My heart lifted yesterday as I was finally able to connect with one of my aunts, instead of getting her answering machine. I had talked with another aunt several days ago, who said as far as she knew, all four (in their 80's and 90's) were well and doing OK, although one who is in Assisted Living was unable to see her family.
We talked about the "toilet paper shortage," and I shared with her my conversation with my granddaughters last week, relating to them, that as a child, my grandparents did not have an indoor bathroom on their farm, and the only paper available in the "outhouse" was the Sears catalog or assorted pages from almanacs, etc. That was our toilet paper. My aunt laughed and said, "Yes, that is right, and I remember always leafing through the catalog, trying to find the softer pages." The location of the outhouse, was next to the pig pen, so we didn't linger long, coming out to the old fashioned water pump which was under a large tree and pumping hard, then dashing to catch the flow and wash our hands with cold water. There may have been a bar of soap, I really don't remember, but that was the favorite place in my small world, sharing good times with my family at my grandparents farm.
I've been setting aside time each day to write in two "Reflections from a Mother's Heart," a family legacy for your children journals, that were given to me years ago, still not totally completed. "How will our children know who they are if they don't know where they came from." (John Steinbeck) I have been challenged this week, and it has been a blessing to answer questions such as ..."what were your goals and ambitions and which have you been able to fulfill?; what fashions were popular when you were in high school and did you like them?"; "what did you wear on your wedding day?"; "how old were you when you met dad and what attracted you to him?"; "when did you first know you wanted to marry him?"; and "share some insights from Scripture that have guided your spiritual journey, " part of my life to be interwoven forever with my children and granddaughters.
Today, I got a text reminding me of another memory, a post that I wrote 2 years ago. It was a time in my life when I needed God's Grace more than ever. He was so faithful to cover me with each step I took. As the seasons of my life changed, sometimes struggling, I prayed for wisdom to seek His purpose and plan for the days ahead. I'm so thankful for His steadfast love and the support of family and friends during those days.
So, I decided this month's blog would be a reprint of that post, a reflection of some of the "Aprils of my Life."
Tomorrow marks the 90th day of my new journey that began on January 5, 2018, a day which changed the lives of our family forever… not a path that I would have chosen, but a journey on which God has placed me… a new assignment. “O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.” (Jeremiah 10:23).
Each morning when I awake, I see your smile as I open my phone. I am of the “flip phone” few and recently found a picture on my phone from a New Year’s Eve fellowship at our church in 2014. Several minutes later, I encounter the words, “In the morning when I rise, GIVE ME JESUS,” on our living room wall and glance lovingly at your face in pictures that surround me.
On the wall below the “Small World” clock, I see one of you with all of our granddaughters in a frame that says, “Me and my girls,” and on the table near by, a family picture from our trip to the Keys. The inscription on the frame reads, “A Life Remembered” Years ago, when you were stationed in Rota, Spain, and on flight crew, you used to fly into the Keys quite frequently. You always wanted me to experience the sunrise and sunset in the Keys, and we got to do that together on Thanksgiving Day, 2013.
On this day in April, I think of all of the special April days we have shared. Our first April, we were planning our wedding in May, trying to coordinate places to stay for all of our family that would be arriving from California, Florida, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Minnesota, and West Virginia. We would be meeting parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews, and friends, some of them for the very first time.
The next April, having been transferred to school on our way to a new duty station, we excitedly awaited the birth of our first child, due in late May, but who arrived early so his Mom could get to see his Dad pitch softball. April, 1975, a month before our second anniversary, found us in the Aleutian Islands, excited about baby number two, who made her special entrance in November, a few days late. She did not want to be born on Halloween. That April we got to see the beautiful flowers in the tundra, as the weather in the “Birthplace of the Winds” began to warm up just a little.
Two years later, on an emergency trip back to Florida in April, our little ones experienced their first glimpse of the ocean and sand, and a few weeks later, a train ride to Pennsylvania to see my family, before flying back to Adak, Alaska.
April, 1978, found us transferred to sunny Florida, awaiting baby three, who would become your namesake, born in July in your native state. My heart welcomes all of these memories of Spring, as it reminds me of a favorite verse.. “The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.” Song of Solomon 2:12
God has been faithful. He gave us beautiful “Aprils," in our journey together, strength to prepare the soil for tiny plants that would blossom into beautiful flowers and juicy berries and vegetables, a trip one year to Tennessee in April to spend time with a sweet young lady, who would become our daughter in love. In April, 2002, we were blessed to go to Portugal and share in the wedding of our youngest son and his beautiful bride and meet her wonderful family. Several years later, on a special day in April in Portugal, we welcomed one of our precious granddaughters into the world. We learned that God is good, and makes “all things beautiful in His time.”
The last few mornings in Psalm 119, and particularly this morning’s reading, have spoken to my heart. It is a reminder of the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit in my life, to cause me to see and understand, to open my eyes and recognize that God has allowed afflictions that I might experience His faithfulness, and have confidence that His promises will be fulfilled. I can find joy in the truths of His Word. “Let your steadfast love comfort me according to your promise to your servant. Let your mercy come to me, that I may live, for your law is my delight.” (Psalm 119:76-77)
TO GOD BE ALL GLORY!
