It doesn't sound right to say Happy Memorial Day, but I have had several people say that to me.
I am so grateful for those who gave their lives physically, but I want to remember those who have served and lived, and never been the same because of what they have seen and experienced. I cannot even imagine what life is like, day to day, when you have been exposed to the horrors of war.
Thank you seems so trite, but I have no others words. Thank you!
I pray your Memorial Day is reverent, and your heart full of gratitude. The price of our freedom is unimaginable.
May 29, 2010
May 20, 2010
Lucy tales
Nothing spiritual today, just cuteness.
Preparing for another memorial service tomorrow I looked up from the flurry of e-mails and said, "I am so tired that I have lost the ability to think."
"Gogo, you lost your bility?" asked Lucy
"Yes, I lost it."
Jumping to her feet she said earnestly, "I find it for you Gogo. I find your bility."
After searching diligently for two minutes she emerged from my room and proudly handed me a box of kleenex. "Here Gogo. Here's your bility."
Preparing for another memorial service tomorrow I looked up from the flurry of e-mails and said, "I am so tired that I have lost the ability to think."
"Gogo, you lost your bility?" asked Lucy
"Yes, I lost it."
Jumping to her feet she said earnestly, "I find it for you Gogo. I find your bility."
After searching diligently for two minutes she emerged from my room and proudly handed me a box of kleenex. "Here Gogo. Here's your bility."
May 13, 2010
Tim VanTongeren is in glory
Psalm 43 was his Psalm today. Verses 3 and 4, "O send out Thy light and Thy truth, let them lead me; let them bring me to Thy holy hill, and to Thy dwelling places. Then I will go to the altar of God, To God my exceeding joy; And upon the lyre I shall praise Thee, O God, my God."
God did lead him to His holy hill and Tim is in God's dwelling place.
My heart breaks for his wife Jeni and their three children, and I don't get it.
God did lead him to His holy hill and Tim is in God's dwelling place.
My heart breaks for his wife Jeni and their three children, and I don't get it.
May 6, 2010
The waiting room
It's interesting the way we can suddenly be equalized. I have been coming up the the hospital to sit with a friend, the one from the last blog. It doesn't matter what people look like in a waiting room. The old or the young, the big or the small, the various languages spoken, the tattoo and pierced or the conservative, the bikers, hippies and preppies are all the same.
We smile nervously or compassionately at each other, listen (while we try not to listen) to intimate phone calls and conversations meant to update loved ones who have to be far away. We are all in the same place, especially in the ICU waiting room where loved ones are in critical condition. There is fear and faith, weeping and laughter, and prayer.
In times of crisis it seems as if prayer is no longer controversial, it's comforting.
It's the National Day of Prayer, so I will be praying with a grateful heart. I don't have to hide my prayers or find a secret place. I can pray openly in the waiting room and know that my Father in heaven is listening, and if others in the waiting room hear, it's okay, they don't mind.
We smile nervously or compassionately at each other, listen (while we try not to listen) to intimate phone calls and conversations meant to update loved ones who have to be far away. We are all in the same place, especially in the ICU waiting room where loved ones are in critical condition. There is fear and faith, weeping and laughter, and prayer.
In times of crisis it seems as if prayer is no longer controversial, it's comforting.
It's the National Day of Prayer, so I will be praying with a grateful heart. I don't have to hide my prayers or find a secret place. I can pray openly in the waiting room and know that my Father in heaven is listening, and if others in the waiting room hear, it's okay, they don't mind.
May 5, 2010
Friendship interuptions
I just read Ruth and got some new insights, which is good. Boaz was apparently not very handsome and significantly older than Ruth. You'll have to read it for yourself, but Ruth 3:8-10 may bring a smile to your face.
I also noticed that Ruth paid attention. She noticed which of Naomi's relatives were upstanding citizens before deciding where to glean. Boaz mentions twice for her to stay close to his women and then Naomi mentions to stay close to the women in Boaz's field because she will be safe, so it seems that there was real danger for a stranger off by herself gleaning the fields.
But for the past week, my heart has been with a friend who's husband is still not fully awake after surgery. It was supposed to be a short repair to his heart, but things went wrong and he was/is sicker than they thought. So I have been praying for them from home and then driving up to hang out when I can. I wonder at her composure, as have many. I am not sure I would have the faith and gentle spirit she has. I have listened to others and it is amazing to hear the different theories for what would cause a wife to remain so calm during a time of uncertainty.
I will work on being like Ruth, which is hard for someone who likes to talk. I will watch and observe and study so I may learn from Jeni. There is a depth in her, a calm certainty, and I want to learn from her. It may not be convenient to drive an hour and a bit each way, but it is more than worth it to be blessed, and hopefully be a blessing.
I also noticed that Ruth paid attention. She noticed which of Naomi's relatives were upstanding citizens before deciding where to glean. Boaz mentions twice for her to stay close to his women and then Naomi mentions to stay close to the women in Boaz's field because she will be safe, so it seems that there was real danger for a stranger off by herself gleaning the fields.
But for the past week, my heart has been with a friend who's husband is still not fully awake after surgery. It was supposed to be a short repair to his heart, but things went wrong and he was/is sicker than they thought. So I have been praying for them from home and then driving up to hang out when I can. I wonder at her composure, as have many. I am not sure I would have the faith and gentle spirit she has. I have listened to others and it is amazing to hear the different theories for what would cause a wife to remain so calm during a time of uncertainty.
I will work on being like Ruth, which is hard for someone who likes to talk. I will watch and observe and study so I may learn from Jeni. There is a depth in her, a calm certainty, and I want to learn from her. It may not be convenient to drive an hour and a bit each way, but it is more than worth it to be blessed, and hopefully be a blessing.
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