Visiting Hours in Heaven

I was thinking this morning, that it was only one week ago that we had the "historic" snow of November 1, 2014.  I wondered if I would even remember it next year and thought how I don't even record many events on my calendar anymore as Facebook seems to serve as a virtual scrapbook of all important happenings in our lives.

I was in the shower (of all places) as these musings occurred and my mind was immediately taken back to my Muz.  As my uncle mentioned in the homily he preached at her memorial, she would have written *SNOW!* in all caps in her calendar.  It would have been an exciting day.  She would have called us all to make sure that we looked outside.  (Embarrassingly enough, we either would have let the voicemail pick up or we would answer more out of obligation than anything else.) Everything with Muz was that way. There was anticipation that something wonderful was going to happen - no matter how insignificant the moment seemed to those around her.

And it was as I was standing there - in the shower - that I really cried for the first time in three years over the death of my grandmother.  The water poured over me as I shook, my face in my hands.  I thought of all that has happened since October 7, 2011.  Little insignificant things in the whole scheme of life: Mike and I giving our testimony, Sumter getting glasses, Jackson changing schools, my "haven" (a new room off our bedroom just for me), Sumter playing on drumline, Jackson's three-pointers in his basketball games, Maggie, Sumter's baptism, Jackson's braces, my new Explorer. She hasn't been here. And she would have seen these insignificant events, instead, with such anticipation and excitement and joy. But she hasn't been here. I can't even tell her about them.
And that makes me so sad.

It's strange how when someone dies, all the things that made you completely crazy just don't matter anymore.  Because she really did know how to drive all of us crazy with her warped sense of reality sometimes.  She could do and say the most "out there" things. (No, she didn't have dimentia or Alzheimers.). Things that would make us shake our heads.  Things that could hurt our feelings. Things that she thought were perfectly logical and appropriate, but were completely out of the realm of reality.

But that doesn't matter anymore, because I know where she I right now. And I'm not being all cliché.  I really do know where she is.  She was not perfect.  I just know where she is because of her faith.  A faith and relationship with Christ that really didn't blossom until she was about 70-years-old.  It was around that time that she was born-again (even though she would never use that term).  So even though I miss her incredibly.... and even though I wept this morning, I know where she is.

But still...

Visions of Snow

                   

Today the unthinkable happened: it snowed.  No, it didn't stick.  No snowmen were made.  No snowballs were thrown.  But it did snow.  And what a way to wake up this morning:  beautiful big flakes quietly and deliberately falling from a gray sky. Facebook was abuzzing.  Pictures were shared, with some areas to the northeast of us having a bit of accumulation. Folks were amazed and bemused that we would see the white stuff in South Carolina on the first day of November. 

Fast forward to this afternoon. We received some bad news. A major setback. Mike was beside himself with anxiety and frustration. He was in a bad place. And there was nothing I could do. I felt helpless - just as he was. And then I happened to see my Proverbs 31 devotion from yesterday. It said to pray like everything depends on God. Of course I know that. But do I do it?  Was I doing it right now? Obviously, the answer was a humble and uncomfortable No.

So I stopped what I was doing, right then and there. "Heavenly Father," I closed my eyes and prayed. "We need you right now. Things are not good at all right now.  I pray that you will take away the despair and anxiety from my husband. I ask that, in its place, you pour down your hope and promise that you will take care of him. We need you right now." As I was praying this over and over, I kept having visions of the gently falling snow from earlier today. But why? Why did that vision continue throughout my prayer? It was calming - and claiming me. I felt a peace wash over my troubled spirit.  

And then it hit me. It was not snow that was gently falling. It was manna. Manna! God's promise to the Israelites was that He would provide for their every need. It was manna. God's promise to us that He would provide for our every need. Wow. 

Like the Israelites, what we are going through right now will not be over quickly. It will take some time.  And at times, we will struggle. But I will remember the manna, and I know that He will provide. And we will be alright.

Milk and Bread

Hoping this winter storm is not a repeat of this from 2004.


We are bracing for snow, sleet and ice down south. Operative words being sleet and ice. I've been to the grocery store and bought the requisite extra batteries, milk and bread. (Of course, I bought other goodies to ease the potential discomfort of being stuck in the house with no power.)

I understand the batteries: flashlights, weather radios, etc. But what is with it with milk and bread? I'll be honest, we just needed the milk. We were getting low. But every time there is the slightest mention of inclement weather, our town goes nuts and clears the shelves. One might think it was a shoe sale at Nordstroms! I can tell you it isn't pretty...


My friend Corey is from Iowa and gets the giggles every time. She ponders what we all do with that abundance of milk and bread. Her epiphany?

Why "milk sandwiches" of course! Yum...

Winter Wonderland

So it did happen.  And it was beautiful.  

Snow begins falling around 3:00...

 

Our house...

  

1 1/2 inches at 5:00...

No leaves in the winter, but the snow looks so magical...

And it continues through the night...

Which gave us almost 5 inches...

Our hammock is blanketed...

A new roof for the birdfeeder...

Beautiful South Boundary in Aiken, but the snow was

beginning to melt by this time...

Many of you might be wondering where Sumter and Jackson are in all of these pictures.  Sadly, they are not at home this weekend.  Mike and I are so bummed out as we wish we could witness all the fun they are having in the snow!  They are with their Mimi and G-dad in the beautiful snowy mountains of North Carolina.  We agreed to let them go as the trip had been planned, and my father has a 4-Wheel Drive SUV.  However, we got a call last evening (THEY ARE ALRIGHT!) from my mother telling me that they skidded off a mountain road into a shallow ditch and almost tipped over.  The angels were with them as my father was able to get the SUV under control and back on the road and safely arrive at Kanuga (in Hendersonville, NC).  The boys were terrified, and my mother could hear both of them praying in the back seat.  They are fine now - snowball fights and building snowmen with friends solves everything!

My prayer request for you, sweet friends, is for a SAFE AND UNEVENTFUL TRIP BACK HOME tomorrow (Sunday).  The roads will be even icier, and I will be a nervous wreck until I can see and hug them!