Cousin Ruby

 
Today Cousin Ruby was called HOME.
She finished her Earthly journey.
I will miss her greatly!
And she had missed my mama, her closest friend, her cousin Catherene, greatly...

I am sure she and my mama are now re-united and giggling together:)
When my mama forgot my name, she still remembered her best friend & cousin, Ruby....
When Mama died it was harder to break the new to Ruby than anyone else, even my brother:(
They had been playmates and soul mates from their earliest memories.

I was told my grandma "Chrish", tongue in cheek, asked her sister Sally if she would be willing to let her have her daughter Ruby, since she (Chrish) only had one girl (Catherene)and Aunt Sally had 4 (one being Ruby)! And Ruby spent so much time at her and Catherene's anyway:)

As a child and as an adult I knew Ruby as a short, stout, lady of great wit, always laughing and joking, loving to tell tales of mischief she and my mama had concocted. They had another cousin, Sarah Black, (I wrote about her here two years ago) that fell right in with Catherene and Ruby in whatever scheme was being 'cooked up'!! What a threesome:)
I loved being with Ruby. She always talked to me as a child, and I enjoyed hearing her stories. She spoke what was on her mind, don't get me wrong, yet never hurt feelings.
In the last few years she shared often with Christy (my sister) and me how dear Mama was to her, that no one else could understand her like "Catherene".

Ruby has a son, Ronny (a retired teacher & coach), who cared for her faithfully and lovingly. She had been a widow for many years and Ronny was devoted to her, checking in on her daily and caring for her every need.
I grieve with him and his 2 daughters, Dawn and Chrissie (both teachers) and son Matt, who could not have had a more caring, loving, and proud grandmother:)

Ruby was unique; a lady that carried laughter and joy wherever she went, with a love for my mama like no other:)
She was dear to me for that.
I will weep for her.....

Irena Sendler: Life In A Jar

Hallmark's movie, The Courageous Heart of Irena Sendler, shown last Sunday evening, is the story of Irena, a German woman of faith, humility, and courage, who believed one person should act to save others, and did.

"The Holocaust - the systematic annihilation of six million Jews - is a history of enduring horror and sorrow. The charred skeletons, the diabolic experiments, the death camps, the mass graves, the smoke from the chimneys ... In 1933 nine million Jews lived in the 21 countries of Europe that would be occupied by Germany during the war. By 1945 two out of every three European Jews had been killed by the Nazis. 1.5 million children were murdered. This figure includes more than 1.2 million Jewish children, tens of thousands of Gypsy children and thousands of handicapped children.

Yet there were acts of courage and human decency during the Holocaust - stories to bear witness to goodness, love and compassion. This is the story of an incredible woman and her amazing gift to mankind. Irena Sendler. An unfamiliar name to most people, but this remarkable woman defied the Nazis and saved 2,500 Jewish children by smuggling them out of the Warsaw Ghetto. As a health worker, she sneaked the children out between 1942 and 1943 to safe hiding places and found non-Jewish families to adopt them.

For many years Irena Sendler - white-haired, gentle and courageous - was living a modest existence in her Warsaw apartment. This unsung heroine passed away on Monday May 12th, 2008.

Her achievement went largely unnoticed for many years. Then the story was uncovered by four young students at Uniontown High School, in Kansas, who were the winners of the 2000 Kansas state National History Day competition by writing a play Life in a Jar about the heroic actions of Irena Sendler. The girls - Elizabeth Cambers, Megan Stewart, Sabrina Coons and Janice Underwood - have since gained international recognition, along with their teacher, Norman Conard. The presentation, seen in many venues in the United States and popularized by National Public Radio, C-SPAN and CBS, has brought Irena Sendler's story to a wider public. The students continue their prize-winning dramatic presentation Life in a Jar."

Louis Bülow ©2007-09.

Could we have such courage, such faith?
Irena was God's instrument of mercy in the darkest night.

My dear Kathy

 
One of my dearest friends, Kathy, pictured here, is floating on a cloud. She is in a romance that she thought might never happen:)She's been a widow for 4 years and recently began considering joining a Singles Group. Loneliness can be tough to deal with day in and day out after being with her husband Bruce for 25 years and losing him to cancer.
Kathy has done well since his death; she's grieved--but she's strong and independent, and, within the last year or so, was ready to find someone to with which to share her life again.

About 5 weeks ago, a dear gentleman from our church called to ask about Kathy. His former wife had passed away recently and, knowing the door had closed forever for reconciling with Bethany, he was eager to find that special someone to share his life as well. I knew Alex was a man of great integrity and above reproach (and Skye placed her stamp of approval on him immediately:)), but had no clue how well he and Kathy would mesh??

To make a sweet story sweeter, from their first date they have fallen "head over heels" for one another! They talk about everything, pray about everything, ask for advice from Godly people, and are ecstatic to have discovered each other:)
Our church family is tickled for both of them--we are all smiles every time we think of these two:)!

I must say it makes me weep with Kathy that she has such joy and feels so blessed in this relationship with such a Godly, precious, man:)
It gives joy to the heart to see two people fall in love, especially when one is such a close friend and I know how she's soaking this in like a 'balm of Gilead':)
And to know that God intended this for both of them--a blessing beyond measure in their mid-life; a new beginning far better than either could imagine:)

PS. Will keep you posted on any 'new' developments:)
When you have a romance in your fifties, time is of the essence:)
Go for it, girlfriend!!

Easter

 
"In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All, here in the love of Christ I stand.

No guilt in life, no fear in death.
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
'Til He returns or calls me home, here in the power of Christ I'll stand!"

Keith Getty & Stuart Townend

A Week To Remember!

This week:
(1)my favorite basketball team, UNC, won the NCAA Men's Championship--whoo hoo!

(2)my favorite singer, Taylor Swift, won the American Country Music's Album of the Year!

(3)one of my dearest friends has found romance & I'm so excited for her--whoo hoo!!

(4)Easter, last but not least, the most holy of Christian holidays, comes Sunday!!!

It is a 'sweet' time, and glorious!--from momentary Earthly victory to Eternal Victory:)

HALLELUJAH!

Spring is HERE!

 
I'm sitting here on a bright sunny April Sunday afternoon, soaking in all the blooming azaleas & dogwoods & red bud trees within sight, & am feeling miserable:(

I spent a pleasant Saturday mowing the yard, blowing the driveway, picking up sticks, & washing down my front steps railing; all this making me feel good to see my "tidy up the neglected yard" mission accomplished---till the sinuses started attacking:(

That vague headache began yesterday, but by this morning I awoke with a full-blown jackhammer in my head & throbbing sinus pressure:(!!

Wonder why such a pretty time of the year comes at a cost?
NC shines in April & May & I love every part of the glorious spring!

SO, if I'm frowning more than usual, you'll know why!!!
Just hand me a Kleenex when my eyes begin to water & my nose drips, & I growl--ugh:)

A footnote:
(I will have to mention one other downside to our glorious springtime---the green "plague", pollen, blanketing everything within miles of the Raleigh area! No car washing, window washing, picnics, deck washing, etc., can be done for weeks! Well, maybe that's a positive?)