We rejoice
We remember
We are thankful for the Love HE has given us
We remember and We praise Him
In Him we are fearfully and wonderfully made.
In Him we have life and hope
In Him we have forgiveness and life everlasting
On this Palm Sunday we praise Him
For all that He Is and all that He has done for us.
We are thankful
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A beautiful tree in Oregon
{Picture by Larry O}
Joining Deidra on jumping tandem on Sunday
This is my guest post that was posted on the Sacred Mundane blog :
I hope you enjoy it and perhaps give Kari a thank you for having me on her blog.
I was first introduced to reader Sharon via her “faithsgramma” email. I asked her to share what it’s like to embrace the Sacred Mundane as a grandparent. Enjoy her words today on being a godly “grand.”
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The day I became a grandmother my heart was a mixture of deep prayer and joy along with love on a level I never thought possible.
The call came telling me our daughter was in premature labor 7 weeks early, that life or death issues determined the baby needed to be born too soon for the safety of both of them. It was scary and gut-wrenching.
All I could do was pray.
Faith Elizabeth arrived weighing 2 pounds 11 ounces. She was a precious beautiful miracle baby. I remember standing over her neonatal bed thinking to myself, this is a sacred, holy moment.
On this day a grandma, a mom and a new baby, three generations huddle close to each other celebrating life and every breath.
{… he commanded our fathers so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commandments.} Psalm 78:6, 7
As I watched that tiny little baby sleep surrounded by IV tubes and buzzers I determined in my mind this grandma would share with her ways of God and the words of his truth any opportunity I could.
[These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.] Deut 6: 6, 7
Because she was a strong, healthy little baby Faith was released to go home early weighing only 3 lbs. 9 oz at 4 weeks. When our daughter had to return to work I made the choice to quit my job and stay home with Faith so she could get a good start in a protected environment.
Life as a stay at home grandma is not too different than a stay at home mom.
At times it was a bit boring, doing laundry and washing bottles, the day-to-day things that surround the care of a little baby.
It was in those moments I would continue to believe in this sacred duty. Every time I picked that tiny bundle up and held her close to me I was making memories and creating a safe place that only a grandma could do. It didn’t matter if fatigue was near or frustration walking close, what mattered was the attitude of my heart to be the spiritual grandma who told stories of Jesus and the faithfulness of our God who kept her tiny heartbeat strong.
I stayed home with her till she was age three and as time passed she has grown into a beautiful 12 year old. We have five other grandchildren now, and at times watching them is not always easy or exciting but the calling on my heart is to be a grandma who shares the love of God to each and every one of them.
I want them to know without a shadow of a doubt God is near and he loves them. I am honored to be their grandma, and pray they will love and serve God faithfully.
I am a grandmother embracing the Sacred Mundane.
We went back up to visit my dad this weekend for
the second time in two weeks.
It is important to go as often as we can allow ourselves to drive the distance.
He looked tired and we knew the drug he had been given opens up the airways and allows for air to flow adding color to his face.
His moods were shifting from intense grumpiness to a smile and small conversation.
It is not often relational or even ‘real’ heart to heart talking
but it is listening to his voice and sensing his presence in the room
that makes the trip worth it for me.
A few days earlier he had a cortisone drip along with an infusion session to fight against the leukemia process.
It helps him for a small season of time but within that process of helping he is given a false sense of energy and stamina and feels like he can do more than he is able.
At one point in our visit he stood up and walked across the room.
We were startled to see him do this as he has not been able to walk that strong for weeks.
It is a false sense of strength for him and he becomes wired emotionally and later physically pulled into a direction of deep fatigue as the drug works itself out of his system.
Cancer is such an evil force.
Our pastor was talking yesterday about the fight between the light and the dark and the spiritual battle we all must deal with.
As I listened to him I saw my dad in a different kind of war of his own.
I could visualize each army of fighter cells armed with weapons of warfare to take him down physically.
It is a force he cannot always reckon with.
His energy is very low and when the prednisone drug is not in his system his breathing is very labored and his stamina very weak.
He agreed to exchange his walker for a motorized wheelchair which helps him move without using too much air.
His normal self is leaving and he is emotionally fighting the process.
It is always hard to give up and give in to the the many changes one must make when an illness takes over.
The process of dying is so hard on all involved.
I have often said it is like the experience of labor and delivery only one is coming into the world and in the dying process one is leaving.
We don’t know when dad will leave us.
We had a good visit and we purposely didn’t stay long as his stamina is low and each visit requires him to push himself.
He does not have the air strength to keep conversation flowing so he listens more than talks.
When we said we were leaving he stood up to say goodbye to us.
When I hugged him I wondered to myself if it would be our last and even wondered how would I remember him. The delicate journey between a father and a daughter is both frustrating and fragile.
When an illness takes over the family dynamics change and life is different for a season.
The grown ‘children’ become the caretakers and as difficult as it is
one would hope and pray that memories stay good and words stay kind.
When an illness takes over and final goodbyes are said
we pray for no regrets and no bad feelings left in our hearts
when a father and daughter says goodbye for the last time.
Two days apart… we had snow and sun.
It was a nice change to have both but so very strange.
Boots and coats and hot coffee warmed us one day.
Everything white with temperatures of winter.
Then everything turned sunny with temperatures of spring.
No coats needed and we found ourselves wanting iced lemonade.
Changes like this come into our lives each day
each week
perhaps even each month.
Just as dramatic as this weeks weather.
I call them life altering or life changing moments.
In an instant…something is changed.
The question and the challenge for us is:
when the changes come
and they will come
will we be ready for them?
{pictures by Sharon O}
Joining Deidra of jumping tandem on Sundays.
Simplicity
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