Chapel of Hope Stories

  Dear Reader:

I emailed Ambika yesterday and asked if she felt comfortable telling her story…parts of her journey to date. She graciously agreed and I want to share it with all of you today. Can’t think of a better way to start December than through the miracles that her family has undergone since they gave up their family’s cultural Hindu religion and became Christians.

It has been at least two or more years since I started getting comments from someone named Ambika. I had no idea she was Indian and living in Dubai. One day, while responding, back to a comment she made…I asked her about her name…it was certainly different but so beautiful…and that is when I discovered her background. Immediately I thought….How in the world did she discover my little blog…Chapel of Hope Stories?

Over the years Ambika has shared privately with me tidbits of her journey…but today…she will share these and other parts with all of you. An amazing journey as you will see.

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Hi Becky,

Sure I would love to share my story with you all. Thanks for the privilege.

I found (stumbled upon) Chapel of Hope stories during a really low time of my life. The reason is this: I had been struggling to get a job in my profession for past 3 years, but here they always require the candidate to pass the Health Authority exam in the UAE.

The more exams I wrote, I kept failing, and I began to lose my faith, hope and trust in the Almighty God. But I couldn’t continue like this forever, I had to start somewhere. This way I began my search for Godly inspiration through fervent prayers, through the scriptures and even through the Internet. And that’s how I can across Chapel of Hope stories. I must admit that your blogs have been very inspirational and spiritually encouraging, thanking God for that everyday.

By the way, if I haven’t told you already, I and my family are all converted Christians – from Hindu background. We have been in Christian faith since 1988, by His Grace, Love and Mercy alone.. Initially, my parents had gone through a lot of oppositions from our relatives about the conversion, but eventually, even they received salvation, one by one. It wasn’t an easy decision to change the religion, for my grandparents and parents, but we gave our hearts to the Lord, because He performed divine miracles in our family. I will share one example with you.

My mother was suffering from epileptic attacks since her teen years. The Doctors had challenged that there is no cure for this illness, and my mom used to get those deadly fits every 6 months. She used to fall all over the place, and remain unconscious. Until she heard the Word of God, and believed that someday Jesus would heal her too. Now this was back in 1988. From the time she started believing in Jesus, her attacks reduced from every 6 months to once in 1 and a half or 2 years. She had her last major epileptic attack in 1994, and by the Grace of our Lord Jesus, she has been permanently healed. It is God Who preserved her for the last 20 years, and He will continue His Promise Forevermore. 

As for me, I was born a Hindu, in a Muslim country (UAE), but I practically grew up a Christian. Now how fascinating is that! Lol!

Dear Reader:

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out why Christ, the son of God, came to earth to live among the simple and ordinary. It was role modeling at its best.

Reconsider the first scene in God’s Son life …the whole manger setting, for the birth of Christ, is minimalism at its finest…only the barest necessities needed to welcome the birth of our Saviour. Anything more than needed would have been wasted.

In all the twenty-plus years of telling a Christmas story on Christmas Eve for the children’s service…I never started off with a “Once upon a time”….there was a very rich little boy who lived in the largest mansion in town. At Christmas he always asked for the most expensive and popular toys and  every Christmas he got exactly just that…

He wasn’t deserving of all the presents because he was a bully; but he could get away with his misbehavior because his daddy was a very important person and the teachers and nannies were afraid of him. He grew up to be a bigger bully, inheriting all his family’s wealth… so his children got everything they wanted at Christmas too.” The End.

Not exactly the memorable story the congregation would want to hear…where are the problems, the struggle, the consequences of personal decisions…the lesson to the story?

I have probably told more Great Depression stories than any other genre…mostly in mountain settings or city ghettos… they are always a crowd pleaser. Everyone finds themselves rooting for the  poor underdog to come out on top…to change the lives of the people around them…to become their own “Polyanna”…changing others lives for the better through their own selfless actions…

In other words…to follow in Christ’s foot steps.

As I thought about a picture that might symbolize finding God in the simple and ordinary…my mind flashed back to a photo Joan  (a couple of weeks ago) sent among her paintings. She had typed underneath this one that the photo was one of her favorites. It was taken last summer…Joan’s elderly mother had gotten some peaches and told Joan to meet her at her house to share.

As soon as Joan walked into the kitchen…the scene struck her as so simplistic and beautiful…(a menagerie of her mother’s life on a kitchen table…with the peaches taking center stage.) Her mother was still sharing all she had with her children. (She quickly took the photo.)

When I first studied Joan’s photo I felt God’s Presence among this simple and ordinary. The basket of peaches does grab one’s attention first…from the beginning of China’s culture (land of the origin of peaches) they have stood for immortality. And the peach blossoms and wood?….

Peach blossoms are highly prized in Chinese culture. The ancient Chinese believed the peach to possess more vitality than any other tree because their blossoms appear before leaves sprout. When early rulers of China visited their territories, they were preceded by sorcerers armed with peach rods to protect them from spectral evils. On New Year’s Eve, local magistrates would cut peach wood branches and place them over their doors to protect against evil influences. Another author writes:

The Chinese also considered peach wood (t’ao-fu) protective against evil spirits, who held the peach in awe. In ancient China, peach-wood bows were used to shoot arrows in every direction in an effort to dispel evil. Peach-wood slips or carved pits served as amulets to protect a person’s life, safety, and health.

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It was a sense of peace that enveloped me when I looked at the photo of a simple, ordinary scene of daily life…a blood pressure monitor (ready to use each morning) a stack of correspondence with a package of crackers on top…(I always need chocolate when I pay bills) and then….and then…a pair of reading glasses on top of a book…could it be…it was (upon telephoning Joan) her mother’s daily devotional…Jesus Calling!

Suddenly I had a feeling that November 29’s devotional had a special message for me…about finding God in the simple and ordinary…and continuing to trust in Him… while adjusting to the new changes in the blog. I was not disappointed. God must have decided it was time to add a new God’s Wink to Chapel of Hope Stories Pt. II.

“Let me infuse My Peace into your innermost being…You can sense my Presence and my Peace growing within you…opening up yourself to receive My blessings.

People today find it hard to acknowledge their neediness. However, I have taken you along a path that has highlighted your need for Me; placing you in situations where your strengths were irrelevant and your weaknesses glaringly evident.

…You have discovered flowers of Peach (I mis-typed Peace…humm…another God’s wink?) Peace blossoming in the most desolate places. 

You have learned to thank Me for hard times and difficult journeys, trusting that through them I accomplish my best work.

You have realized that needing Me is the key to knowing Me intimately, which is the gift above all gifts.

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So until tomorrow…I will now put on my jacket and scarf…walk through my garden and then my neighborhood…discovering God in my simple and ordinary life…pausing to thank Him for the journey.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* One way to find peace is on the face of ones we love. Joan sent this sweet picture of Jake before they headed back home yesterday. He turned two months November 24.

  Dear Reader:

A survey, once, was taken… asking pet owners for their number one reason for wanting a pet… the most popular answer was: “I want someone to be excited to see me come home each day.”

Isn’t it comforting to know that there is someone waiting patiently each day for our return… which, reciprocally, turns out to be the highlight of their day?

In Tommy’s and Kaitlyn’s case…two happy dogs in waiting…Atticus and Rudy…for both of them to return home.

 I told Mandy and John that I would check on Tigger while they were gone since he had a new sitter… (who would just be in and out to feed him and let him out.)

So after my physical therapy treatment, yesterday, I headed Tigger’s way. He was fine and so excited to see me….jumping up to kiss me over and over…but, then, quickly he grew quiet again when he realized that the rest of the family wasn’t with me.

 He brought his best friend, Tiger, over to me and I held him and Tiger…he just wanted some loving…but soon returned to his waiting perch at  the end of the sofa to listen to see if heard love returning… in the form of his family… always patiently waiting.

  When Donna and Sam Clark first went to St. Jude’s Chapel of Hope they stopped by to see me upon their return. Donna gave me the (title) picture of the slanted cross and its message: Fear Not Tomorrow: Jesus is Already There. I keep the framed photo right over my computer to remind myself daily of this message. *( Such a good looking family!)

When I saw the actual cross and message for the first time in 2010 at St. Jude’s Chapel of Hope…I felt such a sense of relief…no matter what happened to me…with “little c”… I knew Someone was patiently waiting for me to finish my ‘day’s work’ here on earth.

(I’m not sure Christ’s “tail” will be wagging in excitement but I think I will feel the pure joy of being home with the ‘bearer’ of unconditional love.) Thank you again Clarks for the treasured photo. Happy Thanksgiving!

If we are really lucky…every family will be blessed to have the “waiter“…the ‘go to” person who is always there for us. In the Dingle family it was Miriam (“Dee Dee”) Dingle…the ‘mostest, bestest, grandmother’ in the world to my children and my nieces and nephews!

I could always count on Dee Dee to be home if I needed her (I can count the number of times I missed not seeing her on the fingers of two hands) over decades of time.

*My brother Ben was leaving when I got to this part of the blog yesterday…I stopped to tell him how I don’t think I would have made it without Dee Dee’s unconditional love and support. Always there for me…patiently guiding me.

He replied, “Blessed are the steadfast.” (Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial/James 1:12) Ben commented that these steadfast people… who become the “anchors” in our lives…the ‘stay home/go to‘  people usually never fully realize their utmost importance to the rest of the family or friends during their lifetime.

All they see are the busy, exciting lives of others traveling, experiencing new worlds (personally and professionally)..while they remain planted in one place.

And it isn’t until these “anchors” are gone that we, too, fully realize their importance in our own lives…they ‘centered’ our lives by loving us unconditionally and cementing stability in our busy lives… Always faithfully waiting for the next visit…

So until tomorrow…as the Advent season returns…let us pause from our busy lives and thank the “anchors” for centering us… thank the ones who remain ‘steadfast, loyal, and true so we can live our lives through and through.’  And then remember the one “Anchor” who waits for us….patiently and lovingly…saying “Fear not tomorrow…I am already there.”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

We had several “Turkey” Thanksgiving birthdays around the holiday….a belated shout out to: Susan Cadwell, Carrie and Catherine Simpson, and Whitney Temple. So much going on…they about slipped by me. Happy Birthday Everyone! Gobble, gobble, gobble!

I gotta do it readers….for just one day! Cuteness always wins out over rivalry!

GO TIGERS! 

T –    

I –      

G –    

E-          

R –         

S –       !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good luck Everyone! (But come on now…we have been “patient” and “waiting”……………..)

Dear Reader:

Aren’t these bright colors beautiful….if I could be Alice in Wonderland for one day…I would love to fall down the rabbit hole and land into layers and layers of these brightly colored clouds. I would lay on the soft, puffy matrix of colors and stare up into the stars shining brightly down upon me…realizing that I am one with the universe…the stars and I share the dust of God’s Creation.

It is always this time of year the Christmas pageants start rehearsal…my boys always ended up shepherds…so I made sure Santa brought them bathrobes each year to use for the next year’s pageant. Murphy’s Law, I reckon, but somehow the robe ties never survived from one Christmas to another….so I was always sacrificing my scarves when they were little…and hunting for belts when they got older.

 Christmas 1989 was supposed to be the highlight of Mandy’s Christmas pageant career….after going through years  of being a sheep (Baa) a “chorus of angels” and a substitute for a sick shepherd… Finally…at fourteen she was going to get to be Mary…the coveted role of the Christmas Pageant….she had picked out her doll to swaddle for the occasion. And then….

A little storm by the name of Hugo (Hurricane Hugo) hit us full force in the lowcountry… Still as bad as that was…the church was back up and operating again by Christmas. However Christmas Eve…the pageant was cancelled…much to Mandy’s disappointment. We had snow…beautiful white snow for the lowcountry. It was as if God sent us a rare and unique gift to the Charleston area…a ‘White Christmas” for surviving Hugo. A Christmas for the memory books.

The opportunity to be Mary never came around again…so Mandy has always been known since then (in family history) as “Mary Snowflake.” Maybe Eva Cate will fare better…. we’re rooting for you Eva Cate.

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Popular author, Sue Monk Kidd, once told this personal anecdote about a memorable Christmas pageant in her family. Her daughter was quite small and terribly excited about trying out for the Christmas Pageant. When she came running to the car after try-outs…she was holding a five pointed cardboard box with gold tinsel.

Her face was beaming with happiness…she was so happy she could barely speak. When the author asked her daughter what role she got she proudly proclaimed “The Star!”

“Oh...said her mother…hum…does the star have a speaking line?” Her daughter looked at her in disbelief and shook her head. “Of course not…stars can’t talk, silly mommy!”

“Then what do you do?”

“Oh mommy…her daughter clapped her hands in excited anticipation….“I get to stand there and SHINE”!

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So until tomorrow…When you think about it…isn’t that what God wants of us…to simply “stand and shine.” To let our inner spirit shine on others as a beloved child of God…to reveal the star in us?

* “Today is my favorite day”   Winnie the Pooh

*If you ever read biographies of America’s first astronauts to the moon…they appear to share the same epiphany or realization of man’s connection to the stars and planets. They felt that they were seeing a part of themselves within the ancient stars…a part of themselves that they had never seen before…and would be ready to return to stardust when their time here on earth was over.

I hope everyone had a terrific holiday and stuffed yourselves admirably….Walsh, Mollie, and Rutledge spent the night in Boo’s  B&B and we had fun playing until another time for another Thanksgiving gathering at Aunt Doodle’s….which Rutledge almost managed to completely sleep through. We played hard Thanksgiving morning…

Thanks Joan for your generosity with all your artwork (colors and sheep)… I am loving sharing all this amazing talent!

Dear Reader:

Joan texted me yesterday (with the title photo she took of this leaf)….letting me know that Eva Cate found this gorgeous leaf in downtown Huntsville…and that it is….just beautiful!

A swirl of colors in transition…just like all of us….changing in each stage of life.

About a week ago…Honey read an article titled: Giving thanks (by Kim Ode/Star Tribune/Minneapolis.) She said she immediately thought of me…I am glad because Kim Ode’s article is wonderful…perfect for this season of gratitude and giving thanks.

Kim recognizes that a strange contradiction/relationship exists concerning gratitude. She says:

” Being on the receiving end of someone’s thanks has us walking on those particularly puffy clouds that fill the autumn skies.

Yet when it comes to extending gratitude, we sometimes drag our heels, playing a game of “You First.”  Expressing thanks might make us feel indebted, even weak, which is a feeling most of us try to avoid.

We’re missing the point.

The crazy thing about being thankful is that it’s the shortest distance between feeling okay and feeling great. The sensation doesn’t light up the sky, but is more one of quiet satisfaction. We actually feel a little lighter for having breathed deep and clambered to that higher road.

It doesn’t even matter what we say, but what prompts us. It’s not the feat, but the humility.

November is the one month when there’s a day specifically set aside for gratitude…for being thankful for a job, for family, for recovery, for friends, for favors extended, or a second chance. Some years it may stand for just having made it to November in one piece. 

Come Thanksgiving, though, make sure to thank those who make the pies…for all the pieces of pie made available to us. We should always be grateful for pie.”

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  Last night at my annual Pre-Thanksgiving dinner… we could choose from as many pies as we wanted….Pumpkin Cream Pie, Chocolate Cream Pie, Pecan Pie, and Banana Pudding. And who should we be thankful for…for the pies...Edwards…(not sure if it is Mr. or Mrs. Edwards?)

 So Thankful for family….We were a dozen strong last night… We missed you Turners and Tommy and Kaitlyn…but know you are having a wonderful time in Huntsville and Chattanooga…Happy Thanksgiving!

  Mollie and Rutledge arrived first and since there was some daylight left I showed Rutledge his new tree named for him…and let him play with his new toy truck that Boo Boo had to give him early. He loved his new hat Mollie gave him and kept it on the whole night.

* Two special shout-outs for thanks for Thanksgiving miracles among our blog readers!

1) Fran Townsend…Her back was hurting…initially the doctors found nothing in the back area…but did find a mass in one kidney…she went in and had the malignancy and kidney removed…a clean sweep with no further treatments anticipated…a true Thanksgiving miracle for one of the blog’s greatest supporters.

2) Mary…My wonderful anonymous supporter for the Race for the Cure…(Chris Frazier’s friend who lives in Amish country in Delaware)…discovered her newest grandchild/granddaughter, Caroline, had serious complications in the digestive/stomach/intestines tract that required more surgery when born…Mary and her husband raced to be there…fearing the worst…but Jesus got there first…and baby Caroline is coming home for Thanksgiving. God is so good!

Miracles happen every day if we open our eyes to them.

So until tomorrow..Let’s don’t play childish games like “You First” with gratitude and thanksgiving…if we do…we will miss out on the highest of highs God gave us….giving to another without keeping score.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*  Thanks Lee for my flowers…so sweet! Old aunties love getting flowers from handsome young nephews at Thanksgiving!)

* Joan sent this picture of Jake and the family is hooting over his royalty’s “roundness”…I told Joan I thought he was trying out for the Tom “Butterball” Turkey Look A-like contest! John and Jake…some male bonding time.

Everyone have a well-deserved holiday….eat up or you will regret it until this time next year. (That’s a long time!) Beautiful centerpiece Joan!

  Dear Reader:

I think we will get the last laugh with using different friends’ original artworks (instead of some old internet photo) because this painting of fall by my friend-in-law, Joan Turner, just makes me happy and sets the Thanksgiving mood like no other!

When I emailed Joan and asked if she would be willing to share some of her prints from her paintings with the blog…I started hearing beeps as her painting photos began arriving on Outlook. *Joan is the most generous person in the world and the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in John. Thank you Joan for running to my rescue too!

Monday night, as I was watching Dancing with the Stars.…(I’m hooked)..I perked up as Janel Parrish and Val Chmerkovskiy danced their freestyle to “ And I Would Walk 500 Miles.” It was breathtakingly beautiful but it also made me stop and consider my own journey to date…and what happened last week.

The number 500 shows up in many places…like NASCAR…where it denotes the length of a race in miles or laps ….as in the Indianapolis 500 or the Daytona 500 or our own Bojangles 500 at Darlington. The number 500, thus, symbolizes the ending of a race or challenge.

I also discovered in my research that there is such a thing as ‘angel numerology’ where the number 5 equates to making major life changes…experiencing life through personal choices, and being free enough to stay true to yourself. By adding two zero’s to this number…(the zero symbolizes one’s spiritual journey)…a starting point emerges.

500…a beginning or an ending?

Some of you might remember that just before the “incident” last week I  told you that a wonderful God’s Wink was about to be revealed.  Let me explain what the “wink” was all about…

  A few months  ago…I was taking groceries out of the back of my Saturn…when I glanced down at my license plate and shook my head again in puzzlement.

Ever since I got this particular license plate several years back…I wondered if there was some cryptic message involved...Aid 500…Help 500…Was God telling me to aid 500 people? And if so…how in the world could I do that?

I remember I took the groceries in and put them up…then went to my blog and started reading comments…one was from a name I didn’t recognize…he said that the topic I had addressed that day had spoken to him and he wanted to thank me for my help.

Suddenly the light finally came on…AID 500.…..the blog, Becky…the blog! I could help 500 people through the blog. I glanced over at the subscription count….it was a little over 400 subscribers at the time. (some readers don’t subscribe…just google or facebook…so it is hard to get a total number but to be fair I just stuck to the subscriber list.)

I got excited…surely something special would happen the day I reached 500… but what? Last Wednesday… the number shot up to 499! The Ya’s were coming the next day for Jackson’s birthday and the James Taylor concert. I just knew another subscriber would appear and I could surprise the girls….celebrating together!

And then it happened…”John and Becky went up the hill to fetch another email…John took the blow…  Becky cried “OH NO!” …as the blog came tumbling down.”

So close…it seemed so cruel…one subscriber away…and all the stats were gone. The blog had been closing in on 300,000 views (another celebration)….now reduced to zero…and 499 subscribers… now reduced to zero. In a second…gone! All gone!

I pondered the meaning behind it…was the 500 supposed to have been an ending for the blog…I had reached the goal set on the license plate and had ‘aided’ 500 after all… or was this a sign that it was time for a new beginning…starting over with zero…a new spiritual journey closing in on the labryinth?

After telling my Ya’s the sad story of the past two days when they arrived…we all agreed we would go ahead and celebrate “500” …Libby suggested that the 500th subscriber was God…stopping me short from the “Promised Land” because my journey wasn’t over…I was destined to continue…

 Then another strange event occurred yesterday as the blog officially went back up (the hill)…As of this moment (Quarter to 8…Dancing with the Stars is coming on soon) the subscriber number is already over 400…and counting…where did all these subscribers come from in one day???? It had taken me almost five years to get the same number ???? Thank you…thank you…thank you!!!!!

And your comments had me in tears…how articulate everyone is!

I honestly don’t where all of this is heading but I have no doubt that in God’s own time… I will find out. God is leading me…of that I am sure…with a leap of faith again…I am following. I hope you will too. How does 500 miles sound? Let’s start!

John Irving perhaps summed up my situation best when he wrote:

“You only grow by coming to the end of something and by beginning something else.”

So until tomorrow…Come grow with me…the best is yet to be.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* “Let it Snow…Let it Snow…Let it Snow” – Jackson left early Saturday to prepare to fly out to meet Matthew…spend a few days on Lake Champlain and then to NYC to spend Thanksgiving with family….the snow is following them wherever they go…I am jealous…would love to see some snow.

*While I was in my mourning period following the demise of Chapel of Hope Stories (Pt I) my Bradford Pear was drinking up the rain and turning even more beautiful for me…”Come out and Play” it called and when I quit pouting and saw the transformation I knew life is still beautiful…and I was wasting time bemoaning something that was gone. I was only missing out on fall in Summerville!

  Dear Reader:

Rutledge has had to ‘cut his loss” too….or in this case his ‘locks.’ As you can tell it was just as stressful for him as it was for John and me with the blog this past week. (First haircut….18 months)

But I digress…let me start at the very beginning…a very good place to start.

Last Wednesday, November 19, started out as any other day…among other things… it was the 151st anniversary of Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address …a model speech for brevity…so let me see if I can explain what happened to the blog in the same fashion. (Or as FDR always said, “Be sincere, be brief, be seated.”

Since I am already ‘seated‘ at my computer…I will explain sincerely what happened (minus an editorial comment…as tempting as it is) as briefly as possible.

Last Wednesday I  checked on the blog post to make sure it was up and going (like I do every day)…and then started reading some comments on it that had trickled in…they were all quite nice…a great day was unfolding.

And then…I saw an email from a company representative that I didn’t recognize. The more I read….the tighter the knot in my stomach became. I was being accused of infringing on a copyrighted photo I had obtained off the internet concerning an historical ‘marker’ known to all of us. I was directed to remove it immediately from my blog and pay a substantial fine…at least substantial to a retired teacher right before the holidays living on social security and retirement…or there would be a lawsuit.

The worst part of the situation was that my beloved son-in-law, John, who helped me start up Chapelofhopestories (almost five years ago) was considered legally responsible…even though it was my photo faux pas.

Tommy and Kaitlyn were immediately summoned and after lots of research…it was deemed best to follow the instructions and chalk it up to a lesson learned (expensive lesson learned)… even though I was totally unaware this picture was copyrighted.

( One of my old Erskine rules from our freshman handbook came back to mind …”Ignorance is no excuse.”)

The entire blog was closed down …(John is in the process of saving it for me in a private archival ‘folder’ -which, as you can imagine, will take days or weeks.) So basically…think of Chapel of Hope Stories now as Part II…a brand new day. We just couldn’t take a chance on something like this inadvertently happening again….our nerves couldn’t take it.

I have been left with a ‘healthy’ amount of paranoia (except it doesn’t feel healthy…just stressful)  and stories of hope that will never be read or available from past months and years dating back to 2010 . That hurt more than the fine…red puffy eyes moments.

It will take awhile to regain a sense of carefree abandonment in my creative blog writings without the feeling that someone out there… some where… is looking over my shoulder. But I am also determined that I will not let one email change me from the person I am.

When I talked with Honey last night…she agreed with my decision to keep moving ahead and sent me this beautiful token of friendship contained in this touching message.

Dear Boo,
My heart has ached all night . I just am so sad that someone has tried to steal your joy and the joy you give away each day. I don’t understand but there must be a reason. Keep your spirit!

We all have pictures we can share and I know they add to your creative flair. But Becky, it is really all about the message you give us of hope and love. The wonderful pictures of you and your garden and wonderful family are what I always look forward to and enjoy.
I love you so much,
Honey 

So here we are…on November 25, 2014…starting out with a clean slate with all new stories to tell. (With God by my side assuring me that ‘It will be all right’… and encouraging me to move forward and leave the past in the past for now)

Like Rutledge’s first hair “cut” experience…(he went from tears of sorrow to smiles of sheer joy… -later the same day…-when he met Santa Claus… symbolizing happiness, generosity and surprises)… I know that there are smiles, peals of laughter, happiness, surprises and a circle of giving and receiving still out there for all of us to share in the stories ahead.

And my new motto now is: (As Honey so eloquently hinted)

“Ain’t Nobody Gonna Steal My Joy!”

It is time to ‘walk the talk’ about letting go...I am letting go of the past and forging ahead with hope for the future…My hope is that all of you will continue to join me on my journey.

I want to stop and thank all the angels God sent me to get through this unexpected bump in the road  1) John...what would I do without you?) 2) Tommy and Kaitlyn rushing to my rescue with legal advice 3) The Ya’s showing up just at the right moment to comfort me and make me laugh again 4) All  you faithful readers who emailed me and asked (just not about the status of the blog)…but about my well-being… concerned an on-going health issue might have emerged once again.)

My family and friends...and God’s Hand has gotten me through this…I am the most blessed of women. (And even James Taylor assured me last Friday night…”You’ve got a friend.”)

Tomorrow’s story has to do with a special number that happened to coincide with the “incident” last week..a wonderful God’s Wink. The Ya’s were here to experience it with me. A poignant story and lesson in God’s mysteries.

So until tomorrow…I love you.

“Today is my favorite day” Winnie the Pooh

* Speaking of James Taylor-I owe him one. I danced through the entire concert Friday night waving my bandaged hand to the music. When I got to physical therapy yesterday my therapist asked what I did with my hand and arm over the long weekend… it had shrunk remarkably smaller…she thought we had an official “break-through” in the treatments…and might get fitted for the glove much sooner than originally thought…the miracle of James!

 Dear Reader:

Like the leaf I found wedged between my windshield and car mirror (yesterday at the gas station) struggling to ‘hang on’, I, too,  found myself in a similar situation last Wednesday in regard to the blog .

Hopefully tomorrow (closing in time-wise)…Tuesday, November 25…I will be back up and operating and will explain to you why I appeared to suddenly disappear…

Thank you for all your concerned emails…let me assure you that I am fine…..this was not a health issue…at least physically.

I have missed talking with all of you…and will explain the “Wacky Woeful Wednesday” episode that necessitated some unexpected changes. The blog will be a work in progress…adding on as we go. A clean slate.

Let me also assure you that God has held my hand through all of this sending angels to guide me…beside me.

So, hopefully, until tomorrow…Take care and try to stay dry.