Choose Joy in the Journey

I wanted to dance when I heard the good news.  I don’t need surgery! When my doctor examined me last month, he suspected further care and sent me to a specialist in a city up north.  I had to wait only two weeks to get in to see him.  The specialist did not agree about surgery so I’m off the hook. I learned an important lesson about my faith journey in the middle of the two-week period of waiting for my appointment to see the specialist. I needed to be educated in medical knowledge and procedures so I could make a wise judgment for my future.  A friend suggested a support group with other women so I could glean info.  I joined.  I listened to their experiences and gained understanding.  I researched like crazy.  I became smart. I also became fearful and sometimes angry.  I screamed at Baby, our spirited cockatiel, to shut up when he screeched too much and I noticed my husband spent more time in his man cave. You kno...

If the phone rings late on a Saturday evening especially if the caller turns out to be our daughter, I get suspicious and my imagination goes wild.   I ask my husband if the kids told him why they are coming over in 15 minutes. I heard the knock at the back door and a sweet “hello” greeting from the kitchen.  I bumped into my son-in-law in the hall.  Mark hugged me like a big bear and I asked him if they came over to tell us they’re going to have a baby.  He laughed and said: “Not yet!” Then I asked him if they got a puppy.  His embrace still tight he whispered: “We just bought a truck.” We all piled in the truck and took it for a joy ride.  We made loud oos and awes from the back seat to compliment their rich interior upgrades. We got back to our house and sat around the kitchen table talking about the day’s events when our daughter, Amy, told us an incredible story. Amy set out that morning to keep company with a girlfri...

It’s the middle of rattlesnake season here on the ranch.  The local news anchor confirmed it.   I’ve seen two already.    While driving along our dirt road yesterday, I mistook a virulent enemy for a branch. I backed up the car, looked again and noticed the branch shifted revealing a rattle at its end. At one of our road association meetings in the barn, Shelby stood up and shouted, “ BOB !” to my next door neighbor.  He’s our vice president and the one all eyes were on as he gave a presentation in the middle of the room.  I sensed fear in the way she yelled his name.  I learned after the meeting that Shelby called out to him like that because she saw a rattler slither in the barn door where she and I sat.  Bob yielded to the interruption and quietly dispatched the enemy.  Ten minutes later, this tough guy was back to center stage falling right back in step with the business at hand.   Bob is my new best friend. ...

Summer may be behind us now, but the memories are fresh and the lessons they taught me rest deep within my soul. Do grown daughters with busy lives of their own crave mother-daughter time?  I am so glad mine do!  Summer afforded me several one-on-one occasions with each of them. I forgot what a pretty city Tucson is although my oldest daughter didn’t enjoy the heat as much as me.  The resort’s pool made up for any discomfort! My youngest daughter is a power prayer warrior.  We strolled along the Coronado Beach at sunset praying for our family and friends.  I cherish times like these, just her and me….and God.  I am lavishly fulfilled when I think of the summer days with the daughter of my heart.  Thank you, friends, for your concern for Angie.  She made it through her surgery but complications sent her back to the hospital weeks later.    Chronic pain restricts this compassionate, ...

I’m praying for the military today. I have never fully appreciated the sacrifices made by our men and women in uniform until members of my family began to serve our country. I’m thankful to the people I meet who express their care for my loved ones in the military. Their prayers bring so much comfort. Americans have changed. It wasn’t like this back in 1970 when my husband was finishing his second tour in Viet Nam. He, like so many his age, came home in uniform that spring and Americans at Chicago O’Hare Airport shouted obscenities to him. Taking the bus home to the suburb where he lived, war haters tried to spit on him. Thankfully, those days are behind us. I think we’re wiser today when it comes to our troops. It appears that Michelle Obama is wiser for having toured the country during her husband’s campaign listening to Americans tell their stories of losses and sacrifices for this country that their loved ones make on a daily basis. Michelle said: “If there’s one thing ...