Today, I am closing the door of one of the most challenging and most exciting decades of my life and tomorrow I will be standing on the threshold of another. During this past decade, I have witnessed more than I ever could have ever thought or imagined possible.
I have experienced overwhelming love and support from family, precious friends, and total strangers. I have been encouraged to carry on and reach for the brass ring, never being too old to attain that higher degree. I have been anxious and filled with anxiety for wayward children that I learned painstakingly to leave them in the hands of a just and loving God, trusting Him to bring the sheep back into the fold. I have felt the sting of hate spewed forth in anger. I have felt the excitement and mixed emotions of letting go and watching my children leave home to begin lives of their own with the loves of their lives.
I have weathered blistering heat and sun, horizontal rain, sleet, and snow, with howling winds cheering on my soccer stars as they helped to drive their teams to victories. I sold coffee, worked concession stands, volunteered to do senior nights, and proudly marched across the fields one last time with each of my senior stars.
I have totally appreciated and understood what the Hallmark cartoon character, Maxine, meant when she said, “grandchildren are God’s reward to us for not killing our own.” And I more fully understood her humor when she declared, “parents of teenagers understand why some animals eat their young!” That was especially true when all three of mine were teens at the same time living at home!
I felt violated and angry along with thousands of others on that fateful 09/11 and proudly pledge my allegiance and show my colors of patriotism for the USA every chance I get. I have been quickened in my spirit to pray for the protection of a young soldier in battle and harms way because of a shared affection with his parents and I have been privileged to witness that young soldier become a man of integrity and instrument of God.
I have held the hand of my daughter and comforted her twice as she gave birth to our precious granddaughters. I have prayed and continue to pray for my son-in-law to know Christ in a personal way and I have encouraged him and my sons to be men of integrity and challenge them still to be men of God.
I have proudly stood at attention as my son-in-law swore his oath of allegiance to serve our country. At another time, I sat choking back tears as I listened to my “miracle” son humbly proclaim God’s deliverance and healing in his life and watch him be restored.
I watched my mother, strong enough to outlive and care for two husbands and most of her family, succumb to the frailty of old age and slip peacefully into the arms of Jesus when she fell asleep.
I have begged God too many times to count to remove the constant, nagging pain that I daily endure from past injuries but instead He has given me grace to endure and appreciation for the little things I can still do.
In times of uncertainty, my husband and I have clung to each other and thanked God for seeing us through each and every trial.
I have seen the majesty of God displayed in mountains so high you could barely see the tops, in forests so green and lush, they appeared as velvet. I have felt the effects of the earth as it groaned and shifted as if to let us know its need to “stretch”. I have witnessed God’s first light as it peaked its first rays over the ocean from atop the mountain where it first kisses the USA each day with its warmth. I have held, cuddled and smelled the sweetness of two baby girls and I have grown quite fond of the name “Mimi”.
I was reminded very vividly the impact of living a Godly life and the legacy that life leaves in the sudden and seemingly untimely death of a sister, a friend, of 32 years. And I have experienced the joy of reuniting with old friends only to pick up where we left off so many years ago.
As it draws close to midnight and dawn of a new decade now quickly approaches, I find that I am crossing over into an exciting new time - one that will be filled with new adventures, new challenges, and a destiny, known only to God that awaits me and that will unfold before me daily as the last decade has. If you are reading this blog, perhaps you have been a part of my last decade – you know who you are – and I am grateful to God and thankful to each one of you for being such a special part of my life. Thank you for walking this journey with me and I can only say, “to God be the glory!” Psalm 90:1 - The best is yet to come!
I have experienced overwhelming love and support from family, precious friends, and total strangers. I have been encouraged to carry on and reach for the brass ring, never being too old to attain that higher degree. I have been anxious and filled with anxiety for wayward children that I learned painstakingly to leave them in the hands of a just and loving God, trusting Him to bring the sheep back into the fold. I have felt the sting of hate spewed forth in anger. I have felt the excitement and mixed emotions of letting go and watching my children leave home to begin lives of their own with the loves of their lives.
I have weathered blistering heat and sun, horizontal rain, sleet, and snow, with howling winds cheering on my soccer stars as they helped to drive their teams to victories. I sold coffee, worked concession stands, volunteered to do senior nights, and proudly marched across the fields one last time with each of my senior stars.
I have totally appreciated and understood what the Hallmark cartoon character, Maxine, meant when she said, “grandchildren are God’s reward to us for not killing our own.” And I more fully understood her humor when she declared, “parents of teenagers understand why some animals eat their young!” That was especially true when all three of mine were teens at the same time living at home!
I felt violated and angry along with thousands of others on that fateful 09/11 and proudly pledge my allegiance and show my colors of patriotism for the USA every chance I get. I have been quickened in my spirit to pray for the protection of a young soldier in battle and harms way because of a shared affection with his parents and I have been privileged to witness that young soldier become a man of integrity and instrument of God.
I have held the hand of my daughter and comforted her twice as she gave birth to our precious granddaughters. I have prayed and continue to pray for my son-in-law to know Christ in a personal way and I have encouraged him and my sons to be men of integrity and challenge them still to be men of God.
I have proudly stood at attention as my son-in-law swore his oath of allegiance to serve our country. At another time, I sat choking back tears as I listened to my “miracle” son humbly proclaim God’s deliverance and healing in his life and watch him be restored.
I watched my mother, strong enough to outlive and care for two husbands and most of her family, succumb to the frailty of old age and slip peacefully into the arms of Jesus when she fell asleep.
I have begged God too many times to count to remove the constant, nagging pain that I daily endure from past injuries but instead He has given me grace to endure and appreciation for the little things I can still do.
In times of uncertainty, my husband and I have clung to each other and thanked God for seeing us through each and every trial.
I have seen the majesty of God displayed in mountains so high you could barely see the tops, in forests so green and lush, they appeared as velvet. I have felt the effects of the earth as it groaned and shifted as if to let us know its need to “stretch”. I have witnessed God’s first light as it peaked its first rays over the ocean from atop the mountain where it first kisses the USA each day with its warmth. I have held, cuddled and smelled the sweetness of two baby girls and I have grown quite fond of the name “Mimi”.
I was reminded very vividly the impact of living a Godly life and the legacy that life leaves in the sudden and seemingly untimely death of a sister, a friend, of 32 years. And I have experienced the joy of reuniting with old friends only to pick up where we left off so many years ago.
As it draws close to midnight and dawn of a new decade now quickly approaches, I find that I am crossing over into an exciting new time - one that will be filled with new adventures, new challenges, and a destiny, known only to God that awaits me and that will unfold before me daily as the last decade has. If you are reading this blog, perhaps you have been a part of my last decade – you know who you are – and I am grateful to God and thankful to each one of you for being such a special part of my life. Thank you for walking this journey with me and I can only say, “to God be the glory!” Psalm 90:1 - The best is yet to come!
