Tag Archives: blessings

An amazing “AHA” moment

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bulb can be found at www.nostalgicbulbs.com

bulb can be found at www.nostalgicbulbs.com

I had one of those “Aha” moments yesterday.  It was truly a game changer for me.  As a scientist, I’ve always loved the story of Archimedes jumping out of the bathwater when he discovered the method to prove that the king’s crown was truly gold.  Although it is rumored he yelled, “Eureka”, that is my favorite historical “Aha” moment.  As a teacher, I have always enjoyed the times when I saw the light bulb turn on for a student.  It’s that moment when you get a glimpse into a student taking knowledge and making it their own.  Bringing big smiles to me, those moments are priceless.

My epiphany yesterday came about in an unexpected way.  I needed to travel for a business meeting, and my ministry partner who was to travel with me was needed to care for her mom.  Utilizing the best network of friends I have, I posted on Facebook asking if anyone was free for a quick trip to Sioux Falls.  Luckily for me, a friend and her little boy (whom I lovingly call Turnip) were free and up for a road trip.

I have known this friend for more than a year, but we’ve never had this kind of just the two of us time together before.  I was looking forward to it, and I was so thankful for the company.  Turnip isn’t a bad companion either.  He rode along as a little trooper in his car seat.  I will never turn down an opportunity to snuggle with him – ever!

As the day progressed, we spent our travel time just swapping stories and getting to know each other better.  Turns out, we have a lot in common.  She probably discovered what most of my friends do – I have a story about everything!  At some point, we were sharing some pretty amazing stories of how God has handled things in our life.  I don’t really know how it happened, but she was telling of an amazing opportunity of when God had put her in a place to truly bless some strangers.

As she was telling her story, it was almost as if God dropped some knowledge on that mini-van that went straight to my heart.  Sometimes, I just need to get out of my own way.  That seems theoretically impossible, but what I mean is that sometimes, I let MY plans, MY worries, MY fears, and MY failures, get in the way of God’s.  I really get bent out of shape if MY plans go awry.

Listening to her story, I realized that every single time that MY plans didn’t, well, go as planned. God had either set me up to be blessed more or placed me to bless someone else.  That knowledge was a humbling game changer.  I thought about how God had lovingly given me a new set of skills for the next plan that falls apart.  I need to adjust my horizon by praying, “Okay God! I don’t know what’s coming but I’m ready to be blessed or to bless someone.  And I’m listening.”

When that light bulb went on in my head, I am fairly certain that the Ultimate Teacher smiled. 

A score minus four years ago today

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Always loved those cheeks!

Always loved those cheeks!

Sawyer:

Sixteen years ago, I woke up that morning after a fitful night of sleep to put on my warmest clothes, grab a suitcase, and head out into one of the coldest days I had ever experienced.  We arrived at the hospital a little before 7 AM, and we were getting ready for a potentially long day or days.  Back then the maternity floor only had one birthing suite, and we were there getting settled.   When all of a sudden in came a former doctor who staked his claim, and we were booted to the less fancy room down the hall. The morning nurse apologized over and over . (All I kept thinking was “Of all the nerve!” If it wasn’t such a big day, I probably would have told him off. As far as this Mama Bear goes, it shows his lack of class.)

I was there for a scheduled inducement as I was a full 10 days past my due date.  They hooked me up to all sorts of things, and then we waited. Of course, Reed (also induced) took a long time to arrive; so I planned on making this a couple day thing. One of the things I remember clearly was how incredibly hungry I was, but ice chips and popsicles were all they offered.  (I do remember more than once trying to convince your dad to sneak out and get me some little chocolate donuts. He didn’t, and I asked him whose team he was on anyways.)

Boredom eventually overtook us, and I asked if we could at least walk around that floor of the hospital.  With pull cart in tow, Dad & I made enough laps around the hospital that I earned the amounts needed for the health and fitness challenge at work.  I even tried to convince them later that giving birth should count as work-out points. (I must have been convincing because I won the most creative work-out that year.)

Eventually I started to feel some pain, and man, you would have thought a visiting army was coming into town.  I scoffed.  “We aren’t having a baby yet.  It’s only four in the afternoon.”  A classmate’s mom, who was our nurse that day just smiled and said, “Well, it’s better to be prepared.”

Within in an hour, Dr. O was there and between pushes, he and Dad were watching television.  Strangely, I can remember that first, the weather man brought a cup of water outside and threw it into the air.  It was ice before it hit the ground.  There was also a terrible violent gang act on the news, and all of us had a conversation about how we were so glad we didn’t live there.  The news was finally over, and the guys switched the channel to golf.  I was too busy with other things – like pushing – to protest out loud, but in my mind, I was thinking of all the things to watch – GOLF!

Sometime in there, a call was made to one of your sets of godparents who brought Reed and Grandma Sheran to the hospital for the big arrival.  They were right outside the door the moment you arrived.  6:18 pm – Nannie loved that number because those numbers were the same as her birthday.  And there you were!  It was love at first sight.  Well, at least for most of us, Reed who never liked to be dirty, proclaimed, “Eww (with wrinkled up nose), is this my new baby brother? He needs a bath.”

Eventually, I walked to the regular room which earned me quite a reputation for being one tough momma.  The truth is that had more to do with you.  You were just plain amazing.  Easy delivery . . . easy to raise, and for that we are blessed.

It’s like the card we gave you this morning says, “Every hold my breath moment has been worth it.  You have grown into an AMAZING young man.”  We are so blessed and honored that God chose to give you to us!

By the way, I did get my little chocolate donuts that night, and every time, I have one I think about one of the most wonderful days in my whole entire life.

Happy Sweet 16th, Sawyer!  Even though, I didn’t know what lie ahead for us all those years ago, I do know one thing for sure.  God has mighty and amazing plans for your life!

I love you!

3 Things: 10/8/12

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I needed a week long to recover from Reed’s Run.  I have a series of blogs that will be coming in the next few days sharing special memories from that weekend, but I have missed writing about things that I enjoy.  So now that Reed’s Run has come to a close, I am ready to share my weekly list of things that make me smile.

  1. Surprises – I had a big one at Reed’s Run which I will be sharing in a later blog, and I had one this summer.  On our return trip home from Florida our first night’s stop was actually at my grandmother’s house in Alabama.  When we arrived, there was a car in the driveway that I didn’t recognize.  If you grew up in the South, you know to read the license plates because it will tell you not only the state from which the car hails but also the county, designated by words or by a code number.  In this case, the car was from Fulton County, Georgia.  I knew in a heartbeat that could only mean one thing . . . my Uncle Rendell and my Aunt Margaret.  Knowing that my aunt was extremely ill with Stage 4 cancer, their presence was a gift incredible!  To know that I was loved that much to make a couple hour trip brought me to tears.  We had such a lovely visit catching up and seeing how my kids and their grandkids had grown.  It would be our last conversation because my aunt went home to Jesus at the beginning of September.  Even though it was our last visit here, she is just one of the many necks that I cannot wait to hug in heaven. Surprises that become cherished memories DEFINITELY make me smile.
  2. Impromptu Family/Friends Gatherings – The night before Reed’s Run we had an impromptu bonfire and birthday celebration for our September birthdays following the Lakeview football game.  We had a goofy sing-along naming off a bunch of names of ninth month celebrants followed by roasting s’mores in place of serving birthday cake.  The giggles and story-swapping only got better as the fire died down.  Sawyer had a great time meeting his “God-brother” for the first time and helping him to roast a marshmallow.  It wasn’t fancy nor was it gourmet – although we turned a few heads by following a Team Stevens time-honored tradition of using Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups instead of Hershey’s bars.  Even though the gathering lacked refinement, it definitely exuded magic.  The magic of life.  The magic of reconnecting.  The magic of celebrating.  The magic of the ordinary and the extraordinary thing called love.  That kind of magic will always make me smile.
  3. Amazing Friends – The week before Reed’s Run, I received a phone call from a dear friend who told me that she was praying for my Sunday.  It was a good thing that it was not a Skype conversation.  I stood mouth-apage with eyebrows raised in perplexity.  “Did she really think that the Run was Sunday?”  My silent indignation must have been perceivable through the phone line.  My friend further explained that she knew that Reed’s Run was probably the closest thing to a wedding that we would ever have for Reed.  She had been praying for me not to wake-up on Sunday and say disappointedly, “We went to all that work for that!”  I understood that sentiment of disappointment. She wanted us to wake up blessed and amazed.  (We did.) More importantly, this sweet lady wanted us to know that people were praying – even for things that we didn’t know.  Having friends that know your needs even before you know them is smile-worthy.

Feeling loved.  Being surprised, even when I knew I was  saying good-bye.  Having second mile friends.  Celebrating the little stuff.  All of it confirms something that I heard on the radio the other day.

The speaker said that we should all have “campaign signs” in our front yards that said that “God voted for me!”  My last few weeks have been a secure confirmation that the speaker spoke the truth!

Blessed and loved . . . and still smiling!