Nov 24, 2011
Today is Thanksgiving.
And while this is a little thing, it’s a big deal:
But two days ago I got two new tires on my car.
It happened, because we were planning on an hour-long drive to go visit my daughter’s friend in the hospital. And since I hadn’t had the air pressure checked for a while, I took the car to America’s Tire Co. They do air checks and rotations for free. And since I had $3.42 in my checkbook, “free” was really working for me.
Until they looked at my tires. Left front: treads worn down. Right front: road hazard. Air bulge (I’d hit a pothole last week, but didn’t realize I’d damaged the tire.). He explained this is a major road hazard; unsafe to drive no matter what. I explained I absolutely cannot afford new tires right now. So he suggested replacing it with my spare just to be safe. Again, the phrase “road hazard” kept coming up.
We sat and waited. The plan was for them to replace the road hazard tire with the spare, and rotate the two rear tires. That, at least, would be safer than driving the way the tires are now.
The second service guy called me to the counter. He again stressed the hazard of the old tire, and the limited capability of a spare. And now, they’ve found two nails in a rear tire.
This is not going the way I had planned.
I had to tell my daughter it didn’t look like we’d make it to see her friend. I was almost heartbroke.
A year ago, even a few months ago; I would have panicked. I would have cried in public and called my mom and had a mini-breakdown on the phone. I prob’ly would have used words I usually try really hard not to use.
But instead, I took a deep breath. I looked at my daughter and said, “Say a prayer.”
I went to the counter a third time. And decided to take them up on their offer to apply for credit. “I won’t get approved,” I whispered, all the while praying and trusting that God can do anything.
My last resort would be to “borrow” money from family. Money that they don’t really have to give me, money that I wouldn’t be able to give back.
In less than a minute, I was approved. Not a huge amount, but enough to get two new tires.
20 minutes later I drove away, feeling more secure than I’ve felt for quite a while. My car was safe. I hadn’t known it was unsafe. But more than that, now I knew we were safe.
Shortly after we went home and were just preparing to leave for the hospital, we got the message that my daughter’s friend was being released; healthy enough to come home for Thanksgiving!
I’m still in awe of the way these situations turned out. I knew my tires weren’t the best, but I didn’t know they were this bad. My daughter’s friend was hospitalized for several days. If it hadn’t been for our plans to visit, I would have waited on getting the tires checked. After all, I only drive locally.
Now I have new tires. Now my daughter’s friend is home. My daughter consistently sees miracles in her life. And our life is still Amazing. Because God is always Graceful. And Good.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Nov 12, 2011 |
Every year on this date, I always say the same thing. “X-amount of years ago, I was thiiiis big….” and my hands extend my imaginary belly. Then I go on to tell the story that embarrasses my Dot. I think it’s every mom’s duty to share the story of childbirth with their children. Loudly. In front of their friends.
But this year, I won’t. This year, I will say only that I was once “thiiiis big”. And maybe throughout the day remind her of the pain she kept me in for six and half hours. I won’t say a word about how the day before, during a stress test, my mom who was visiting me at the hospital saw the monitor tape and we joked about the seismic activity, and then I started laughing, hard, which caused the alarms to go off… we figure it was around a 7.4.
There will be no mention about when I went home and had a cup of tea, I didn’t need a tray. I just set it on my belly. And she decided to wake up and make my tea jump like the puddle from Jurassic Park. Or how she kicked her little heel up and I would have to slam the palm of my hand into it about three times before she moved and I could breathe easy again.
Not one word to her about how, in the middle of the night, I was praising God because I slept through my first contraction and woke up only to realize something really bad just happened. And how, when I called the hospital, the conversation went something like this:
Me: I just had a contraction.
Them: How long did it last?
Me: I don’t know.
Them: You don’t know?
Me: I slept through it.
Them: You slept through it?
Me: Yes.
Them: Did you have another one?
Me: Yes.
Them: How far apart?
Me: About six minutes.
Them: Then you’re okay. You don’t have to leave for about another hour and a half.
Me: Okay, but my water just broke.
Them: You better leave now.
This is my Daughter’s birthday. And today she is 17. I can’t believe I’ve known her almost two decades.
She’s everything to me. For the past 17+ years, my life has been full of teaching and learning and loving and shouting and fixing and hugging and cooking and crying and laughing and watching and playing and holding and letting go and…. being a mom.
I’m not always the best Mom. But I’m the best Mom for her. God gave her to me. When I didn’t deserve His blessings, when I was at a crossroads and could have walked away from Him. But I didn’t. It was, in fact, being responsible for someone else, that brought me to my senses. It was being responsible for her.
No more was this world just about poor little me. Now I had to worry about Baby.
I have always been a single mom. Her dad and I just didn’t work out. It is what it is. And there’s been plenty of heartache all around that subject. But she and I… we’re doing just fine.
It’s pretty awesome to see her learn, and grow, and mature. It’s pretty sad to think my years as her Mommy are coming to a close.
This beautiful child that I have treasured, that I would die for, that I want to share with (and protect from) the world.
She is my everything.
Happy Birthday, Hannah. I luff ewe muchly.
Stunning
Nov 11, 2011 |
He said, “Follow me.” I said no.
He waited anyway.
He said, “Stay on this path.” I strayed.
He led me back.
He said, “I love you.” I pushed him away.
He loved me anyway.
He said, “I want to adopt you.” I refused.
He called me His own anyway.
He said, “I want to save you.” I laughed.
He sent His True Son to die in my place.
He said, “Let me bless you.” I ignored his gifts.
He blessed me anyway.
He said, “I will provide.” I wanted it all.
He withheld, but gave me more than I could ever need.
He said, “You are perfect.” I called Him a liar.
He never pointed out my faults.
He said, “Please be careful.” I was careless.
He was tender with me anyway.
He said, “Don’t touch that.” I broke things.
He put the pieces back together.
He said, “I forgive you.” I said, “Who asked you to?!”
He forgave me anyway.
He said, “I still love you.” I told Him to shut up.
He kept loving me anyway.
He said, “I’ll protect you.” I ran into the world.
He protected me from myself.
He said, “Look at me.” And I saw the scars.
He bled for me.
He cried for me.
He cried out to me.
And I stopped turning my back.
He asked me to follow Him.
I said yes.
And He led me.
And He forgave me.
He is so unfair.
Oct 23, 2011
by Molly Jo Realy @MollyJoRealy
[For the original story, click here.]
I’m a big fan of crime and cop dramas on television; which tend to influence my subconscious at times.
One night, in 2006 or so, I had a dream that I was with a particular “cast”; they weren’t actors playing characters: it was a real-life world that I found myself in. I think it’s funny how, in dreams, you instinctively “know” and “remember” things that aren’t true.
In this particular dream, I was friends with the Team. The “him” that is referenced, is the Team Leader (I’d rather not mention the show it was based on; because that’s insignificant; and not what the attention should be paid to). It was a very short dream, but I couldn’t shake the feeling of belonging that it left me with. The more I dwelt on it throughout the day, the more it revealed that God can use anything, even a TV-based dream, to reach us.
Suddenly my dream changed from that of being in a cop drama situation, to being representative of how God cares for us, and notices things about us even when we are negligent. Of how He lightens our load, but only when we let Him.
The moral of this story/dream is how great God is, and, once we recognize it, how He shines through us as we introduce Him to others.
It’s a dream I still recall vividly, and pray I never forget.
Oct 21, 2011 |
by Molly Jo Realy @MollyJoRealy
[For the original article, click here.]
This prose was inspired by a house in my neighborhood. It was the old house of a high school friend, and over the decades I’ve watched it go from being well cared for by his parents and family, to being taken over by strangers, to being abandoned and ultimately, completely rundown: a hazard and an eyesore to the community.
In the past few months, the property was sold, and as I drove by every few days, I took mental notes of the activity going on: The siding came off. The windows were knocked out. Everything was removed and demolished except for the frame and the worn roof. I held my breath in anticipation of soon driving by to see nothing but broken beams and collapsed shingles.
And then something beautiful began to happen. That old frame was utilized. That old roof was kept. And improvements were being made.
Now, as I drive by, the foundation has expanded. The lot has been leveled, cleared of rubble and debris. When it is finished, it is going to be a magnificent home; better than the original.
And I couldn’t stop thinking, that’s just like Life. And how God created the earth. The earth, human life, and even one person’s home all start the same: Find a good location. Lay a foundation. Build. Correct. Share. Repair. Enjoy. Invite. Celebrate. Mourn. Stay.
Enjoy your horizons… but don’t forget your roots.
