Places of Refuge

There have been so many times in my life when I have been in need of a refuge from the storm.  

Psalm 91 says that the Lord 'is my refuge and my fortress'.  Isaiah 25 tells us he is 'a refuge from the storm'. Many of those times have been when I needed spiritual strength given to me.  

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I often find the spiritual strengthening and refuge I need in holy temples, in our church meetings, in reading my scriptures, in the peace that comes through priesthood blessings, and in moments of sacred prayer with my Father in Heaven. 

I tend to find refuge and strength when I'm with our family.  Because I know they love me, I know I can be strengthened by them and feel that things will be ok.  Maybe not perfect right now, but 'eventually'.

I also feel my Savior strongly when I am in a position to enjoy nature and to feel Him in my surroundings. 

And then there are days when a place of refuge looks like this:

On our morning walk one day it was very overcast and foggy.  Rain was predicted, but we looked at the radar before we took off and felt that we would be ok.  And then the rain started just as we were passing a construction site that just happened to have this most welcome sight right next to the road.  We hurried over and barricaded ourselves inside.  We were there for 15-20 minutes before we heard the rain subside.  We laughed about this literal place of refuge from the storm, but we were oh, so thankful! 

We continued our walk, and when we turned around to head back home, we found ourselves a little ways past our place of refuge when the rain started again.  My husband suggested we go back to the safe place.  I was ready to get home and convinced him the storm would ease soon and we should just keep walking.  Suffice it to say that by the time we got home, we were both soaked and freezing! 

I'm not sure why it was so hard for me to take advantage of the gift that had literally been placed 

right in our path! 

 I'm sure I do this too many times in my walk through life - asking for His help, then going on by myself when he is trying so hard to make things easier for me!

I have found that getting through the storms of life is never as easy if we convince ourselves that our way will be ok and we should just keep going.  

Things always turn out better when I include the Lord and the protections and strength that he so graciously offers me.  

Resilient Relationships - Forever Friends

I recently had someone 'find' me on social media that I had known when she was a teenager, probably 30-ish years ago.  She was a teenager at the time and I was over the youth group in our church serving as the young women's president.  She got married and moved on with life.  We eventually moved from the area and we hadn't had any connection with her for years!

Earlier in the week, I received a private message on fb messenger.  "Hi, this is (no name needed).  You were my young women's leader.  Do you remember me?"

And from that first message, we have been catching up on what life has brought our way over the many years since our last interactions.  The heartaches, the illnesses, the things in life that have taken therapy and lots of searching to sort out, the joy of having one consistent thing that has been their anchor (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), and the importance of relationships that stay with us.

I asked her why she tried to find me and decided to reach out.  This is what she said, and it touched my heart deeply. 

 "I looked up to you as a teen.  I have always been grateful for the kindness you showed me.  You have and always will have, a special place in my heart." 

You just never know what it is that you are doing as you are just living your life that may have an impact on someone else.  I pray that most of my interactions with others are like this one.  But I'm sure there are some who remember me because they felt I didn't treat them well.  

I believe this is what heaven will be like.  

Connecting  

Remembering  

Embracing

Loving  

Our high school class recently held our 50 year reunion.  There were people there that I hadn't seen, literally, since graduation night.  People I was acquaintances with, but weren't really 'friends' with.  But especially with one sweet person that was there, I feel like I have made a friend!  

Some of my classmates from the class of '75

Everyone we meet along our journey has the potential of  making a difference in our lives.  Maybe they are there for a lifetime, and maybe just for a season.  Everyone of them is so important.

If I could give advice to my teen-age self - it would be to be friends with more people - to make my circle bigger, not smaller - and to be the kind of person that helps everyone feel that they are of worth.  

Foggy mornings are as beautiful as clear ones.
They each serve a purpose.

Baptism Quilt - Number 6

I have not been doing a good job of keeping up with posts!  Yikes!  Lots to say about why, but let's just focus on this really good day that happened earlier this year.  Another grandchild who chose to be baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Another quilt to help him remember this special day, made by me - grandma!

He wanted the main color to be the light aqua/teal color.  It's very hard to find those colors that are more masculine.  I bought several fabrics and brought them home.  He said no to a couple of them.  Then it was off to the fabric store again.  I would pick out a few more patterns then take a picture and send to his mom so he could approve them before I bought them!  They get so opinionated at about this age - 8!   

I love the opportunity to make something that will help them remember the covenants they have made with their Father in Heaven and the desire to follow the example of Jesus and be baptized.   

Worn and Weathered

 

I loved my flowers this summer. The bright colors of the Cone flowers, the Knockout Roses, and the Zinnias brought me a lot of joy when I walked outside.  I could just look at them and feel happiness.  

At their peak, they reminded me of my younger self.

Reaching for the stars - and expecting to be able to catch them!

Being involved in ALL of the stuff.  

Involved with friends, building forever relationships, working, creating a beautiful family, involved in all of the church things, teaching myself different skills and finding new hobbies...all the things.

And then one day I looked in the mirror and came to the realization that I look and feel more like this...

this is my time of life now!

A little more worn and weathered.  A lot more tired! 

  

I  have kept this vase of flowers on my kitchen countertop,

because when I look at these flowers, I don't just see dried up, dull, useless flowers 

(how I feel some days at this stage of life).

I see flowers that have fulfilled the measure of their creation.

Flowers that have brought me joy every day, just because they exist, not just when they were in their prime!

Flowers that have endured scorching sun and heat; cold, almost freezing nights; bugs that tried to destroy them; not getting enough water and at times - too much water!  oops!

When I look at these flowers I see resilience.  

I see a quiet beauty that speaks of strength that came because of all of the challenges.

I see a beauty that doesn't feel like it has to be as it was during the bright summer days - this is a beauty that reminds me that we all have to walk through this 'getting older' phase of life,

and really, what a privilege that is!

There are days when I feel like I'm not enough and I'll never be what I was intended to become.

Then I remember that I worship a God who just wants me to do my best.

On those days when I can shine and bring joy to someone else, that's wonderful!

On those days when it's a chore to just show up and exist.... 

the fact that I do show up is enough.  

Some days, the 45% that I feel I have to offer, is the 100% of what I could give on that day.

And what an incredible blessing it is to know that this is enough!

Baptism Quilt #5 (and #2!)

She was SO excited to get baptized!  Her birthday is the latest in the year of all the grands, and she always feels like she has to wait an extra long time to celebrate...but this year there was even more excitement.  She made the choice to be baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

She told me last year at her birthday to remember that her favorite color is purple!  I hoped it wouldn't change between then and her next birthday - and it didn't!

She is such a ray of sunshine to all around her and it was fun to spend this special day with her.

Happy 8th birthday sweet Katie - we love you!

It dawned on me that I didn't post Parker's quilt!  

Sheesh!  Better late than never - right?!  I'm only 3 years late in getting it posted.  

He loves blue, so that was the base color for his quilt.  

I love how they are all similar, but are so different as they are taylored for each specific grandchild.

Oh, how we love them!