Tag: grandchildren

Bible Verses, Our Christian Walk, Parenting 101

This Too Shall Pass

Trials and tribulations seem to clump together. Rather like a large boulder in the middle of a merrily chirping stream. The water still rushes past, swirling around that stone for a few moments before gurgling merrily along. This is the same with life. Our lives are that water, and the tests the boulder. Life will continue on at some point. We may be a little bruised and battered, but we go on.

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Please pray for our grandchildren if the thought passes through your mind. They have all been struggling with colds, although I don’t think any have had the flu. This past week, two of the sisters spent the night at the hospital due to RSV. They came home today. Now the youngest, just a little over a week old is at the hospital, and she will be there overnight for observation.

It is scary watching your child struggling with sickness. Even more so when it involves a hospital visit, or surgery. I have been there more times than I want to think about. It makes you want to snatch them away, to protect them, and take on all that they have to endure. After all, you are stronger, able to understand all that is happening. Their little bodies and minds aren’t able to take it all in. I hurt for those families that have had children diagnosed with cancer, and diseases that their little bodies have had to fight off. It takes a parent to the limits of where no parent ever wants to go.

I don’t fully understand why these kind of trials and tribulations are allowed in our lives. I really don’t want to face them. I want to be swept down that stream, gurgling merrily along as the blue sky smiles down at me.

That little stream rushes to the ocean, and is stronger in the end. So are we. And this too shall pass.

Jeremiah 29:11 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

11 For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

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A Day to Remember, Parenting 101

Welcome To the World!

Because I delivered five babies, I went through labor five times. My labors weren’t the ones where you went in and played cards for a while, skipped down the hospital corridor with your backside for all to see, had an epidural and then were told to push because you were numb from the middle down.

Now, to be fair, I’ve never had an epidural. These were stories told by other moms that had one. Because of my fear of anyone poking around my spine, I always declined. I would rather be completely sedated. But you understand that with any fear, it can be completely irrational. Facts don’t matter! Each woman is different, every person experiences pain in a different way. Every woman needs to do what she feels is best for her labor and delivery, and she  needs the support of those with her.

My labors were long, and I delivered big babies. With each one, the first cry and the first glimpse of that tiny face…made all those hours very well worth it. Around thirteen years later with each child, I rethought those moments and my conclusion was that I was delusional at the time. Extreme discomfort and pain can do that to you! But with each child, when active labor began, it was that feeling of despair. The memories of what that long contraction felt like…and I wanted to run!

So it was with our second oldest when she was in labor with our sixth grandchild last Wednesday. Believe me, I felt those contractions, I knew by the look on her face that she wanted to run. But labor is one of those items in this life that you have to see through until the end. And women all around the world for ages have done it over and over again. Women are strong, they are formidable, a force to be reckoned with. And yet, when a child is small, and sometimes big, they want their mother to ease the pain…to comfort.

Our sixth grandchild, the fifth girl, arrived last Wednesday, November 22nd at 3:43 pm. Her name is Eleanor Rose Elise…Ellie to us. She weighed 7 pounds and 6 ounces, 19 inches and then some, I think. The statistics dim for me after the first few days. Because of her parents request to not post pictures at this time, I will not. But she is a real cutie! Her big sister Ava thinks so as well.

Family is one of those Divine Institutions that God has given us in this life. Marriage and family is to be honored and cherished. It is a Blessing far beyond my comprehension. It is what makes this world, rather difficult to live in at times, just that much better. I am thankful for mine!

Welcome to this big world, Miss Ellie Rose! I look forward to watching you grow into the delightful woman God created you to be. And may your mother have the honor of watching your little ones arrive in this world one day. It is a Blessing to behold!

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Writing

The Story Is There

Have you ever looked at a picture, and wanted to know the story behind it? It could be an old painting, or a photograph. I’ve seen pictures and I want to jump right into that time, hear the conversation taking place before the camera captured that image. Feel the temperature of the air on my skin, smell the aroma of the room, or the flowers the couple was standing beside.

Yes, I’m probably strange. I’ve been told so before. But it doesn’t really bother me anymore to fit into the little box others think I should be in. Everyone experiences life in different ways, and that is good. So these days, (most of the days since I turned fifty a few years ago), I just float along with some of those thoughts and feelings I have when it comes to creativity. It has helped me to write and publish five books so far!

Pictures say a lot. holding-hands-1772035_1920

This one speaks to me of young love, hope and a future. It is autumn, shown from the colors of the leaves on the trees. I think the sun is setting, but it could be rising. The train tracks lead you to believe there is more, a road to travel, life to experience. This picture makes me feel happy with a touch of melancholy. thunderstorm-2077667_1920

Of course the first thought for this one is something dark and sinister. I love the house, but not the setting, even on a bright, sunny day. It looks flat and somehow wild…and very lonely. The flashes of lightning don’t help the entire feeling of something bad about to happen. But I still love the picture and all the emotions it stirs up. relax-705817_1920

Peace is felt when I look at this one. I think it’s early morning, the mist on the water. It reminds me of an Adirondack lake. I actually saved this one to use for a meme on my third book in the Rubyville series, A Place to Heal. Much time in the book is spent on Lake George in upstate New York. There is a dock with chairs just like these. I could spend a lot of time here with my eyes closed, smelling the clean, fresh air, and listening to the sounds of the water lapping at the boards.

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I love country churches. Especially if they are white or stone. I prefer them nestled in a little valley with trees shading the steeple, but this one is intriguing. Just think of the stories this one could tell! A young couple on their wedding day, the wind whipping the bride’s veil as they climbed into the buggy to begin their future. There is a thought.

But of course, photographs of those we love are the most special of all. This one was taken of our grandchildren on Easter Sunday. They are all below the age of seven, and they each have a story to tell, a future to experience. My mind races with the possibilities of the thoughts in their little heads. There is a story to tell…18090708_10155275580618804_513646526_o