The Gift That Keeps on Giving

December 2013

We were robbed this Christmas! I was at work and we had a Christmas Party after work, so Toby just met me at the party.  We were gone maybe 2 hours, but when we got home we had been robbed. It wasn't obvious when we first got home.  No broken doors, no broken glass, but the back porch light didn't work and had been on when Toby left, and when I went to take off my jewelry and put it on my dresser that's when I noticed it.  All the jewelry that had been on my dresser had been taken.  All my rings, the necklaces that I had left out, and some earrings.  We got to looking around and my new tennis shoes that I had bought for Toby to give me for Christmas was missing, an coat of mine, a back pack and some change. A few pieces of the jewelry had very little monetary value, but had so much sentimental value, that it really devastated me. 

As the weeks have progressed, we have noticed other things missing.  I had bought Toby a pair of pants and a shirt for Christmas, they took the shirt and left the pants (must not have been their size), a bottle of cologne that Ashley had bought for Austin, and all of Amber's Christmas presents.  I started referring to our robbery as "the gift that keeps on giving", because it seemed like every time we turned around something else was missing.

I was so furious!  I was upset, angry and very depressed.  It seemed like this was going to be the worst Christmas ever.  We had been robbed, Amber wasn't going to be able to come home, it's Austin's last Christmas at home and Toby and I were both really busy at work.  I was tired, frustrated, felt violated and just plain angry! I had no Christmas Spirit, none! I kept reminding myself that it wasn't about me, it's about Jesus, about His birth, about Him coming to save me, but to be totally honest, I didn't feel it. To make things worse, I was on the verge of tears all the time.  If anyone said anything to me nice, mean, thoughtless, consoling, whatever, it didn't matter, I would tear up and cry.

Someone else who had been robbed told me they were praying for the person who had robbed them, hoping that they would find their way to Christ, I told them, I was praying that the cross necklace that they had stolen would burn their chest straight to their heart! Not very Christian of me was it?

God is so good though isn't He?  He took all that and used it to show me His glory and love.
We received notes, calls, gifts, hugs, and so much more from so many people.  Some gifts were so thoughtful, that I once again cried, this time because I was just so overwhelmed with the love God's people had shone and are still showing. God's love is so powerful, and I guess all I needed was a reminder of it. 

This Bible story keeps coming to me from Matthew 8. "Jesus got into a boat, and His followers went with Him. A great storm arose on the lake so that waves covered the boat, but Jesus was sleeping. His followers went to Him and woke Him, saying "Lord, save us! We will drown!" Jesus answered. "Why are you afraid?  You don't have enough faith." Then Jesus got up and gave a command to the wind and the waves, and it became completely calm. The men were amazed and said, "What kind of man is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him!" That's how I felt. I was afraid, felt like I was drowning, didn't have enough faith.  Jesus spoke, He spoke through His people, He spoke through His word and He spoke through His birth. 

So what did I receive for Christmas this year?  "The gift that keeps on giving," and I am so blessed by it.   

"Be on the lookout for mercies. The more we look for them, the more of them we will see...Better to lose count while naming your blessings than to lose your blessings to counting your troubles." Maltie D. Babcock

             

Amber

My Dearest Amber,

I didn’t know what to give you for your birthday.  You really don’t need anything, and what you do have is in storage, so I decided that since you are a lover of writing, I would give you the gift of words that tell you how special you are.

From the first moment I laid eyes on you, I knew my life would never be the same.  You were so tiny and beautiful and you were born right on your due date.  I guess that was a sign that would later transform itself into the way you always like to be on time, or ahead of time.

You were the most precious little girl, so beautiful, sweet and very shy. Hard to believe that now isn’t it?  When Austin came along, you were the best big sister and helper.  You always wanted to hold him.  You were very protective of him and still are today.  I love the bond you two have between you and how special that is.  It is something that you will both need as life progresses and we, as your parents get older.  Bless you both with that!!!

As a teenager, you went to the beat of your own drum quite a bit, which caused you some very lonely times.  I was always proud of you for taking stands that no one else would or championing the people others didn’t.  It caused you at times a lot of heartache, but in the long run, made you into the person you are today.  Of course, you and I had our challenges, my goodness did we fight!! Thank goodness we both outgrew that!  Well, sort ‘of.

Today, you are truly your own person.  You still walk to the beat of your own drum.  You have done so much and experienced so much in your young life.  Who would have ever thought that shy little girl would grow up to be a world traveler, an outspoken writer, and a very devout friend.  

I am so proud of the young women you have become.

Prayers I have for you…

            I pray you would be able to find a career that really fulfills your potential.

            I pray you would always find laughter.  It will truly get you through moments

        that are too hard otherwise.

I pray you will have many, many more adventures!

I pray you would find a home of your own, a place that would be your retreat.

I pray that you would find the peace and forgiveness you need for the wrongs

       done by churches so you would find your way back to church.

I pray you would find the peace that only comes with acceptance of your life.

I pray that God will always be a major part of your life and guide and protect

            you throughout your life.

I pray that you and Austin will always be close.  
           You will need each other.

I pray you would be happy, truly happy in your life.

Amber, I am so proud of you and so very blessed to have you as my daughter and my friend.

I love you
Mom

Year in Review

This time of year I can’t help but have a lot of random thoughts that circle my brain. Thoughts about family, beliefs, friends & possessions fill my mind and make it hard for me to close down and sleep at night. In some ways this year has been a year with a lot of upheaval, but in other ways, I guess you could say it has been freeing.


The year started with a family member calling to tell me they were tired and wanted to die. They had a loaded gun lying beside them in their bed. I was at work, and they were in Florida. With much talk and hopefully love, the person didn’t pull the trigger, but also didn’t live up to the promises made to take care of themselves and seek help. This unfortunately resulted in a very stressful situation in which I had to draw some lines.

My daughter decided rather quickly to go teach for a year in China. Amber has always gone to the beat of her own drum, and has lived away most of her adult life, but China!! I haven’t hugged her since February 7, 2012. I have been able to Skype with her and that has been huge, but I cannot wait till January 7, 2013 when I can give her a hug. I miss my girl so much. She wants to move back to California and I have to say, California isn’t so far away now. It’s all about perspective!

I had another incident with a family member in early September. I got a call from our local hospital telling me that my brother was there and needed me to go and pick him up. The surprise in this is that I hadn’t seen this particular brother in about 2 years. I didn’t even know where he was. You see, he and another of my brothers decided long ago that they didn’t like working or going by anyone else’s rules so they have been roaming from place to place for most of their lives. He asked me to take him to the bus station and buy him a ticket to Florida. When they asked if he had any luggage to check, he said no and it hit me that all he owned was in a little bag that he carried with him. Every possession he owned fit in a little sack. I can’t get over the fact that his whole life, his whole legacy, if you will, was in a little paper sack.

On a happier note, my son, Austin, proposed to his girlfriend, Ashley in September. We love her so much and can’t wait to welcome her officially into the family. The wedding will be sometime March 2014.

We all go through things, some much worse than mine and some better. This year I have had a dry spell. A time where I just haven’t felt close that close to God. It seems like things are too heavy, too much, too sad. So many have lost loved ones, so many are going through sickness and even though I haven’t had to face those things, I have still felt sadness deep in my soul this year. A heaviness of heart that makes it hard to even breathe.

This year, I have realized that just because you have the same blood doesn’t mean you are close. I have some incredible friends who will always be more like sisters to me than my own will ever be. I have an incredible immediate family, Toby, Amber, Austin & Ashley, whom I love dearly and am so blessed by God to have. I have a home, and more ‘possessions’ than I really need.

But the most important thing I have relearned this year is that God saved me, He rescued me, He loves me so much. He sent His son, as a baby, knowing that one day He would die for me. If I was the only one on the earth, He would have still sent His son to die for me! I have that assurance and I pray you do as well. What a freeing feeling that is!  This verse, one of my favorites, reminds me of this - "I will not forget you, See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands..." Isaiah 49:15b-16a
My name is engraved on the palms of Gods hands and so is yours!

Looking Up!!!

I am intrigued by the fact that Isabel will spend hours looking up. She is a bird dog, but that’s not what holds her interest. She watches squirrels. (That’s not to say that she doesn’t chase birds, ‘cause she does…there’s not a bird that comes in our yard that doesn’t get attention. That’s not her main focus though.) She will sit for hours a day and just look up at the trees. The squirrels will run up and down the trees and jump from tree to tree, almost as if they are teasing her. She just watches. Sometimes, if they do a lot of running up and down the tree she will run around the tree, barking and chasing. It’s almost as if they have a game going on. On a couple of occasions, she has been so still and quiet that she has actually managed to put her paws on a squirrel. Once she caught one and it startled her so that she lost it almost as soon as she got it. Another time she caught a smaller squirrel and Toby happened to be out back and made her let it go. She was fine with that. To her it’s not so much about the catching as it is about the waiting, the watching, the patient expectation. So she spends hours just sitting under the tree, very still, looking up.

When I am out on the deck watching her, I am reminded that as Christians, that’s how we should be. We should always be looking up. We should strive to be still, watching, waiting and patiently expectant, while always looking up. We run around ‘barking and chasing’ wondering why we haven’t been able to get what we want. Then when we do ‘catch’ what we think we want, we are surprised that it’s not what we really needed or wanted. So, we go back to the foot of the tree and look up, waiting with patient expectation, knowing that God knows what we really need to ‘catch’.

Second Chances

Something happened to me today that really made me take a look at myself as a person.

I went to work earlier than usual, got there around 8:00, went ahead and unlocked the door, turned on the light and sat down at my computer. I turned my computer on, then proceeded to eat my breakfast. I treat myself every Friday to a mocha and biscuit from Burger King. As I was looking at my computer and eating an elderly man came in with his t-shirt on backwards, shuffling his feet and walked right up to me at the computer. I was the only one here, so I must say he startled me. I asked if I could help him and he said he was going to the food bank, but was waiting on a ride to take him and he wanted to know if I had a cup of coffee he could have. Well, I’ve gotta say that basically I told him no I couldn’t help him as I was ushering him out he door and that I was sorry. He walked out the door and left.

Now, before you go and judge me, let me be the first to say that I know I’m a cynical human being and have very little mercy. I guess part of it is because of my own family.

I have two brothers I have tried to help all my life. They don’t work, have never held a steady job, and basically just want you to give them a handout. I have helped them throughout my life until just a year or so ago and I finally told them ‘no more’. I told them not to call me anymore unless it was to say hello. Since then I haven’t heard a word from them. When I say brothers, most think of boys, but my brothers are both in their 50’s, and just roam from place to place. They are alcoholics and who knows what else they are addicted to, they are basically homeless and they steal from you while they are looking you in the face. Most of my life I have felt responsible and have tried to help them but finally realized I have been enabling them, so I set some boundaries. Also, working where I work, we have on any given day, numerous calls & visits from folks wanting assistance, some who just work the system.

Unfortunately, because of these things I have become cynical, which is unbelievable considering how much I have been blessed by people. I have on any number of occasions received ‘surprises’ of groceries, financial help, physical help and gifts. God knows that of all people, I have the most reason to extend mercy, but yet, it is a continuous struggle with me.

Anyway, back to the story…After the man left, I sat here, eating my breakfast, and started really feeling bad. All I could think about was the passage in Hebrews 13:2 “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing.” All I could think about was, what if this was a test from God and I failed miserably? I got up, ran to the door, determined to find the guy and see if I could help him. Of course he was no where around. I came back to my desk, feeling miserable with myself, and began to ask God for another chance. Since no one was here yet, I spoke it out loud. Told God, I was really sorry I had failed if this was indeed a test and asked for another chance. Everyone started coming in to begin the day, and I’m still looking at my computer, feeling like I really blew it with God, and praying that he gives me another opportunity.

About 9:00 in walks the guy again, comes right to my desk and asks me if he can have something to eat. Now this was unusual for him to come back, come straight to my desk, and ask me, because I had pretty much shut him out earlier. I jumped up went to another lady in the office and asked her if we still have crackers from the youth mission trip. She goes with me to the Youth building and we find some apple juice and several packs of crackers and I get them and take them to the man. He thanks me and after he leaves I thank God that he gave me a second chance to make it right.

Now, I’m not saying that he was an angel, he certainly didn’t look the part…I’m also not saying that it will keep me from being cynical, because it probably won’t… what I am saying is that for this moment in time, God gave me a second chance…For this moment in time, God allowed me a chance to see someone as he sees them, not as I see them.

Thank you God that you are a God of second chances and thank You that You see me and accept me as Yours, and not as I am. Thank you for not looking at me the way I looked at that man, but instead looking at me as a child of Yours, worthy of second chances.

Hormone Hell

A friend gave Toby and I tickets to the Clemson game. We were excited because we don’t get to go to many games and Clemson promised to be a good game. I was glad it was a night game, because Toby has had some heart problems and I thought it would be better for him sitting through the game at night, instead of in the heat of the day.

Toby decided that we would be able to find a parking spot, so instead of riding the transit, we drove. We spent quite a long time trying to find a parking spot. We finally parked almost to Wrights Mill Road School – no joke…and we began the long trek to the stadium. I started out a little worried about Toby, because it was extremely hot and humid and so I kept stopping and asking him how he was doing. In the meantime, I was becoming hotter and hotter. The more I stopped and asked Toby how he was doing, the more he noticed that I was getting redder and redder, but being the southern gentleman that he was raised to be, he didn’t say anything. (Okay, I had on a sleeveless shirt, a pair of lightweight Capri pants, and flip flops, so I had on the ‘airiest’ clothes I had while still being in public.) Anyway, we finally got to the stadium. I thought I was going to die!!! I was so hot!!! I felt like I was literally going to burn up. Toby and I went in and stayed in the shade a little bit, taking in the slight hot breeze. I kept asking Toby how he was doing and he kept saying he was fine. I guess part of me was hoping that he was as hot and miserable as I was. Sad, but true, misery does love company. We found our seats, in the upper deck, in the sun and sat down. We were right on the isle, right behind the stairs, so people kept coming up and down and for some reason that just made me hotter. I made it through the 1st quarter and ½ and finally told Toby I needed to go and try to find some cool air. At that point, Toby commented that I did look a little hot. A little hot!!! I felt like I was on fire!!! I went and stood in the entrance and took in the breeze, but no matter how I tried I couldn’t get cool. I stood there through the 1st part of half time, then I looked up at Toby and told him that I needed to go home. He nodded and came down. At that point, He said he was worried about me because I was really red. I wanted to snap his head off and tell him, yes, not only was I red, but I was miserable! Being the somewhat proper person I try to be, I didn’t though. I merely said that I needed to go home and get cool. He nodded and said he was fine with that. A wise man!!!

On the way out of the stadium we saw those little rickshaw bikes and I decided to see how much they would charge to take us to our cars. I thought that would be fun and much cooler than trying to walk all the way back to the car. He took one look at us and said it would be $30.00 to take us two blocks over. Toby said he was figuring how hard he would have to peddle to get us anywhere. I was not amused! Of course we declined, but I really didn’t know if I could make it all the way back to my car. We did of course, and Toby cranked up the air as high as he could and we went home and watched the 2nd half of the game in the wonderful coolness of our home.

When I was retelling this to a friend of mine over lunch one day, of course she was laughing, but then she said, I was living in “hormone hell”. Never heard it called that before, but realized that was exactly what it was.

As some of you ladies know, it’s a miserable feeling. For those who are too young to have experienced “hormone hell” yet, let me just say that very little prepares you for the mood swings, hot flashes, memory loss and just basically wanting to annihilate something when experiencing a severe hot flash.

As I was thinking about this experience, I couldn’t help but think that what I went through is nowhere near how hot Hell will be and I’m so thankful that I won’t be there! Hallelujah!

Snakes

I hate snakes! There, I've said it and I'll say it again...I hate snakes! I know there are some of you who would agree with me, while there are a few who would disagree. Oh, I've heard all the arguments about snakes... they are good to keep rodents down, they are creatures of God, but I hate snakes. I don't care if they are red, yellow, green, grey, or if they are good snakes or bad snakes. To me the only good snake is a dead snake!!!

I've got to say that in my life, I've had more than my share of close encounters with snakes. My first close encounter was when my children were smaller. Toby was watching a football game, the kids were in their rooms and I was in our utility room changing over laundry and a snake appeared in the utility room and I freaked out. It had me blocked from the door and I did what any one in my position would do, I jumped up on top of the washing machine, hitting my shoulder on the cabinet and started screaming. The snake tried to go up the washing machine toward me. I continued screaming and I'm ashamed to say, lost control of bodily functions(wet my pants). There, I said it. I'm not proud, but I was terrified. Toby finally heard me, came out and saw the snake, tried to calm me down, but when the snake changed direction and started coming at him, he grabbed the only thing he could find, a plunger and plunged it to death. Good riddance, I say! Anyway, since that moment, I have had countless encounters with snakes. The most recent ones, about a week ago, I was going to my car in my front yard, saw what I thought was a stick, walked over to pick it up and it started moving. I ran back inside screaming "Toby, there's a snake," he came out and killed it. Just today, when we were coming in from lunch, we saw one slither off under the house. That makes me feel real secure!!!

Anyway, I look at the verse in Genesis 3:15 where it says "I will put hostility between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He will strike your head and you will strike his heel;" and I think God must have been thinking of me when he wrote that verse. There is definite hostility between me and a snake, and to my mind, if given the opportunity, the snake will be struck down.