It's Just Lotion

Tomorrow is my sister's birthday. She is in the latter stages of Alzheimers Disease and it is very difficult to buy a gift she can use so I decided on lotion and kleenex. I got the kleenex and went over to the lotion counter to get a couple of simple bottles of moisturizing lotion. It hit me that I didn't know whether she could remember how to use the pump bottle or if she had the strength to use the squeeze bottle. Such a simple function that I take for granted and yet it perplexed me to tears in the middle of WalGreens.

The situation is bad enough but now the decision must be made on a "code" or "no code" for her beloved son who is literally on his death bed. Hospice has been called in but my sister has not been told how dire the condition is. We all need to have a Living Will and a Power of Attorney because we know not when we will be called out of this world. This young man of 47 years old has neither and so goes the legal battle. The family is united for a "no code" but the person who he has apparently depended on wants him "coded". God be with us as we tell his Mom he is dying. Give us the stength to let her lean on us. Lord grant me the strength to be there for her children during her illness and the illness of this brother. I have been experienced both situations and the heartache is immeasureable. My minister and my deacon are a source of strength to me. Their unending prayers have kept me going this past month. God is good and He is merciful. He listens to our prayers and when we become too weak to pray, He listens to our intermediaries. God be with me, my sisters and my neices and nephews in the coming weeks.

Loneliness

For my Sister:

Vacancy

Empty eyes that once held recognition
Lips that once spoke with knowledge

A mind that had held family memories
Now blank because the thief crept in

Gone is the easy and familiar smile
Erased are her loving thoughts of Mom and Dad

Love still lives in the beating heart
God still reigns in the soul

The gait is halting and unsteady
The faith in God remains unwavering

Hands that caressed her children
Now all but useless appendages

The sister who so influenced my life
A treasure to me forever

With broken heart and tender tears
I leave her in God's loving arms

No one but God to speak to of my loneliness
Lord give me strength to go another round with the monster

Be with loved ones, Lord, who miss her so
Be merciful to this your child

God's Children

Mark 10:15-16 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. 16. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands on them, and blessed them.

Every day we hear another report of a child being abducted. Many times those children are found dead with no clue as to who did the deed. Sometimes they live for years with the abductor in conditions we cannot even imagine.

Just as I sit here with my Bible this morning, an Amber alert was issued for a child who was stolen in Kentucky. Even when the clues are missing and the cases go cold, be sure there is One who knows the culprit. Be sure too that justice will be completed at His hands one day. All will be revealed and punishment will be harsh one way or the other.

I pray every day for our little ones who have no defense against the evils of our world. The sick minds of those who would do our children harm work in such a devious manner, we never suspect they would act in such a heinous manner. I just plead with God that He have mercy on these treasures and that their sufferings will be brief.

This scripture tells us how Jesus feels about children and I would not want to be on the receiving end of His judgment for harming the ones He holds so dear.

March Snow

Psalms 4:8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep; for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.

Sunday, March 1, 2009, came with a beautiful snow. At 3:00 p.m. the power went out and for an hour and a half, I sat and listened to the sound of the battery operated clocks make their ticking noise that I am usually unaware of. The cat and dog were sleeping, not knowing that their very non-pioneer mama was feeling the stress of QUIET.

I had just finished baking a cherry pie and I fought the urge to cut into it out of sheer boredom. As the snow began to accumulate, I watched the outside of my home turn into a winter wonderland. The beauty was breath taking and I found myself marveling at God's ways of giving us what we need.

I had no electricity but I had fire in the cozy fireplace. I've always loved the sound of a ticking clock. It takes me back to being in my Grandma's home when I was a little girl. I love a fireplace too and of course, the cat and dog always look so sweet as they lay peacefully sleeping. So I got a huge dose of all the things I love and there were no modern day distractions. I have so much to be thankful for.