Gifts

September 2, 2014

Summer treasures

book cover 1 book cover

Where did the summer go? The kids are back in school, and the souvenirs that the kids just HAD to have when they were on vacations may already be forgotten. They could be strewn across the playroom floor or tossed underneath the bed, never to be treasured again.

My mom never bought herself anything when we went away on vacation, so we were surprised when we went to Waterton in Alberta Canada and she bought herself a mole-hair blanket. I’ve kept it for many years but recently I felt the blanket and realized how scratchy it was and I thought, ‘I wouldn’t want to cover myself with this!’ It got me thinking, it’s not the quality of the blanket that made me keep it, but it’s my memories of that day.

Some of the treasures from my summer were two wonderful books by women that I connected with at the Oregon Christian Writer’s Conference a few weeks ago. I’ve read their work recently to get some inspiration. These two stories resonated with something other than just my head. Both of these books encouraged me by showing me that each of us have a story that can impact the people around us and help each of us to be overcomers.

The Iron Heart by Delilah Moore Leach is a memoir about her contracting polio as a child, and her efforts not to be restrained by her outward appearance. It reminded me a lot of my own story. Both of us went to college despite others’ expectations. We also both realized that we had to change our own self-image rather than expecting other people to change their perceptions of us.

Where Eagles Soar by Bonnie Leon is a riveting account of a woman whose courage and determination to survive helped her to overcome life-altering abuse at the hands of her dad. Her story will impact other people who feel stuck in their circumstances.

The treasures that I have from this summer won’t be tossed under the bed or slip away from my memory because they are stories that impacted me and will remain dear to my heart.

 

July 14, 2014

The Wait is Over!

lyla and hannah

Fifteen days ago, I got a call from my son-in-law, Vince, that my daughter Rachael was in labor! It was unexpected because Hannah was not supposed to arrive for another three weeks. I was so excited, I couldn’t sleep all night. The whole next day I carried my phone everywhere and there wasn’t any news for hours and hours. I tried to pass the time watching the last U.S. World Cup game with friends, but that was no match for what was really on my mind that whole time!  Then I got a text that labor had slowed down and that Rachael and Vince had actually taken a nap while I had sat on pins and needles waiting! Later that night, as I was getting ready for bed, I got a text saying, ‘Hannah Mae is here!’ So instead of going to bed, I went to see my precious granddaughter.

Wouldn’t it be a lot easier to go through the hard times that we have in life if we knew what happiness it would bring us in the future? I had no idea how delightful it would be to hold Hannah when I was chasing my own little two year old so many years ago.  At the time, it was exasperating, especially because I have Cerebral Palsy, and there was no way I could catch Rachael! But right now, holding my granddaughter brings me nothing but joy.

My little granddaughter, Hannah Mae, was in such a hurry to join this world, that she was born three weeks early. Although her parents could hardly wait to get her home, her little lungs were not quite ready, so she spent the first 10 days of her life in the NICU. I was quite proud of them as they patiently waited for her lungs to get stronger and three days ago their wait was over and she came home!

Just like my daughter Rachael had to go through a long and hard labor to bring Hannah into this world, and then wait to bring her daughter home we all have to go through many difficult experiences, but often without the understanding that it is these very struggles that produce the beautiful gifts and skills that God wants to give to us that will lead us to future joy! What gives you the strength to hold onto God’s promise of future joy during your hard times? Have you developed a way to hang onto the hope that God offers us in every difficult circumstance? Please share these in the comments below and spread His joy!

June 9, 2014

Tis the season…

Rachael's shower

Tis the season of graduations, weddings, and new life to begin! Each one of these events holds excitement and expectation. In my life, I am getting ready to experience a new season; being a grand-mom. My daughter is having her first little baby at the end of July and it is thrilling! I remember my friend Dottie helping me to prepare for my daughter, Rachael’s birth 27 years ago, so when Dottie threw a baby shower for her this past weekend, it brought a lot of joy to be able to celebrate together again! Dottie has been one of those friends I could always count on.

For several years, raising my girl was all-consuming, and at her high school graduation it made me a little bit sad to to wonder, “Now what am I going to do?” When she went to college, it was time for another part of my life to begin, and I’ve found that it has been just as satisfying; especially now when I get to experience the joys of being a grandma! I’ve found a richness in both old and new relationships and I’m looking forward to many trips; including an upcoming trip to the beach with a few friends.

Sometimes life doesn’t work out the way you anticipate; but guess what; it can be so much greater than you expect! The way we can truly enter into the fullness of new experiences and relationships is to let go of disappointments. For instance, when I was right out of college and looking for a job, and things didn’t work out the way that I had thought they should, that was disappointing. I’ve had many other major disappointments as well that could have cast a dark shadow on my life, but I discovered that accepting the things I could not change has led me into the freedom that I know today. Those difficult times were not stumbling blocks, but actually building blocks.

Raising Rachael was both stressful and delightful (as it is for most parents), and some days I couldn’t see past each moment. But believe me, I wouldn’t trade any of that, because each one of those days brought me to closer to where I am now; about to experience the birth of my precious granddaughter.

April 7, 2014

Spring is in the air

flowers in the spring

Spring is a time of expectation. Seniors are excited because of their upcoming graduation, people look forward to the warm weather just ahead, and many engaged couples are eagerly planning their summer weddings.

I am sitting on my patio looking at my flower pots on this beautiful day. There are a few particular pots that really make me smile. One has flowers that survived the winter! The flowers were given to me last year, just before my daughter got married. They are from a friend who I’ve known for over 30 years. When she gave them to me, she said, ‘You need something special!’  It was an unexpected surprised when I saw those flowers bloom again this year, because I couldn’t believe they had made it through the cold months.

I’ve learned that when things don’t happen right when we think that they should, it is discouraging, but we have to see it as a time of preparation. This time is so important. Parents look forward to the time when they can meet their baby, but if the baby is born prematurely, there are often complications.  When plans are not coming together, it is like wintertime, we want to see our plans and purposes bloom, but the winter months are needed in order to develop the strength and skills we will need for the coming spring.

Years ago, when I graduated hoping to work in the field of social services, I found out quickly that I needed more than a college degree to be able to get the type of job I wanted. I never did make a living doing this work, but years later, I look back and see that I have used my education in many other ways. At the time, life was as dark as an Alaskan winter, because all I saw were the brick walls I kept hitting. Several years later I realized that even though things did not go the way I had planned or in my timing, God had used my training in other ways and had fulfilled my heart’s desire to mentor others through my work with Good Samaritan Ministries, Border Mountain, and later on Joni and Friends Ministry. I see now that my flowers have bloomed, and they are more beautiful than I could have imagined.

Don’t short-circuit the process because it is where crucial skills and character are developed.

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-2

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: 

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot.”

 

 

 

December 17, 2013

You Call This a Gift?!

 

 

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I bought a new calendar for 2014 and I was looking through some of the old events that I was a part of from this past year’s calendar and it was remarkable. There were weddings (my precious daughter’s), and incredible trips (St. Croix for a grief retreat, Southern California for a Joni and Friends Leadership Retreat), and the official start of the Joni and Friends Volunteer Ministry in the Portland area!

Of course there were challenges, but though they seemed really difficult at the time, I look back at the calendar overall, and I’ve already forgotten about so many of those challenges. Looking back at 2013 and forward to 2014 has reminded me that the future is like an unwrapped gift; some of which you open and say, ‘I didn’t ask for this!” Often times, the malls are full of people exchanging their Christmas gifts.  Sometimes of the gifts God gives us are unwanted gifts, like toothbrushes in a kid’s stocking, the trouble is, we can’t exchange them.

A few years ago I fell and wound up with fractured ribs, and that was definitely an unwanted event, but after I recovered I could see some of the blessings of that time.  One of them was timing.   If it had happened earlier, it would have put a lot more stress on my daughter who was finishing her Master’s degree. I also had to learn to walk with a cane, which has now really helped me to get around. In addition, I met some people who were in rehab at the time with whom I still keep in touch today.

A couple of weeks ago, some friends from the Ecola Bible School, planned to pick my friend and I up to go to the Tryad conference at Cannon Beach.  Because of the snowy weather, we needed to take a Greyhound instead.  It was inconvenient and nerve-racking. But now I know I can do it!

The disappointment that comes along with unwanted gifts can be a joy-zapper.  But when you bring young dissatisfaction to God, He’ll help you to accept your circumstances so you’ll be free to experience hope again; the hope of better things to come! It is kind of like being in a dark tunnel; when you are in it, it’s even hard to see a few feet in front of you. All you know is that you have to keep going, not even knowing where you are headed all of the time. When you do make it through that tunnel, you are blessed with the beautiful view of the cherry blossoms on the trees, or the roses and lilacs that cover the hillside.

It is the unwanted gifts that get us ready to experience the best ones! The grief retreat I went to in St. Croix is an example of that. People who are not in touch with their own grief cannot teach or help others through theirs. If you are reeling from an unwanted gift, just wait and see how God turns it into a treasured gift. We need to trust the gift-giver, not just the gift itself. Whether or not we asked for that gift, God promises that he gives good gifts, and we can trust in that promise!

Matthew 7: 10-12 “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”