From Memories to Miracles
Lately, I've been feeling really nostalgic.
Maybe it's because I will soon have "that Birthday." The big 5-0
Maybe it's because I spend quite a bit of time alone, now that I'm practically an empty nester.
Maybe too, it's because two of my favorite teachers have died, and at the same time "kids" I met while they were goofy teenagers, are now married with families of their own.
Reminiscing, remembering and walking through the misty stories of my childhood, has become commonplace these days.
As I left Walmart last week, I stopped at the drink machine. Instead of the usual water or a Coke, ( if I feel a craving ) I bought grape soda. It was, for a moment like a time machine.
Nothing tasted better then grape soda when I was a little girl. That was the perk of going to the laundromat. My beautiful mom would buy me a grape soda, in a glass bottle. The doors of the laundromat were propped open, and I would play with the other children there. We would play and watch the dryers spin and talk and laugh, drinking our sodas in the sticky summer air. Nothing tasted as good as grape soda then, well...except for maybe chocolate ice cream.
You know, the ice cream you have when you've played outside all day and you're dirty and sweaty and the lightening bugs are out and you sit barefoot on the front steps?
I have been thinking about, not only my childhood, but that of my own daughters as well. I will be cleaning out a drawer, or moving something around, and there will be a picture, a doll shoe or a hairbow. I remember those warnings yelled, in true southern form, out the back door "stay in our yard!" "I'll call you for dinner in a few." "Tessa, look out for Alexaya!"
There are hundreds of stories and the beautiful thing is, the ending still hasn't been written, although
life has certainly tried to hasten an abrupt ending.
divorce
illness
financial ruin
job loss ( twice )
rejection
abuse
depression
broken relationships
broken people
broken promises
There have been those times when I wondered if I was ever going to have another "carefree" moment.
Would my daughters ever know what it was like to not struggle? Would they be okay, with everything that has happened? Would they have happy childhood memories?
Then, the miraculous happens.
People you thought were only in your life for a short time, resurface and end up being answers to prayer. A different type of reminiscing begins. You remember a scraggly teenager with legs a mile long and an appetite to match. You remember that crazy girl in chorus who giggled with you behind the music as you talked about the boy across the room. You remember that girl who wore dog collars and wore punked out clothes and although she looked hard core on the surface, she was the sweetest kid you knew. You remember another girl, who doubted herself and others. She hated her appearance and had tried to hurt herself, and so many more teenagers that came across my path, who I hoped I had helped along the way.
These last few months have shown me what happens when God is involved in those memories.
My rent is paid.
My electric bill is paid.
My prescriptions are purchased.
My cupboards are full.
My daughters have been helped.
All because we met a few or several years ago. We thought our relationships were confined to high school, to college, to ministry. But, they now have seen a need and have responded with overwhelming love and urgency.
I am reminded of Jesus.
When He saw a need, He met it. He didn't consult any committees. He didn't ask anyone if the sick, poor, lost, demon possessed, widows, etc. were church members, or if they were tithing. He didn't even say: "Let me pray about helping you."
He saw them.
He helped them.
Period.
Today, I am reminiscing. I am thinking of how miraculous it is, that God created those divine appointments all those years ago to help with needs today. Again, He knew there would be needs, and He knew how to meet them. I only wish we could all get together somehow. And what a group it would be. The tapestry God has woven of friendships all over this world, of time differences and ages and places in life....Wouldn't that be wonderful? I tell you what, I'll bring the grape soda.
Maybe it's because I will soon have "that Birthday." The big 5-0
Maybe too, it's because two of my favorite teachers have died, and at the same time "kids" I met while they were goofy teenagers, are now married with families of their own.
Reminiscing, remembering and walking through the misty stories of my childhood, has become commonplace these days.
As I left Walmart last week, I stopped at the drink machine. Instead of the usual water or a Coke, ( if I feel a craving ) I bought grape soda. It was, for a moment like a time machine.
Nothing tasted better then grape soda when I was a little girl. That was the perk of going to the laundromat. My beautiful mom would buy me a grape soda, in a glass bottle. The doors of the laundromat were propped open, and I would play with the other children there. We would play and watch the dryers spin and talk and laugh, drinking our sodas in the sticky summer air. Nothing tasted as good as grape soda then, well...except for maybe chocolate ice cream.
You know, the ice cream you have when you've played outside all day and you're dirty and sweaty and the lightening bugs are out and you sit barefoot on the front steps?
I have been thinking about, not only my childhood, but that of my own daughters as well. I will be cleaning out a drawer, or moving something around, and there will be a picture, a doll shoe or a hairbow. I remember those warnings yelled, in true southern form, out the back door "stay in our yard!" "I'll call you for dinner in a few." "Tessa, look out for Alexaya!"
There are hundreds of stories and the beautiful thing is, the ending still hasn't been written, although
life has certainly tried to hasten an abrupt ending.
divorce
illness
financial ruin
job loss ( twice )
rejection
abuse
depression
broken relationships
broken people
broken promises
There have been those times when I wondered if I was ever going to have another "carefree" moment.
Would my daughters ever know what it was like to not struggle? Would they be okay, with everything that has happened? Would they have happy childhood memories?
Then, the miraculous happens.
People you thought were only in your life for a short time, resurface and end up being answers to prayer. A different type of reminiscing begins. You remember a scraggly teenager with legs a mile long and an appetite to match. You remember that crazy girl in chorus who giggled with you behind the music as you talked about the boy across the room. You remember that girl who wore dog collars and wore punked out clothes and although she looked hard core on the surface, she was the sweetest kid you knew. You remember another girl, who doubted herself and others. She hated her appearance and had tried to hurt herself, and so many more teenagers that came across my path, who I hoped I had helped along the way.
These last few months have shown me what happens when God is involved in those memories.
My rent is paid.
My electric bill is paid.
My prescriptions are purchased.
My cupboards are full.
My daughters have been helped.
All because we met a few or several years ago. We thought our relationships were confined to high school, to college, to ministry. But, they now have seen a need and have responded with overwhelming love and urgency.
I am reminded of Jesus.
When He saw a need, He met it. He didn't consult any committees. He didn't ask anyone if the sick, poor, lost, demon possessed, widows, etc. were church members, or if they were tithing. He didn't even say: "Let me pray about helping you."
He saw them.
He helped them.
Period.
Today, I am reminiscing. I am thinking of how miraculous it is, that God created those divine appointments all those years ago to help with needs today. Again, He knew there would be needs, and He knew how to meet them. I only wish we could all get together somehow. And what a group it would be. The tapestry God has woven of friendships all over this world, of time differences and ages and places in life....Wouldn't that be wonderful? I tell you what, I'll bring the grape soda.
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