Aw, Shirley ...

"As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace..."  ... 1 Peter 4:10

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I thought Shirley Temple would never die. The passing of vibrant people who do what God created them to, never feels possible to me. Such parts of Life As I've Always Known It feel too necessary to go flying away with their gifts.

But God took Shirley back.

Over the years I've spent hours watching Shirley and Bill Robinson's dances on YouTube and by the end, my eyes are full and my heart has crept closer to my throat. I watch it all, see every smile between them, notice each step and feel iotas of what they felt as the especially-odd team (for those Times and these, even still) that they were. 


I watch those grey-and-white films when I'm tempted to quit writing here (it happens) and then feel encouraged to keep on. I understand, easily, how Shirley cheered and comforted a nation slogging along a terrible, lingering Depression.

God placed Shirley down here in 1928 for such a time as those. As a light she glowed while doing what God created her to do, inspiring and reminding us to share the talents we've been given. And Shirley's gifts steadied and lifted many a heart in those turbulent times and even later as an ambassador, spreading good will to whomever she met.

And may others say that of us when we, too, fly away Home.

"Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them..." ... Romans 12:6


"We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us."   ... 2 Corinthians 5:20







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"Fondest memories of dancing with Uncle Billy come not only from our camera takes, but from our rehearsals, up and down that portable stile or in any convenient corner. Practicing until each move became unthinking was a joy. Learning, an exhilaration. The smile on my face was not acting; I was ecstatic. " --Shirley Temple Black "Child Star" 1988"
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Oh, how *this* makes my heart downright happy!


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