I had to smile when I read Maggie Ann's comment to my last post this morning:
"Sounds like you are having fun."
Well, kinda-sorta.
Actually, it's major test-taking time around my house and life. More than ever I feel God watching me take these tests and we're both discovering whether I've done my homework these past months--or not.
See, last Thursday morning at 8:00 a.m., Tom's mom called and since that meant it was only 5 a.m. her time, we knew there was trouble. There was. While traveling down to their granddaughter's wedding, Tom's dad fell and broke four ribs. Oh dear. For months now, he has been falling and has had strokes. And for months now he--at 80--has refused to move into any type of a senior community (nice, safe duplexes) where he and his wife could live way more comfortably and with some help.
He says he doesn't want to be with all those Old People over there. Doesn't want to give up any of his stuff.
And well, there's more, but I will spare you.
At first, Tom and I decided we'd both take a trip out there, even though my own parents would be upset that we couldn't travel the few hundred miles to their house this time. Even though I've never had anyone else give Lennon the Cat his daily shots of insulin and ----
But after trying to force things to work out, we decided two major things: Tom will travel--alone--later this month to see his parents. He'll have a meeting with them and his sisters to find some kind of a workable solution. Tom is a wonderful mediator, and well, we both know, no matter how hard I tried to stay silent, I'd say something which would cause the whole situation to erupt like the proverbial volcano.
I'm funny that way.
And when I decided to stay home--poof!--instant peace flooded both of us. But alas! Will I be remaining here twiddling my thumbs? No, that brings me to my other announcement: We've decided to go ahead and sell our house. Or at least try.
We both agreed that we'll just rent something so to be free to move when the time comes.
Because we are moving--most likely to Richmond--but we are moving out-of-state someday, that's certain(?) And we're ready to release this house to the next family who will, hopefully, love it as much as we have.
Also while Tom's gone, I'll do major packing. And you know? Selling the house and packing stuff--to me--sounds much calmer, much more pleasant than flying to California for those few days. And to Tom, going away and doing what he must do sounds like a vacation to him.
Following Grace is like that. Grace has a way of adding ease, strength and enjoyment to anything God has called us to do.
Yet without Grace, well, I'd be sunk. And I'd be failing all these tests.
But so far, so good.
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So for years I've tried to like drinking tea. Honest.
But sadly, I'm still stuck at the point where, if I dump in enough sugar and cream, I can tolerate a cup at the occasional tea party (where tea is the only drink served).
Anyway, last week I read in an old-fashioned cookbook that you should only buy the amount of tea which you will use in two or three weeks. After that, it'll go stale and not taste as delicious (as if it ever could. heh. I couldn't resist. Sorry.).
Well, I thought, "So much for all my 8-year-old good-intentioned boxes of tea! Guess I may as well toss them in the trash."
But just in time I came across this wonderful gardening book: Yankee Magazine's Panty Hose, Hot Peppers, Tea Bags, And More--for the Garden. What a fun tips-for-gardening book! Always, I've appreciated gardening books which skip all the long-winded whys, philosophies and Latin names of plants--and instead--just tell me what to do. The shorter the sentences, the better.
And this book told me to put leftover tea bags in my flower pots to give nutrients, nitrogen and organic matter to my flowering plants. Cool!
So after years of wishing I could make homey-looking sun tea in a jar on the porch like my neighbors, yesterday I made my first batch of sun tea--for my flowers. Tea, tea bags, and all. Those ancient tea bags I nearly threw away? I included those.
So now I get to make sun tea like the other kids on the block. Ah, simple pleasures.
I highly recommend the aforementioned fun book (wait till you see their ideas for coffee!). You'll find hundreds of hints on how to reuse household throw-away stuff and make your garden more lush, beautiful and a much more fun place to hang-out.
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Another disaster. The bridge in Minneapolis. Each time something of this magnitude happens, I sit and stare at some of the coverage (no longer allowing myself to watch hours) --and I view my own life, too.
I ask myself if I'd have been ready to die, had I been one of those killed. Would I have been caught-up on all God wants me to do and be for Him? Would I have remained calm, confident that I'd soon be standing in Heaven?
And this morning while I made the bed, I contemplated something else.
I thought one of the saddest things for anyone in this life is the feeling that the way they're spending their days is unimportant--to God, to others, to themselves. How tragic to live each day feeling what you're doing does not matter. Always gazing into the future, believing someday your life will count--but that today, it doesn't.
Or worse, to feel you don't even have a pound of hope for the future at all.
When I make the bed, it matters. And wash our dishes, clothes and our floors. God has called me to be a keeper of the home and trust me, it matters to Him--a lot--that we not live in filth.Tom supports me and I support him by making our home a restful, healthful place to return to from his job. And by caring for myself, I keep myself ready and able to meet his other emotional, mental and physical needs as well.
Whatever God has called you to do today? It matters.
What you do and are has far-reaching effects and if you were gone? You'd be missed. A part of all our lives would be missing, if you weren't here--whether you, we, realize it, or not. We all make this world go 'round. Each of us.
I just wanted you to know that today.
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And if you have a blog, trust me, that's important, too. You never know when someone will glean a thought, an inspiration, or an ounce of hope from your words... and be forever changed.
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