“Guess who face planted during our walk?”

That was the email I got from my daughter Kristen today.  There was a picture attached, so I really didn’t need to guess.  Kristen is nanny to a baby girl and her three-year-old brother, Owen.  She tries to get them out of the house every day and Owen walks while his baby sister gets pushed in the stroller.  Apparently, they had just started on their daily hike when Owen ‘face planted.’  He was running across the street when he tripped and fell smack on his face.  The picture was adorable:   his angelic face peering out from under a knit hat, a few small scratches on his nose and lip and the cutest pouting lower lip.

Kristen took him right back home and wiped the dirt off his face.  There were mostly abrasions, and no dripping blood.  She said, once the crying stopped and he recovered, that he wanted to go back out and start the walk over again.  Their walks are “treasure hunts” Kristen told me.  As they walk, Owen has to look for treasure.  She has a bag for him to put his precious finds into.  Besides ribbons and stones, he actually found two pennies today.

I decided that I want to be more like three-year old Owen.  Even after being knocked down on his face, he was right back out there after a quick wipe off of the dirt.  How many times do we give up, back-off, or throw in the towel when things don’t go right?   A little fall on the face didn’t stop Owen.  He persevered and wanted to take his walk.  And find treasure.  Oh to have the heart of a child and be always looking for good things!  How much do we miss each day – things of beauty or special little sparkles of joy – because we don’t even look?  Those two discovered pennies were like gold coins to Owen.

So here’s to getting back on the horse, trying again, and persevering at whatever it is you are trying to accomplish.  Just don’t forget to look for the treasures along the way!

Just Laurel

Mark 10:15 Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.

The excitement at work was growing.  For about two weeks now, since the flyer was posted, all the staff at my place of work has been anticipating what was to happen today.  One of the doctors offered to treat everyone to lunch.  He meant to do it at Christmas time, but you know how busy the holidays can get.  It was to be a combination late Christmas and now Valentine’s treat.  Lunch was going to be brought in from this wonderful deli that makes delicious trays of the best lunchmeats and cheeses with good rustic sandwich bread.  The salads and accompaniments are gourmet in quality as well.

I’m always game for a good sandwich.  Usually, I bring a small snack of yogurt and a drink to work because we don’t even always get a lunch break.  But this was going to be a special big deal.  The schedule was such that we were pretty sure to be done by noon while several people who weren’t even scheduled to work today were going to come in for the little feast.

It was a busy morning.  Around eleven o’clock we still had about five more patients and all of us were getting hungry.  “Wonder if the food is here yet?” someone queried.  I had a free moment and offered to walk over to the break room to look.  Peeking in the door, all I saw was the box with yesterday’s stale bagels on the table.  No lunch.  Yet.

I went back and told my coworkers that, no, there was no lunch.  Yet.

After a few confused exchanges with people and some further phone calls, the final answer was:

No lunch.

🙁

Most of us had brought NOTHING to eat because we had counted on our little feast.  The head of our department made some more phone calls then finally informed us that a mistake was made and the special lunch was never ordered.  Maybe next week.  But because we had all worked hard and had expected a lunch, she saw to it that some pizza was brought in for us.

Now I handled this all just fine.  I don’t go to work for the food!  And I would have been fine with my yogurt – only I didn’t bring one today!  But think about the let-down and disappointment this was for so many!

You come to work expecting lunch.  You were told it was going to be there.  Gourmet quality meats, cheeses, salads, and breads were on the menu.  Some of your friends, who didn’t even have to be at work today, show up for the festivities.  Your stomach starts growling and you start salivating as lunch time draws near.  Expecting a wonderful feast, you walk into the break room and see …

pizza.

Ha ha.  It was a bummer.  But it brought to mind these bible verses:

Matthew 7:7-12
⁷ “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. ⁸ For every one who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. ⁹ Or what man of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? ¹¹ If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! ¹² So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.”

Thank goodness the good Lord hears our prayers and gives us what we need.  There’s no bait and switch; no substitutions.  In sickness, we can pray for and receive healing.  When troubled, He answers us with peace.  When the storms of life get you frazzled, he offers calm.

It was a little disappointing to not get the lunch we anticipated today.  But it reminded me that God never disappoints!

Just Laurel

I love my husband dearly.  But if you’re like me there are just some times when you enjoy the peace and quiet of being solitary.  Like, when it’s still dark outside in the early morning and I can sit wrapped up in a blanket on the couch in the quiet house with a fresh cup of coffee.  Or if I am concentrating on a certain television show, he better not start any big discussions with me.  Stuff like that.  Times when I just don’t want to have to listen.

This past weekend I had a project I was trying to get to.  Just as I was getting organized, Ted decided he was interested in my project as well and started helping.  Started taking over.  Yeah – it became OUR project.  About an hour into our little project with heads bent together over the computer, he was chewing some gum rather aggressively.  When Ted chews enthusiastically on something, his jaw cracks.  Now I will admit I was actually glad that he helped me with this project.  His contribution was helping a lot and getting it done.  But, that chewing!   And that cracking sound!  Crack!  Crack!  Crack!  Crack!  It was like Chinese water torture.  But I held my tongue because it was my fault he was chewing gum since I had suggested a little earlier that his breath needed a little freshening.  How could I now ask him to STOP chewing that minty freshness?

A little further on in our project, he finally trashed the gum.  Amen!  Oh dear.  Now what was that sound?  He had taken a piece of hard candy from the bowl – butterscotch – and was crunching it.  I’m sorry folks, but that was annoying too!  Crunch.  Crunch.  Crunch.

Argh!

I think my lack of patience with all the ‘noise’ came from the fact that I did not sleep well the night before.  Can you guess why?  Because Ted was SNORING and I ended up on the couch!!

I finally stopped what I was doing and yelled at Ted, “Why must you do everything so LOUDLY?”  He looked at me quizzically.  I went on to explain that he couldn’t do anything quietly.  He couldn’t sleep quietly – he had to snore.  He couldn’t chew gum quietly – his jaw had to crack.  And he couldn’t even suck on a hard candy quietly – he had to crunch the darn thing!!!

Ted yelled back, “Well I guess some people want to live large – I want to live loud!”

We both laughed.  And then he added, “Well I have to do things loudly, especially around your parents, because neither of them can hear.”

(More laughter – yes they both need hearing aids!)

We completed our project.  And we really weren’t yelling in anger at each other – it was playful volleying of sarcastic remarks.  And I really do love my loud husband.  He just needs reminders to be quiet sometimes.  Because he is often in a noisy steel mill or driving in his car with his job, he is in the habit of talking on the phone to his boss very loudly.  He has to – to be heard.  He will do that at home on the phone or even at me.   I get close to his face and softly remind him, “I am right here so you don’t have to talk so loud.”

What about you?  Do you find that you have to be loud to be heard?  Or will people listen when you speak softly?  Of course, whispers always get heard because they are usually conveying some secret information.   How about your listening skills?  Are you the first to listen to that gossipy whisper, or can you only listen when it is loud enough to distract you from the other things you are busy with?

God is the best listener.  He hears us when we cry out, when we pray softly, and even when we have no words.

A dear family, whom Ted and I have been friends with for probably twenty years or more, lost the male head of the house this past year.  Chris Barnard.  Leaving a wife and three sons behind, it has been a painful time of healing for them.  The youngest son, Denny, recently made the following video that I just viewed today.  I had to share it with you.  This young man cried out to God in a loud voice.  Then he was wise enough to listen when God spoke back.  Now in this video, Denny doesn’t even speak but shares a heartfelt testimony.

To the Barnard family:  I love you guys.  What a wonderful spiritual leader Chris must have been for his son to proclaim such a message.  Blessings to you all.

Psalm 4:3b  the Lord hears when I call to Him.

just Laurel

When surgery was complete on all of the day’s fifteen patients, I and my co-workers sat down in the break room for a few minutes to relax and socialize. One particular girl came into the room and cheerfully announced to those of us at the table that she had discovered a new favorite food. “Do you want to guess?” she asked. Well, no, we did not. There were too many possibilities. So, “What was it?” we all questioned. “My new favorite food is” (wait for it) … you never would have guessed … her new favorite food is … “LENTILS.”

Hmm.

Lentils aren’t “new.”

I like lentils, I told her. And have enjoyed them both as a soup and in an Indian dish I make with Basmati rice and onions with yogurt on the side. “Really?” she replied with excited wide eyes.

Apparently this girl had been seeking healthy new eats and had stumbled upon the versatile, protein packed, fiber rich lentil.

Folks, lentils have been around since bible times and before. According to Genesis 25:34, Esau was tricked into selling his birthright for a pottage of lentils. The United States is actually fourth in worldwide lentil production and during World War II; Americans were encouraged to eat lentils to help the wartime economy. I wouldn’t be surprised if Americans today were found to be more familiar with Twinkies then the humble staple, lentils.

I know, I know. So what’s the point, Laurel?

My co-worker had found pleasure in one of the simplest and most basic foods – lentils. How often in life do we get wooed and seduced by things that are fancier, more colorful, more exciting? Why can’t we find contentment in what is plain old simple, pure and good? Think of appliances with all their buttons and attachments that offer multi-function. Refrigerators with TV screens! Automobiles with options galore. Do you want paper or plastic? Going to the store to buy chicken? Do you want white meat, dark meat, boneless, skinless, free range, tenders, or organic? Need a cup ‘o Joe? Ha! Will that be black, decaf, lite, frappe, sugar, Splenda, cappuccino, caramel, latte, or whatev? Tennis shoes used to have a blue tag at the heel that said KEDS. Now it’s Nike, Converse, Adidas, Reebok, Puma, or New Balance. Everything in life seems to get so complicated. Ordering a taco at the local fast food place involves choosing from beef or chicken and a hard or soft taco shell.

Many people have their own opinion on the simple things in life:

To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter… to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in spring – these are some of the rewards of the simple life. ~John Burroughs
The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life’s plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life. ~Robert Louis Stevenson

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. ~Leonardo DaVinci

So here’s to the simple life and enjoying all those simple basic pleasures. Tea and buttered toast. A day in the park. Homemade chicken noodle soup. A plain ‘ole good cup of coffee. A game of Monopoly with the family.

Why, God’s word even tells us to keep the talking to a humble minimum:

Ecclesiastes 6:11 The more the words, the less the meaning, and how does that profit anyone?

May you find pleasure in the basic and simple things in life. Don’t make it complicated. Right now, for me, the soup is simmering and the bread is rising. A simple supper on this Friday night.

TGIF everyone.

<3
just Laurel

My daughter Kristen and her husband live in Portland, Oregon. There is a three hour time difference between here and there so phone calls are a little confusing when considering the best times to call. Kristen got out of work early today and called me. It was two-thirty my time. We chatted while she was driving the short distance to her home, and when she went through her front door I heard her on the phone while she greeted her cat, Skipper. Skipper has been a bit mischievous lately and I told Kristen not to be so lovey with her cat until she assessed the damages he may have done while she was gone for the day. She felt fairly confident that he had been a good kitty since he was not immediately at the door when she opened it , meaning he was probably being very docile and most likely been snoozing until he heard the sound of her coming through the door. I said to her that he had probably been asleep in a sunbeam somewhere.
“What’s that?” she quickly replied. “A sunbeam” I repeated. “The sun doesn’t shine here,” she continued, “It’s always rainy and overcast.” I described to her how it was freezing cold her with snow on the ground, yet the skies were clear and the sun was shining brightly. Since Kristen and Ric moved to Portland almost two years ago, the weather has been a constant complaint from them. It is lush and green in Portland with misty rain on the majority of days. Kristen even told me that they never get a good thunder and lightning storm to blow through. It just always rains. Dreary.
I can imagine a day without sunshine – we get those in Michigan. It gets awfully depressing when we get too many of them. But today – well that bright sunshine kept the interior of my van warm and made the wind and cold temperature not so apparent. The sunshine is cheerful.
If you live your life walking in faith with Jesus … well … He is like sunshine. No matter how cold or rough a day you may be having, if you just let God shine a little Son on you – it makes things a whole lot better. After the rather challenging past month we’ve had with Amanda in the hospital, I can say that it feels good to relax in the Son. Oh I know God was with us through those dreary hospital days. But those challenging days were each like a cloudy to partly cloudy day. I knew God was there, but I kept Him hidden behind the clouds of worry and fear. Sometimes a ray of sonshine broke through and we were warmed and re-energized for the changing climate to come.
God is always there although we may hide Him behind the dark clouds of life. Well now we just have to learn to keep those clouds pushed aside so we can bask in the warmth and light of the Son!
I also wish I was a cat so I could do this:

Proverbs 4:18
The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.
just Laurel

I had a busy work day. Two surgeons and twenty-three cataract surgery patients made for almost eight hours of work. Fortunately, I work with a great bunch of people. We don’t all work the same schedule and each day brings a different mix of us. But still, everyone is nice and we get along quite well as we efficiently keep patients coming in and moving out.

We are pretty much a happy surgical center in the fact that almost every patient is there for a surgery to restore their sight. Cataract surgery is fairly quick with little discomfort so patients have a much more pleasant experience then say, someone getting their gall bladder out or having bunion surgery. We’ve had patients as young as in their twenties, but most are sixty and above with several ninety-year-olds. So many times our patient is obviously the great matriarch or patriarch of the family. They come in, accompanied by a spouse, and or a son or daughter. The spouse or offspring dote on the elderly patient and faithfully tend to their comfort. I especially like to observe some of our patients who look and sound like they are from the ‘old country’ They come with big beards and turbans on their heads, or hair that has never been cut and is braided long down their backs, or they have beautiful silk scarves that are replaced on their heads after surgery, or the big give-away is that they don’t speak English. Often times a family member is in attendance to act as interpreter. We do our best to smile and treat everyone with mutual care and respect. It can get frustrating when the language barrier gets in the way but we manage with unofficial hand language and the recognition of key words. I am happy to say that most patients leave our facility saying things like “Thank you” or “Everyone was very nice.” It made me grin from ear to ear today when, after walking an elderly woman with her silk scarf on her head out to her car, her awaiting husband helped her into the passenger seat and, for lack of the correct English words, nodded to me and said “Thank you – good service!”

Good Service! I love it. Usually good service comes from wait staff or a plumber. So, it was not quite the right words but that’s all this man knew to say. Now that I think about it – it simply meant everything. Because at the end of the work day, that’s all that is really important – that our patient left after experiencing good care – and service. It just sounded so darn cute coming from this old man.

I hope that at the end of MY days – I will hear those words – good service. If we can live our lives the best we can, treating others as God has commanded, all that matters is that we hear those words: Well done good and faithful servant.

just Laurel

Amanda is enjoying her time back ‘home’ at her apartment. Her new A-Vap (like a bi-pap for all you sleep apnea people out there) works great and she is sleeping well. She is lord of her castle and relishes the control and familiarity of having her own place.

Amanda called me this morning, giggling. She said, “You won’t believe what I experienced for the first time today!” Well, I tried to guess and suggested that she heard a yelling and cussing fight from her neighbors, or she had finally met the dog she hears barking across the hall. “No,” she replied, “I was in my bathroom and I heard someone above me going pee – and boy did they go a lot!” I suggested that she better be careful how much ‘noise’ she makes in the bathroom as well – they might be listening to her!

It has been humbling and so very dear when I consider all the people who have said prayers for Amanda. Thank you. It is wonderful that we have a God who always hears and listens when we pray. Right now my prayers are of thanks – for good friends and family, for keeping Ted safe in his travels, for bringing Amanda back to health, for watching over my other daughters, Kristen and Jillian, and their husbands Ric & Andy, for my job, for my church, and for so many blessings too numerous to list.

Psalm 66:19-2019 but God has surely listened and has heard my prayer.20 Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!

I read a magazine article today about how to say a blessing before a meal. The writer did not dwell on having to say the proper words or using fancy bible language. He said that even a moment of silence with bowed heads was a prayer – because in the silence you hear your breath … and your heartbeat … and if God is the Lord and giver of life … and if we are aware that each day we have to live this life on earth is a gift from God – then to listen to life: a breath or a heartbeat is acknowledging God’s presence.

Psalm 46:10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

May you feel God’s presence as you pray. And may you listen to what He has to say to you. I hope you get as excited as Amanda was at what you hear!

Just Laurel

I came across a funny bible verse today:

Matthew 15:16 (NLT) “Don’t you understand yet?” Jesus asked.
That’s the whole verse.

In context, Jesus was asked by his disciples to explain to them, once again, why they weren’t defiled by what they eat. This verse has me picturing Jesus sighing with fatigue at his eager but ignorant bunch of disciples as he patiently explains things to them. Jesus didn’t just ask, “Don’t you understand?” but He asked “Don’t you understand YET??” He was probably thinking in His head, “Oh dear Father in heaven when are these people gonna get it??”

Sometimes we humans on this earth have a tough time asking God for help because we don’t think He understands how we feel. As Ted and I search for answers to Amanda’s medical issues, we have had to wait for test results, explain things over and over again to doctors and nurses, and wait for evaluation from another hospital. After reading this verse – I think Jesus has a good grasp of how we are feeling. He was waiting for His disciples to ‘get it’ and finally learn the lesson. We are waiting for the doctors to ‘get it’ and finally give us answers.

Amanda slept great last night. I slept remarkably well on her couch – but after trying to sleep every other night for the past 3 weeks on a chair next to her hospital bed, the couch was easy and comfortable! Today she felt great, her oxygen sats and heart rate were good, and she seemed more energized. She actually said she wanted to sleep on her own tonight. I’m going to let her. Tomorrow morning I will go get her and off to Children’s Hospital we go. I hope the Neuro Clinic is ready for us. I’ll have to explain all over again everything that has happened with Amanda over the past three weeks plus the weeks leading up to her pneumonia. I hope they understand it and can find something to fix.

Her pneumonia is gone and she is on the mend, but I don’t think we are all cured – yet.

Prayers for patience (mine!) and wisdom and understanding from the doctors tomorrow.

just Laurel

I went to work this morning. It was nice. It felt normal. Ted got to work and Amanda was at the house with one of her staff girls. No hospitals. Every one was good and doing something normal.

This afternoon, per Amanda’s desire, we moved her back to her apartment. Ted made a check list for her staff so they could keep track of her medications as well as documenting her O2 sats and heart rate and making sure Amanda does her breathing exercises. I am going back this evening to spend the night there. Ted was planning on getting up really early tomorrow morning to leave for PA, so I might even sleep better at Amanda’s apartment if I don’t get woken up by him. I also want to make sure that Amanda is okay her first night back. Things aren’t going to be like they were before her hospitalization. We were just getting used to Amanda in her apartment and were finding a new ‘normal’. Now we have to find it again. Plus, we are kind of on a holding pattern until Wednesday’s trip to Children’s Hospital. Who knows what can of worms that will open up.

When ever I think of trying to get things back to ‘normal’ I always think of the movie “Young Frankenstein” by Mel Brooks with Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, and Terri Garr. Dr. Frankenstein sends Igor to the brain bank for a brain for his monster. Igor drops the brain he went to fetch and, well, grabs another one. I had to share the scene with you:

It’s the joke around our house that when things aren’t going well, things are ‘abby normal’. If an abby normal brain can result in a monster, well an abby normal life around here results in discord and uneasiness. But patience and perseverance will have to rule while we wait for Children’s Hospital and the doctor’s there to examine Amanda. I only want her back to the best she can be so she can enjoy life in her own place. I don’t like abby normal.

Here’s hoping we soon find a normal.

just Laurel

It was about a week before Christmas.  I was just leaving my parent’s house after a short visit.  My mom and dad walked outside with me as I made my way to my van.  It happened that the mail truck had just passed by.  My parent’s mailbox is the kind that is on a post at the street, so the mail carrier drives by and puts the mail in the box.  My mom opened the box and retrieved a small package.  She bent over a bit and peered into the box looking for more.  There was no more mail.  Certain that she was supposed to get more mail, my mom shouted “Yoo hoo!” at the mail truck then turned to my dad and me and emphatically told us that there must be more mail.  “I always get more mail than this” she declared.  “Yoo Hoo,” she repeated as she beckoned to the retreating mail truck.  Turning back to us, she suggested that one of us chase down that mail truck because, dog gone it, she was expecting more mail!

Yoo hoo!

Life doesn’t always deliver what we expect, does it?  Oh – sometimes what we get is better.  Like the unexpected sale price on a special purchase.  Or a bigger paycheck.  Free dessert.  Or an “A” on a test when we were expecting a “C”.   Many times, what we get is much worse.  Medical test results that say the cancer has come back.  Or the inflated car repair bill that was supposed to be a small easy fix.   How about when you unwrap and bite into that carry out burger and discover it was put together all wrong and they forgot to hold the onions?

Now here we all are at the start of a new year.  What do you expect the New Year to bring you?  Have you made any New Year’s resolutions?   If you are like me, you will probably agree that most New Year’s resolutions simply go in one ‘year’ and out the other.  Ha!   Besides, most people look forward to the New Year simply for a new start on old habits.

I think we are all in the same New Year’s boat in the fact that we all want to lose weight, improve ourselves, maybe learn a new skill, clean out the basement, become a better person, and have all things honky dory happy.  But in our desire and quest for all things good, we must be prepared for things to not always go as we expect.  And that’s okay.  Because maybe God has a better plan then whatever we could think up. Or if things don’t go our way, maybe we just can’t see the whole picture of what the final outcome will be.  And if we are simply frustrated because we didn’t stick to the diet, well, that is a goal we can start working on new every day.

I think I shall try to face the New Year, armed with these words from Psalm 5:  Hear my cry for help,my King and my God, for to you I pray.  In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.  There is no better way to start the day then with a chat with God.  He wants to hear from me.  He wants to hear from you!  If we lay all our requests before Him, what then do we have to worry about?  To be ‘expectant’ means that you are feeling or waiting for something to happen.  Talk to Him when you wake and give the day over to Him.  Then expect something to happen.

So, why not try starting each day with a “Yoo Hoo” to God?  He’s waiting to hear from you.  And know that however it is he answers you, that His plan is always perfect – even if you don’t get what you expected.  You might get something even better.

Yoo Hoo!

just Laurel