.

No such luck-there were just envelopes filled with seeds. His neighbor-a-gardener believed they were hibiscus seeds but probably not still viable. They discovered a letter in the tin-these seeds were over 80 years old-postmarked 1940 and addressed to the original owner.

Nevertheless Mike added them to a seedling tray and mixed them in with the zinnias-soon the zinnias had green shoots so he transferred them and almost emptied the rest of the tray but decided to give the seeds a little more time.

While waiting Mike decided to take up running again and his two adorable granddaughters asked if they could join him-it became his favorite part of the day! He now decided to participate in running marathons and took an interest in photography!

Then one day it happened-sprigs of green began popping up and soon he had transferred the hibiscus seedlings to terra-cotta pots and proudly displaying them to his wife and granddaughters.

” Look girls…even something this old can still grow and be pretty cool, right? Just like your papa!”

So until tomorrow we are never too old to contribute to the world- acts of kindness are do-able at any age in any situation! We need to always stay filled with wonder and curiosity-a lifetime learner!

” Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

For some reason my title picture didn’t pop up with the Welsh hug yesterday on the blog -will try it again !

More and more plants are starting to bloom – like people-each in their own good time!

Dear Reader:

Every time I get an update on my ancestry lineage from Ancestor. com -the percentages shift among all the countries that make up the British Isles… with Wales overtaking England now-and squeezed in between Ireland and Scotland.

So when I came across an upbeat fun article on the inventive word for hug from Wales… I was immediately intrigued.

CWTCH is loosely pronounced in English “kutch” rhyming with ” Butch.” Originally the definition meant a cubbyhole or a kind of hug, …But in Wales it is much much more.

It is a warm embracing safe love born of friendship, family and an open accepting spirit towards all mankind.

Among the Welsh people this shared moment of tenderness includes a longing for Wales wherever they go.

Haven’t we all been unlucky recipients of bear-like aggressive hugs where we are left gasping for air… however well-meaning? A CWTCH is smaller, safer, tender and cozy.

The word can also be a cookie cutter with hearts or a journal with loving messages in it to family and friends.

So until tomorrow… I wish I had known this cute expression that many Welsh grandmothers use with their grandchildren while keeping the little Dingles yesterday!

” Tooty down for a CWTCH” means something like… ” Bend your knees low enough so I can give you a hug.” 🥰

” Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

Play dough brought out Lachlan’s creativity-making a hotdog with mustard-Rutledge and Mollie went to Camden for a flag football tournament and Eloise plays with her dolls.

I keep adding more plants to my side garden-love looking out my window at all the beauty… now if we could just get some 🌧 rain!

Dear Reader;

Grandma Moses was right when she said, ” Life is what you make it. Always has been. Always will be.”

I came across this story that I read, a long time ago, from lots of different stories on breast cancer-I had marked it to save. Today is a good day to share it.

Kitty Taylor’s mother was dying in a crowded charity ward in a large inner city hospital. Kitty’s father, an alcoholic, had left the family years earlier.

So Kitty, at fourteen, became the little mother to her three younger siblings. Now Dr. Gordon told Kitty that her mother had a very aggressive cancer.

” If your mother is lucky, she will last about three months… and if she is even luckier… she won’t last three months.”

Harsh as the words sounded… Kitty understood. The pain was so bad and it would get worse.

But Mrs. Taylor wanted to live and looked on each day as a blessing. As long as she was alive her children wouldn’t be put in foster care. So she prayed and clung to life.

Dr Gordon watched in wonder as the months stretched on and on. There was nothing more he could do for her yet her hope shone brightly in her eyes.

Strangely… since Dr. Gordon couldn’t help her-she began to help him through her faith and courage. One day she told him ” When death comes swiftly and suddenly-one can not prepare for it. But since I know I am dying and each day may be my last, I can make it a day of beauty and blessedness.”

Kitty was allowed to come to her mother’s bedside and each day she brushed her mother’s long hair and pinned a pink ribbon in it.

Mrs Taylor would send Kitty around to speak to the other patients and even give them a cookie from a kind cafeteria lady at her daughter’ school.

She always thanked the nurses who brought her medicine. She literally bloomed with life and light as she lay dying with a pink ribbon in her hair.

When no more strength was left one day she died. But her day to day struggle to show how precious life was did not count for nothing. Dr. Gordon adopted all four children so they could stay together.

” This woman taught me a great lesson, Dr. Gordon told the judge as he signed the adoption papers. She showed me how precious life is-worth fighting for and the pink ribbon was her badge of honor.”

So until tomorrow-Are we blooming where we are planted?

Kept Lachlan and Eloise yesterday and she is my girl with the pink ribbon in her hair.

” Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

Here are some “pretties” blooming around me-where they were planted.

Dear Reader:

Have you ever thought about who you talk to the most? Guessing a friend, spouse, family member? Wrong!

The person you most talk to daily is yourself! Want to take a guess at the number of times each day you talk to yourself…try 70,000 self-talk thoughts a day. (…And we wonder why we can’t get anything done?)

And here’s the real “bummer”…80% of them are negative! Out loud we talk the good talk on staying positive and optimistic…while deep down inside we disempower ourselves with self-talk thoughts like “This day started out bad and I am betting it is going downhill from here” or “I am so overwhelmed I just want to crawl back in bed and put the pillow over my head.”

As Pogo said, “We have met the enemy and it is us.” Negative thoughts drag us down to those eventually closest to us…they distract us from our goals and most sadly prevent us from living fulfilling lives filled with joy.

I have noticed that the older I get…the less clutter I want…physically, mentally, or emotionally. We all know how satisfying it is to take on a project like cleaning out drawers, closets, attics, or garages (as much as we hate getting started.) Julia Ubbenga discusses different ways we can declutter our negative self-talk thoughts .

I really like this first one we can do first thing every morning. One suggestion is that when we pass the bathroom mirror…pretend to wipe our hand in front of it to signify that we’re wiping away any “fog of self-doubt” and are fully confident in our ability to tackle and handle the day.

When we tell ourselves the day will be a great one…we are more likely to meet or even surpass these goals…if our first thoughts are negative it will take work to pull back up to a good place during the day.

Cows ruminate but humans shouldn’t…when we let go of untrue, self-talk negativity our ability to stay present returns…over-thinking on the negative steals our joy.

Before going to bed each night think of three things you are grateful for about yourself. When we label good things about ourselves…we actually become these good things.

So until tomorrow…

“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

A few years ago I finally got to visit Maine and fell in love with it. Anne has family who lives there and we had so much fun taking in the fall’s breath-taking beauty and enjoying all the delicious seafood!

I didn’t realize, however, that Maine is the only state that requires schools to teach Native-American history. Students study narratives, contrasting contemporary viewpoints as they travel to museums like ( The Abbe) in Bar Harbor.

In the wonderful historical fiction novel on the history of The Orphan Train, backed by much research, a modern young female character, named Mollie, discovers she is a descendant of the one of the tribes dating back 10,000 years-she is named for a strong woman chieftain named Molly.

Molly is a teenager and orphan-struggling through a flawed foster care system with damaging emotional scars left on her.

As the story begins she is given one last chance in the system-and part of this experience involves helping a 91 year old wealthy woman throw away some lifetime memories while deciding on what to keep.

Mollie becomes more familiar with a term her Native American ancestors knew quite well…” Portaging.”

In the old days the Wabanakis had to carry their canoes and all they possessed across land from one water body to another, so they had to think carefully about what to keep and what to discard-they learned to travel light.

As she begins to use this example as a way to help Miss Vivian decide herself what to keep or discard-Mollie discovers that they are connected in more ways that she could have imagined-taking both Miss Vivian and Molly back to the tracks of The Orphan Train.

Both literally and metaphorically both women must decide what is most important to them in their lives …as they each must make peace with the past while continuing seeking the life they want to live-It is never too soon or too late to change direction.

So until tomorrow… We should all pause as we continue on our unique journeys…

to “Portage” what is important enough to continue carrying with us and what should be left behind now- it has served its purpose but no longer needed.

” Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

Quick Update-Betsy stayed overnight at MUSC since her heart procedure ran late-is quite sore today but the surgeons are hopeful -they corrected two heart problems causing Betsy’s sudden attacks-We are all hopeful and thankful that with new medications her heart rhythm can be maintained-Libby and Betsy’s family thank you all for your prayers-they were needed and appreciated beyond measure!

Don’t we love it when Mother Nature uses her aerial friends to transport and plant petunias with your English daisies?

Dear Reader:

On ” Ellen” the other afternoon she had a brother and sister who are trying to get a fun word accepted into the dictionary-the word is ORBISCULATE-that moment when citrus fruit accidentally hits you in the eye-ouch!

The two siblings, Jonathan and Hilary Krueger grew up hearing the word, especially at the breakfast table, originally from their father Neil Krueger, a biotech scientist who died a year ago from complications of Covid-19.

Whenever a ” citrus attack” took place everyone would scream the word out together and start laughing-it was kind of an unusual ‘ family tradition.’

Both Jonathan and Hillary grew up assuming everyone knew this word. It wasn’t until Hillary was in her twenties and said the word in front of a friend who shook her head and declared it was not in the dictionary and wagered a friendly five dollar bet.

Hillary was shocked to discover this much beloved fun word was not a ‘ real’ word.

She contacted her brother and together they confronted their father Neil who confessed to the “creation.” After he died from complications stemming from Covid 19 they thought what a great tribute to him it would be to get the word accepted in the dictionary.

So the campaign began … with a website , t-shirts, getting the word put in crossroad puzzles, cocktails and grapefruit spoons.

But the story doesn’t stop there… after their beloved fun father they were able to pay all the funeral expenses but discovered many other families weren’t as fortunate. Many households were out of work and their sadness over the loss of a family member deepened in depression and frustration at the high cost of funeral expenses.

So all proceeds go to Carson’s Village-an organization that helps families with resources after a loss.

They are hoping Ben and Jerry ice cream will have a citrus flavored ice cream named Orbisculate and perhaps even Hamilton will get ” orbisculated” on stage in a few lyrics!

So until tomorrow…the more people use this word and get it in circulation … the closer the Kriegers get to a way of honoring their father and giving back to those who need our help in their darkest days.

” Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

Yesterday my two words were prayer and hope for Betsy -Libby’s daughter. I mentioned in an earlier post that she was having scary ” attacks” where her heart rate was out of control – due to side effects from all the medicines Betsy has to take to keep her metabolism balanced after her rare cancerous thyroid and parathyroid were removed.

As this post is finishing up Betsy’s delicate procedure on her heart is still on- going -please keep her in your prayers and I will update you tomorrow!

Betsy is tough like the poor hosta plant that got eaten by a rabbit less than week ago-now look at the healing!

Dear Reader:

Being an ardent lover of words… I remembered this little story while cleaning out my garden fountain yesterday and finding a dime and a nickel lying at the bottom.

Most times words carry emotional value to us but not monetary at the same time. In this short true narrative both happens.

A Ten-Cent Idea

When young F. W. Woolworth was a store clerk he tried to convince his boss to have a ten-cent sale.

The boss agreed and the idea was a resounding success. This inspired Woolworth to open his own store and price items at a nickel and a dime. He needed capital for such a venture, so he asked his boss to supply the capital for part interest in the store.

His boss turned him down flat. “The idea is too risky,” he told Woolworth. ” There are not enough items to sell for five and ten cents.”

Woolworth went ahead without the boss’s backing, and he not only was successful in his first store, but eventually he owned a chain of F. W. Woolworth stores across the nation.

Later … his former boss was heard to remark, ” As far as I can figure out, every word I used to turn Woolworth down cost me about a million dollars!”

So until tomorrow…” Be careful of the words you say-Keep them short and sweet-You never know, from day to day- Which ones you’ll have to eat!”

Yesterday truly was ” A Winnie the Pooh favorite day” -my first day lily bloomed, Jeff fixed my automated sprinkler ( Hallelujah!) and Mandy surprised me with a visit and lunch at our favorite tea room!

Dear Reader:

I think a friend of mine, Dee Lesko, and myself were on the same thought wave yesterday.

All five grandchildren’s Japanese Maples are breaking out in leaves all over -the girls’ are green leaves with pink tints and the three boys’ all shades of red. Both types-beautiful. So I thought I would make some metaphors and connections between us and our favorite trees growing up-mine was a crabapple where I went to read and escape the world!

Dee made a connection between tax deadlines in April and the most famous tax agent in scripture Zacchaeus. He was quite unpopular since he was a. Jewish tax collector working for Rome.

As small children in Bible School or Sunday School acting out the ” wee little song ” about him in the sycamore tree was always a favorite.

Zacchaeus desperately wanted to meet Jesus and climbed the tree to get His attention-it worked and he even got to have Jesus as a guest for dinner!

The crowd was shocked at the verbal exchange -in fact the ” polls” back then would most likely have been quite low for Jesus’ decision and appalled remarks would have started the evening news stations.

What the population didn’t understand was that ” The the Son of Man” came to heal the sick and save what was lost” and poor Zacchaeus was definitely in that category.

I didn’t climb a sycamore tree yesterday but I did climb the steps to the top deck to look down on my garden sanctuary that fills my heart with blessings as I watch my grandchildren along with their trees grow.

I hope the day never comes when I would have to leave my garden and ” family trees” behind-so I appreciate every minute of every day!

Come with me and look down with new insights on my sanctuary

So until tomorrow ( Dee said it best) “Think about the “trees” God has planted in your life to support you and help you see Him better. Offer a prayer of thankfulness for each … and may we all strive to serve as “trees” in response.

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

The last few days have been troubling ones since the news broke last week about the murder of Dr Robert Lesslie, his wife Barbara. their two young grandchildren and an appliance employee working on the air conditioning.

As more of the story was revealed I realized that not only did I know this couple but more associations sprang up. I attended Erskine College with Robert and Barbara, Barbara was from Lauren’s, my mother’s hometown and where we moved at the start of my high school years-Barbara, her older sister Donna and I all attended Laurens High School. Both sisters were sweet, smart and just as beautiful inside as out.

Later we all ended up at Erskine College where everybody knew everybody.Robert’s family was from Due West, SC -home to Erskine College where Robert’s father taught chemistry.

My son Walsh attended Appalachian State and was a fraternity brother with Robbie ( the couple’s oldest son.) Robbie often came down to the Lowcountry during his college days and Walsh remembers going to Rock Hill on occasion.

My grandmother Wilson ( Seawright) graduated from the Erskine Women’s College in 1902. The Seawrights, along with the Lesslies were some of the first families that formed Due West. So generationally our families have intertwined.

My thoughts over this seemingly senseless loss of life have darkened over the big Why Questions of Life. Why should something so terrible happen to such good people?

Then I came upon a random document I had saved on ” Old Faithful” my desktop computer.

The message addressed the relationship with our thoughts and how important it is not to confuse our identity with our thoughts.

” We are spiritually asleep when we take our thoughts for reality. The concept is so simple yet so hard to integrate because our thoughts sometimes seem so powerful as they are connected to our emotions.

In reality we are separate from our thoughts, emotions and physical body… even the accumulation of our experiences. We are ” pure awareness.” If we were just thoughts, emotions, and experiences we would disappear when they did. This means we are not the labels we put on ourselves. nor those that others do.

Thoughts are only tools to help us plant our seeds of self-awareness, our compass to help navigate our way through life and then they pass on.

If everyone could rise above their immediate thoughts and use them as tools instead of reality…then we would discover the divine spark inside each of us… connecting us to the universe. That is reality.

So until tomorrow… Help us Father keep our divine spirit alive and well within us so we can seek your refuge when most needed!

” Today is my favorite day” – Winnie the Pooh