(Blog 2 as I continue with stories from our trip to St. Kitts.)

St. Kitts is a tourist stop for the cruise ships.  While we were on St. Kitts visiting Jill and Andy there were three cruise ships that visited the Port Zante dock in downtown Basseterre.  As the tourists venture off the boat, they exit onto a lovely couple of palm tree lined streets with beautiful shops and restaurants to entertain them.  Tourist shops and cheap nick-knack souvenirs do not interest either Ted or me, but we wanted to check it out with all the other boat tourists.  The stores were lovely with their bright tropical painted fronts.  Colorful and tantalizing arrays of tourist treasures beckoned to passersby.  Jill and Andy explained to us how these streets were deserted when there were no cruise ships docked.  Many of the stores don’t even open unless a boat was in.  The bright, clean, and bustling shopping area was for show only.

Back up to a little economic history of St. Kitts.  The island originally produced tobacco but in the 1600’s switched to sugar cane with the help of the slave trade.  More than sixty sugar plantations once thrived on the island.  In 2005 the government closed the sugar industry.  Apparently sugar made in the states and elsewhere from sugar beets was cheaper than what St. Kitts could produce.  The number one industry now?  Tourism.

If you happen to be at one of the resorts on St. Kitts or Nevis Island, taking in one of the attractions, or shopping at a souvenir shop, you will see the smiling faces of the people native to this beautiful tropical island.  On a scenic tour that we took on a train, we were greeted by waving and smiling children each time we passed a school.  It was as if they were trained to greet the tourist train with happy faces as their contribution to the tourism industry.  Oh they made for a darling picture.

But because Jill and Andy actually live on the island, we got the chance to see the real lifestyle and story.  The pretty streets and shops with the smiling native faces were for tourists only.  A visitor from a cruise ship would have a very nice picture of life on St. Kitts.  In reality, it is a rather poor little island.  We saw the government housing, the crumbled buildings, the dirt roads, stray dogs, and piles of litter.  Andy told of how he has made several trips to the local grocery store.  The chatty locals shopping and working in the store did not keep up their friendly smile when it was Andy’s turn to check out.

Of course, Laurel sees a lesson here.

Do you know how people are when asked how they are doing?  The stereotypical answer is, “I’m fine.”  It is a pretty safe answer.  But behind that benign answer you may find conflict, pain, stress or sadness hiding.   Like a tourist’s visit to a tropical island.  Oh, it’s all pretty and lovely from the face view … its fine.  But beneath that glossy façade is a real island with real people who are struggling to live and provide for their families.

As we meet new people, we are like tourists who are just visiting and seeing the pretty side of our new acquaintance.  But as we get to know a person and become friends, we become privy to the real picture of what is beneath that public exterior.  It’s a good thing to keep in mind.  What you see is not always what you get.  The smile on the outside can cover what’s inside.

St. Kitts is a beautiful island of beaches, tropical plants, and smiling faces.  Beneath that show-offy cover there is a hot dusty island – still very beautiful but in a different, personal way.  It was good to see both faces.

just Laurel

Colossians 3:1-4 So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

I’m back!

Sorry, readers, for being away for so long.  Life got really busy with looking after Amanda, keeping tabs on my dad and his post-heart surgery medical issues, a garage sale (lots of work), extra days of work at the surgical center, and finally getting away on a vacation!  Ted and I were so tired of working and being busy with ‘stuff’ that it was a good thing we had planned this trip and were forced to get on an airplane.

So, where did we go, where did we go??

St. Kitts, of course.

Where is St. Kitts, you may ask, and why did we go there?  Saint Kitts (also known more formally as Saint Christopher Island – named after its discoverer – Christopher Columbus) is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighboring island of Nevis constitute one country:  the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis.  Ross School of Veterinary Medicine is on St. Kitts and that is the school my daughter, Jillian, attends.  Jillian and her husband Andy moved there in December.  We had to visit them!  It was a wonderful six days.  Out of this trip, I’ve collected many topics to contribute to this blog so look for a couple weeks’ worth of stories that will educate and inform you about this interesting island and our vacation experience.

If you are familiar with Disney Land and the “Small World” attraction, then you know how that song “It’s a Small Word After All” can be so annoyingly repetitious.  That was almost the theme song of our vacation as that song kept echoing in the back of my head each time we made a new connection with presumed strangers.

On our first flight from Detroit to Miami, I started chatting with a lovely woman from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.  She had three daughters, we have three daughters.  She and her husband were sailors (yeah – us too).  She went to Hope College (hello – that’s where Jill and Kristen went).  And her children enjoyed many summer camp experiences at Springhill Camp – yes, the same camp our daughters attended and worked at.  (It’s a small world after all, it’s a small world after all….)

After changing flights in Miami, we were on a Boeing 737 packed full of people heading for St. Kitts. “I wonder why all these people are heading to St. Kitts” I mentioned out loud to the guy sitting on my right.  “Well my wife and I are going because I won a trip though my company” the guy replied.  “What company?” I asked.  “Oh, you wouldn’t know it – it’s a small company called Henry Schein” he responded.  OMG!  Of course I knew of that company, it is a dental supply company and I worked several years for a dentist.  I explained to this guy that I DID know his company and told him of the dentists I’d worked for.  OMG – he KNEW the dentists I worked for!  This ‘guy’ was now “Bob” and his wife “April” and we shared some good conversation as we flew towards St. Kitts.  (It’s a small world after all ….)

Those two meetings were already good stories to tell of how small a world we live in.  But then …

Walking on one of the beaches on St. Kitts, we passed a sunbathing couple.  The male half of the couple noticed Andy’s University of Tennessee shirt and called out “Hey – the Vols!”  Andy replied, “Yeah – did you go to UT?”  The guy replied that he did not but that his brother did.  The conversation continued with the typical “Where are you from?  Why are you vacationing here?”  We found out that this couple was newlyweds on their honeymoon and that Fort Wayne, Indiana was home to them.  Jillian piped in, “Oh, my friend just moved to Fort Wayne and is marrying a guy from there.”  “What’s his name?” the newlyweds asked.  Jill told them and jaws dropped.  Yes sir.  They knew the guy.  Good friends actually.  We were all stunned.  What are the chances of walking a beach on an island only 65 square miles in size, in the Caribbean, on April 26^th, 2013, with Andy wearing just the right shirt, and this guy looking up at just the right time, all from different states, and then discovering this common connection?  (It’s a small world after all, it’s a small, small world.)

Although we were far from home, the world itself seemed smaller as we connected with people with similar experiences and shared friends.  Of course, the best part of the trip was being with our daughter and her husband.  But to cross paths with people like that and experience a linking of lives was (as Ted would say) UNBELIEVABLE.

It’s a world of laughter, a world of tears
It’s a world of hopes, a world of fear
There’s so much that we share
That it’s time we’re aware
It’s a small world after all
There is just one moon and one golden sun
And a smile means friendship to everyone
Though the mountains divide and the oceans are wide
It’s a small world after all.

just Laurel

It’s been a ‘not quite right’ couple of days.

With the weather striving to be warmer and more spring-like, I have been trying to get outside to walk/run and work off some extra winter pounds.  Along with that, of course, is the attempt to squelch my sweet-tooth and eat less and eat healthy.  But every time I run down a certain street, the wind seems to blow just the right direction and carry the delicious smell of pizza from the local Little Caesars to my nostrils.  It’s not fair!  That sinful smell of cheesy, pizza goodness is not the kind of encouragement I need right now.

And then the other day it was time to switch the bathroom towels around and throw the current ones in the laundry.  I pulled some fresh, clean, blue-striped towels from the linen closet and got nauseous.  Why?  A few years back when Ted was living and working in Indiana while I lived here trying to sell the house, these were the towels he had in his Indiana apartment.  We hated living apart.  I hated having to visit Ted on weekends in his Indiana apartment.  Those towels brought back memories of a not so pleasant time and place.  I hated those towels.  I surprised myself at the wave of sad emotions those towels created.  It was just not right.

At work this week we had two doctors operating on the same day.  The first doctor had only two patients.  The two patients each needed a prescription from the doctor.  Nurse Laurel had the prescriptions all neatly written and signed by the doctor.  Patient number one went home with patient number two’s prescription.  Argh!  How did I do that?   Mixed those up?  It was a little mistake that made for a big mess of work to straighten out.  Patient one had to be called, pharmacy numbers had to be obtained, more phone calls followed.  <sigh>  Doctor number two had us running with fifteen patients and this prescription snafu just complicated the day.  It was not the right thing to have happened on such an incredibly busy day.

And then today.  Oh Lordy.  At work we have a small locker room where staff changes into scrubs.  Many times after a person exits the room, the door stays locked and the next person trying to enter the room to change gets locked out.  Several times, I have been called on to fetch the key and unlock the door.  Our head nurse came in a few hours after we had already gotten several patients through surgery.  She headed for the locker room and was locked out.  “Laurel, could you get the key and come unlock this door?  Someone locked it again.” She called to me.  I quickly grabbed the key from its secure hiding space and met the head nurse at the door.  With a quick turn-key motion I unlocked and pushed open the door.  Helloooo Dr. Martin!  (Name changed to protect the innocent!)  The door was locked because Dr. Martin was changing his clothes!   Oh dear, my face must have turned beet red, head nurse shouted an apology, and I pointed to her and said, “She made me do it!”  Oh that was just not right.

Fortunately, all the quirky ‘not right’ things that happened did little damage.  I smelled the lovely pizza, but did not buy one!  I was able to deal with the blue striped towels.  Both patients got the right prescriptions phoned in for them.  And Dr. Martin was almost done dressing with just a zip and a buckle to take care of and we all had a good laugh.

Bombs and a marathon?  That was so not right.  Just thinking of all those runners and spectators who were gathered for such a wonderful event only to have lives and limbs shattered.  It’s going to take a long time to get that mess sorted out.  Many people will never be the same again.  There will be nothing to laugh about.  That was not right at all.

Tears, hugs, and prayers to all those affected.

Psalm 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds.

just Laurel

Tom Wilson:
Wisdom doesn’t necessarily come with age. Sometimes age just shows up all by itself.

It was a day of many flavors.  I shall begin with the middle part of the day before I tell you the best and first part.  I went with my Mom and Pop to a Polish restaurant that we’ve wanted to try for quite a long time.  Now I must first give some background for you to better understand.  While growing up, my family and I lived in the very ethnic neighborhood of Parma, Ohio.  There were Italians, Ukrainians, and Polish people as well as other ethnicities.  Every Tuesday the little old Polish women worked in the church basement kitchen to produce the best pierogi in the world.  Since then, we have always searched for a similar delicious version with that as the standard.  Our lunch today brought back Parma Polish Pierogi memories!  Pop and I ordered the Polish feast plate that included a meatball, stuffed cabbage, city chicken, 2 pierogi, and dumplings with gravy. Oh Lordy it was good!

Leon Trotsky:
Old age is the most unexpected of all the things that happen to a man.

Our next stop was the Italian bakery.  My folks picked up some pizza dough (yummy and yeasty – to make their own pizzas!), some bear claws, a wonderful hunk of some hard Italian cheese for grating, some pepperoni, and prosciutto.

H. J. Byron, An Adage:
The gardener’s rule applies to youth and age:
When young “sow wild oats,” but when old, grow sage.

After that, they dropped me off at my house.  I ran inside to get the sticky buns I had made for Pop.  I started last night with dough that I kneaded and kneaded.  After the first rise, it rose a second time in the fridge and this morning I formed it into 8 big swirled cinnamon sticky buns.  A third rise and they were baked.  Pop always complains that you can’t get good yeasty cinnamon rolls.  I hope they pass the test.

Chinese proverb:
Men grow old, pearls grow yellow, there is no cure for it.

The day featured the flavors of Polish food, Italian food, and cinnamon sticky buns.  So what happened in the morning?  In the morning Pop had a visit with his cardiologist.  For those of you who haven’t been reading, Pop had heart surgery in March and had his aortic valve replaced.  There have been a few set-backs, but the cardiologist told Pop that everything was just as it should be today.  He told him he could “Do anything you want to do.”  Pop had the taste of good health today.

Malcolm Forbes, The Capitalist Handbook:
By the time we’ve made it, we’ve had it.

But the icing on the cake today (another flavor!) is the fact that it was Pop’s 85^th birthday!   That just may explain to you why I have so many old age quotes on this blog – just for fun!  I particularly like this next one:

Arabic proverb:
God gives nuts to those with no teeth.

I’m not sure what that proverb means.  Ha!  But it was a fine flavorful day and it tastes good to see both Pop and Mom doing so well.

Now what’s for dessert?

Psalm 91:16a with long life I will satisfy them.

just Laurel

My daughter Kristen and her husband Ric have lived in Portland, Oregon, for almost two years now.  Although it is a beautiful part of the country, they have not found the people to be as desirable.  Here in Michigan when you walk down the street and someone is coming at you from the other direction, you can be almost certain that your eyes will meet and one or both of you will nod a hello.  Kristen tells me that in Portland, people do not make eye contact.  They don’t look at you.  Weird, huh?  With my job as a recovery nurse to patients having eye surgery, you can be sure I spend my day looking into plenty of eyes.  But even when I’m not at work, I tend to always catch the eye of the person I walk past or the service person or waitress who is speaking to me.  I love how, when eyes meet, I can smile at that person and instantly a smile appears and reflects back at me.  I think God created us so that our eyes were meant to connect.  Unlike most all the other mammals I can think of, we are the only mammal that show the whites of our eyes.  It makes the dark center of our eyes stand out.  It is easier to see where someone else is looking.

Our eyes can convey so much:  they give away our emotions and can convey attentiveness and an intimate bond when eye contact is made.  By a look into someone’s eyes you can tell if they have shifty eyes, bedroom eyes, sad eyes, a sparkle in their eyes, kind eyes, or eyes that are glazed over.  There is a Romanian proverb that states, “The eyes have one language everywhere.”  No words needed here – just look into someone’s eyes and you will know a lot about them.

Psalm 119:37 tells us to “Turn my eyes away from worthless things.”  Yeah – we are what we look at!  What are you gazing at on that computer screen?  Are you staring and lusting for some expensive, unnecessary bauble or fancy item?  Are you stuck on looking at the past?  Do you see the poor and needy as dirty and worthless or do you see the pain and their needs?   As I gave more thought to the non-eye-contact Portlanders I realized what may be the cause.  Portland just about caters to the homeless and offers food and shelter to thousands.  You could say it promotes the homeless lifestyle.  On most any street you walk in Portland, you will find people asking for money.  Perhaps this has caused the general population to turn away and not make eye contact with anyone so they do not have to encounter and dismiss another person with their hand out?

Helen Keller once said that, “Of all the senses, sight must be the most delightful.”  I would have to agree.  I would rather lose my hearing than lose my sight.  Poor Helen had neither.  You’ve heard the expression in describing something gorgeous and lovely as being “a feast for the eyes”?  I hope sweet Helen had a banquet waiting for her in heaven!

“My eyes are ever on the Lord” is the wise advice of Psalm 25:15.  Yes, we must keep our eyes away from worthless things and look for direction from the Lord.  He is our ultimate example of how we should live.  And although we should try to keep the picture of an empty Easter tomb fresh in our minds, I understand the challenge of keeping our eyes and minds set in the direction of God’s way and plan.  It’s all about faith as 2 Corinthians 4:18 tells us how we must, “…fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.”

And finally, I must share these two wise quotes I found about eyes and seeing that I discovered today which offer wise marital advice:

“Keep your eyes wide open before marriage and half-shut afterwards.” said Benjamin Franklin.  Ah yes, wise old Ben!

Haha

And my favorite:

“Behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes.”  –  Jim Carrey

Love it.

Just Laurel

I do not like going to garage sales.  I really don’t need somebody else’s stuff – I have enough of my own stuff that I can do without.  Fortunately, twice a year our city has a “Citywide Garage Sale” and I love HAVING a garage sale.  It’s a great way to purge and get rid of stuff.  Not only do the closets and drawers get cleaned out, but I make a little money as well.  And what doesn’t sell I take to a thrift shop.  It’s a win-win for everyone!

The citywide garage sale is in two weeks.  I have been busy pricing stuff (the part I don’t like).  As I sorted through a box of cast-offs from the cleaning-out efforts of one daughter, there were some textbooks she no longer needed.   I decided to check with some websites that buy back college textbooks.  There was a biology book, a chemistry book, and a calculus book.  All three looked practically new – and one was even still in plastic shrink wrap (wonder why she never opened it? – oh well, too late now!).  Not one book buy-back website wanted any of these three books.  Huh?  Has biology changed?  Did chemistry get re-written??  And are the rules all new for calculus?  How could these three subjects have changed so much that they had to print a new edition of the book and declare the older one outdated?  Grrrrr.  I don’t understand.

One of my ‘to-do’s’ today was to finally get to the secretary of state to get new plates for the Chevy Cobalt parked in my garage.  It’s Jill & Andy’s car – in storage while they are living on their island – and it still has Tennessee plates.  Well I thought I was prepared with all the paperwork to take care of the task, including a signed consent that gave me power to make decisions on the Chevy while the kids were out of the country.  (after all – the car IS taking up residence in MY garage)  “I’m sorry ma’am but the instructions have changed,” the nice secretary of state lady explained to me, “and we will need a photocopy of Andy’s driver’s license.”  Really?  All that time waiting for my number to be called at the secretary of state place and now I have to go back??  Again?  (By the way – Andy if you are reading this – I need you to fax or email me a photocopy of your driver’s license please.)

Why must people always change things and rewrite the rules?  I can accept that there are changes and new discoveries in biology and chemistry – but to have to produce a new book to replace one that is only a few years old?  Please.  Science basics have not changed.  And calculus?  Explain to me how that can change enough to require a new book.  And the secretary of state?  Ehh…that’s government run.  Rules and regulations are always changing there.  I guess I should have expected that one.

Malachi 3:6 says “I the Lord do not change.”  Hurray!  So nice to know we have an unchangeable God!  His rules do not change and His book is not outdated.  Jesus told us that whosoever believes in Him can have eternal life.  He does not change the rules.  He did not add to the requirements for salvation.  Hebrews 6:17 tells about God’s “unchangeable character” and how He promises and then fulfills His plan and purpose in our lives.

In life we must accept the fact that there will be rewrites, new rules, a different version, corrections, additions, and modifications to instructions we must follow, directions we are given, and guidelines we must adhere to.  Confusing, huh?  James 1:17 says our heavenly Father is one “whom there is no variation.”  Unchangeable.  That’s nice, God.  I can deal with that.

Just Laurel

The other day my daughter Jillian and her husband Andy needed me to help wire some money to them.  Their bank is here in Michigan but they live on St. Kitts in the Caribbean.  After some running around to a bank or two and checking with the local Western Union location, I finally had the money on its way.  All Andy had to do was go to the local Western Union location on the island, give his name, his identification, and supply them with the special number I was given to share only with them to prove the funds were for them.  Well somehow on the Western Union paperwork, his last name got repeated so that it said “Andrew Vander Yacht Vander Yacht”.  We didn’t think it would be any problem.  Wrong!  The Western Union person would absolutely positively not release money to Andy because the names did not match.  Really?  Like someone was trying to pose as Andy and had the right ID and numbers but that double last name just rained suspicion down on everything.  <sigh>  After some phone calls and adjustments by Western Union to remove the doubled last name, Andy finally proved his identity and was given his money.  Finally.  I mean it WAS his money from the get-go.  Talk about jumping through hoops to get it in your hands.

Today my mother went to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription.  “Oh no, you picked it up last night” the woman at the pharmacy counter stated.  My mother firmly told them that she most certainly was not out in the dark last night picking up a prescription.  “Yes you were” they insisted.  They even pulled up the signature she had signed to prove it.  Wrong.  My mother said “That is not my signature” and made them pull up one of her signatures from a previous order.  Sure enough, they did not match.  But the pharmacy people still argued with her.  Finally the pharmacist showed up and agreed that there must have been a mix-up and gave my mom her bottle of pills.

So what do we have to do to prove to people who we really are???

For Jill and Andy, I guess it’s good to know that Western Union is very careful and specific to be sure they are not handing out someone’s money to just everybody.  And for my mom’s little issue, the pharmacy later explained what happened and got things straightened out (although they owe an apology to my mom for their rudeness to an eighty-some year old).

Isn’t it good to know that God knows us and would never ever mix us up with someone else.  In Luke 12 verse 6 we read that even “the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.”  In this world of identity theft, it is sad to think of how safe and secure we must be and yet people can still hack into our private financial information.  Thank goodness I won’t be having any identity crisis with God!

Just Laurel

The weather is finally turning towards spring here in Michigan.  It’s been cold for so long and all a person has wanted to do is dress warm, eat fattening foods, and curl up with toasty socks and a big blanket.  As warmer weather teases, there are inclinations for pant hems to shorten to Capri length and then to shorts.  Ditch the socks and boots and grab your sandals.  And … uh oh … is that my bathing suit peeking out from underneath my work-out clothes in the bottom dresser drawer?  Yeah.  The other inclination the warm weather brings is to shape up, lose weight, and get ready for bathing suit weather.

I actually have been exercising some over the past weeks … here and there … off and on.  I’ve been walking (and mixing it up with some running) and some exercise DVD’s that are work-outs with weights.  I love working out with weights – especially my arms.  After ‘pumping some iron’ this morning my arms were actually shaking from the last set of reps I had done.  And then the house phone rang.  The house phone is cordless and about the size of a small dumbbell.  I grabbed the ringing phone and it felt weightless to me.  At first I thought that perhaps Ted had taken the weighty battery pack out of it, but then I realized that it was a result of my weight work-out.  It made me think about people who are totally serious about their weight work-outs.  With muscles that have been trained and strengthened, any heavy lifting job becomes featherweight.  The body has been primed and prepared to handle heavy loads easily and effortlessly.

The bible tells us to exercise.  Hebrews 12:12 states, “Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.”  Ha!   Yes it does!  So get off the couch you lazy sinner and get down on that floor and do fifty push-ups!  Yeah, I can’t do fifty push-ups either and, of course, the bible is speaking to believers to be strengthened in their faith.  Embrace your faith and stand with conviction!

In Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, the first book, chapter 3, verse 2, Paul writes “We sent Timothy … to strengthen and encourage you in your faith.”  Interesting footnote on that verse says that in regards to the word strengthen – in Greek Classical literature the word was generally used in the literal sense of putting a buttress on a building.  In the New Testament it is mainly used figuratively, as it is here.  For those of you wondering – a buttress is:  an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall.  Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (sideways) forces arising out of the roof structures that lack adequate bracing.

So – How are YOU buttressing your faith?  I mean if you want to say you are strong in your faith, what exercises are you doing to encourage strength and support?  Just like our physical muscles need strengthening so we can carry the heavy load, will your faith be able to stand when it is challenged?  Will you be hovering on weak knees?  Oh, I need to exercise this area of my life, too!  It’s as simple as letting the church be your school and the bible your textbook.  Hanging with fellow believers/students helps too.  Colossians 1:9-14 is a good read for those who want to look it up, but it basically says this:  We pray for fellow believers so that they might … “be strengthened with all power … so that you may have great endurance and patience…”

It’s time to exercise fellow readers!  Bathing suit weather is calling so get your butt moving.  And buttress your faith while you’re at it too!

just Laurel

When our three daughters were young children, we were fairly strict with disciplining.  We didn’t mess with ‘time-out’ nonsense or banishing children to their rooms, we simply corrected them when they were caught doing something wrong.  And we were fairly clear on what good behavior was and what was wrong.  They knew right from wrong.  And they knew that both mom and dad were boss.  If one daughter was misbehaving, all Ted had to do was say their name.  “Kristen!” Ted would say in a firm voice, and said daughter would dissolve into tears aware of her indiscretion.

A few days ago at work, we had a little problem.  Any patient that is a diabetic gets their blood sugar checked by one of the nurses.  It is not safe to operate on someone with an extremely low or extremely high blood sugar.  A high blood sugar level is especially contraindicated because it can cause delays in healing and higher risks for infection.  Normal blood sugar levels are around 70-100.  We had a sweet patient come in one morning for cataract surgery.  Being a diabetic, we checked her blood sugar.  It was 475.  Red flags went up in all our little nurse heads and we quickly alerted our anesthetist and gave the doctor a phone call.  The head nurse addressed the patient and in a firm and concerned voice told her that we were very concerned for her.  “Your blood sugar is way too high.  We don’t know if the doctor will do your surgery today.  Are you under a doctor’s care for you diabetes?  When was the last time you took your medicine or gave yourself some insulin?  Do you feel alright?”  The poor patient was overwhelmed and dissolved into tears.  Sobbing she replied, “I knew I shouldn’t have eaten two strawberry shortcakes last night but they were so good.  I couldn’t help myself.  I’m so sorry.”  And she cried.   Busted!  The poor woman knew she had done wrong by eating too much of what she should not have had the night before.  Her remorse at her ‘sin’ was evident in the grief she showed.

When our daughters did something wrong, we forgave them, tears were dried, and life went on.  Our dear diabetic patient got sympathy from the nurses as we gave her insulin to bring her sugar down so she could have her surgery.  Then we helped guide her to follow up with her doctor and seek diabetes diet classes so she could better manage her disease.

It made me think.

When we bow our heads and ask for forgiveness from our heavenly Father for things we have done wrong, are we truly remorseful?  Imagine if God himself stood before us as we sinned and just looked at us and said our name.  Would we dissolve into tears like a small child, completely saddened and humiliated at how we have disappointed our Father?  Or if God happened to check up on us and found things a little off, would we tearfully confess everything we’d done wrong and sob in grief?  When we say the confession part of prayers during Sunday church, it seems so easy to recite the words and find our sin slates wiped clean.  I think next time I want to really think about what wrongs I’ve committed.  After all God is just trying to discipline me and teach me right from wrong.  I will never learn to stop sinning unless my sins make me truly sad.

1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

just Laurel

Sometimes it seems like people are never satisfied.  We want bigger and faster.  We want results now.  We want more.  We want better.  We want a different job and a new house.  We ask for change.  We want to get away from it all and go on vacation and then we miss home and can’t wait to get back there.  We want tomorrow now and wish away our today.

When Ted and I were young and dating, I couldn’t wait to get engaged to him.  Then I couldn’t wait until our wedding day.  Next I was anxious to move into our first apartment.  Then I wished for the house.  Next I wanted to start our family.  Like most long-married couples, Ted and I often think nostalgically about our newly-married days when we were passionately in love with each other and had little money and little responsibility.   Those were good days now long gone and under-appreciated at the time.

My daughter Jill and her husband Andy had to move to the Caribbean for her to attend school.  They gave up a comfortable lifestyle and familiar friends and places.  There are many things they are missing right now.  I reminded her that one day they will be moving back and will be missing all the things that made island living so special.

My daughter Kristen and her husband Ric got married and bravely moved to the far northwestern United States and settled in Portland, Oregon.  They are enjoying the beauty of the Pacific Northwest.  They are also missing friends, family, and the great state of Michigan.

Remember that job that you hated and wanted to get rid of?  In hindsight, it wasn’t really so bad – especially when compared to the current job.  Alright I know that’s not always true, but it is often times true.

Then you wanted that fancy new car.  After it breaks down and you have costly repairs, the older model you got rid of doesn’t seem like it was so bad after all.  And you forgot about the all the larger expenses the larger house you wanted now brings you:  heating & cooling, larger yard to mow, bigger roof to repair.

A certain friend drives us crazy and we make ourselves scarce.  We decide not to spend much time with them anymore and forget the good times once shared.

Your kids drive you crazy and you wish them grown up and moved out.  You skip a trip to the grandparents’ house because you want to stay home and relax and watch your television show.

I could go on and an about how we choose to NOT like our job, our family, our friends, our living situation, etc.  But as human nature has it, as soon as we are WITHOUT those things, we miss them terribly.

My soapbox message today is that we all need to embrace the day and everything it brings.  Love your job.  Love you home.  Love your family.  Love you neighbor as yourself.  Appreciate all that you DO have and stop trying to change it.  You will one day miss what you had today.  You will wish for one more chance, one more time, one more taste, one more hug, one more touch, one more glimpse.

My friend lost her daughter to Melanoma Cancer today.  Her daughter had a husband and two young sons.  My heart breaks for my friend and I can only imagine her pain.  I am sure she would give anything to go back and spend more time with her daughter.  One more time.  One more word.  One more minute.

So embrace today and all your blessings.

Today.

Psalm 118:24 This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

just Laurel