Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

I realized a big mistake in my sign yesterday morning (that I place on the front porch when I’m out back so I won’t miss any friends stopping by)… the sign should read: “We’re in the Garden.”

Because I never go alone…the time in my garden…even if I am just pulling weeds is time spent with God. This time is not my time but God’s Time...and I lose myself in it…I can spend hours out there and not realize it until my stomach starts to grumble.

Don’t we use terms like ‘being in the zone’ when we are writing or reading a good book we don’t want to put down? Actually our creative zone only exists in God’s Time...His “Sacred” time…kairos.

Kairos means “Fullness of time.” When I am in my garden I sense the fullness of time in my life…a deep satisfaction of gratitude for this gift of simply “being.”

I know I exist for a purpose and this special time allows me to converse with God about the direction I am going and then listen to see if I have detoured or if I am still on the path God wants me to travel.

The other reason my sign should read: “We’re in the garden” is due to the fact that I wouldn’t have “my” garden without a lot of help…from family and friends.

It all started with a wooden “Ya” bench for my birthday in 2012 that finally found its home in the garden right after my next birthday in 2013. I went back through the pictorial archives on my computer and found the actual date when the garden began.

It was September 26, 2013. This was my “garden.”

A future path outlined in orange tape with four stepping stones of promise Mandy had made for me that Christmas.

These days Anne has switched the color of her tape to blue and yesterday we marked where we had planted more moon flowers so they wouldn’t get eaten up by the weed-eater and a new lawn mower cutter while I was babysitting Eva Cate & Jakie..

 Back on September 26, 2013… a new neighbor asked me if I was interested in two picket side fences for the garden…Anne and I dragged them over…to become another dream for the future. Then and now.

On the 27th of September Doodle arrived bearing plants of all shapes and sizes…especially azalea bushes …and then Doodle, Anne, and I set off for Hollow Tree Nursery (the first of many trips) while Tim and Jason worked on clearing the back yard and creating the dirt path.

On October 2…almost miraculously the garden was already taking shape. The path then and now.

The fountain was still a year away in 2013…but the spot was already marked. The fountain today with the Ya bench behind it proudly taking in all the new additions. Doodle’s azalea bushes have taken root and are growing along the fence.

Harriett Edwards gave me a gift of bulbs …lots and lots of bulbs for my birthday two days prior to the start of the garden on September 26, 2013.

This year, especially, the lilies have outdone themselves as all of you have been witness to from the almost daily photos…now look what Anne and I discovered in the garden yesterday.

A Turk’s Cap lily!!!! These unique lilies get their name because the top looks like a turban with fringe hanging down below. Isn’t it beautiful? Now this was definitely a God’s Wink because it reminded me of Scheherazade and our contest a couple of years ago.

Did you know that there is even a “Silk Road” lily and a “Scheherazade” lily? I must order both to plant this fall for next year. Here is a picture of a Scheherazade lily.

As I remembered the Scheherazade contest…(trying to out-tell the famous storyteller by writing 1002 blogs which turned out to be pretty miraculous) a thought came to me. What would the date be from the beginning of the garden on September 26, 2013 if 1002 days were added?

June 24, 2016! So with a new goal in mind…let me invite everyone (a whole year in advance) to Boo’s Garden Party. Some important announcements and surprises will be made at that time…so don’t be late for this very important date.

This party might seem like a long time off…but remember it is a magical moon gate garden…and time inside is kairos time…God’s Time…so it will be here in a blink of an eye.

So until tomorrow…Thank you Father for surprises and God Winks…they make life exciting.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*As we were planting Anne left to go to her car to get some (quote) “s_ _ _ ” out of it to fertilize the plants against the hot summer’s challenges….( cow manure!)

* Speaking of a God’s Wink…while Anne and I were working on adding more moon flowers to the front porch…a bright color kept catching my attention coming from the Bradford Pear. When I realized what it was I took a picture.

One lone red leaf in the summer green Bradford Pear Tree…a reminder that time is already flying by and before we know it…Fall will be here with all its bright beautiful colors.

* Betsy’s surgery was long but the initial report by her surgeon indicated that all went as expected and planned…which is always good to hear!

My prayer (for everyone involved) is that Betsy, Libby, and Collin got  some sleep and much needed rest last night to face the healing challenges ahead. So proud of all of you for how you have handled this unexpected situation. Kudos my friends!

Dear Reader:

Ever since reading short story writer (George Saunders) graduation speech to the 2013 graduates of Syracuse University… memories of people who performed acts of kindness to myself and family have come flooding back.

Let me give you one example: Growing up in North Carolina our family was blessed to have the most marvelous Lebanese family for neighbors on 500 Huske Street.

On each of their religious (calendar) celebration days…Mrs. Fidel would bake unleavened bread. I remember smelling that wonderful aroma the second I stepped off the school bus in the afternoons. I knew what it meant and my heart skipped a beat.

Without fail on these special days…(about an hour before supper time)…the doorbell would ring and there ( before us…actually below us) would stand tiny Mrs. Fidel, with her tight gray bun and beautiful dark brown eyes smiling back at us… carrying a round tin pan covered with a beautiful linen cloth.

The unleavened bread would be hot from the oven and she would have made her special butter with homemade jam (grown straight from her fig tree in the back yard) smothered inside the hot, steaming oasis of culinary desire.

“You eat supper, now?” she would inquire of mother….though it was actually more of a command. “You eat now…so you can have your bread while warm.”

Mother always said the same thing….”It’s so good we could probably wait and have it for dessert.”

“No…No”….must be eaten while hot” Mrs. Fidel would respond.

Little Mrs. Fidel would push past us and place the bread (always hidden under a beautifully embroidered table napkin) in the center of our table. Mother always tried to return the napkin (scared we would ruin it by spilling dripping butter/fig jam on it) but Mrs. Fidel would shake her head and quickly scurry out the door yelling…”Eat NOW…while hot!”

Of course the reason why Mrs. Fidel wouldn’t let mother return the embroidered napkins was because each one was hand- stitched by Mrs.Fidel for mother as a gift)…By Christmas that first year…there were four of these beautiful napkins …light blue with a star in the middle of the linen.

It soon became a tradition that right before Christmas she would come set our table for the holidays with a beautiful Christmas center piece (she had made from natural items in the woods near our home) and added a  candle…every year this continued until we moved right before my 14th birthday to South Carolina.

I don’t think anyone cried harder at our departure than Mrs. Fidel… besides all of us crying at leaving the wonderful Mrs. Fidel and her “magic” bread.

That first Christmas in Laurens we pulled out her hand-made napkins and set the Christmas table with our own greenery arrangement but we knew no one or nothing could provide the unleavened bread and its aroma symbolizing kindness and friendship. Only Mrs. Fidel.

Then about a week before Christmas….a package arrived from Mrs. Fidel…the unleavened bread had been carefully wrapped and placed in  a beautiful tin pan with four new embroidered linen napkins for our first Christmas away.

She had mixed her special butter and fig jam together in a jar made to preserve it….and that night when we warmed the bread and added the butter/figs suddenly Christmas felt like Christmas again.

That was the first and last package we received….the next year we only got a card from her daughter saying that her mother had passed away suddenly from a heart attack earlier in the year… she knew we would want to know.  Her mother had finished one linen Christmas napkin for us at the time of her death and she was sending it also.

When it arrived it was different from all the other napkins….there were five yellow stars stitched against a dark blue colored napkin… aligned in the shape of a smile. Frieda, her daughter, had written that four of the stars represented us and the fifth star was her mother…since she always felt a part of our family.

Somehow, over the years of moving, the box containing Mrs. Fidel’s napkins disappeared…but the joy they brought each Christmas remains in my childhood memory…shining brightly with a smile.

I can’t cook…but I hope by sharing a little piece of my garden with family, friends and neighbors ( in a little mason jar) that perhaps one day….someone will remember that a woman (with the strange name of “Boo”) once lived in my house…and she  gave out mason jars of colorful/joyful flowers.)

Anne and I went to visit Winnie Harris, a member of our congregation (and  Mike Burrell’s mom) at the Presbyterian Village yesterday. She moved in a few weeks ago and she wanted us to come see her new home…we loved it!)

Anne took homemade muffins and I took a “Boo’s Garden” mason jar filled with roses off my newest rose bush. We had a great time catching up …and hopefully I can continue to fill Winnie’s little jar with fresh flowers from the garden as they bloom upon each visit.

So until tomorrow….Remind us Father that one little act of kindness can last a lifetime through the memories of its recipients…a memory to keep us warm on cold nights and dark days.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* I love this comment from Mev Schieder concerning living in the moment…even experiencing a lifetime in such a moment.

Becky, when Jimmy’s doctor said “Stage 4, lung cancer metastasized to bones, liver and adrenal glands, one year survival,” that became a life-defining moment–is it all about dying or is it all about living?

Well, as I watch him on the tractor in the field behind our house (one of his happy places!), I celebrate his (our) answer to that question! And I celebrate our Shieder Strong motto, our hundreds of prayer warriors, and our wonderful doctors. I celebrate TODAY! And I praise God for it all!

Amen Mev…perfectly stated! Thank you for sharing!

A few years ago…the idea of a perfect place or happy place from our childhood memories entered the Sunday School discussion and I remember Don Alexander sharing this special place with us…he remembered it too and said:

Becky- Don here. You were on my mind in a big way yesterday. I was thinking about our Sunday School conversation where I made the comment “Every boy needs a creek.” I have so many fond memories of playing in the creek…I guess that was my happy place.

What is it about a babbling brook…a secret creek (at least to us) that perpetuates the memories of a lifetime? Peace…Peace…!

Please keep Betsy in your prayers today that the surgery goes perfectly according to plan and then some….this sweet young mom is anxious for all of this to be over and to get back home with hubby and her two precious girls!  “Return to Normalcy” is her motto.

*Don’t forget Betsy…Hold God’s Hand! He has a great grip! I know! P.S. And He never sleeps so He will be there at 5:45 this morning when the surgery begins!

* Mandy shared some photos from Jakie’s last year’s (end of the year) pre-school  “old-timey” day. Too cute! I do believe Jakie with be the man in the hat….growing up! Quite debonair little man!

Dear Reader:

From the first awakening of the first morning after my first chemo treatment (when I popped up and the plastic pail I had placed by my bed was still empty- I hadn’t gotten sick like several people had warned me)…a smile spread over my entire being and I learned a valuable lesson.

If I was to get past this medical obstacle lying in the middle of my main artery through my life journey, I had to live in the moment and not let the hearsay “monsters” lead me off-course… with (unhelpful/inaccurate) comments like “Aunt Lila threw up after each chemo session until she withered up like a weed… so keep a pail by your bed” or “radiation will burn your skin badly…it is quite painful” or “Don’t let them open you up…it will just spread the cancer.”

Obviously everyone reacts differently to all the obstacles in life that affront us…medical, professional, or personal….but in my experience of fighting “little c” the worse obstacles were not the treatments, themselves, but the well-intentioned “naysayers” who created and planted unnecessary “monsters” of fear and doubt into my mind.

After three rounds of radiation, surgeries, and chemo ….I can honestly say the (self-imposed) “What If” monsters have been the hardest to deal with….physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Then one day I was reading in my Happy Room…and found myself laughing out loud at something in the article… while I smelled wonderful aromas coming from a  casserole a friend had brought cooking in the oven, my cd was playing some old Beach Boy tunes…and I realized…cancer ( “little c”) or not…I was happy!

In that moment all was well! It was then that I had my epiphany…a person can live a lifetime in a moment.

The “What If’s” disappeared out of sight…out of mind. And it had all started with an empty pail seven years ago…dispelling many of the imaginary and antiquated information about my medical problem.

So today I keep two empty pails on my mantle…one named Grace and the other Gratitude…to remind me to listen to God’s medical advice and reassurance through His instruments, the doctors, and put on blinders to well-meaning but doubt-causing fears of the unknown.

Doctors can heal…but only God can save…that is His department and it is this grace that I embrace with much gratitude.

My sign came last week so now when I look up from reading or watching television…I visually see the words to match my feelings about my life today….

So until tomorrow…Remember: God loves us more in a moment than anyone could in a lifetime!

“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

* Our lovely friend, Betsy,(Libby’s daughter) who we have kept in our prayers since she first experienced heart problems back in December… is scheduled for surgery Tuesday at MUSC to remove her thyroids and transplant some of her parathyroids. After much testing…these were the organs (culprits) causing the side effect heart problems.

I would, personally, appreciate your prayers for this beautiful young woman and niece to all her Ya aunties. Her “All is good” attitude will definitely hasten her healing but it will be a pretty rocky road for awhile…so your prayers are met with much gratitude and thanksgiving by her adoring family & friends.

Betsy Clarkson Crick  with Rebecca and Hailey.

Kaitlyn and Tommy were very patriotic at the beach earlier on the Fourth before joining us for all the festivities. I love you two!

My hosta (just medium sized) is blooming quite patriotically too!

Dear Reader:

A few weeks ago I happened upon an interesting story on the weekly CBS Sunday Morning Show. CBS correspondent, Mo Rocca, was interviewing acclaimed short story writer- George Saunders about his “back door” entrance into the field of writing… with all the ups and downs he experienced before discovering his inner talent.

The conversation then turned to his quite publicized graduation speech in 2013 at Syracuse University. Saunders said that he was shocked when he got the invitation because….

“I thought, you know, what am I giving a speech to a bunch of kids who are better educated than I was, have already made better choices than I did at that age?” he told Rocca. “What do I have? And what I had was, basically, time. You know, I’d had all these years of living.”

What the graduating class didn’t expect hearing from this celebrated author was this comment:

“What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness — those moments when another human being was right there, in front of me, suffering, and I responded sensibly, reservedly, mildly. … It’s a little facile, maybe, and certainly hard to implement, but I’d say, as a goal in life, you could do worse than: Try to be kinder.”

From his own personal life experiences…he said that there is real hope at the end of our journey that we can all evolve into a much kinder human being than we were at the beginning…if we reach out to someone in need and defend them.

Rocca noted, “In the speech you said, ‘Your life is going to be a gradual process of becoming kinder and more loving.’ That’s a pretty optimistic assumption.” 

Saunders admitted it was but if we end up on the right path it leads us to a kinder world.

In his speech Saunders named all the embarrassing and humiliating things that happened to him growing up but he really didn’t regret any of them… they were just part of life and he learned from each mistake…upon reflection.

But one memory from seventh grade still haunted him to this day. He had an opportunity to help someone and didn’t…and he noted that he can still see this young girl’s face in his memory… silently begging someone to befriend her.

“In seventh grade, this new kid joined our class. In the interest of confidentiality, her Convocation Speech name will be “ELLEN.” ELLEN was small, shy. She wore these blue cat’s-eye glasses that, at the time, only old ladies wore. When nervous, which was pretty much always, she had a habit of taking a strand of hair into her mouth and chewing on it.”

So she came to our school and our neighborhood, and was mostly ignored, occasionally teased (“Your hair taste good?” — that sort of thing). I could see this hurt her. I still remember the way she’d look after such an insult: eyes cast down, a little gut-kicked, as if, having just been reminded of her place in things, she was trying, as much as possible, to disappear.

After awhile she’d drift away, hair-strand still in her mouth. At home, I imagined, after school, her mother would say, you know: “How was your day, sweetie?” and she’d say, “Oh, fine.” And her mother would say, “Making any friends?” and she’d go, “Sure, lots.”

Sometimes I’d see her hanging around alone in her front yard, as if afraid to leave it.

And then — they moved. That was it. No tragedy, no big final hazing.

One day she was there, next day she wasn’t.

End of story.

Now, why do I regret that? Why, forty-two years later, am I still thinking about it? Relative to most of the other kids, I was actually pretty nice to her. I never said an unkind word to her. In fact, I sometimes even (mildly) defended her.

But still. It bothers me.

So here’s something I know to be true, although it’s a little corny, and I don’t quite know what to do with it:

What I regret most in my life are failures of kindness.

Those moments when another human being was there, in front of me, suffering, and I responded . . . sensibly. Reservedly. Mildly.

Or, to look at it from the other end of the telescope: Who, in your life, do you remember most fondly, with the most undeniable feelings of warmth?

Those who were kindest to you, I bet.

………………………………………………………………………………………….

Doesn’t this story take us all back to situations (growing up) in which we were either the one being laughed at or the one in a crowd saying nothing as we watched the group belittle another child or youth with unkind remarks?

Weren’t we all secretly afraid that if we said something to defend the “victim” then we would be the next one attacked with unkindness?

I remember hearing, one time, the story behind the story of why Ellen Degeneres always signs off her show by saying “Remember to be kind to someone.” It is because of the personal scars she said still exists from being teased as a child and youth for being “different.”

So until tomorrow….we are stronger now and wiser than we were as children and youth…so no more excuses…we must all defend “victims” of unkindness when we witness such acts and we must go out of our way to befriend someone who desperately needs a friend. “A friend in need is a friend indeed.”

After all… All of us do remember those people who were friends to us when we needed one…Let’s pass it on.

“Today is my favorite day. ”  Winnie the Pooh

* Some of you might have read the bestseller (title photo) Congratulations by the Way by George Saunders about this graduation speech…it was a NY Times Best-Seller in 2013.

*July the 4th …..the Dingle/Turner Gang! Lots of ups and downs with four little ones around…we were all trying especialy hard to keep Rutledge entertained so he wouldn’t be sad about his cast and  not being able to get in the pool…ice cream helped…but there were still a few sad moments of regret. Into every day a little rain must fall…and that even happened too!

However we danced, (in & out of the water) swam, and just enjoyed being together. Of course the hot dogs and hamburgers brought the Fourth to the forefront with our own neighborhood fireworks to top off the evening…Thanks Turners for hosting all the fun!

* And we were so glad Marcia (Mollie’s Mom) flew in from New Hampshire yesterday and could be with us for the Fourth…made it just perfect!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth and said a prayer of thanksgiving for calling America home!

Dear Reader:

Happy Fourth of July! It is hard to believe that the summer has flown so fast and here it is…our nation’s Independence Day!

If any of our Founding Fathers were still alive today…they could  use our Associate Pastor’s -Dorothy Blackwelder- quote (about child-raising) for their own mantra: “The days were long…but the years were short” in reference to the fight for Independence. 

When I came across the title photo earlier yesterday I was quite drawn to this incredible snapshot… with the amazing hand-made garden stone path…filled with dozens of spirals. 

Ever since spotting the spiral icons across Provence, France….under alcoves in doorways, on door handles, on the side of buses, as well as wall hangings or as pieces of jewelry….these snail-shaped emblems have caught my imagination and curiosity. 

I remember it took several days to discover the secret behind the symbolism. It stands for “infinity.” Once you discover spirals you start seeing them in everything ….everywhere. The spiral is the “DNA” of life in animals, plants, and even celestial bodies. 

It was this little children’s book that caught my whimsey (several years ago) and “spiraled” my curiosity.

Today (before going to Mandy and John’s house for the family July 4 celebration) I intend to go into my garden and look for spirals throughout….Here are some samples from the book… on where to look.

Isn’t life amazing….spirals are found in sunflowers, snails, waves crashing on the beach, rain splashing in a body of water, flower petals, elephants, snakes, pea pods, shells and celestial bodies.

There are these beautiful spirals in nature…yet, when the word “spiral” is used as a verb or adverb….there is a chance (with man involved) that things can spiral out of control quickly.

For the colonists living in the mid-1700’s in the 13 colonies…don’t you imagine that they thought their lives were “spiraling” out of control?… as the events leading to the American Revolution broke out faster than they were capable of mentally processing?

Even the Founding Fathers were probably shocked at the speed in which the rally call for revolution and freedom spiraled throughout the colonies.

Then, of course, the terrible eight years of fighting an in- formidable enemy spiraled out of control with a stray shot here or there propelling the colonies into full-blown revolution.

The cost of freedom always comes at a heart-wrenching “spiraling” price…life. So the celebration of our nation’s independence should be both celebratory and reflective.

Anne lead Eva Cate’s class to a labyrinth in the wooded area behind our church Thursday….to explain to them the “spiral” effect of a labyrinth and its spiritual connotation.

When I  talked to Anne about making connections between spirals, the high cost of freedom, and life on this July 4 post she ended up “accidentally” coming across another thought about the symbolism of the spiral through yoga. Anne emailed me:

“Yoga class was awesome today…Nicolle (Morgan), the teacher, began by having us concentrate on our breathing, inhaling deeply…exhaling slowly… and maybe because you and I had just talked about spirals, mine took on a circular, spiraling pattern of breathing.  Our breath spiraling in and our breath spiraling out. 

She said to think about your first breath on earth – it was a deep breath in, breathing in the new, the opportunities of a lifetime, the hope.  And our last breath will be one of release and trust.  It was uplifting (to say the least) to spend that hour spiraling around with hope and trust!”

Okay….now get ready for a few chills….Anne thought, after our discussion on spirals, that she might select a spiral to draw/paint during her weekly Friday artist gathering.

But she changed her mind (or so she thought) and went a different direction….she wrote me.

“No spirals in my artwork today.  Just lots of work on blending some washes, trying to capture the light on this clay jar.”

As I looked at the painting (she had attached to the email) I wondered where in the world she found this perfectly fitting painting of (what looked to me) like the breath of God spiraling out from the universe and space.

I called to ask her and she gasped…”That was the clay jar painting but I think you are right….after hearing about spirals with breath and life….the painting did transform to the new thoughts I had just encountered in yoga.” Here is the painting.

So until tomorrow…May the breath of God propel and spiral us to greater heights of awareness about the miracle of life from first breath to last….from hope to trust. It was this same ‘hope to trust’ that took an “underdog” of tattered, untrained soldiers to victory and freedom….to the creation of our beautiful country.

“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Fourth of July! Please let your prayers of gratitude to the real ‘Father of our Country’ spiral in your thoughts today.

Dear Reader:

This photo shows Eva Cate’s baggage…packed and ready to go. Since I will be seeing her on the Fourth…tomorrow…it wasn’t as sad as it might have been. But isn’t it strange how in only five days we humans can ease into new routines and get settled in quite comfortably? ( I will even miss her “octopus” legs tangled around me)

Silence and solitude are always a  welcome respite after a stay with the grandchildren or vice versa…but they soon turn into a strange type of homesickness…perhaps for a time when the house was alive with all the hustle and bustle of the chaos of children growing up…sometimes the house grows too quiet.

But human nature being what it is ….I soon acclimate to my less noisy life and enjoy the merits of retirement… staying up late at night or sneaking junk food or sleeping in….making lunch dates with friends…there are a lot of perks to just being free to be me. (A good life, I thought at one time, that I would never see)…so I am thankful for quiet walks and talks with God. I have the best of both worlds and believe me…I know I am a very blessed woman.

A favorite quote of mine says:

“Never be afraid to fall apart because it is an opportunity to rebuild yourself the way you wish you had been all along.”- Rae Smith

Think about it…if Humpty Dumpty hadn’t fallen apart he wouldn’t be famous today? Just another scrambled egg….one never knows what’s around the bend or at the bottom of the wall.

In an article from Huffington Post...I laughed until I cried at the true dilemma of a newly divorced, mid-forties mother of three boys and a St. Bernard, who experienced a much deserved total break-down at the luggage department in LaGuardia airport.

Source: Drop the Baggage: Make Room for Possibilities– or perhaps it should read (Keep the Baggage and Pay) by Liesel Testwuild

She gave her good-bye to Lucy too….

It was a big day….from being crowned “Garden Fairy Princess” to performing last night for Mom, Dad, Jakie, and Boo….(at the closing ceremony for Vacation Bible School)….and perform she did. Drama is her middle name! She was in her element.

Three different “interpretations” of the same motion (“thinking cap”)…and you see who wins the most dramatic interpretation.

Of course any performer knows that she must always exit with a flair…with one last turn to her adoring audience – her family!

Anne and Jakie hit it off at dinner…his eyes were full of wonder and awe….Let us strive to never lose what he has now.

Look what Sis Kinney has on Facebook….I told her “Great minds think alike” this morning….perfect addition and ending!

Dear Reader:

Have you ever had a sneaking suspicion that there is more than one of you inside yourself?

I was reading an article about the different “me’s” that exist throughout the days of our lives and I thought….”Maybe that explains why some days I think to myself “I just don’t quite feel like myself” today.” 

It is a pretty ambiguous comment to make (even to yourself) because that statement assumes that somewhere deep inside you ….you must know who the real “me” is. But other days we might feel like saying “Will the real me please step forward so I can recognize me when I see myself.”

As part of God’s Divine Plan…we are always changing (whether we like it or not) so it only makes sense that our inner “me” is changing too. Even from moment to moment…depending on life’s circumstances.

Since I have been keeping Eva Cate this week (or perhaps it is the other way around…still not sure) I have seen the different “me” swings of a five year old upfront and personal. The “me” of Eva Cate can change quite rapidly from excitement to disappointment from joy to sadness ….it is all part of growing up.

The excerpt from the following article definitely makes us stop and reflect…

Source: Man’s Most Important Mistake  ( G. I. Gurdjieff) Awakin Weekly

… Man’s most important mistake is thinking of himself as one (as in singular)…not part of a whole.

Man has no individual I. But there are, instead, hundreds and thousands of separate small I’s, very often entirely unknown to one another, never coming into contact, or, on the contrary, hostile to each other, mutually exclusive and incompatible.

Each minute, each moment, man is saying or thinking, ‘I.’ And each time his I is different. Just now it was a thought, now it is a desire, now a sensation, now another thought, and so on, endlessly. Man is a plurality. 

Try to understand that what you usually call “I” is not I; there are many “I’s” and each “I” has a different wish. Try to verify this. You wish to change, but which part of you has this wish? Many parts of you want many things, but only one part is real.

It will be very useful for you to try to be sincere with yourself. Sincerity is the key which will open the door through which you will see your separate parts, and you will see something quite new. You must go on trying to be sincere. Each day you put on a mask, and you must learn to peel it off little by little.

………………..

Pretty interesting thoughts…yet most of us (must admit) that at one time or another we have stared in the mirror and said “Who are You“? Then we spend the rest of our  lifetime discovering the answer to that question

But for people of faith…we have a head start when we can say….”We are children of God.” The starting line (to knowing our real selves) begins with that statement.

So until tomorrow…Help us Father chip away at the mask we present to others and start showing our real “me” behind it…the “me” you want people to see.

“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

* The many “Me’s” of Eva Cate at Vacation Bible School (from morning nervousness and a little sadness that Boo is leaving, to smiles and a glint in the eyes that a little mischief is going down)

Vacation Bible School ends today with a program for the parents at 6:00 this evening. Mandy, John, and Jake are coming to see the finale and take little Eva Cate home.

So yesterday we had girls’ day….we worked on curling our hair, (with the old sponge rollers) painting our fingers and toenails….and getting a fun little ring/braclet set for a memento to remember Eva Cate’s first extended stay with Boo Boo.

The last thing we did was plant our daisy seeds late yesterday afternoon…….If the flowers all magically pop up over night…it means the fairies selected Eva Cate as the “2015 Princess of the Garden.” We will just have to wait and see. Stay tuned.

* Sis Kinney sent me a picture….which made me sigh…she finally got to St. Jude’s Chapel of Hope. I can hardly wait for her reaction.

* Poor little Rutledge …. he went back yesterday to check to see if there was an actual fracture in his leg…we were all pretty optimistic that he would get the cast off….instead he ended up with another cast…orange this time. Please keep Walsh and Mollie in your prayers and thoughts…some summer blues to ponder over…lots of outdoors activities will have to be put off for a few weeks.

Dear Reader:

The past couple of days, though they turned out fine, have definitely been a combination of “Oopsy Daisy” and “Oh me!”

It started Monday night…well, actually about 2. a.m Tuesday morning. …with Eva Cate sitting straight up in bed whimpering “I’m sad.” We had gone to see “Inside Out” ….(the Disney movie about feelings and how complicated they can be)….so Eva Cate’s “I’m sad” turned out to be “I’m nauseated and getting ready to barf right on you.”

Poor little thing….she did throw up here, there, and everywhere before she got to the bathroom where it continued. I was trying to figure out what might have been the culprit….because early on…it was obvious that this wasn’t a bug but something she “et.”

It wasn’t until yesterday that Mandy told me to throw away the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese she had packed for Eva Cate….many containers of it are contaminated. Guess who wanted this for supper Monday night and who ate it?….Whether this was the culprit or not…check ouy Mandy Turner’s Facebook page for the problems surrounding this popular product with children.

So fast forward to Tuesday morning…Eva Cate is up and bouncing around….ready to go to Bible School while I am moving a little slower…two loads of laundry/sheets/pillow cases later….

Coming home from the movies Monday my car started acting funny…it felt like Eva Cate and I were riding a hopping bunny rabbit…the transmission light came on…that is never a good sign.

Later Tim stopped by and drove it around…nothing happened…smooth as silk (Murphy’s Law)…he thought all was good. When I got in the car yesterday morning to take Eva Cate to Bible School…I noticed she was holding her ears. When I asked why…she said because she thought her “Boo was going a little crazy on the way home from the movies…praying to God at every red light that the car didn’t stall or turn off.” Obviously she wanted none of that on the trip to Bible School…too much drama…even for Miss Drama Queen.

No problems…life is starting to turn around…everything is looking good and then I leave to go pick up some medicine at CVS and the “bunny rabbit” returns….hoppity hop hop.

Once again Tim comes to the rescue…he takes “Hoppity” to Auto Zone and lets them run the free test to pinpoint the problem…I, then, take it to Speedee and they start working on the car….but it is running so close to pick up time (at noon) for Eva Cate

…that I call on my Plan B…Anne.…who drives over…picks me up (and Eva Cate’s car seat) at Speedee...takes me to church…waits with me for VBS to be over and drops us both back off at Speedee.

Now that ladies and gentlemen….is the Best Friend “Plan B” around!!!! Thanks again Anne.

So everything I thought I would get done during the three hour hiatus of Vacation Bible School went poof with Hoppity’s limp….but at least it isn’t hopping any more and I pray they found all the problem (s).

But again….while I was whining “Oh Me” ….” What’s happening“….Anne and I discovered we were supposed to be at a certain spot at a certain time. We went to get some colored markers for a VBS project Anne is working on for Thursday. While checking out I was talking to her about a friend’s recent diagnosis and the clerk stopped what she was doing and listened.

She apologized for interrupting…but she was interested in our conversation because she was going through a very similar health problem and wanted to hear what we were saying. As we listened to her story Anne and I just looked at each other…a God’s wink…we promised her prayers throughout her upcoming ordeal.

Every time we are experiencing a  simple (but annoying) turn of events back to back…there is someone who is going through a serious crisis…professionally, personally, or medically.

And that’s why we should say “Oopsy Daisy“….because (like sun flowers) they will not only turn towards the sun…but make their blossom align to the direct sunlight throughout the day.

So until tomorrow…we should follow the daisy’s example….(okay…we might be experiencing a little “oopsy” here and there)… but like the “daisy”  if we follow the Light and make sure we continue to blossom and bloom under the “Light of Life’s” Guidance…we can overcome the obstacles of life.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* Hot off the Press…pictures of Ajay.…Ambika’s precious little baby boy.

So cute and I know so loved!

We went to Doodle’s after our bad start day and everything got “gooder.”

Eva Cate received these tea party fairies in the mail yesterday…how very magical….she is still leaving food out every evening…and it is all gone every morning. The fairies love Eva Cate for her kindness. Flying around every night takes a lot of energy.

It’s the first day of the month-July1….Don’t forget to say “Rabbit”….and may good luck follow you all month!

Dear Reader:

Isn’t this quilt gorgeous? Many talented women in our church worked long and hard to create symbols of our church as a memento to our hard-working, talented Associate Pastor, who is leaving us.

Sunday was our Associate Pastor (Dorothy Blackwelder) last day in the pulpit at our church-Dorchester Presbyterian. She had prayed all week she could get through the sermon without breaking down and she nearly made it. (But I think sometimes tears just make the message of leaving/saying good-bye saltier and more palpable to swallow. It was heartfelt and the tears flowed in both directions.)

Dorothy spent a significant portion of her last message explaining the difficult period of time she underwent… while stuck in the valley of indecision…trying to weigh the pro’s and con’s of a life-altering resolution that would affect the family…though, hopefully…for the better.

She only got glimpses of the path she was to follow from the one Source she most wanted to hear from…perhaps with a burning bush or angel bugle blaring dramatic scene. None of that happened. Dorothy kept wondering why God wasn’t weighing in on her major decision…where was He?

And then, one day, it hit home why she couldn’t see a straight, clear road to follow…. Life is a  long and winding road … for a reason. God wants us to depend on Him for the next day’s directions. We were not created to go it alone….to see too far down the road…for dual reasons: Our emotional protection and the opportunity to communicate with Him every day.

God is more interested in building a personal relationship with us than in just handing out directions. I, sometimes, think it really doesn’t matter which way we go…if we rely on God’s Guidance…eventually we all reach the same place….Home.

And besides….don’t we like getting off the interstate at intervals to follow the back roads and see the real beauty of God’s world? I think God is a back-roads kind of Guy… He doesn’t want us whizzing through life without seeing the beautiful playground He built just for us.

As I mentioned earlier Eva Cate is staying with me this week to attend Vacation Bible School and I think we will definitely find time to spend some of it on the back roads and back playground of life.

So until tomorrow…Teach us Father to be follow in Your Footsteps…Looking to you for the right Path to follow.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

As if enough isn’t going on at the Dingles…. Poogan cut her foot seriously on some oyster shells and now it is bandaged with stitches….Rutledge feels a strong affinity for his canine buddy.

Eva Cate had a first great day at Vacation Bible School and so did Boo with the storytelling…

Eva Cate must be bringing me Good Luck ….beautiful moon flower bloomed last night.

Dear Reader:

The older I get the more I realize how true this statement is: “Life is a beautiful struggle.” The harder we have to fight to maintain life the more beautiful it becomes. It starts to manifest itself through the little things in life we so often overlook in our daily rush to get “some where.”

This “beautiful” struggle doesn’t stop with just man…every living creation of God stays in a continuous struggle with life throughout its existence on earth.

As I walk through my garden I can imagine what the plants would be telling me if they could talk…some would nod at me, quite courteously, to let me know they are doing just fine…during this heat wave…while others would say something like: “We get it…you’re trying to save on your water bill…you actually believed the weathermen when they said that the chances of rain were higher than usual today…but hey, get over it, it didn’t happen…turn on the sprinkler system PLEASE! We’re dying of thirst here!”

THRIVING:

STRUGGLING:

We are just like my (flower) “children” in the garden. Different obstacles in life are more difficult for some than others…but along this same thought…another set of obstacles (that might throw others off track) are easily soared over by still another group.

We all have different levels of tolerance for different problems that come our way: whether medical, marital, professional, or personal. Like the plants in the garden…it is the people who have established a personal relationship with God who seem to be able to dig deeper (when life’s challenges come our way) to find the living waters that sustain them through the struggles of life.

These people are the same ones, who realize no matter the extent of the problem that  lies ahead, life is well worth the fight…and we fight for the little things in life. Things like:

…The first cup of coffee in the morning as we watch the sun come up, the voices of children laughing at the school bus stop, the first time your child or grandchild makes contact with the baseball and actually lands on first base, the first dandelion given to mothers and grandmothers by toddlers (” I have a flower for you”) the first phone call by a grandchild who tells you “I ouv ou.” (You never delete that phone call…no matter how old the child grows.)

Every day life can be a struggle but it is in the struggle that the love of life grows…if it were all too easy…too many perfect sunny days, all A’s on your child’s report card year after year, no teenage car accidents, or crushed hearts over first loves to console…no storms to upset the calm waters…no broken limbs or medical emergencies…it would be to easy to take life for granted. We would grow listless and bored.

We would never feel the need to turn to anyone beside ourselves for there would be no cloudy days in our lives. God wants us to turn to Him when life gets hard…to let Him hold our hand, and show us the path to inner strength and peace through our loving relationship with Him.

So until tomorrow….Life is a daily struggle…but more importantly…it is a beautiful one…well worth the fight. And once victorious… Two hands go up in exultation.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* I picked up Eva Cate last evening…she is spending the week with me to go Vacation Bible School which starts today…she inspected all the fairy homes in the garden…then decided the two fairies should live together so they wouldn’t be lonely…she left a cookie for them to eat before their night flight and then built a fairy village inside using materials from inside the wreath on the center table in the Happy Room…a village where a fairy Rabbit rules the fairies. Imagination at its best!