Questions

A woman I know has suddenly become confused mentally.  There are many questions ... Was it really sudden?  Was it related to her back pain?  Was it a reaction to medication?  If so, will it resolve?  Is it related to depression?  Will it get better?  She is only 70 years old, which is technically "elderly" but doesn't seem that old.  She can't live alone.  It feels as if she was suddenly diagnosed with a fatal illness and is dying.

This morning, I read verses about how this treasure (the glory of God) is held in jars of clay (us) and how we are to fix our eyes not on what is seen but on what is unseen (2 Cor. 4).  If we could live our lives with heaven in our hearts, life wouldn't be so hard and sad sometimes.  How do you fix your eyes on what you can't see?

Windshield

When I got in my car to go to church yesterday and shut the door, I heard a crackling sound. My back windshield had completely shattered! Phil had to take me to work today and I should be able to get the car back around 4. It will cost under $300. It was quite an experience driving it to the place with trash bags taped over the windshield, my hazard lights on, and parts of the windshield continually falling into the backseat.

Mowing

God is so good to me!  It was my job to take care of the inside of the house and my husband's job to take care of the outside.  We had two strong sons who grew up and did most of the mowing ...  Until my husband became permanently disabled and our sons moved away.  We have about an acre that has to be mowed and the parts that border on fields have to be trimmed back every year, which is a big job too.  So this is what God did for me ...

First of all, when I realized that I was going to have to take care of the yard by myself, I asked my youngest son to teach me.  I didn't even know how to turn on or ride the lawnmower, much less take care of the maintenance for it.  Over his last two summers in high school, he taught me what to do and I was surprised to find that I could do it!  At first, it was even hard to stay on the old red mower and I could only mow part of the yard, but after I practiced, I became fairly adept at handling it.

When the old mower began to fail, I realized that we needed a new one and, even in the middle of all the medical bills and trauma and surgeries, God provided and I was able to purchase a small automatic John Deere.  It had been a dream mower because it's so easy to use.  I also bought a little cart for it to pull and that cart was one of the smartest things I ever bought.  I have used it to carry away the trimmings, to haul gravel and rocks, to carry plants for transplanting, and even to give my grandsons a ride.

The first time I ever mowed the whole yard by myself, I whooped and hollered and was incredibly proud of myself and grateful to God!  Did I mention that we have a sharp hilly ridge in the back yard?  Now I love to mow the yard, probably because it reminds me that with God, all things are possible.

Another Start

So I decided to try this again. I want this to be a place where I can pop in and pop out and write long, intense things and write short, not-so-intense things. I want this to be fun! I changed the title and the look to reflect a less serious and more fun and random blog.

Currently I am crocheting like crazy - baby hats and blankets and I'm about to start scarves for fourth graders. The crocheting/knitting bug usually hits in the winter so this is surprising, but a lot of fun.

I have also begun a journey on ancestry.com. It's captivating and very easy to use but I didn't realize how involved it would be. I had only planned on joining for a few months but so much information is basically handed to you that it is going to take maybe a year to do all the research. I have found that it is very easy to get off track by "accepting" other people's "hints" so I'm trying to slow down and do the research along the way. I would rather go back to the 1500's and be sure of what I have than go back to the 500's and wonder.

Doing the genealogy and then attending a funeral this week has made me think about how quickly our lives are over. That is just the way it is. Eternity is the important thing, not so much this life.

" ... For he knows how we are formed,
He remembers that we are dust.
As for man, his days are like grass,
He flourishes like a flower of the field;
The wind blows over it and it is gone,
And its place remembers it no more."
Psalm 103: 14-16