Holy Ground

A poignant photo on Facebook caught my eye yesterday as I read from a niece: "This is where Grandma and Grandpa's house use to sit. I write the insurance on it for the business that now owns the land. I told them it is Holy Ground."

Tears sprang to my eyes as I recognized the plot of land where we had so many wonderful family gatherings in the small frame house of Mama and Daddy's retirement years. It was always bursting at the seams when our large family came to visit from Mississippi and the local Texas relatives dropped in.  The trees in the picture in what had been the side and front yards reminded me of sitting in their shade in chairs from the kitchen, laughing and talking the afternoon away as laundry Mama had hung on the line flapped  in the dry Texas breeze.

She was the Holy Ghost-filled grandma who grabbed shirts from Grandpa's closet to cover the skimpy swimsuits her then-teen granddaughters were wearing to the lake. She was also the one who dragged them to revivals and services at her church, influencing their young lives (for which they are grateful to this day)!

My own Texas grandchildren came to visit us this week. They hadn't been here in a few years, and the two-year-old, never.  It always seemed simpler for us to visit them, but this year Howard's heart surgery and recuperation put our travels on hold.  We see the grandkids often on Face Time, but nothing equals seeing them play and interact in person!  On their arrival, Isaac methodically removed everything from the coffee table and  handed it to me for inspection. When asked how old he is, he said, "Half," short for 2 1/2!

One day I had made a peach cobbler as dessert for our roast beef Po-boy meal.  Isaac loved the cobbler and ate two helpings. When he came in the next day from their hotel, his first words as he headed for the kitchen were "Where de cake?" He wasn't sure what to call it, but I knew what he meant!

In the car one day, I saw Anne-Marie, 9, bury her nose in a thick book. I asked her about it and suggested she read to me.  This she did, reading with perfect tone and animated inflection the story and conversations of the characters.  Noticing all the underlined passages, circled words and notations from her pen, I questioned what they were. "Oh, I just like to do that with certain parts," she replied.  The mark of a serious learner!

They went to church with us on Sunday, and I was so proud of how willingly they went to Kids' Church and little Isaac went bravely and uncomplainingly to the nursery!  Seven-year-old Maddie was a joy (her middle name, actually,) as she looked up from her messy sandwich at lunch and said, "You were right, Mimi! It does taste better with gravy!"  (I took it as a compliment when she said the next day over a chicken casserole, "You need to give daddy your recipe for this!")

A few comments on the Facebook picture referred to a large flat rock on the property that had been the bottom step on my folk's back porch. A couple of the grandsons wrote that it had been Mama's knife rock, where she sharpened her knives. I could just see her, as I had many times, bent over in her apron whetting her knives against the stone. One of the guys spoke of the possibility of retrieving the rock.  Whether they do or not, they can never forget the Rock that their grandma pointed them to when she was still with us, living on that Holy Ground!

Eventful Birthday!

It was Howard's birthday.  After having company for a few days,  we really were going to have a low-key day and set out to get one of his prescriptions re-filled.  It was one of those 100 degree days we've been having lately.   Howard was using his walker, but we expected to use a motorized cart when we got to the pharmacy at Walmart.

"Is that a handicapped spot?" I asked him when I saw the vacant space.  He said it was, so I parked on the diagonal orange stripes. From behind  me I heard someone say loudly, "You know that is highly illegal!"  A young man was collecting shopping carts, so we asked him about it.  He told us it was not a problem to park there, then offered to go get us a motorized cart!

Just as I was getting my husband out of the car, his legs began to buckle and I could not support him!  "What's wrong?" I exclaimed.  He'd had this problem a couple times before, once when I was able to break his fall and lower him to the floor.  The fire department lift service had helped him up. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a man was helping me get him into the cart!

By this time the guy who had brought us the cart was halfway back to the store.  Wouldn't you know the machine refused to budge, despite Howard's efforts at trying to start it.  The young man called back to us that he would bring us another one, which he did!

"You're bleeding!" the young man exclaimed. Sure enough, a large trickle of blood was running down Howard's arm. His blood thinner and fragile skin make him susceptible to bleeding at the slightest scrape.  I looked in my purse in vain for a tissue, but the boy said he would get something, dashing off and returning with what looked like half a roll of paper towels! At last we were able to get out of the blazing sun and make it to the prescription counter.

"This can't be filled without the doctor's order!" the pharmacy tech told us.  We only wanted a couple of pills to get him through till the next day when he would go to the doctor.  My son happened to call, and I told him we could not get the medicine.  He phoned the doctor's office and was told they would call the pharmacy immediately giving permission for the meds.  But when I approached the counter they sternly stressed that they could not issue the prescription, because the doctor hadn't notified them. Finally they determined  that the doctor's o.k. was on voice mail, Much ado about nothing!

Today we visited the doctor and got the complete bottle of pills.  A check-up by the cardiologist was also on tap, but we  had time to eat lunch before the appointment.  As we were leaving the restaurant, a man said, "Doing better today,  huh?" as Howard  manipulated the walker.  I asked him if  he had noticed us before with our struggles. "Yes, I helped you yesterday at Walmart!" he surprised me by saying, 

I hadn't recognized him, but I asked if he goes to our church.  He said no, but his wife goes to a Methodist church.  I realized that was the church where our friend is the pianist, and turns out he knows her! "She is a neat lady," he said.  He was surprised when I told him we had gone to a Bible study at her house for several years.  What a coincidence! You never know who God will put in your path!

I got to thinking about it later, and I realized God  had put people in place to help me that frazzled  day.  The man who had appeared just as I needed help.  The friendly cart boy showing up just when I needed him, sparing me a long, hot walk to get a cart and drive it to the car.  Then there was his replacement cart.  And the paper towels. My son calling the doctor's office and facilitating our getting the temporary prescription filled.

It was too hot to bake a cake, so I impulsively bought Howard a beautiful carrot cake and  picked up a carton of "Natural Vanilla Bean" ice cream.  Our favorite.  I made a nice birthday supper for just the two of us, and we ate in the dining room.  A soothing evening for reflecting on God's faithfulness and the recent surgery's promise of more years and birthdays to come!

Angel Wings and Butterfly Weed

"What are you doing tomorrow?" our son Greg asked on Friday, to which Howard replied, "Well, we'd like to go to the Herb Festival, but I would have to be pushed in my wheelchair." Greg immediately offered to push him!

Wow! That would be covering a lot of ground, I thought.  The Herb Festival, famous here and drawing participants from all over the state and then some, is the premier attraction for our town. It is held in picturesque Cann Gardens with its winding brick walkways and backdrop of beautiful flowers and foliage. We hadn't gone in a few years, usually having been on trips to see our kids, or the festival was rained out.

But this year the weather was perfect. We ambled along through the steady stream of people, all smiling and having a good time stopping to inspect wares offered for sale or lined at the refreshment booths and food trucks. Immediately on entering, we met good friends who left their picnic table and came to greet us.  People were glad to see Howard out and about, if only in his wheelchair.  I saw one craft item, a metal sculpture wall décor that I liked.  I would walk around and get it on the way back, so as not to have to carry it.

Howard was keeping an eye out for bargains in plants to put in a space in our backyard. Although it is called the Herb Festival, it seems herbs are in the minority in a plethora of hanging baskets, ferns, and all sorts of potted plants. We gathered several, including Butterfly Weed, a huge sunflower-type plant, Impatiens and something  with white blooms called Angel Wings. In retrospect, I realize I should have gotten a gorgeous fern I admired, especially when I saw the prices of smaller ones in town yesterday!

We heard music coming from somewhere, and followed it to the large patio of the historic house on the grounds.  Chairs had been set up for various presentations to be enjoyed, and we lingered to hear arrestingly beautiful singing from a girl of about 12 who held the microphone.  The lovely notes of All Through the Night, floated through the air as we paused to listen to the sweet lullaby.

"I love your hair!" came a voice from behind me, and I turned to see a friendly lady who said, "I'm thinking of having mine cut like that!" I thanked her and asked if I knew her from church, but she said no. Just a casual comment that brightened my day a little more!  (She didn't know I had been bemoaning my hair that morning!)

Sharing a picnic table with two delicate and charming octogenarian ladies, we chatted and listened to their stories while we had a bite of lunch.  Obviously widows, they regaled us with their histories and interests.  "I write," one said, "I have a huge box of my writings that my daughter says she is going to put into a book when I'm gone!"  Greg drew them out in easy conversation and they loved every minute of it.

Children were in abundance at the festival, too, and I especially enjoyed seeing their beautiful faces, eyes wide with wonder as they carried butterfly wands or sported face-paintings from a special activity area for kids. I wished my grands who are coming to visit soon had been with me!

Retracing our steps as the day wore on, I stopped at the craft area where I had seen the art piece.  I couldn't see it, and walked around the tree where it had been displayed. There was another one like it, only in a different color. I liked the first one, but not this one, I realized in a pang of disappointment.  That's what I get for not taking it earlier, I remonstrated.  Oh well, it was still a nice day. The guys felt bad for me and even stopped at an estate sale for me on the way home. Nothing there caught my eye, so I went home empty handed, but full of memories and pleasantly tired, thankful for the day God had given us!

Afternoon Out!

"Are you ready to go?" I asked my husband. He  had been enjoying sitting outside at our son's place, mesmerized by the farm animals. I loved it, too, especially on such a gorgeous, early June day with blue skies and perfect temperatures. The bright green of tree leaves fluttering in the canopy of branches overhead invited dawdling in the shade.  But I was not as fascinated as was Howard, myself always being one who gave something a once-over-lightly glance before moving on to something else.

I didn't want to hurry my spouse, though, as this was therapy of mind, body and soul for him as he recuperates from heart surgery over two months ago, and other issues recently. So I settled down and tried to relax.  As I did, I started noticing little vignettes played out before me, beginning with the pigs.

I had brought out a pail of  table scraps for the pink ladies as I do a few times a week.  This time it contained a jug of chocolate milk (requested and rejected by my husband's finicky appetite) that was going sour. The "girls" were beside themselves with joy. The bigger sister wriggled her fat body into the feeding trough and her smaller sister slid in under her, gobbling crescents of cantaloupe rinds, a half-eaten apple and other by now unidentifiable mushiness. They were in hog heaven, you might say.

Next it was time for their beauty treatment in the mud puddle forming beside their overflowing water tub being filled by the garden hose. The chocolate-coated porkers wallowed blissfully and stretched luxuriously, becoming blacker by the minute. It wasn't long until they lazed quietly, sleepily drifting off, the picture of porcine contentment.

Suddenly I saw some kind of small animal silhouetted against the far fence. "It's a kitten!" I exclaimed. Greg had recently acquired four young cats as mousers for the barn, but they had disappeared. Their food was disappearing regularly though, and the litter box was being used. Then we spotted a trio in the dimness by the feeding dish, an apparition of two gray clouds with a black shadow between them.  The shy felines were back, and the mice had made themselves scarce.

"I want to see how the turkeys have grown!" I announced. The guys had bought three baby turkeys a few weeks ago, and two more lately, replacing the loss of one that died. We wondered how the "teen-age" birds would adjust to the new ones, but Greg told me he had found the babies perched on the older one's backs!  How cute! They were getting along  just fine, and the bigger poults had developed beautiful wing feathers and fan tails!

I couldn't believe my eyes when a glance at the goat pen revealed the baby goat high on a tree trunk! Not a bent, easy-to-climb tree as before, but a perfectly upright one!  The mama goat was trying to climb it too, but being heavier, she slipped back.  I was terrified that her off-spring couldn't get down, but when her hooves began to slip, the nimble kid sprang the several feet to the ground easily. Then she ran even higher up the tree! So fascinating!

As the chickens foraged contentedly, scurrying here and there, I was aware of a rat-a-tat-tat sounding hollowly in the background. "What is that noise?" I questioned aloud, to which my son said, "A woodpecker!"  I strained my eyes to see it, but it was hidden in the denseness of its leafy bower. There was a lot going on at the farm, I concluded, as I urged my husband, tired by this time, toward home!

Insights

Setting the table for Sunday lunch, I pulled back the centerpiece and table runner. I usually didn't bother with a cloth, which I always used to do, and started to put the dinner plates on the bare table. Well, a cloth would look better, I decided, and pulled a small lunch cloth from the drawer.  But my flowered plates looked a little jarring on its colorful design.  Oh well, it's just the three of us, I thought. My son was coming for dinner.  On impulse, I replaced the plates with large white ones I retrieved from the top shelf of the cabinet.

"Oh, your table looks so nice!" Greg exclaimed. "It's so picturesque!" I was conscience stricken for the casual, half-hearted effort I had made, but glad I had changed the plates! Sometimes we think it doesn't matter if something is only for family, but they really do notice and remember!

Taking shortcuts had been my new normal lately. Until recently, most of my time has been spent running back and forth to get something for my husband as he recuperates from serious heart surgery a couple months ago.  But his physical therapist tells us he needs to move around more, so I am to encourage him to get things for himself!

Today I  went to the neighborhood market to buy some things Howard  wanted.  Walking into the store, I noticed a basket of fruit and a sign lettered with the words, "Parents, feel free to let your child take a banana or apple to eat while you shop." It went on to say that they wanted to promote healthy eating in children.

How thoughtful is that! It doesn't always take a lot of effort to make a difference in someone's life.   Just a nice table to brighten a day, a nudge toward needed exercise, or a healthy snack for a child. Jesus tells of a man who invested a lot of himself to help a stranger in the story of the good Samaritan. He not only bound up the victim's wounds, but paid for his care in an inn until he recovered.

When our neighbor heard about Howard's hospitalization, he mowed and edged our over-grown lawn in our absence. Recently a new neighbor came over to meet us and to see if there was anything he could do.  He visited with Howard on the porch, saying he had noticed us coming and going with the wheel-chair or walker and offered his assistance. Flowers, meals, and phone calls brightened our days when we got home from the hospital.

"Trust in the Lord and  do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed," Psalm 37:3. In other words, feed on His faithfulness! He is good!

New Look

My Spring cleaning was a little late this year, what with March and April gone in a blur of hospital stay with my husband, then May busy with his care. Still, I usually managed to get the "public" rooms in order in time for the varied home health workers' visits. I had been making some inroads recently, tackling chores piece-meal and a little at a time.

My kids were urging me to get a cleaning woman, even offering to help with that.  The other day when I mentioned again to my husband that I needed the windows cleaned, curtains washed, and venetian blinds scoured, he said he would call his friend.  This guy usually does our lawns, but he also is a house man for some folks, doing chores like cleaning fridges, vacuuming and organizing cupboards.

I agreed, since we knew him and he was economical.  He was a life-saver! I now have clean windows and sills, billowing clean curtains, vacuumed floors and freshened AC units!  When it was time to put the curtains back up, I was a little reluctant.  I  had forgotten how fresh and charming the white-painted woodwork was against our brown-painted walls, sans curtains. The bare, double living-room windows looking out on the screened porch set off the view beautifully!

Suddenly my living room felt bigger, enlarged with the view of porch furniture, hanging baskets of flowers and dripping vines on the lattice of  a porch étagère, all framed by the windows like a picture. I did put the curtains back up, but every morning I pull them back and raise the blinds, treating myself to the restful scene shaded by the woven porch blinds outside. It's like I have an enlarged room!

It's funny how a few small changes can make a difference, both in our outlook and attitude! Sometimes I get stuck in a rut, doing the same things the same way day after day.  I started to make a cake yesterday, pouring the mix into a bowl and thinking about the can of frosting I had.  Then my eyes fell on a recipe at the bottom of the box, changing the plain chocolate cake into a bundt-style cake. It called for  sour cream, which I had, instant chocolate pudding (I had that, too) and I remembered a fluted cake pan I never use!   The result was a beautiful, luscious cake--an improvement over what I would usually make! Oh yes, the frosting spreading down the cake in scallops added just the right touch!

Jesus obviously doesn't want us to get bored. He paints a different sunrise and sunset for us every day. When we are tired of one season, He gives us another.  His Word tells us to sing a new song. Change is good for the soul!

Re-entry!

I knew we had to go to the grocery store, but how was I going to manage? Howard had used his walker to go into the restaurant for a seniors' breakfast that morning, but that wouldn't do to buy groceries, and he wanted to go in.  I parked the car and went inside for a wheelchair cart. I'd done this before, but it was heavy to push with both him and the groceries.  Then I spotted a motorized cart across the store, and buried my apprehensions about operating one.  But in a few moments I was victoriously headed to the car to collect my husband!

Whew, these groceries were piling high in the cart.  How would I bag them and transport them to the  car?  Just then we saw a friend from our Bible study, and he came over, helped bag them, loaded the cart and pushed them to the car, then loaded them for us. We had already arranged for our son Greg to be at the house to take them in.  He and his son showed up and effortlessly took them all to the kitchen.

All through Howard's recent hospital stay and recuperation at home, God had gone before us and smoothed the way that I was so concerned about.  Our daughter Julie and husband Steve had come from Tennessee to take us home from the hospital, then stayed two weeks to assist me in Howard's care.  They left on a Thursday evening, and daughter Amy flew in that night to help me for several days.  The day after she left, Greg flew home from his job in Canada and has been invaluable in loading the wheelchair and taking us to church and doing errands.  Everything has just dove-tailed into place as if choreographed by heaven itself!

Before we could go home, it was a requirement that we have a hand rail to our door.  Our son Mark offered to build one.  On a quick overnight journey home, he would attempt this while our daughter-in-law Rhonda and I would go call for our mail and take care of other details.  The whole venture would hinge on Mark's getting tools from Greg's garage, getting the parked truck to start, (providing I had the right keys to gate, car and garage) and getting the materials before our 12:00 noon deadline when they had to head home! Miraculously, everything fell into place in time!  Only God!

This whole experience has been a journey of faith and a lesson in trust.  I didn't think I could stay in rehab with my husband 24 hours a day and cope with the rigors of  a huge hospital.  But by God's grace I got through every day!  Our first room assignment, while adequate for Howard, required me to shower on the 10th floor and use restroom facilities on the 5th floor! The very next day, though, we were offered a much larger room with all private facilities!  It was like a tastefully decorated little apartment, our home for the next three weeks!

I often felt like a conjoined twin as I assisted my husband with everything.  I couldn't risk his falling after surgery and a small stroke, so I have been at his side day and night.  But I think I'm seeing light at the end of the tunnel! He is walking better every day and his strength is increasing. Feeling ill from allergies and sinuses,  I actually slept in a different bedroom last night for the first time.  I think we both rested better.

This scripture was shared with us as an encouragement from Howard's  heart surgery: "Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he will strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord." Psalm 27:14.