Abraham and Sarah

I was fielding the lunch questions about

 when we are leaving (Wednesday),

where we are going (North Dakota),

where we are staying (don't know),

how long we'll be gone (don't know)

when I'll be back for a visit (don't know).

I said, "It's sort of like going on faith"

And she said,

"Just like Abraham and Sarah"

Genesis 12 tell us that God told Abraham to leave his country

 and go to a land He (God) would show him.

So Abraham left just as God said, and Lot (his nephew) went with him. Abraham was seventy-five years old.  He took his wife Sarah, and his nephew Lot with him, along with all the possessions and people that had accumulated.  And they set out for the land of Canaan and they arrived safe and sound..

A commentary I read says the trip was about 400 miles and would have taken 20 days if they could average 20 miles a day.  The move would have been like moving a small city.

So I wonder,

Did Sarah make a list?

Did she Google Canaan?
Did she check the weather?

How many camp grounds did she call before she found availability?

Did she make sure all the robes and tents were clean?

Did she make a snack pack for everybody?

How many trips did she make to Walmart?

Did she have a lunch date with friends before she left?

Did she forward the mail?

Did her cell phone break two days before she left?

Did Abe sell her favorite riding camel 12 hours before she left?

No, I'm not Sarah

and I'm not married to Abraham.

My man follows the job

and I follow the man.

And it feels like we are moving a small city.

But, yes, we are going on faith.

Eternity

For 15 years I have buried my nose in everything that was hers,

 hoping, I suppose, to somehow bring her back through her scent. 

 At first it was her clothes, then her pillow, her blanket, her hairbrush, until I finally stopped.

But this week I was trying to make some room in the bathroom vanity (the bathroom that was hers)

and pulled out a small plastic storage box. 

 I smelled her the minute I opened the box. 
I smelled her.

The contents of the box were hers - things I never got around to tossing:  facial cleanser, firming mask, alcohol swabs, sucrets, ear plugs, various over the counter meds, and

luxury body powder - ETERNITY by Calvin Klein.

I smelled her today.

Eternity

Heather Renee Floyd
10-23-77  -  9-11-96

Thoughts about Nana Camp

Maybe it has something to do with just having the significant birthday or maybe it was just dragging out all the old stuff - but Nana Camp was a blast from the past and a walk down memory lane.  I've never thought of myself as sentimental, but it appears that I need to change my thinking.


For our tea party, when Hannah changed clothes with each crumpet, I wore the same outfit my mother wore to tea parties with Holly and Heather.  Her old pink squaw dress with silver rick rack and her silver blouse.  Oh, my goodness.  It wasn't planned, it was just there, so I wore it.  Our tea set was hand china painted for Heather by her Granny.

We decided that we just didn't have enough dress-up clothes for the tea party and went thrift store shopping.  We found wonderful clothes and even pink satin heels that went home with her.  I thought about the dress up parties of years past - my mom always crashed the parties in her pink skirt, silver blouse and a mask.

Some of the toys in the toy box were her mom's toys.  And she played with everybody's dolls, included my mine.

Our last day, I pulled out all the old stuffed animals and told Hannah she could take home any of them she wanted.  She said no thanks.  But when I told her they were headed for the thrift store, she started loading sacks and took almost all of them.  They will probably still end up in a thrift store.

Teaching her to sew made me remember learning to sew in 4-H.  I can still remember that yellow gingham skirt with 3 rows of elastic at the waist.  My first garment in Junior High Home Economics was the hardest dress pattern I could find and it looked pretty good.  I need to keep teaching her sewing skills.

She eats like a little humming bird, flitting around from snack to snack.  One day she had eaten about every 30 minutes - cereal, fruit, popcorn, pizza, apple, popcorn, cookie, popcorn, apple and about 4 that afternoon, she said, "Nana, have we had lunch?"  I might get fired for that!

We learned a scripture every day, beginning with - I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength and ending with Chidren obey your parents.  I thought she might need that little reminder after being the princess for a week! 

It was a great week and I feel blessed above all Nana's.

Tea Party Conversation

 

So Miss Hannah,

What did you do this week?

"Well,"

(in her best, fancy tea party lady voice)

"I painted

and played the piano

and learned a song,

and went to the pool

and fed the mean ducks

and hungry prairie dogs

and sewed

a really soft pillow

and a robe for Addie

and a pink dress

and a blue/ purple dress

and cooked

and made a pie for Papa

(with a gummi critter on top - tee hee)"

".....and Nana,

I stayed 5 whole nights without my parents"

Yes, Miss Hannah, you are an incredible woman.

Nana Camp

This week of Nana Camp is like a miracle.

a breath of fresh air,

a gift straight from heaven

A couple of years ago, she was going through a fit throwing stage
and you might say she was the Queen of Fits.

And because I wouldn't let her get away with it,

she didn't like me. 

In fact,she went through some time when she wouldn't

kiss, hug, talk,

 or even look at me.

She would just cross those arms and scowl.

Yes, it broke the grandmother's heart.

November 3, 2009

I wrote this in my journal:

Hannah says to me:

"don't get close"

(Don't we say the same to God.

"you can only come this close")

Hannah says to me:

"don't touch my art project"

(Don't we say to God, "I want you in my life,

but you can't have my...

job, family, money, etc.")

Hannah says to me:

"no kisses, no hugs"

(Don't we say to God, "no lovin' on me")

Then Hannah  says, "Nana, will you help me..."

(Don't we run to Him when we need help?)

Hannah says, "Nana, you sit here, you stand there,

you say this and play this way"

(Don't we tell God to play by our rules. 

Don't we tell Him who we want Him to be?)

 I decided that day that I would love Hannah

as unconditionally as my Father loves me.

I would be there when she fell down,

when she needed me,

and when she can't reach what she needs...

So every chance I got, I said:

"Hannah, I loved you yesterday

I love you today

I will love you tomorrow

and you can't do anything that will

keep me from loving you"

And like her stubborn Nana,

she has finally given in to unconditional love.

Here we are having a grand and glorious time

at Nana Camp.

Children's Children are a Crown to the aged

(Proverbs 17:6)

More fun pictures later...

Happy Anniversary

We never dreamed that 40 years later
we would wake up in an RV (what's that?)
in the hill country (where's that?)
with grandchildren in bed with us!

Happy Anniversary, Honey!

Thinking

There's a lot of thinking going on while spraying mesquite trees.

I should have paid more attention to my daddy's getting rid of them.

I think he poisoned, then grubbed.

He did it the last time just before his 90th birthday.

Bless his hard working heart

I should have paid more attention.

One good thing about the dead grass

is that the trees are easy to spot.

I wonder how much water these things drink.

They're harder to kill when they've been here longer.

It's kind of like sin ~

even stuff like fear, being judgemental,

gossip, unforgiveness ~

the longer we hang on to it,

the deeper the roots

and harder to get free from.

hmmmmm......

Wish those were rain clouds.

Send the rain.

People keep quoting 2 Chornicles 7:14

"if my people, who are called by my name,

will humble themselves and pray

and seek my face

and turn from their wicked ways,

then will I hear from heaven

and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

my people

I never thought about it before

my people - believers?

who are called by my name

Christian?

Not atheists, agnostics, buddaists, or muslims

my people, called by my name

Not them

Me.

humble myself

pray

seek His face

turn from my wicked ways

then He will forvive my sins with these long roots

and heal my land.

Lord, forgive our sins and heal our land

Thank you for protecting us from fires

Please send rain.

Goodness there's a lot to think about.....