tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374896862024-03-14T09:27:22.790-07:00Live Every Day As If It Was Your Last!My Journey To 60...And Beyond!Linda Seppa Salisburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13336969827398454131noreply@blogger.comBlogger459125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37489686.post-27230898736212919962020-07-24T11:17:00.001-07:002020-07-25T05:35:35.309-07:00God is Good ALL the Time! The Last Six Months.... <span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>"You will lose someone you can't live without and your </b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b> heart will be broken. The bad news is that you never</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b> completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this </b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b> is also the good news. They live forever in your broken</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b> heart that doesn't seal back up. And you come through. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b> with God's help you come through. It's like having a</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b> broken leg that never heals perfectly. It still hurts when</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b> the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with the</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b> limp."</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><b> -Anne Lamott</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">It was six months ago today that my beloved Bert went home to God. In the aftermath of this HUGE life-change, add the pandemic, add that going to church in person is not okay, and add that I am a high risk person because of high blood pressure so seeing my "lovies" </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">will not happen in the same way. Yes, lots of heart-breaking in the last six months. Yet, as I sit here this morning, I am filled with gratitude for a Heavenly Father who has carried me through every storm. It's fair to say that it hasn't always been pretty, nor the life-lessons learnings I could hardly wait to learn. But I sit here today filled with so much gratitude for Bert and all the blessings that God has graciously bestowed on me. The last six months have been filled with pain, sorrow, joy, gratitude, hope,</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">and so many, many important life lessons.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I thought I'd share just a few of those with you this morning and in my upcoming blog entries. My heart and soul are ready to write again after an important hiatus. Here are three important lessons</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">that I am grateful for:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><i><b style="background-color: yellow;">When you are hit with a loss the size of a hurricane, you are not </b></i></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><i><b style="background-color: yellow;">alone. Hang on to Jesus!</b></i></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">This may sound like some kind of religious cliche, but in my hardest life losses I hang on to God and tell Him everything I am feeling. I share it all and I don't wrap it in a neat, little package. I have big, ugly cries. I sit on the swing and tell my Heavenly Father that I am so mad and sad and scared that I feel lost and alone. I know He hears me and I know that He gives me a peace that passes all understanding. I read Jesus Calling every morning and am reminded of the quote....</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> "Don't only tell God how big the storm is. Also remember to</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> tell the storm how BIG God is!"</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b><i style="background-color: yellow;">Reach out to others in small and big ways. Let them know you need support and what that support can look like!</i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">This learning hasn't been easy. It has never been easy for me to ask for help from others. I know how busy or burdened they are and I </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">don't want to add to that burden. Yet, while I am taking small steps</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">to do this, every step is a miracle. For example my dear friends who are prayer warriors have surrounded me in prayer. </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Jackie and I are forever friends and we have both shared our broken hearts and asked each other to pray for us. Knowing someone is praying for me, and those I love, eases my hurting heart. My dear sister-in-Christ Kathy, also known as Bazz, has encouraged me to call her when I am lonely. She lost her husband, Craig, nine years ago so she understands how deep the loss is. On one phone call she said, "Tell me about Bert!" Oh how wonderful it was to share how much I love him. She just sent me the most amazing Christian music that brings me to tears and smiles every time I hear it. </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">It's called "The Blessing" by Elevation Worship. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I've also taken to reaching out by making "bread runs" in my family and in our neigh</span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">borhood. When I go to Great Harvest Bakery (yum...) I get several extra loaves for those who have been so helpful to me. Then when I get home I make "bread deliveries." While it's so hard to miss contact with family and friends and church (because of the pandemic), even small conversations with a bread delivery help to heal my soul.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b><i style="background-color: yellow;">Tell your dearest family members, friends and loved ones how much you love them. Every time you reach out to someone who is really hurting you throw them a life-line!</i></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">There are no words to express how much the love of my dear family has meant to me. Amy and her family, Jessi and her family, and Erik and his family, have reached out again and again to listen, comfort and support me. This darn pandemic makes that hard at times, but their phone calls, visits and invitations are a lifeline of JOY for me. My precious Grandchildren, or "grands" as Jackie calls them, always put a smile on my face. A recent 4th of July get together was just what my heart needed! Waking up and having Sihin, Jacob and Jenna in the kitchen was so fun. Amy and Mason went back and forth to Spokane as did Jessi's family, but watching the grandkids (Emma, Owen, Jacob, Jenna. Parker, Felicity and Sihin) on Roger and Jessi's boat was so joyous for me. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Soon we had friends and boyfriends and girlfriends there for the 4th and all the fireworks. I felt the most normal I have felt since Bert died. I can't get enough of reminding my dear "lovies" how much I love them.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">A recent visit from Erik and Theresa was a life-saver for me. Also, they regularly send me the cutest videos of my precious great</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">granddaughter Dorthy, and I can watch them and chuckle over and over again!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Phone calls and text messages from Amy and Jessi over the last six months have jump-started my heart so many times. Often it's a question like, "How's today going, Mom?" Often it's a phone call to check in and share what is going on in their lives. Those moments are priceless and a reminder that I am loved and cared for! I also love getting their pictures and videos. They bring such JOY to my life.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">That's it for now. It feels good to write again, just as it felt right and good to take a break when my heart needed mending. I know the grieving process will go on forever. Like Ann Lamott, one of my favorite writer says, this kind of grief never goes away. It's like a broken leg that doesn't heal perfectly. You always have a limp, but you learn to dance with it!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Here's to continuing to dance, no matter what!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">God Bless you!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Love, Linda</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Linda Seppa Salisburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13336969827398454131noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37489686.post-5940828476363422442020-02-02T06:55:00.000-08:002020-02-02T06:55:04.605-08:00Gratitude and Grieving.... <span style="color: blue;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b>Death ends a life...</b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><span style="background-color: white;"><b> not a relationship.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span> -Morrie Schwartz, </span>Tuesdays with Morrie</span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">As I sit at my computer this morning, a cup of coffee in hand after taking Daisy for a walk, I feel such a mix of sadness and gratitude.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Both Daisy and I are grieving because on Friday, January 24th at 7:20 pm, my beloved Bert went home to God.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Tears stream down my face as I write these words since the grief and loss is </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">incomprehensible. After being in Bert's life for more than 37 years and married to him this April 7th for 36 years, I can't</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">imagine my life without him here. Even though I knew this was </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">coming, we both did, the hole that is left is about the size of the Grand Canyon.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">During the last few months, Bert was clear about how he wanted things to go. He wanted, instead of a memorial service, to have a "</span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><i><b>life celebration party</b></i></span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">" that he was a part of. After reading the book <i>Tuesdays with Morrie,</i> and seeing the movie starring Jack Lemon, Bert was struck by Morrie' decision to have a "living funeral." Morrie wanted to kiss and hold </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">his loved ones and friends and hear the kind things they had to say about him. A proper "goodbye" if you will.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Bert loved that idea so on September 14th, two days after his birthday, we gathered with food, flowers and balloons to celebrate the love of my life. We shared old stories, our Pastor was there and talked about the HUGE gift Bert was to everyone he met, and how he had done pro-bono marriage counseling for 2/3rds of our congregation. Pastor talked about Bert being an usher, in the choir,</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">and giving of himself constantly to others. Sister Elisha sang Bert's favorite gospel song "You're All I Need." Bert was surrounded by family and friends and I knew God was smiling. What a good, unselfish and faithful servant Bert was.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Bert also wanted to be at home when he died, no more hospitals, and no hospital bed. He wanted to be surrounded by people who loved him. On January 24th he was at home, surrounded by family</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">who has been keeping watch over him the three previous days.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">My dearly beloved wanted me by his side when he went home to God. I was exhausted Friday late afternoon so I went to take a nap</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">next to Bert and Daisy our special pooch came with me. I had my arms around Bert and my head next to his as I fell asleep. Several hours later, Daisy woke me up frantically, I turned to Bert and told him how much I loved him and held him as he took his last two breaths and went home to God.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">This past week has been a blur as I try to come to grips with a monumental change, a change that rocks every part of my life.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Yesterday morning I went and got the box of the love letters Bert had sent me when we were dating. Just reading them reminded me</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">of how deep and wide and full Bert's love for me was. He was the love of my life, my soul mate and my very best friend.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I am holding on to God and my family as the reality sets in. I am comforted in knowing that God has got Bert, whole and healed, and that my beloved is no longer hurting and in pain. I am also comforted because I know God loves me and is holding me up.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I will miss him forever.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">God Bless!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Love, Linda</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<br />Linda Seppa Salisburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13336969827398454131noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37489686.post-47176689089726161842020-01-11T14:46:00.000-08:002020-01-11T14:46:00.808-08:00Word of the Year for 2020- GRATITUDE <span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>"In the face of demoralization, gratitude has the power</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b> to energize. In the face of brokenness, gratitude has</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b> the power to heal. In the face of despair, gratitude has</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b> the power to bring hope. In other words, gratitude can</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b> help us cope with hard times."</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-small;">-Robert Emmons</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I love the start of a New Year! I love that it's full of new possibilities. While I no longer make a long list of New Year's</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">resolutions that I may forget and discard when I get busy, I do </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">wholeheartedly believe in self reflection. I do believe in working on being the best me I can be and that self reflection can help me get there.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So instead of making New Year's resolutions, in 2014 I started the practice of having a WORD for the year. That word would help guide me in the directions I wanted to go and the personal and professional growth I wanted to make.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My word in 2014 was <i>wholehearted</i>- I wanted to live my life by pouring my whole heart into everything I did. No half baked efforts or promises, I wanted to be all-in!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In 2015 my word was <i>renew</i> and I wanted God to renew a right spirit in me. I wanted to look for the good in others.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In 2016 my word was <i>light</i>. Just as for me, Jesus is the light of the world, light to me replaces the darkness in any situation. I wanted to focus on bringing positive light to everything I did.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In 2017 my word was <i>hope</i>. Hope is the expectation of positive things to come. I focused on knowing, with God's grace, that any situation can be turned around and bring hope.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In 2018 my word was <i>serenity</i>. No matter what the situation looked like from the outside, I wanted, with prayer, to feel calm and peaceful knowing that even in great loss, all shall be well.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In 2019 my word was <i>transition</i>. With easy and hard changes my focus was to be like a butterfly learning to fly. Things can transition into something even better as I look hard to see the blessings in the change.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">As 2020 approached I contemplated what my word for the year might be. After all, this was not just a New Year but a new decade. I didn't have to think long and hard because I've learned that whatever word God has in store for me, that word will find me.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">And it did.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I was standing in the hall at SCC where I teach and a former student rushed up to me. She had been in my Conflict Management class last year and anguished over her verbally aggressive conflict management style. She knew it was destroying her relationship with her boyfriend. As we stood in the hall, she described all she had learned in class, how she had applied it to her life and heart, and that everything had changed because of what she learned. With tears streaming she showed me her engagement ring and we hugged right there. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">She said she was so grateful that I had believed she had the potential to turn her life around. She knew if she changed her attitude and looked for gratitude that even in the toughest times all would be okay. She said I probably heard "thanks" all the time, but she wanted me to know she was so thankful I had been her teacher. And then she left promising to see me soon.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">As I stood there tears started to stream down my face. I was so overwhelmed that she took the time to say thank you.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My heart has been hurting so much lately with Bert's illness and this student's gratitude and thank you washed over me like a healing balm.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">At that moment I knew my word for 2020 would be <b>gratitude</b>. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I can either focus on what is hard, or I can focus on so many things that give me joy.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I can focus on feeling so scared that Bert is so ill, or I can</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">focus on the laughter of my darling grandkids.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I can focus on a loss or I can choose to look back at more than 35 years of pure joy and love.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I can focus on how hard this is or practice being present in the moment and see the white sparking snow outside.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I can focus on how alone I feel or remember that God is with me, and with Bert, in every moment we have left together.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Often people assume gratitude is merely ignoring any difficulties they are facing and only focusing on the positive. However, for me, practicing gratitude gives me the</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">ability to accept whatever my current challenges are while</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">still finding joy throughout the struggle.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">So today as I sit by the fire typing this journal entry, I am so grateful to God for His love and blessings. I am so grateful for the wonderful and caring people He has brought into my life</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">And as 2020 evolves, I am trusting in Him each step of the way. With His grace and His love, I'll be grateful for it all!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">God bless!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Love, </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Linda</span><br />
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Linda Seppa Salisburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13336969827398454131noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37489686.post-57172368998970785302019-12-15T10:45:00.002-08:002019-12-15T10:48:29.387-08:00Living with Resolve... <span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Sometimes the way to move forward is actually to throw an</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> anchor. To profoundly commit. To steady yourself in a</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> drifting world and say, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span><b><span style="color: magenta;">"<i>This</i> is who I am. <i>This</i> is how it will be."</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> Maybe the journey is to find resolve- and discover</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> something beautiful in the process.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Until this morning I didn't know who Dennis Fullman was</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">and I had no idea that reading his words would change my life</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">or result in his blog post. You may not have heard of Dennis either.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">If you saw his picture, you might notice that his well worn face has a smile that touches deep in your heart.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">When I read his story and saw a picture of Dennis I said aloud,</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">"That's someone I want to know."</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Before saying more about Dennis, it makes sense to share a bit of the backstory of our lives...Bert's and mine. The words don't come easily, but the tears do. This morning as the snow gently blankets the trees and the fireplace spreads a steady warmth over our home, it's as good a time as any to talk about Bert and talk about Dennis.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">The first words Dennis wrote took my breath away...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">" When things get back to normal" is something we never say anymore. I have terminal cancer, so nothing is normal. No day or year, because it's all pretty tumultuous with the medical ups and downs. But the truth is , I think we've found something better than "normal" days. My wife, Lilly, calls it tunnel vision- "the good kind." Because we are choosing to be intentional and live with resolve every single day. We've chosen not to look too far ahead</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">and not to get stuck in sorrow. We stay focused on the present day.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">We steady ourselves committed to each other, living this life</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">as well as we can, resolved in our desire to finish well, no matter</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">how many days I have left on the earth."</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="color: blue;">Dennis Fullman (1952-2019)</span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">"Resolved in our desire to finish well" keeps echoing through</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">my mind and heart. Not his desire to finish well, not her desire to finish well. But <i><b>our</b></i> desire to finish well. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I said out loud..."That's it! That's what we are doing too, Bert and I. </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">We are living with resolve, committed to each other, and we are resolved to live this part of life as well as we can...resolved in our desire to finish well.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">It's not easy to talk about death and dying. It makes people uncomfortable. When someone we love is ever so slowly but surely heading to the finish line of their life, we don't know what to say</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">or do. Should we cheer them on? Should we say everything that is in our hearts? Should we move toward them instead of slowly inching away because of our own fears and discomforts?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">What I know for sure is that after 35 plus years of being married to my beloved Bert that I love him now more than ever. I don't know</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">how many days, weeks or months he has left, but my deepest heart of hearts knows he could be gone tomorrow. Yet there is a peacefulness and resolve in Bert that I have seen every day since I met him.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">The nurses who are helping to care for Bert constantly tell me how wonderful he is, how giving and open his heart is, and how he talks to them about how much he loves me. On their last visit to our home I said aloud, "I should probably get things in order" meaning things that will happen after Bert dies. Erin looked at me with tears in her eyes and said, "I would do that sooner rather than later."</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Then, without skipping a beat, we went on to talk about the</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">kind of man Bert is and that how he is dying with grace and love and dignity and humor is a mirror of how he has been living all of these years. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>Bert loves and trusts God completely.</b> He lives the words, </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">"Put your hand in the hand of the Man who stilled the waters,</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Put your hand in the hand of the Man who calmed the sea..."</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Almost every day Bert tells me that he couldn't love me more.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I tell him that if his soul goes home to God first, when it's my time to go, my soul will find his soul. If I go first, his soul will find my soul when he goes home to God. And if we go home to God at the same time, our souls will hold hands as we make that last journey."</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">We are living with resolve in our desire to live well and finish well, no matter how many days Bert has left on this earth. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">And we are so grateful to God for holding us in this last part of the journey. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">God Bless!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Love, </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Linda </span>Linda Seppa Salisburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13336969827398454131noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37489686.post-60526587180715837602019-10-19T01:48:00.000-07:002019-10-19T05:03:07.185-07:00Life Lessons From Ava....<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"> <span style="background-color: yellow;">Don't Stop Because You Are Tired...</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"> <span style="background-color: yellow;">Stop Because You Did</span> </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"> <span style="background-color: yellow;">What You Set Out to Do!</span></span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"> -Message on a Mom's t-shirt at the swim meet</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I was so excited when I got the text message from my oldest daughter, Jessi, telling me the dates for my grandkid's swim meets. Truth be told, nothing thrills me more than screaming and yelling my head off in celebration for whatever my precious grandkids love doing. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Emma and Owen love swimming and put their heart and soul into it.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Saturday afternoon I sat and yelled for Emma. She cuts through the water like a knife and makes backstrokes and butterflies and free styles look easy and effortless. Her passion for life comes through in how she does most everything in her life. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I love that at one swim meet she grinned at me and said, "Nana, I could hear you yelling for me at the bottom of the pool!" </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Mission accomplished! </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">You see for Bert and for me, aka Nana and Boppa, it isn't about where you place that matters. What matters is that you are doing something you love and you pour your whole heart into it.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Sunday morning I trekked out again to the Whitworth pool to see Owen swim. Owen, known as O by all of us who love him, is such a unique soul. I absolutely love the dragon drawing he did for me. I love seeing him swim and yell his heart out for his buddies, Aiden and Liam. They may be little, but they are powerful. They cheer each other on as if there is no tomorrow. They don't hold back their love and enthusiasm, nor do they look around slightly embarrassed because they are making a scene. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Seahawks fans have screaming and yelling down to a fine science. Owen and his best friends give them a run for their money in the "I AM ROOTING for YOU!" department.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="background-color: yellow;">And then there was Ava.</span> </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Lord have mercy!</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This little sweetie was just six years old, as big as a minute,</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">and it was her very first swim meet.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The pool dwarfed her as she stood in awe looking at the other swimmers, looking at the giant pool, and then glancing at her parents who were waving and praying for her not to drown.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">As her Mama said, "Please God don't have her go to the bottom and I'll need to jump in and rescue her."</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The tiny swimmers, some seasoned by being in a number of meets, took off for the half way mark, their arms and hands cutting through the water. There was a whole pack of them</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">racing for the half way point.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And then there was Ava. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Way behind, </span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">each stroke seeming to take all her energy. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Dear sweet baby Jesus, I thought we were all going to sweat bullets with her every arm movement and leg kick.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">As she swam, you could see her glance over to the stands. Her eyes weren't on the pool as much as they were on her Mama and Daddy and her cheering section.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The other swimmers had eased back to the finish line and Ava had just barely reached the half way point.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">They all stood frozen, watching her, mesmerized by her guts and determination.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">What I loved most was seeing her, at the half way point, cling to the edge of the pool with one hand, and send a big huge wave and grin to the stands with her other teeny, tiny hand.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">She wasn't self conscious because she was way, way last...</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">she was conscious that a whole room of people, young and old, believed in her and knew she could do what she had set out to do.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">With tears streaming down my face as I looked at her tiny swim suit and cap, she started to swim for the finish.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">All the other swimmers had made their mark long ago, but no one really cared.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The star of the show was Ava. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Her determination and "I can do hard things" attitude had the whole swim center on their feet, screaming her name and clapping until their hands were raw.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I can't even recall this moment without crying again myself.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I will never, ever forget it.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Her parents were on their feet, gesturing to the end of the pool, waving their arms and screaming her name.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">When she made it to the end of the race, the grin on her face said it all...</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> <i><b>I knew I could do it because you believed in me.</b></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In that moment, I felt like I finally understood, at the very deepest level, what we can accomplish when someone believes in us and cheers us on from the sidelines.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I also realized that many children growing up don't have a cheering section, people who yell their name and clap their hands in glee, no matter what they are doing. Big or small.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I cried because Ava was so blessed to have a family who believed in her and I cried for all the children who don't have that same cheering section.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I'll never, ever forget the look on Ava's face as she pulled herself out of the pool and turned to face her cheering section.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">She came in dead last. Last by a mile. The race had been over</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">some time ago. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">But no one cared where she came in. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">She was exhausted but didn't let that stop her. She personified the </span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">quote on the Mom's t-shirt I had seen earlier...</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Don't stop because you're tired.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Stop because you did what you set out to do.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And the crowd that had cheered her on? The folks of all ages that had called out her name? Our faces were all aglow.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">High fives were being passed around between complete strangers. We had all seen such courage in motion in a tiny six year old girl with a huge heart. </span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">She knew she was loved. She knew her family believed in her.</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And she knew she could accomplish anything!</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Thanks for the life-lesson Ava!</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">God Bless!</span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Love, Linda</span>Linda Seppa Salisburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13336969827398454131noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37489686.post-55001640243223830032019-09-02T19:48:00.001-07:002019-09-02T20:07:26.515-07:00Not Giving Up... <span style="font-size: large;">"</span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>So we are not giving up! How could we!</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b> Even though on the outside it often looks</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b> like things are falling apart on us, on the</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b> inside, where God is making new life, not</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b> a day goes by without His unfolding grace."</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span>2 Corinthians 4:16</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: blue;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: blue;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I could barely hear her voice over the phone, yet I recognized the whisper. The moment she said my name, the tears started to flow.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">My dear, dear friend Eileen Thompson, my daughter Jessi's mother-in-law, has ALS and little-by-little it has robbed her of walking, using her arms or hands and now it is taking her voice and ability to breathe on her own. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Yet her whisper was so full of life, so full of gratitude that my heart almost burst with love for her.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">"They are even more beautiful than the last ones you sent," she said, referring to the flower arrangements I have been sending her about every three weeks. "And the card just made me so happy. I love you, you know." </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I managed to whisper, "I love you too, dear friend."</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I asked how she was today and the answer is always so amazing that </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I am left speechless when I hear it.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>"I am so blessed,"</b> she whispered with certainty. "I have so much to be grateful for."</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Now understand, if you will, that Bert and I have had a wonderful yet tough summer with his health issues. Yet I'm not sure that honestly even once, when I have been asked how I was, that I remembered to say that I am blessed.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I managed to ask, "And why are you blessed today, Eileen?" </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I ask that question every time we go through this conversation.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">She paused and said quietly, "<b>God loves me. I have a purpose in life and I am not giving up."</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">My dear friend, once again, rendered me speechless. "Are you still there?" she asked and through tears I told her I was. "You know, " she went on, "My job is to pray for everyone all day long. I'm really very busy. I pray for you and Bert every single night."</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">And I knew she did.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">After the conversation, I thought long and hard about <b>gratitude, feeling blessed and not giving up</b>. You see I live with my beloved Bert who, like Eileen, doesn't give up either. And like Eileen, his gratitude for even the smallest things fills a room with joy.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>How blessed I am to be reminded of God's love.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>How blessed I am to have a friend like Eileen, who trusts God with all her heart and lives her purpose every day.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>How blessed I am to have spent the last 35 years married to my beloved Bert. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Every day with him is a miracle!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Yes, like Paul said in Corinthians...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><br /></b></span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">On the outside it may look like </span></b></span><b style="color: blue;"><span style="background-color: #fce5cd; font-size: large;">things are falling apart on us, but on the inside God is at work</span></b><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: #fce5cd;">sharing His unfolding grace!</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">What a great reminder. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><i>How are you Linda? </i></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I am blessed and I will not give up!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Sending loves, hugs and prayers your way!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Linda</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><b><br /></b></span>Linda Seppa Salisburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13336969827398454131noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37489686.post-50114102117617008792019-08-20T08:02:00.001-07:002019-08-20T16:40:29.137-07:00A Hint of Autumn... <b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> <span style="color: #e69138;">"Autumn shows us how</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #e69138;"> to let things go."</span></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><br /></span></span></b>
<b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Last night I was sitting out on the old swing in our back yard, bundled </span></b><b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">up in the quilt that resides there, with Daisy our sweet doggy </span></b><b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">snuggled down in the fabric with me. It was twilight, still a bit warm, and I could feel a peace start to encompass my spirit. </span></b><b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">I said </span></b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>out loud... </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #444444;"> </span><span style="color: #e69138;">"Thy will, not my will, Lord."</span></b></span><br />
<b style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: large;">Daisy startled a bit, hearing a real human voice, and looked at me with those inquiring eyes as if to say, "Can't we stay here and swing back and forth just a bit longer?" I replied with tears starting to stream down my face, "Ok girl, just a bit longer."</span></b><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>I surveyed the garden, still rich with plants flowering, yet the edges of weariness starting to creep up their stems.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>This garden and this swing and this precious puppy dog have been my haven this summer, my safe place to go. Tears here have a place that don't invite hard questions or wonderings that I simply don't have answers to.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>What I know for sure is that while I have the questions, God has the answers. He is here in this garden, this safe place that I can let down the care-taking and just take a deep breath.</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Then, while holding Daisy close and stroking her fur in a rhythmic motion she always loves, I happen to look over to one</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>of my favorite trees in our back yard and an "Oh, no" escaped my lips.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>When I looked closely, even in this dusking twilight, I could see it there, the tiny stripes of red and yellow on the once green leaves.</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>I knew, so I said it out loud, "Ah, there's that hint of autumn."</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>I also knew I wasn't ready to let go...</b></span><br />
<b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;">Not ready to let go of summer, </span></b><span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>not ready to let go of more relaxed family time, and most of all... not ready to let go of my</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>beloved Bert.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Just that thought moved me to tears and soon Daisy was licking the tears on my face and snuggling in close. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #444444;"><b>Mostly she does that </b></span><b style="color: #444444;">with Bert these days as she knows something is very wrong and he is very ill. She snuggles in close to him, puts her chin on his hand or leg, and comforts him any way she can.</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Now, she has started to do that same ritual to me. She knows that my heart is breaking and that letting go of Bert, when it's his time to go home to God, will be the hardest thing I have ever had to do.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Bert loves autumn. It's his favorite season with all its colors and he has a birthday coming up on September 12th. We are so grateful for every day Bert is here. We are so grateful for all the blessings God has bestowed on us. One of the blessings is that we have a host of dear folks praying for us. My dear friend Jackie has been on her knees praying for Bert and praying for me. I am so, so grateful for every prayer and for every day I have with Bert. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>There's a little bit of summer time left and the full glow of wondrous autumn is still on the horizon. But it will come. It is right around the corner.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Just as the leaves are transitioning, so is my beloved.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>For every time there is a season and what we know for sure is that God is good all the time! He is here with us and will not forsake us. He will carry us in every season.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>"They will, not my will, Lord!"</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>God bless!</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-size: large;"><b>Love, Linda</b></span><br />
<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #e69138;"><br /></span></span></b>Linda Seppa Salisburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13336969827398454131noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37489686.post-49319423701601516212019-07-23T08:33:00.002-07:002019-07-23T18:07:19.514-07:00Put your hand in the hand... <span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>"Put your hand in the hand of the Man </b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b> who stilled the waters,</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b> Put your hand in the hand of the Man</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b> who calmed the sea."</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">This morning, when I clicked on a post by Bonnie Gray, my heart almost stopped. I read her first sentence and the tears started to flow. </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">It said what I haven't been able to say out loud....</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: large;"><b><i>Sometimes you run out of words.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Most folks could not imagine that sentence could apply to me.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">*After all, I am a heavy extrovert.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">*After all, I am a teacher who teaches communication classes.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">*After all, I love verbal exchanges that are real and authentic.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> Run out of words, you might be thinking. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> Not Linda?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Yet every time I have tried to turn to this blog and put down what I have been feeling and experiencing, I have felt so overwhelmed that I just couldn't do it. After all, it would make it all seem very real if </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I found the words to tell the whole story, or even a small part of it.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I've asked God, time and time again, for the words to put down, hoping if I did I might find some peace in the process.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Yet what has come up, during this very painful time. is a simple verse from the Bible that used to make me smile...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;">"</span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b><i>Be still and know that I am God!"</i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">This time I actually listened. I have worked on being still and sitting and praying, constantly turning my overwhelm over to Him.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">His shoulders are strong, and I have put my hand in His hand. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Just as He promised, He has carried me.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">The gist of what is going on, as simply put as I can make it is this...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><i> </i></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><i> The loss of dear ones, ones so close to my heart, </i></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><i> has broken my heart.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">While it may sound over-dramatic to some...the truth is that my heart </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">feels broken. In the midst of many good things and blessings,</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">in the midst of great joys and gratitude, the loss of dear ones has me flabbergasted, almost speechless.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">When Vicky Westra died and went home to God last October 13th,</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I knew that her death was on the horizon. While I didn't know exactly when she would be gone from earth, she knew and I knew</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">it would be soon. We called each other <i>"soul sisters,"</i> Vicky and I. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">We were so real with each other and did so with a sense of comfort and safety. During the last weeks of her life we texted back and forth every day. </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I was a sort of a "surrogate Mom" for her, she used to say.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">When I saw Rick's post <i>In God's Hands.</i>..I knew she was gone.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Yet I had no idea, absolutely <i>no </i>idea how big the hole would be with her absence. Like many others, I miss her every day.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">At night when I'm out on the swing in our back yard, and the tears start to flow about Vicky, I practice putting my hand in the hand of Jesus...knowing He understands great loss.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Then, Ann Price, my dear friend and neighbor was diagnosed, out of the blue, with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Her memorial service was this last Saturday.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Joe Feryn, a dear friend of my daughters and in his 40s, passed away from leukemia, and his service is next Saturday. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Our dear neighbor, Julia, </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">who is 12 is fighting a wilm's tumor and isn't expected to live a long life.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">My dear friend Eileen Thompson has ALS and is in assisted living with her husband Rog Sr.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Jackie, my forever friend, found out that her dear Daddy has leukemia.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Sharon's precious Scoutie has cancer.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">The list goes on and on....</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">With each loss, and trying to support those who are left behind,</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I have had some very tough conversations with God. I know that He does not give people cancer, or other illnesses, yet I am so sad and mad to lose these wonderful, wonderful folks. Everyone who knew them and loved them is grieving.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">And on my own home front, my beloved Bert has been very ill and</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">has nursing care coming to our home. I know God holds my beloved in the palm of His hand....</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b><i>Yes, sometimes you just run out of words.</i></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">What I know for sure is that God didn't promise me that I wouldn't lose loved ones. Yet what He <i>did</i> promise me is that He would be</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">with me in the hard losses. He will never leave me or forsake me.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">He knows that my heart is broken and He gently holds my broken heart in the palm of His almighty hand. He understands loss. When I put my hand in His, I have a sense in the midst of the hurt, that...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b><i>"All is well...no matter what, all is well."</i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">He also reminds me to be grateful that these wonderful people have been in my life. What a blessing it is, and has been, to share my life with them. I loved them with my whole heart, just like they loved me that way too.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">So, for today, I am focusing on gratitude. I am grateful that God led me to Bonnnie's post. Her sentence "sometimes you run out of words" was truly a gift from God. It helped to dislodge my overwhelm. It helped me to remember that God is with me in every loss, and I can put my hand in His hand and all is well!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">And for that blessing... I am so, so grateful!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Sending you loves, hugs and prayers!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">God Bless!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Love, Linda</span><br />
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Linda Seppa Salisburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13336969827398454131noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37489686.post-18296362088996497252019-03-30T07:33:00.000-07:002019-03-31T03:40:15.084-07:00A Promise...<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> <b> I hope you remember....</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b> that I can't make this life easier,</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b> but I promise to walk with you always!</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> -</span><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Edie Wentworth</span><br />
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<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I was up early that morning for some much needed meditation and prayer time. I had felt restless and off-base</span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">the day before and I had barely slept that night. I've never been a great sleeper, one of those folks who drifts off in a heart-beat and then slumbers without a whimper. My beloved Bert is like that. When he is out, he is OUT. Almost nothing wakes him up until his internal alarm clock says that it is time to get going.</span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I, on the other hand,</span><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> am usually up at 3:00 am. I'm ready to go and make it a great day. Yet on this particular morning</span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I had tossed and turned all night long. So my "Get up prayer" instead of "Thanks!" was "Help!"</span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">So I finally just got up, put on my warm and fuzzy robe and well-worn comfy sandals, got a fresh cup of coffee and quietly headed out the back door. There were still splotches of snow. Yet more of the ground was visible, though it was all very soggy. Remnants from a long winter that just didn't want to quit. </span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Our old swing was out there, a place Bert and I gravitate to when we wanted to look at the sky or talk about something important.</span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I noticed as I sat on the swing and started to pray that the rain was gently coming down, almost as if you wouldn't notice its presence. A drop here and a drop there, not even drizzle. Every drop seemed like a reminder of God's presence.</span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I felt like His spirit was right there with me on that old backyard swing. Some</span><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">how I knew that I didn't need to explain to Him what was on my heart.</span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I knew...</span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>He sees my heart.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>He sees your heart.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>He knows what we need even before we do.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>He knows my heart hurts.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">What did manage to escape my lips was something </span><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">like...</span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"This isn't fair. It just isn't." </span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"Help! Please do something to ease her pain." </span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I was asking Him to draw close to so many dear ones who are hurting right now. Just the day before, when I was working in the front-yard garden and trying to break through a few patches of dirt that were still frozen, a wonderful neighbor stopped by. She lives across the street and almost always comes over to chat when she sees me putzing in the garden. Immediately I noticed that she didn't look quite like herself, but I hadn't seen her for some time. </span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">After all, with this winter of freezing weather and four feet of snow everywhere, we have hardly seen any neighbors more than just to wave. Since everyone was so bundled up,</span><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> there have been times I wasn't entirely sure I knew who I had just waved at.</span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">So this neighbor's visit was a welcome sign of spring.</span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Then when our dear friend started the conversation by saying, "I didn't want to you hear this from someone else, but this winter I have been battling cancer," my heart just sank.</span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Not any cancer, mind you, but one of the big ones where the recovery rate is minuscule. </span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Her words took my breath away and other faces popped up in my mind and heart. Suddenly Eileen's face came to mind. She is dying from ALS. Julia, twelve years old and living across the street, is fighting a Wilm's tumor that may take her life. And my beloved Bert's face popped up since he has been so sick lately.</span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">What escaped my lips, on that backyard swing so early in the morning, was "enough!" And then the tears started to flow. I just felt so sad seeing so many good people in pain. Sad and helpless. </span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">No wonder I couldn't sleep. </span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I couldn't do much, but I could pray.</span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I couldn't do much, but I could ask others to pray for them.</span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I couldn't do much, but I could walk with them</span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">through this hurt and pain. I could love them unconditionally</span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">and be a support person they could lean on!</span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">If you believe in the power of prayer, would you please keep Ann, Eileen, Julia and Bert in your prayers? While I can't fix this for them, I can hold their hand and walk through this with them.</span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Have a blessed day. Sending loves, hugs and prayers your way!</span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Linda</span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<br />Linda Seppa Salisburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13336969827398454131noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37489686.post-59135492652021843322019-03-24T11:27:00.003-07:002019-04-11T11:49:40.334-07:00Loving Life...the best present ever!<br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i>She loved life...</i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i> and Life Loved Her </i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i> Right Back!</i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Have you ever looked at a piece of clothing and knew it was meant for you, yet you talked yourself right out of it because...</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #c27ba0;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> After all, you already have lots of t-shirts.</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b> You could save that money for a rainy day.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b> You tell yourself you are being extravagant.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>So you didn't spoil yourself and later regretted the choice</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>you made?</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I can still see the t-shirt in my mind's eye. I was at Nordstrom, which is not a place I usually shop. Yet my Granddaughter who was adopted from Ethiopia and was in high school, was on Nordies High School Board and had seen a gift she fell in love with. I had asked what she wanted for her birthday. This oh so unselfish young lady, who grew up in such poverty and lived in an orphanage until my daughter adopted her, actually said in a small voice...</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> "Nana, you asked what I'd like for my birthday. I saw the </span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b> most beautiful bracelet with tiny sparkling stones that</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b> look like the stars in the sky. It reminds me of the stars </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b> in Ethiopia. But I feel so selfish asking for that so please</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b> don't worry about getting it for me."</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">While some teens might use that as manipulation, my sweet granddaughter was just feeling guilty about asking for something for herself.</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">As soon as I hung up from talking with her, I headed to Nordstrom as I knew where the cherished bracelet might be located. In the Brass Plum, the then teen area of the store.</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">All the way there my heart was pounding. </span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Earlier stories about Sihin raced through my mind. </span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">*When they came to bring her home to Spokane, and they had new clothes for her to wear, Sihin gave all her new clothes away to needy children in the orphanage. </span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>*When they were in Ethiopia meeting her for the first time in person, and got her an ice cream cone, she saw a young man staring longingly at it and she walked over and gave him her ice cream.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Yes, the word unselfish describes my precious granddaughter, my Glory Sihin.</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">So, back to the story of the bracelet and t-shirt. Once out of my car, I walked briskly to the Brass Plum. That's when the t-shirt caught my eye. It was on a mannequin and you couldn't miss it. It was a beautiful pink, almost like the tint of pink in a sunset. The letters were in a beautiful script and it said...</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #c27ba0;"> </span><i><span style="color: magenta;">"She loved life</span></i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i><b> and life loved her right back."</b></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I imagined wearing that t-shirt and just the thought of that</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>made me smile. But I realized I was on a mission so I found the sparkly bracelet and purchased it for my sweet granddaughter.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>The sales girl knew our Sihin and said over and over again how wonderful and unselfish she was. I couldn't stop smiling as I knew those words were true.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Yet, uncharacteristically for me, I </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">couldn't stop</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> thinking about the t-shirt. </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Once home, I phoned the teen department. The young lady who answered was so apologetic. Yes, it had been sold. Yes, there was only one and it was discontinued. I felt disappointed</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>but I also knew that I had seen that shirt for a reason. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>The message was a reminder that life is so precious. It's easy to take it for granted. </b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Perhaps later I'll follow my dream. </b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Perhaps later I'll tell those folks I love them. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><b>When you love life you live it </b></span><b style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;">full speed ahead. You know in your deepest heart of hearts that life is a gift. It should be treasured! </b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>When you really love life, you see all of life as a gift, even the things that don't seem gift wrapped.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>While I didn't have the shirt, the message would always stay in my heart. </b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;">When I got together with my darling granddaughter the next week I couldn't wait to </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">see her eyes when she saw the bracelet. I knew she would be thrilled. I met her downtown at the Nordstrom Cafe' after her work time at Nordies as a board member was over. </span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>When lunch was finished I pulled the small box from my purse, a grin on my face from ear- to- ear. Tears started flowing as I told her how much her Boppa (Bert) and I loved her, how our family had become complete when she joined us. How we knew she also missed Ethiopia, her home country. Maybe when she wore this bracelet, it would remind her of those stars she loved.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Tears streamed down her face and mine. She couldn't stop hugging me.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>And then she got a grin on her face, reached in her purse and brought out a wrapped present. I said "What is this sweetie? You shouldn't have." Then it was her turn to tell me what Boppa and I meant to her. How she loved us so, so much and knew we loved her and believed in her. She said, "When I saw this Nana, I thought of you. You, Nana, love life so much and you spread that love to all of your grandkids. We cherish life more because you have taught us to do that."</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>As I opened the present, there was the t-shirt. My mouth fell open. "How did you?"...was all I could get out. She told me the sales girl, one of her friends on the board, had seen how I looked at the message on the shirt, put my hand on my heart because the message touched me so, and since there was only one left, she took it off the mannequin, just in case Sihin wanted to get it for me.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>And that is the end of the story...except it isn't. The best present ever wasn't the t-shirt, it was the love my granddaughter showed me by getting it for me. Every time I wear it, I have tears as it reminds me of how wonderful and unselfish she is. It was her birthday we were celebrating, but she was more excited about getting me a gift than receiving one herself.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #c27ba0;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">What a blessing she is. She is the best gift ever and I am so, so grateful she is here. God really blessed us by making her a part of our family. Yes, o</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">ur family is now complete!</span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>God Bless!</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Love, Linda</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i><b> </b></i></span><br />
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Linda Seppa Salisburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13336969827398454131noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37489686.post-48018915580511370872019-03-16T06:21:00.002-07:002019-03-16T08:08:25.472-07:00A Hint of Spring... <br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: x-large;">And HOPE,</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b> if it had a scent,</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b> would smell like</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b> SPRING,</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b> like rain,</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b> like something</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b> NEW and ALIVE.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;">-Jennifer Rush</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">It is not an exaggeration to say that it has been a long winter</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">here in Spokane. Just when the talk about town was that we</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">were going to escape having the horrible weather the rest of the country was enduring, bam! February hit with a record</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">amount of snow. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">When we had our hearts set on Spring...</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">the snow hit and just kept coming.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">How much snow you ask? More than 4 feet of snow in our back yard. School was cancelled and that never, ever happens in Spokane. After all, we are rustic survivors here, hearty folks who can handle tough weather, unlike our neighbors on the west side of the state who almost faint at the sign of the first snowflake... or that's the tale we tell.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Well, we may be survivors, but even the most hearty wanted a break from the white "stuff."</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">Everyone talked about the weather...would we every see sun again? Was more snow on the way? Had anyone seen the first hints of spring?</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">It was safe to say we were a little desperate. We needed a reminder that even in the darkest, snowiest days, God is in charge. Even in the midst of more snow and more snow, He holds us in the palm of His Almighty hand.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">All will be well, as my dear friend Vicky Westra used to remind me.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">All is well...I just need to remind myself of that truth.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">This has been a hard winter in other ways as well. It's hard for me to find the words to talk about it because </span></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">my tears keep flooding and rolling down my face even when I let the </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">thoughts cross my mind.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Bert has been ill since January. Not a little ill, really ill.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In the last three weeks, we spent one whole weekend visiting Urgent Care facilities and the next weekend we spent all of</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Saturday at the Sacred Heart Hospital ER. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Then that next Wednesday, March 6th we had an appointment with Bert's doctor and old friend. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Dan knows Bert well as they worked together at the Adolescent Chemical Dependency Unit at Deaconess Hospital, years ago. Dan was the doctor, Bert one of the counselors who worked with the teenagers. They made a great team.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">We trust "Dr. Dan" because we know he not only cares for us physically, he loves us. Especially Bert. Dan is quite a bit younger and almost looks at Bert as being a Dad figure...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">the kind of Dad every kid would have loved to have.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I could see Dan's eyes when Bert came into the exam room.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Dan looked like he was going to cry, but held it together to greet both of us with his usual bravado.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">He looked at Bert's records, lab reports and most importantly weight. I saw the flash of fear cross his eyes, even though Bert didn't pick up on it. He asked about the urgent care visits and the last trip to the ER.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Then he stopped in his tracks, put down Bert's chart, and started talking about snow and spring. How spring was a time of renewal and growth and HOPE.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Spring reminded us that God gave the world seasons, just like he gave us seasons in our lives. None of us, he said softly, knew when we would go home to God. And then he picked up Bert's hand and told him he loved him.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">He told him how much love Bert had spread everywhere he went. He talked about the kids in the chemical dependency unit and how they flocked to Bert, knowing that he truly saw something in them that was good and holy, even though they didn't see that in themselves.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">He told Bert that he was adored by his family and that every time we had an appointment Dan could see how Bert and I adored each other. We had reminded him that people could</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">be married "forever" and yet still look like they were on their honeymoon. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And then he stopped, paused and said almost quietly...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"No more urgent care visits, my friend, or ER visits where</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">you have to wait three hours to be seen, let's bring some nursing care right to where you are at home." </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">While tears had been streaming down my face during the whole visit, I felt a huge calm come over me, almost like Jesus was holding my hand just as Dan was holding Bert's.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I could feel like spring, while it might be Bert's last, was right around the corner and that God would be with us, no matter what happened next. The snow would melt, the sun would come out and help was coming with all of the medical issues we were facing.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">God suddenly gave us peace about what comes next. While we don't know what that will look like, He does.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">How perfect that God gave me the word <b style="font-style: italic;">Serenity </b>for 2019!<b style="font-style: italic;"> </b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And just like that...the snow in Spokane started to melt, the sun came out and the temperatures started to come up...just a bit. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">There is a hint of spring and that's enough for now.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">While we don't know what comes next, or what health challenges may come our way, Bert and I know that God</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">is here and all is well! We feel better then we have for awhile, just having nursing help when we need it. We can call and they will come. We are at peace.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">April 7th we will have been married for 35 years, almost half my life. We are both so grateful that God brought us together, and we wouldn't trade a day of those 35 years. We have adored each other, and Bert is my beloved. Sharing my life with him has been such a joy and an honor. He is my very best friend and the love of my life. No human person has loved me like Bert has loved me and to share our love for God together...well, that has made ALL the difference.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">We are grateful to God for every day we have had together and every day we will have together...no matter how many days that turns out to be.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Could we ask for your prayers? Please pray for peace, no matter what comes our way. May we know in our deepest heart-of-hearts that God is here and will be with us...whatever comes next.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And may you also know how much God loves you...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">He is there in the darkest night and the hardest day.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">He will never leave you or forsake you.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">He will hold you close when you are afraid.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And if it feels like winter in your heart,</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Just give your heart to Him and you, too, will feel a ...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">hint of Spring!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Sending you loves, hugs and prayers-</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">God Bless!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Linda</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>Linda Seppa Salisburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13336969827398454131noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37489686.post-53255444325376404332019-03-09T07:52:00.003-08:002019-03-10T07:13:12.853-07:00Miracles.... <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"> </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i style="background-color: #fce5cd;">I believe that today is a gift and that everyday</i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i> <span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">miracles are scattered about if only we</span></i></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><span style="color: blue;"> <span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">have eyes to see them.</span></span></i></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This past week I was working with a student who, in</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">her words, "feels broken." She described some things</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">that had happened to her, and as I listened my heart</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">was in my throat. This beautiful, amazing, young woman,</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">God's own precious daughter, has been through so much.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">She was hurt and the hurt oozed out of her words and</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">you could see the hurt in her eyes.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">She asked me if I had ever been hurt and had ever felt</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">shattered and broken.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I paused for a minute and looked at her as a big tear</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">rolled down my cheek. It was hard to find the word,</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">even one word. The one word was more of a whisper</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">that came from my broken heart...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"yes"...was all that came out.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And with that "yes" I started to pray silently that the Lord</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">would give me just the right words to say to this wonderful</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">young lady. How could I honor her pain, but also tell her</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">that there is hope for healing. I took a deep breath before going on.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">She just kept looking at me and I said...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> <span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">"God rescued me. At the hour of feeling shattered,</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> <span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">He held me. He loved me. He told me the day</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> <span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">would come that I would once again be okay."</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Rescue me.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Yes, God rescued me.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Awhile back, my precious daughter Amy introduced me</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">to a song called <i><span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">"Rescue"</span> </i>by Lauren Daigle, a Christian artist. The powerful words of that </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">song were on my heart. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Amy got me </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">the CD for my birthday, and I play it every day. Tears flow every time.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">You see on so many, many occasions, God has given me the gift of healing, the gift of hope, the gift that when my heart is</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">breaking, He will be there. He will not forsake me or forget me. He will come after me and remind me that He loves me,</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">even in the darkest night and the hardest night.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">He will help heal me so I can once again believe that...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> <span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">today is a gift and that everyday miracles</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> <span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">are scattered about if only I have eyes to see them.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The God that made the heavens and the earth will not forget me. I am His daughter and He will hold me and help me.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">He will hear the SOS in my heart.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"Help." </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"Help me Lord."</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"I can't do this alone."</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And just as the Lord helped me pick up the pieces of my life back then, He holds me now as my beloved Bert struggles with health issues that break my heart.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">So I told this young lady, this daughter of the Almighty,</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">that God would rescue her. Call His name. Give your heart to Him. He will not fail you. His love will give you courage</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">and strength.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">What I know for sure, is that God's promise holds true.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i style="background-color: #fce5cd;">When our heart is breaking, He is there.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i style="background-color: #fce5cd;">When life is wonderful, He is there.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i style="background-color: #fce5cd;">When we feel hopeless, He is there.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i style="background-color: #fce5cd;">We are not forgotten. </i></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">He will send an army after us </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">in the middle of our darkest night.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">That promise reminds me to look for His miracles every day.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">They are gifts from Him, if only I have eyes to see them.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">God Bless!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Love,</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Linda</span><br />
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Linda Seppa Salisburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13336969827398454131noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37489686.post-62011825873539411912019-02-15T04:53:00.002-08:002019-04-01T21:39:26.372-07:00My WORD for 2019- SERENITY<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>God, grant me the <span style="background-color: #ffe599;">serenity</span> to</b></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> accept the things I cannot change,</span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> the <span style="background-color: white;">courage</span> to change the things I can,</span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: large;"> and the <span style="background-color: white;">wisdom</span> to know the difference. </span><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I</span><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">t's a huge relief to have someone know you inside and out. Their knowing can give you the courage and hope to look in the mirror and see who you are and where you are in your life's journey. </span><br />
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
</span><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">M</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">y daughter, Amy, is one of those people for me. </span><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Not only does she know me, she loves me...just as I am. She </span><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">is a truth teller in my life, but a gentle truth teller whose deep </span><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">caring and empathy is soul-healing. I have talked to her </span><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">about the struggle going on inside of me. Her listening ear to Gmy truths has given me the strength to try and put words to what has been going on and where I am now. </span><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thanks, Aim!</span></span></b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">Another friend, Gramma Grits, who has faithfully read this blog, asked me, in the comment section, if I was okay. She said she had been stopping in and was concerned about the fact that I had not been writing. Her concern and compassion </span><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">brought a flood of tears, almost uncontrollable. Thank you, Grandma Grits!</span></span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And my forever friend, Jackie, always keeps me in her prayers. She knows how much I love God, and she knows how much </span><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I love Vicky. She loves Vicky, too. Jackie's prayers have helped my hurting heart. Thanks, Jackie!</span></span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">So while I have been held up, loved and listened to, and I am so grateful for that love and support, I have still struggled. Lately I have wondered if I really let the things out that are in my deepest heart if I would ever stop crying.</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">A bit of backstory about me for any readers who do not know me well. Usually, I am one to be on "the bright side," thanking </span><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">God for all of the blessings and challenges as they bring me closer to Him. </span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: xx-small;">I still feel that way, but I have also always been someone who has such deep feelings about people I love that when I lose them my heart is broken.</span></span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">Not just broken, shattered.</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">R</span><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">ecently, rather than write out what is going on inside, I have been asking God to guide me with books to read that might soothe my weary soul. As expected, He answered that prayer and then some. </span></span><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So I read and I cry and I read some more. </span><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It's almost as if God has come near to me through prayer and the words of others.</span></span></b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">What brought me to this place, you might ask?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">What brought me here is a loss so profound that I don't have words to describe it. </span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">What brought me here is a g</span><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">rief so profound, that it turns to anger and then turns back to grief again.</span></span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">Let me explain. I probably knew in my deepest heart-of- hearts that my beloved friend, Vicky Westra, might die from cancer. After all, when her initial diagnosis was stage four, the battle became how to keep her alive for as long as possible. While I had known Vicky prior to her diagnosis, I walked with her through the last 7 years of her life. I saw her bravery, courage, resilience, compassion, empathy and pain, lots and lots of pain. </span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">I prayed and pererayed in those seven years for God to do a healing miracle in Vicky's life. While I knew </span><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Vicky might die from cancer, I also knew then, and believe now, that God can do miracles! Never the less, on October 13th, 2018, </span></span></span><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">Vicky went home to God and a deep and painful loss set in for me.</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">Pain that was physical. Pain that was emotional. Pain that</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>was spiritual.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">Vicky and I fit like a glove. I am just about the age where she could have been my daughter, and since her own Mama's death, perhaps I became a bonus Mama for her as well.</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">We called ourselves "soul sisters." Yet somehow even that endearment didn't catch it all.</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">For the last months and weeks of Vicky's life, we texted almost every day. I will save all those text messages forever, especially the one that said, "If two days go by, sweet friend, and I don't text you, you will know I am on my way back to God."</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">Every text after that brought such relief. She was still here.</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: xx-small;"><b>And then the text messages stopped coming. It was time for her to go Home. </b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">I am so grateful to have been a small part of her support system. Yet, while I knew things would be different after her death, I had no </span><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">idea </span><i style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;">how </i><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">different.</span></span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">Simultaneously, my dear friend Eileen Thompson was dying from ALS, and still is, and our precious 12 year old neighbor, Julia, was fighting for her life. She, too, has cancer. </span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">In all of these hard times, I have just kept praying and praying. I have been asking God to guide my path and give me the strength to come along side Eileen and Julia, just as I had tried to come along side my precious soul sis, Vicky.</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">Then Bert and I took a much needed vacation and I spent much of that time "away" reading, loving, hoping and </span><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">healing. It was also close to 2019, a new year and time to pick my word for the year.</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-size: xx-small;">Truth be told, I didn't just pick the word. I asked God to help me see the word </span><i style="color: #c27ba0; font-size: x-small;">He</i><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-size: xx-small;"> wanted for me. And then, out of the blue, came the word... </span></span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span></b></span>
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small; font-weight: bold;"> </span><b><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: bold;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-weight: bold;"><i>Serenity</i></span></b></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79;">Serenity:</span></b><span style="color: #a64d79; font-weight: bold;"> <span style="color: #c27ba0;">A chance to breathe and reflect.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Serenity: A prayer I have prayed many, many times</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><b> as I tried to "Let Go and Let God."</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Serenity: Peace of mind, heart and spirit.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Serenity: An inner calm that God has "got this,"</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><b> no matter what "<i>this</i>" is.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">T</span>hen, after we returned from vacation and I was going through Christmas cards, I saw a letter that changed my life. It changed everything. It brought light to the darkness and hope to my heart.</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>It replaced fear and grief with hope and serenity.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">The Christmas card and letter were from Rick Westra, Vicky's beloved husband. The card had a picture of their sons' Colton and Nolan and their pooch, Crosby. Inside the Christmas card was a</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>letter. I opened it, hardly able to breathe.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Rick's carefully chosen words helped my heart to heal even more. He thanked me for being an angel on earth for Vicky and their family. I can't write this without tears flowing and flowing. And as I read his kind words, a peace beyond understanding started to heal my heart. Serenity started to replace fear and anger with hope, </span><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">healing and gratitude.</span></span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">And a new life-lesson was born: Look how Vicky had touched us, <i>all</i> of us, especially Rick and the boys. All of us would always miss her, but she would want us to grieve and then get back to living. </span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">I wouldn't do a thing differently. Knowing what I know, and how much it hurts to have her gone, I would still choose</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>to love her with my whole heart.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">And I would know then, as I know now, that "All is well."</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>Vicky is home with God, safe and secure in His loving arms.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-size: xx-small;"><b><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">And I now know, as I have always known, that serenity and peace are here for the asking. </span><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">Just as Vicky is safe and secure in God's loving arms, so am I in those same arms.</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;">God Bless!</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>Much love always,</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: xx-small;"><b>Linda</b></span><br />
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<b><span style="color: #c27ba0; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b>Linda Seppa Salisburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13336969827398454131noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37489686.post-75684515418009568542018-10-14T09:09:00.001-07:002018-10-21T15:40:28.005-07:00Just around the corner... <br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"> <span style="color: blue;"><b>"No matter what... </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b> I want to choose gratitude!"</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: blue;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">The seasons in Spokane are changing and a glorious fall is</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">upon us. After a summer of nourishing and babying our plants and flowers, and spending countless hours of enjoyment in our garden, our gardens are being remodeled by Spokane's cooler weather. The breath taking colors of autumn, that were just around the corner, are now replacing the vivid red geraniums and yellow daffodils. </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Lush trees, with leaves of green, in an instant are changing to reds and golds.The leaves are cascading down, twirling in all their glory </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">as if to say, "My job is done and a new season is almost upon us."</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">My word for 2018 is </span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b>transformation</b></span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> and autumn is a perfect time to see God's transforming powers, right before my very eyes.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Life right now resembles those trees and leaves. Autumn, in a flash, is right here right now. Some enormous and transforming changes are coming with this new season. Some of the changes hurt my heart, others are exciting and challenging. Each one is a chance to choose fear or to choose gratitude. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> No matter what this </span><span style="color: orange; font-size: large;"><b>Autumn</b></span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> season brings, </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> even when it </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">is </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">really hard to do, </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> I want to choose gratitude!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Last night I received a message that I knew was coming, yet I dreaded it completely. I knew that Rick Westra would let us all know when our beloved Vicky had at last gone Home to God. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Rick's message said Vicky </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">was now in God's hands. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">During the night, through tears and more tears, I kept replaying </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">and remembering my friendship with Vicky, one of the most meaningful friendships I have ever had. This morning, after getting me a cup of coffee, my dear husband, Bert, asked me (with his counselor hat on just a bit)..."Honey, what will you miss most about Vicky ?"</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">We then spent about an hour talking about what makes some friendships a "deep friendship," the kind of friendship that gets to a new level of authenticity and transparency. The kind of friendship</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">where you feel truly seen and heard and deeply loved. That's the kind of friendship I had with Vicky. I loved her, just as she was, and appreciated SO much about how she lived her life. I guess I might call her a friend who was always grateful. Even in the midst of a seven year battle with stage IV breast cancer, Vicky was grateful for even the smallest of joys...a flower peeking through the concrete sidewalk, the color of a beautiful sky, the gorgeous red and yellow and orange colors of Autumn leaves.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">After my coffee and talk with Bert, I got up and looked out the window to see huge, gorgeous trees with deep yellow leaves, the sunshine coming through them, making them almost iridescent. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Then one lone leaf started its slow-motion twirling flight to the ground.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">It so reminded me of Vicky as I looked at that leaf, cascading to its resting place. It's job on the tree, now complete. Yet it would become part of the dirt below, still here, yet not so visible to the naked eye. That leaf had a new job...to nourish the tree. It wouldn't be visible in quite the same way, yet it would still be here.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">That moment of seeing that leaf transform, reminded me that my dear friend, Vicky was right. Just as her poem said she would be right around the corner, no longer visible in quite the same way, but present none the less. All was well for the leaf and "all is well!" for my precious soul sis.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I feel so grateful to God to have known Vicky, to have been her friend. I am so grateful for the other precious friendships I have made because we all loved Vicky. My dear friend Jackie and another soul sis, Peggy, are grieving too. We all miss Vicky, but are so glad she is safe and whole in God's arms. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">So I am choosing gratitude this morning, mixed with tears of missing and loving. I am remembering, as Vicky shared in her poem, that she is not gone, but just around the corner. I am thanking God for the honor of being Vicky's friend.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">As I face other challenges and joys coming up this fall, I will carry Vicky in my heart. Her life-lessons about choosing gratitude are life-changing. This morning I am thanking God for bringing my dear "soul sis" into my life. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">God Bless!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Love, Linda</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Linda Seppa Salisburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13336969827398454131noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37489686.post-3139822883870166292018-08-19T09:24:00.001-07:002018-08-19T09:27:30.159-07:00Precious moments and saying goodbye... <span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>"I am yours for all of eternity: I am the Alpha and </b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b> Omega. The One who is and was and is to come,</b></span><br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"> the Almighty."</span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span></b><span style="color: blue;">Rev. 1:8 <span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b> "<span style="color: blue;"><i>It's all as it's meant to be."</i></span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><b style="font-size: x-large;"> </b><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">- a text message from Vicky Held Westra</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Some text messages just take your breath away. You know they are coming. You can just feel it in your heart and in your mind and soul. Vicky's last text message to me said, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> <i>"We met with Hospice for end of life care." </i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Nine words and my heart stopped and my tears flowed. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">That night I wrote in my journal:</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Dearest Vicky,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">When I got your text today my heart stopped and I could barely breathe. Yes, my precious friend and soul sister, my friend who has fought cancer for seven long, long years... it's time. It's time to start to say goodbye and it's time to look back on all of the precious moments.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I am so grateful, dear one, for each moment we have shared, each prayer we have prayed, each email and text message we have sent...all of the connections that have linked our hearts forever.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Plain and simple, you are a treasure. When God made you, He made a miracle. Your love for life and gratitude for everything, even the hardest lessons that living with cancer has taught you, well...you have changed all of us who know you and love you and have been blessed to share this journey with you. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I'm not sure you understand the impact you have made. Your faith in God, your prayers for others while having chemo, your deep, deep love for Rick and your boys, your honest, authentic voice in every blog post you have written, your reaching out to help and come along side others in the midst of your own hard times, your trusting in God even when so many prayers for a miracle have not been answered in the way we all would have wanted... you, my dear soul sis, <i>trust Him anyway</i>. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">For all these years I have heard you say, in the hardest of hard moments..<span style="color: blue;"><b>"All is well."</b></span> After everything you have been through, you are still able to say, and mean it, <i><span style="color: blue;"><b>"I do know Jesus is at the core of this all... It's all as it's meant to be."</b></span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And on top of all of those precious moments and memories...Thank you, dear heart, for really "seeing me" and "knowing me" and encouraging me to just be me. Thank you for every prayer you have prayed for my beloved Bert and for all my dear hearts. Thank you for commenting and sharing your heart on my blog. Thank you for the cards you sent me and the bracelet and necklace with the moon on it. Almost every communication we have had has ended with "Love you to the moon and all the way back again." </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And, my dear friend, we have loved each other just like that.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">I will be grateful for you all the days of my life, dear Vicky. I will, as I told you, always share your story...with my family, with my friends, with my students. I will miss you forever. You hold a special place in my heart that no one else can fill.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Rest now, dear one. Know that God Almighty is there with you, holding you gently in the palm of His hand. Know, that when it's time to go home to Him, His angels will gently wrap their wings around you to take you home to God. Know that your Daddy will be there to greet you with open arms. Know that you have been His good and faithful servant.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">What an honor it has been for me to know you and to call you my soul sister. I will always l</span><span style="font-size: large;">ove you to the moon and all the way back again, dear Vicky.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">God Bless!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Your Soul Sis, </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Linda </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Linda Seppa Salisburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13336969827398454131noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37489686.post-22822947477544277482018-07-17T07:06:00.004-07:002018-07-27T08:07:07.861-07:00When You Feel Overwhelmed and Discouraged...Move, Keep Walkin' <span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><b>"I know your prayers ain't been answered yet,</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: red;"><b> but it's not over yet." </b></span> </span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span>Song "Move (Keep Walkin')" by TobyMac<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sometimes the questions my grandchildren ask are so profound that</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">they take my breath away. They have a way of simplifying life that is soul-refreshing. When I am asked one of those questions that</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">comes straight from their heart, I stop for just a moment, pray and ask the Lord God Almighty how would He want me to answer this?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">That happened on a recent vacation trip to Diamond Lake. It was</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">truly a family retreat with smores, fireworks on July 4th, making meals together, taking walks, and catching up with ourselves and each other. One of my grandchildren, or my "Grands" as my dear friend Jackie would say, started to ask me </span><span style="font-size: large;">important questions, the kind that give you pause to think and ponder. I found, quite truthfully, that I kept thinking about what they asked and how I answered all week while we were up there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And we, my grand and I, kept chatting about these hard questions, and new thoughts about them.We talked over dinner, breakfast, and walks around the lake... an ongoing dialogue if you will.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">What were some of those questions?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">* Nana, why does God let bad things happen to good people?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">* Nana, when something awful happens, and your heart is broken,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"> how do you keep going?</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">*Nana, is it okay to be mad at God because my friend is dying?</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Out of the mouths of babes, right? I told my dear Grand that when I</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">go to Heaven one day, I hope God will let me ask him those exact same questions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Specifically, this grandchild had found me out on the dock, reading my <i>Jesus Calling</i> book, and weeping about my dear fried Vicky Westra. Not crying a few tears, but really allowing myself to feel the depths of her pain and the loss I will feel when she goes home to God. Tears for my beloved Bert who was so ill that we almost didn't come up to the lake at all. Two of the most wonderful people I know...both struggling, both believing in God's love and grace, and both putting their trust in Him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So after taking a deep breath, and regaining a smidge of my composure, I took my Grand's hand and said a small prayer before I even tried to talk about these profound questions. In each case, I started by saying, "Honey, I don't really know how God works sometimes, or why hard things happen to me or people I love like Vicky and your Boppa. But what I do know for sure is that God loves me. He loves you. He loves Vicky and Boppa. He never leaves us, even when things are hard and awful."</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Then, out of the corner of my memory, I remembered reading Julie Garmon's last blog post and the song she posted there. When we were back in the house I went over to a computer (someone was doing homework there :), and brought up TobyMac's song about "Movin' On, It Ain't Over Yet!" It talked all about broken hearts and wondering if God's promises apply to me and my life, to Vicky and Boppa's life, to all of our lives. Here's the link to that powerful song...</span><br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou-p_RDUbB4">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou-p_RDUbB4</a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">While I don't know what challenges are on the horizon, this song is an upbeat reminder about trusting God and that no matter what, my job is to keep moving on and remembering that "It Ain't Over Yet!!" </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">No matter what challenges you may be facing right now, may <i>you</i> remember that God loves you, even in the hardest of hard times. He will never leave you or forsake you. He is there!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">God Bless!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Love, Linda</span>Linda Seppa Salisburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13336969827398454131noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37489686.post-37682563803523738212018-06-24T09:19:00.001-07:002018-06-24T11:12:11.415-07:00Soul Work in the Deep Waters...<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i> <span style="background-color: #f9cb9c; color: #444444;"><b style="background-color: #f9cb9c;">Entrance into another's soul</b></span></i></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><b><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: #f9cb9c;"> </span><span style="background-color: #f9cb9c;">is always a sacred honor.</span></b></i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">It is a gorgeous day, here in Spokane, Washington. It's almost 8 am, the sun is shining through the trees and saying..."It's time to come out and play." Bert is still snoozing away and Daisy, our precious puppy, is snuggled into a blanket, one ear raised so she doesn't miss a thing.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">It feels just right to sit down this morning and try to put into words what has been going on in my mind and in my heart the past month and a half.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> It's not easy, but I'll try.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">It would be fair to say that I have been busy and that's why I haven't taken the time or energy to post on this blog. That would be true, but not a sufficient answer. It has been the end of an amazing school year filled with graduation and saying good bye to hundreds and hundreds of students. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">It has also been a busy time filled just trying to catch up...on the</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">work here at home, my classroom at school, with communicating with my dear hearts. </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> Yes, again true, but not sufficient to explain my absence.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">If I'm being perfectly honest, and I have always tried to be transparent here, I haven't written because I have been speechless on so many fronts. On one hand, amazed at God's goodness and love for me, for all of us. On the other hand, stunned by the hard times that bring my faith to its knees. I know, more than ever, that He is here and never leaves us, even in our darkest hours.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">As I just texted my dear soul sis, <b>Vicky Westra</b>...</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #444444; font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="background-color: #f9cb9c; font-size: x-large;"> </span></span><i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b style="background-color: #f9cb9c;">"When you go through deep waters, </b></span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: small;"><i><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"><b style="background-color: white;"> </b><b style="background-color: white;"> </b><b style="background-color: #f9cb9c;"> I will be be with you." </b></span><span style="color: #444444; font-size: x-large;"> <span style="font-size: medium;"> </span></span></i></span><br />
<i><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: #b45f06;"> </span><span style="color: #444444;"><b> </b></span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Isaiah 43:2</b></span></span></i><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">That's a promise from God Almighty, the maker of Heaven and earth. He says He will never, ever leave us, even when </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">it feels like we are drowning and can't imagine how we will get through this (whatever <i>this</i> is). I am resting on that promise. I believe it to be true. I know it is because God has been with me in good times and in the hardest, hard times.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> This is one of those very hard times. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Two people I love with all my heart are struggling so hard and going through deep waters.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">It feels almost as if the water is rising, just as it does here every spring when the snow in the mountains starts to melt and the rivers are in a near-flooding stage for weeks on end.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">First, let me start by talking about my beloved <span style="background-color: #f6b26b;"><b>Vicky Westra</b>. </span>My dear "soul sis" is in deep waters. Vicky has stage four breast cancer and has battled this awful disease for seven years. She has been a beacon of strength and courage as she continues </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">to find joy and gratitude, even in the midst of pain. Recently </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Vicky got some very difficult news, that things were even worse than she had imagined, and she is clinging to her word of the year..</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> <span style="background-color: #f6b26b;"> </span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="background-color: #f6b26b;">HOPE!</span> </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I am clinging to hope right along with her. Here is a clip to watch so you can meet my sweet friend in person. <span style="background-color: yellow;">Please watch this </span>and if you can, pray for my dear friend Vicky...Pray for HOPE. Please pray for peace and pray for healing</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: medium;"><a href="http://www.wday.com/news/4452519-woman-fighting-cancer-seven-years-receives-big-surprise">www.wday.com/news/4452519-woman-fighting-cancer-seven-years-receives-big-surprise</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Second, not only is my sweet Vicky in deep water, so is my beloved husband, <b>Bert</b>. Bert is just the best person I have ever known. His capacity to love and help others always amazes me. Like Vicky, he never complains and always is grateful. As some of you know, Bert suffered a TIA stroke about two and a half years ago. He has had memory problems ever since. In the past few months, those memory problems have become more significant and seeing him go through all of this has been hard and heart-breaking. Yet in the midst of these deep waters, my precious husband leans on Jesus and celebrates God's love. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I think there are days that my struggle with all of this is even worse than his. I just keep doing all I can to be a support to him, to love him with my whole heart, no matter what. To be there for him and reassure him that he will never be alone in this struggle. Some days I can only lean on Jesus. He gives me the strength to be fully loving and fully present.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Please pray for Bert and for me that we might go through all of this clinging to God and praising Him, no matter what. He is our strength and our foundation. He holds us up in the good times and hard times. God continues to amaze us at every turn. We listen to this song by Selah, a Christian music group, and it reminds us who God is.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">We are all doing <i><span style="background-color: yellow;">soul work,</span> </i> and learning one day at a time to focus on God's love and strength. We are being stretched by deep waters, but we are not broken. We rely on God and that truly changes everything. Here's a song that gives us HOPE!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Perhaps listening to it will give you hope as well.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzfKhKf9Pig">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gzfKhKf9Pig</a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b>I am so, so grateful to God that both Bert and Vicky are here!</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">They are here to love and care about! They are here to share life lessons about gratitude that we all desperately need. They are here to remind me, remind us all, to enjoy every day and to be grateful, no matter what we are going through. What a gift they are to me and to so many others!</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And as you read this post...may God bless <i>you</i>! May you know, whatever challenges you are facing, that you are <u>NOT</u> alone. He is there with you! He holds you, just like he holds Vicky and Bert and me, in the palm of His almighty hand!</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Much Love,</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Linda </span><br />
<span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><i><br /></i></span>Linda Seppa Salisburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13336969827398454131noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37489686.post-42959371095252581092018-05-12T07:31:00.002-07:002018-08-01T17:11:12.847-07:00Finding Comfort in Kindness...sharing from the heart <span style="background-color: white;"> <span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>If every person made it a rule that</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white;"> wherever you are, whenever you</b></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b style="background-color: white;"> can, you will try to act a little kinder</b></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="background-color: white;"> than necessary- t</span>he world really</b></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b> would be a better place. And if you</b></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b> do this, if you act a little kinder</b></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b> than necessary, someone else,</b></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b> somewhere, someday, may</b></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b> recognize in you, the face of God.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"> </span>-RJ Palacio, Wonder</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">When I saw the trailer for the movie "Wonder" I just</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">couldn't stop crying. Here was the story of a young boy, </span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">with Treacher-Collins syndrome, who had been born with</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">what the world sees as a highly deformed face. His name was</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Auggie. I read the book, <i>Wonder</i>, and went to the movie with my dear, dear granddaughter, Jenna. </span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Jenna knew that I wanted to go. S</span><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">he had already seen the movie <i>Wonder</i> with her big sister, but </span><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">she could see in my eyes and hear in my voice that this really mattered to me. So she stepped in with such kindness and went to the movie again- this time with her Nana.</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">While my story of being visibly different is not the same as Auggie's, Auggie's story brought back so many memories.</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">As I sat in that movie theater I could feel the cruel stares that Auggie experienced and I could remember, vividly, the stares</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I had received as a little girl.</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">You see looking and asking with compassion is one thing.</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Looking with judgements and condemnation is quite another.</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Knowing me well, to comfort me Jenna held my left hand through the whole movie. Before the movie started, she even showed me more kindness by warning me that </span><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Auggie's doggy's name was Daisy. Daisy is the name of the darling doggy Jenna gave to Bert and to me. Jenna instinctively knew that I might be upset </span><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">about what happened to Daisy in the movie. She told me she would hold my hand extra tight during those scenes.</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And she did.</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I could hardly breathe as the story unfolded. While I know that everyone faces suffering and pain, this story paralled mine with so much vivid reality that I felt a little exposed.</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">There, on that screen, was part of <i>my</i> story.</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Yet, while I will always remember seeing that movie, reading that book, and learning new lesson's from Auggie and the people in his life, what I will remember most is <i>Jenna's kindness.</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Her kindness comforted me, held me up, and made me feel not so all alone. </span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I've been the recipient of her kindness before. After Bert's TIA stroke, and Annora's birth, Jenna gave up her beloved doggy Daisy so that her Boppa could have company at home.</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">She loved Daisy enough, and her grandpa enough, to be selfless.</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">What I know for sure is that the world needs more kindness</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">right now, the kind of unselfish kindness I see in Jenna's heart. </span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">What I know for sure is that Amy's darling daughter is on the right track.</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">What I know for sure is that Jenna's kindness has reminded me to "act a little kinder than necessary." The world really</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">is a better place when we extend kindness to others. </span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I truly see God's face in my precious granddaughter's eyes!</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">May we all #choosekindness</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">God Bless and Happy Mother's day!</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Love, Linda</span><br />
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>Linda Seppa Salisburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13336969827398454131noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37489686.post-50241425451216463312018-04-14T06:48:00.001-07:002018-04-14T06:48:59.101-07:00Sleep, Glorious Sleep! <span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i>Live Every Day...</i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b><i> Like It's Saturday!</i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Oh my goodness. What a luxury it is to sleep past </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">3am, the usual time I get up each week day when I am teaching. Now please don't imagine that I am complaining here. I am not. I am so used to this schedule that it is </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">second nature to get up at that hour. However, there is something so delicious about a Friday night when I can whisper seven magic words to myself ...</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>"<i>Tomorrow</i>...<i>Get up when you want to</i>."</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Saturday is purely magical. I always make coffee the night before and just pushing that button with no sense of rush or have to...well it is just so good for my soul. After doctoring up my brew with a magical concoction, I settle down with the fireplace on, my cup of coffee, Daisy, our sweet doggy by my side, and reach for <i>Jesus Calling</i>. I almost sigh at how luxurious it is to read it and then read it again, slowly and out loud this time.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I wonder this morning if it would be so special if I lived like this every day. Would I appreciate the slower pace of life?</span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Would I take the time to smell the coffee? Would I pet sweet Daisy with no thought to "I had better get a move on?"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Being a teacher brings me such total JOY that I would do it for free. Yet anyone who has been a teacher knows that the work load is tremendous, not just in the planning, but also in the paper grading. On Saturday there is still a big pile of papers to be graded, and they will be done by Monday morning, but I don't have to do them right.this.minute.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Just that extra few hours of sleep makes the world seem bright and gay, even though it is super cold and rainy here in Spokane. We are all wondering when in the heck Spring is really go</span></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">ing to get here. (It was snowing as I came up the south hill this week. While it didn't stick, it was SNOWING.)</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Oh dear sweet baby Jesus, we desperately need some warm weather. The poor trees and flowers are so confused. You can almost hear them saying...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> <i>"Should I really unfold completely? It's a bit</i></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i> too chilly for that."</i></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Yet a day by the fire, reading and sipping coffee, seems like such a blessing. I might do this or I might do that.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Or in Pooh's words...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>"Let's begin by taking a smallish nap...</i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><i> or two." </i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i> -POOH</i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I'm with Pooh on that one. "<i>Sleep, Glorious Sleep</i>"...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">how precious you are.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">May you have a fun, relaxing and restful weekend!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">God Bless!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Love, Linda</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Linda Seppa Salisburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13336969827398454131noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37489686.post-13118447563712520092018-04-07T10:39:00.000-07:002018-04-07T10:39:11.120-07:00Happy 35th Wedding Anniversary Bert!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<span style="font-size: large;">It's a rainy day here in Spokane, a drizzle really. A perfect day to curl up by our fire and reminisce about the last 35 years.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Yes, today is our 35th wedding anniversary and "Praise God!" my beloved Bert is here so we can celebrate it together. We have been sipping coffee, listening to some of our favorite music and telling stories...lots and lots of stories. We are holed up in our comfy family room with Daisy the doggy rotating between our laps,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">on the wall the huge hand painted sign I got Bert for our 25th anniversary. It says...</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> <b>YOU HAVE</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b> MY WHOLE</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b> HEART</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b> FOR MY</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b> WHOLE LIFE</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Our story has so many twists and turns, meeting in grad school. Me... with a shattered heart, never going to trust again. Bert with a heart of gold, knowing I needed to heal, that I was completely broken. He... being a much needed friend and helper...someone who </span><span style="font-size: large;">prayed for me, for my girls, constantly. And he listened...he listened and listened, without judgement. I cried with him, buckets and buckets of tears.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">He was a perfect gift from God, I believe that with all of my heart.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">And then one day I realized that he was truly my best friend. My</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">friend Gail nudged me by saying, "Linda, if ten years from now you tell me there are no good men out there, I'll personally kill you.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">There is one standing right in front of you,"</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">And he was, my Bert, standing there then. And he is standing here now, thirty five years later.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I am amazed to this day that he really likes me, just as I am. He really loves me, no matter what. He thinks I'm pretty. He tells me that every day. I still leave him love notes, every day. Thirty five years later.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">We have been through some tough times, some very tough times, but we give those times to God. He holds us and we get through them.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Don't misunderstand, there are times Bert drives me crazy. At times, he has a tough time finishing what he starts. I'm a big finisher. But in the end we both know how little that really is.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">We know what BIG is. After all, two years ago he had a TIA stroke and I almost lost him. And God brought him back to me.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I cherish every day I have with him.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">One of my favorite sayings on a framed picture of the two of us is...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> <b>You don't have to promise me</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b> the moon and the stars,</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b> Just promise you'll stand</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b> underneath them with me. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">And so my paratrooper, businessman, wind surfer- namer, best friend, Daddy, Papa, counselor, helper, listener, holder, hard worker, server of others, care-taker, lover of God, best person I know, </span><span style="font-size: large;">love of my life...</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b> Happy 35th Anniversay, my beloved!</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">You have my whole heart, for my whole life. And my darling, I have </span><span style="font-size: large;">yours!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">God bless sweetheart!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Love always!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Your Linda</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<br />Linda Seppa Salisburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13336969827398454131noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37489686.post-64626538589711034672018-03-24T03:30:00.001-07:002018-03-25T16:07:12.486-07:00What I Know For Sure...<span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"> <b>"God has YOU in the palm</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><b> of His Almighty Hand!"</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Some days I am left speechless. Speechless as I contemplate God's</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">love. Speechless as I contemplate God's glory. Speechless as I experience God's grace.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Speechless as I </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">see so much hurt right in front of me.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Lord, what am I to do?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">What would <i>You</i> have me do?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">What would You have me say?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I was waiting for the phone call. When it didn't come, I went to my</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">planner to check the date again. Yes, this was the day. Wednesday,</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">March 21st. I had written it in red ink in my planner. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">This was the day my dear friend was to get her test results.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">The doctor had lovingly issued a warning of sorts.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">"You need to have your family here," he said.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">We had talked on the phone about the test.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">She knew something was very wrong.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">After all, she had spend a good part of the last</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">twenty years in battle. An unseen enemy that had taken a terrific toll. Yet she was still here. Full of faith. Full of belief in Him.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Eileen's faith is like a rock. It is unbending. It is sure. It has held her up through some mighty storms over the last twenty some years that I have known her. It has nourished her in the good times and reassured her in some awful times. I can't tell you how many times she has told me, </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">very simply with such knowing...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> "Linda, He is with me. I trust Him."</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Eileen's faith reminds me of the old song....</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> "<i>Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus. Vast unmeasured boundless </i></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><i> free. Rolling as a mighty ocean, in it's stillness, over me."</i></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><i> </i></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vUhwyjdk8A">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1vUhwyjdk8A</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">When I first got to know Eileen, she was battling breast cancer.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Her son was going to marry my daughter and she wanted to be here for that wedding. She was having chemo and losing her hair and probably feeling a bit vulnerable as the wedding approached. Yet</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">the deep, deep love of Jesus carried her through, it held her up.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">It gave her an unstoppable courage. She was there at that wedding.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">She was there for the birthdays and children born. And when cancer came back again. She fought and she fought. Jesus held her up. God gave her strength. She trusted Him.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">She trusted Him then and she trusts Him now.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Yet she knew something had changed over the past several years as she lost more and more ability to move her arm. Her body just didn't work like it used to. And then the other arm started to go.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">The doctor gave her test after test and threw around some options of what it might be... </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Could the cancer be back? Was it ALS? What was going on?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">They did a battery of tests and the results would come in last Wednesday, March 21st. We had talked on the phone and I had been on my knees praying, asking God to spare her. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">"She has been through so much already, Lord. Please, please heal her. Please have this be something fixable."</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Yet the words that came next were only a whisper. "No matter what this is God, please be with her."</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">What came next, with her family surrounding her, was a diagnosis</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">of ALS. It's hard to know what to say after hearing those ominous three letters. After all, our whole Spokane community embraces </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">our very own Steve Gleason who has and is battling ALS. We have seen how this illness has impacted him, has impacted his young family.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">We have seen the white flags with Steve's name on them at races like the Coeur de Alene marathon. They say, "No surrender!"</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Yet when Eileen heard those letters, I think God just held her in the palm of His almighty hand. She is praying for a miracle, in whatever form God has that take. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">And her faith? Oh, the faith of my dear friend. As the song says...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> "Oh the deep, deep love of Jesus. Vast unmeasured, boundless </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"> free. Rolling as a mighty ocean, in its fullness over me."</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">No matter what comes next, and down the road, we are praying for a miracle. A miracle in whatever form God chooses to send it.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">What I know for sure is that God will be with her every step of the way. And when she may no longer be able to make those steps, He will carry her. Carry her as He has always done.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Would you please hold up my dear friend Eileen Thompson in your prayers? Thank you.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">God Bless!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Love, Linda</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Linda Seppa Salisburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13336969827398454131noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37489686.post-42187242722242851762018-03-10T07:15:00.000-08:002018-03-10T10:54:47.394-08:00Hope with Feathers... <span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b>"Spring is nature's way of saying </b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-large;"><b> <span style="background-color: yellow;">'Let's party!'</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Those of us who live where there are"four seasons," know what it is like to </b></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>feel as if winter will never end. Granted, at the first snowfall, we are amazed and excited. </b></span><b style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Yet after months and months of that fluffy, white stuff, snow shoveling and icy streets and sidewalks, well, ladies and gentlemen, we are ready for a change in seasons.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Or at least I am. </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>It is not an exaggeration to say that I am desperate for spring.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>There is still some snow on the ground and the dirt is almost totally frozen, yet I am in search for the first green leaf.</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>It's possible, no probable, that I am like this every year. I am ready to be outdoors, walking and gardening and feeling the sun's healing powers on my face and heart.</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Yet I also know that this waiting for spring coincides with Lent and </b></span></span><b style="color: blue; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">new beginnings and old and new awakenings. </span></b><br />
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<b style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I truly believe that with each season the good Lord sends my way, the<span style="background-color: white;"> learnings </span>never cease. Just as my word for 2018 is <i><span style="background-color: yellow;">"transform,"</span> </i>so </b><b style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">does God use each season to help me transform my life and my relationship with Him.</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>If I am attentive and hear His whisper</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>If I am willing to follow His lead</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>If I stop the hurry and scurry and am present in my own life.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Miracles abound in every season.</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Just as the ground is rock hard, the snow seemingly endless, and spring a million plus miles away, right around the corner, slowly and ever so slowly, </b></span></span><b style="color: blue; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">God starts the miracle of spring.</span></b><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>And after a winter in Spokane or Moorehead, Minnesota, just knowing </b></span></span><b style="color: blue; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">and trusting that there will, again, be a spring...well, it just gives me HOPE.</span></b><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>As my pastor says, "Can I get an <i>'AMEN'</i> to that?</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Each season has its own beauty, yet at this point in the winter any hint of spring brings a <span style="background-color: yellow;">"Hallelujah"</span> to my heart and soul.</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>After all, sweet Annora Grace's new word is <i style="background-color: yellow;">"hallelujah."</i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>She walks and runs everywhere, beaming and singing that word.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>How could Spring in all its glory not be close behind?</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>And then yesterday happened.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Bert and I couldn't believe our eyes.</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>The temperature had risen to a balmy 45 degrees, the snow was starting to melt </b></span></span><b style="color: blue; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">and we happened to look out our back window as we had a conversation about our gardening plans for this year. </span></b><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Suddenly we stopped chatting, looked at each other and said, Do you see what I see?"</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Everywhere in our frozen tundra garden were robins. Lots and lots of them.</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>One was even so brave as to get in our bird bath and just wash off every feather, frolic in the water and chirp and chirp to her heart's content.</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>They were in the <span style="background-color: white;">hawthorne </span>bush with all of the berries. Chowing down and singing. We counted ten in just that one bush. </b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>And those gorgeous robins weren't quiet about their delight. It was if someone had sent out a message saying...</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><b style="color: blue; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;">"<span style="background-color: white;">Heh!</span> Let's party! Fun time at the Salisbury's. Fly on over. </b><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Berries for </b></span><b style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">everyone. All welcome! Hot tub, aka bird bath, will </b><b style="color: blue; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;">transform your attitude!"</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>As I watched all of this take place from inside our cozy home, with my dear hubby beside me, I felt my own heart start to thaw. My own breath become lower and deeper. I reached for my beloved Bert's hand.</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Bert whispered, "God never disappoints, honey. Even in the hard times, the </b></span></span><b style="color: blue; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">frozen-over times, He is always there. He sends us <span style="background-color: yellow;">HOPE with feathers."</span></span></b><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>And then I started to cry. I've been doing a lot of that lately. I guess </b></span></span><b style="color: blue; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">when you are 71 you get to cry whenever you are sad or glad or amazed at God's wonder. After all...</span></b><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b> "The beautiful spring came;</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b> and when nature resumes</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b> her loveliness, the human</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b> soul is apt to revive also."</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b> <span style="font-size: xx-small;">-Harriet Ann Jacobs</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Can I get an "Amen!"?</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Here's to seeing God's love at every turn!</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Here's to transformation and revival of our hearts!</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Here's to a thawing of the frozen ground and the frozen </b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>places in ourselves!</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>Here's to spring and hope with feathers!</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b>God Bless!</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>Love, Linda</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b><br /></b></span>Linda Seppa Salisburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13336969827398454131noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37489686.post-11972740032321826222018-02-24T09:36:00.002-08:002018-02-25T09:36:10.290-08:00Tears and more tears...<span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: #fce5cd; color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="background-color: #fce5cd;">"For me and my true love</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">will never meet again</span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">O' the bonnie, bonnie banks</span><span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"> </span></b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">of Loch Lomond."</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">It had been building up for weeks, that sense that I was in for</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">a very big cry. Not the usual cry, mind you, but the kind that shakes your body and your soul. The kind of cry that is just waiting for something or someone to be the </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">release valve.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">It started when we learned that Bert's very dear, long-ago friend John Jankovsky, had died. John had gone to Mexico, partly because his post-polio symptoms were worsening. He needed warm weather. While he may have changed locations, he was still in Bert's heart with stories about adventures and fishing that always included John. We were shocked to know that John was gone, and there was no chance to say goodbye.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">That same week, my very dear friend, Dr. Mark Paxton, died unexpectedly from a massive heart attack. For two days he had not felt great so they took him to Sacred Heart to check him out. The next morning he was slated to come home. However, he died that morning of a massive heart attack. </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Bert and I were again in disbelief. How could this vigorous, 63 year old athlete, oral surgeon be gone? In an instant. Again, no chance to say goodbye.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I could feel the hurt building, my heart aching, but I just kept doing what I always do. After all, I learned at an early age that "when the going gets tough, the tough get going."</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I needed to be tough, be there for those grieving. I felt more and more tired physically, yet muscled through getting up at the usual three am. One morning I actually got up at 2:00, I was at SCC by 4am, and grading papers by 4:15am.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Larry, the maintenance man, poked his head in my classroom. He shook his head and muttered, "Are you nuts, girl?" "Don't you know that it's 4 am. I looked at him, laughed and dismissed his concern.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And I just muscled my way through the week.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Then this Saturday morning, up as usual at 3am, I went to check my phone. There were three messages I hadn't seen before.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">All three were from my son Erik, a police officer in Seattle.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The message was short and concise, and said, "Here's Rosie's concert." My granddaughter Rosie, who's a college soccer player, </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">was standing on a stage all by herself. I clicked the arrow and she began to sing.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">It was an old song, a song I knew well. After all, I am part-Scottish on my Dad's side and every Scot has heard "Loch Lomond" over and over." I had heard it growing up and could sing the chorus along with Rosie.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Yet, I wasn't one minute into the song before I started to cry uncontrollably. All of the feelings that had been pushed aside about John and Mark Paxton and the horrible, horrible massacre in Florida of unsuspecting high school students...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">well it all over-flowed.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I prayed as I sang and sobbed. "Oh dear God, please be with</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">all of the hurting people."After all, this song whose chorus</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">was easy to hum along with, was really about a captured Scottish soldier and a letter to his true love that he would never be coming home again. I also couldn't imagine, as I listened to the lyrics, how I would feel if my true love, my beloved Bert, wasn't here to be with any more. Just that thought left me understanding how John's family and Mark's wife, Diane, must be feeling.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Here's that plaintive melody...</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_94n_q-jr8">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_94n_q-jr8</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">When things get tough, and they do for all of us from time-to-time,</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I ask myself, and I ask God, what am I supposed to learn from all of this grieving and sadness. What is my <i>"take-away life lesson?"</i>...as I like to call it. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">What came back, and what God put on my heart, was simple and true. "Tell them you love them, and tell them now!"</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">So today, after listening to my precious granddaughter Rosie sing Loch Lomond, and seeing the snow fall gently hour-after- hour here in Spokane, </span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I am taking the time to tell those I love that I love them. They matter to me. I want them to know this now.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">For those of you I know and love who are reading this blog, </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">please know that I love you dearly and hold you close to my heart. You are a gift from Him to my life. I am so, so grateful for God's love and oh so grateful for your love too.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">God Bless!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Love,</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Linda</span>Linda Seppa Salisburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13336969827398454131noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37489686.post-44127936613296697392018-01-27T07:28:00.002-08:002018-02-02T18:51:29.800-08:00My word for 2018... <span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>"If you want something new,</b></i></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i><b> you have to stop doing something old."</b></i></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><b style="font-size: x-large; font-style: italic;"> </b>- Peter Drucker</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The fireplace is blazing, and this morning the temperatures outside </span><span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">are below freezing. What a perfect morning </span><span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">to get a warm cup of coffee, snuggle up with a fuzzy throw, pet our sweet pooch Daisy, </span><span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">and just take a long-awaited deep and inhaling breath. </span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<i><span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Ah...a moment of </span><span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">peace.</span></i><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">My eyes glance up to the wall across from my comfy spot,</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">the place where I read, grade papers, and write blog posts.</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The wall, dotted with photographs and sayings and words is </span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">a black and white, and beige and sepia-toned wall. </span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">There a large quote stands out, framed in rough wood. It was an anniversary present for my beloved Bert...</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i> <span style="background-color: yellow;">You have my whole heart for my whole life.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> And he does, too. </span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Other momentoes, reminders of days gone by...</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Old photographs of Bert, years ago, as he was windsurfing at t</span><span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">he start of the sport he named. Precious pictures of Bert and his Mama, the girls, the grandkids, their faces beaming at me.</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And words and sayings sprinkled in with an old clock whose ticking is a backdrop for remembering how fast time passes.</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Yet the highlight of the wall, the thing that draws the most questions and comments from dear friends passing by, are the words there. Each one drawn on a unique chalk frame, calligraphied by my very own hand and pen.</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">In 2014 I started to pick a <b><i>"word for the year."</i></b> Sometimes the word would hit me in the face and almost say aloud,</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"Concentrate on me, keep me in your mind and heart."</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Other words would feel like God whispered their existence and they came up again and again until I picked them. </span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Amazingly, every time, God's word-of-the-year was exactly, perfectly what I needed to focus on. A visual and audio affirmation of where my mind and heart needed to be.</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>2014</b>: <i>Wholehearted</i></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>2015:</b> <i>Renew</i></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>2016:</b> <i>Light</i></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>2017:</b> <i>Hope</i></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Each word, in its own time, acted almost like a lighthouse to a sailor lost at sea. They have been a reminder of what really matters. They have been a reminder of God's intentions for my life.</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Usually the word comes to me by the first of the year, but not this year. And I decided to relax and let the word percolate and come in its own sweet time, trusting that if God wanted me to have a word, He would make that word known.</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And He did.</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Suddenly the word <i style="background-color: yellow; font-weight: bold;">Transform</i><span style="background-color: white;"> was everywhere. And it was clear that the kind of transformation God had in store for me </span>wasn't an exterior makeover. </span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">He was guiding me and inspiring me to change my life not just on the exterior, but </span><span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">more importantly on the interior. Not only did the word show up, suddenly butterflies kept coming up in pictures and in dreams. So I felt led to spend some time </span><span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">reading about the real transformation that butterflies go </span><span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">through before they are ready to fly.</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">My oh my, I had no idea how this echoed my own life.</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Butterflies are not born, they develop. They even have a shedding of the old process, a "molting" if you will, before they can be all they are meant to be.</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><i style="background-color: yellow;">It seems that God is calling me to that kind of transformation.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And I truly believe that His Holy Spirit, His love, His presence can transform my heart and my life so I can have an even deeper relationship with Him.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i><b><span style="background-color: yellow;">"Not my will, His will</span>,"</b></i> as my dear friend Vicky Westra says.</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">That's what is in store for me in 2018, and I am at once delighted, scared, and exhilarated. I can't wait to see what </span><span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">God's plan looks like.</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">As I quickly approach another birthday, 71 on February 5th,</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">it seems so perfect as I see a birthday as a symbol of being transformed. No matter how old I am, I am never "done."</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">God continues His ongoing work in me.</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I love the Bible verse (Ezekiel 36:26) where God says..</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"> <b style="background-color: yellow;"><i>"And I will give you a new heart, and a new</i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><i> <span style="background-color: yellow;">spirit I will put within you."</span></i></b></span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">What a great 71st birthday present!</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Sending you loves, hugs and prayers!</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">God bless!</span><br />
<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Linda</span><br />
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<span style="color: magenta; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Linda Seppa Salisburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13336969827398454131noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37489686.post-35619950565582117092018-01-07T17:00:00.000-08:002018-01-07T20:16:55.785-08:00Gratitude, Wonder. and the Power of Prayer...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC2re-Nhsnr-3E-aLw76bqbVQm9u5GE1KsSgdK-TeueA3oHHZAl4kF5LNL1pB95x-X-WX0f_RojKtEL9o1IY2emQXh6Hadn-0QR7rpr7omnNLPHxwl_DrkTv2XKHryHDxugRuOHA/s1600/Seppa+Family-0043.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC2re-Nhsnr-3E-aLw76bqbVQm9u5GE1KsSgdK-TeueA3oHHZAl4kF5LNL1pB95x-X-WX0f_RojKtEL9o1IY2emQXh6Hadn-0QR7rpr7omnNLPHxwl_DrkTv2XKHryHDxugRuOHA/s320/Seppa+Family-0043.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><b>Jacob, Jenna, Amy, Sihin and Annora</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4YKZSHbI10zL_hc7rQ2IEh3S6vAxG_pp6cflI4qdDP6WAqjRRwXf8V87VJ4917kXqVdz048FPSotIPzL7if9sZJWWKCTKp3BDSH6oZdBhsx5RRtWHPVEisSdpTfprdf6_65TcbA/s1600/Seppa+Family-0020.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4YKZSHbI10zL_hc7rQ2IEh3S6vAxG_pp6cflI4qdDP6WAqjRRwXf8V87VJ4917kXqVdz048FPSotIPzL7if9sZJWWKCTKp3BDSH6oZdBhsx5RRtWHPVEisSdpTfprdf6_65TcbA/s320/Seppa+Family-0020.jpg" width="213" /></a><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Amy and Jenna</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjovlbMBUVeRlJyE8zh_-AmgNbF4lRjLY6hlyIZoCBU4fqN9crOKLyhrkJIbGBy3E_SjBzw6ZWKh4NXrS2NijrJ0Q_xQ6Pc-vXDbyJTh-dHz-hBaHLmS39bMucp2hxkL222C5qCuQ/s1600/Seppa+Family-0074.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjovlbMBUVeRlJyE8zh_-AmgNbF4lRjLY6hlyIZoCBU4fqN9crOKLyhrkJIbGBy3E_SjBzw6ZWKh4NXrS2NijrJ0Q_xQ6Pc-vXDbyJTh-dHz-hBaHLmS39bMucp2hxkL222C5qCuQ/s320/Seppa+Family-0074.jpg" width="213" /></a><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Sihin and Jenna</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEt_wuxBP1y-iNo3MNoZxuobHYPUPCJlzn7btueWhVU4M3URwuNAMecMHqPWnwPx2tO9tQPuRN2aB9s6mBKRN7XwElid99Heb0mw61y0CFB1szPIYt9FfDw86IlieO8_wrPwt2xg/s1600/Seppa+Family-0079.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEt_wuxBP1y-iNo3MNoZxuobHYPUPCJlzn7btueWhVU4M3URwuNAMecMHqPWnwPx2tO9tQPuRN2aB9s6mBKRN7XwElid99Heb0mw61y0CFB1szPIYt9FfDw86IlieO8_wrPwt2xg/s320/Seppa+Family-0079.jpg" width="213" /></a><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Jacob</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZK_2_G0fd6nc2Vs7tsklt0IDQAJbmk1Vd77HZQuAbjk7YVbOF-mvZQoCr_tXcHB0v7jGMobcjivHAJKPvE6Du7iLcsDwkqhDD_PQuYTF35b2nLidPVXPkRP1_-ZICImAlC52wCw/s1600/Seppa+Family-0057.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZK_2_G0fd6nc2Vs7tsklt0IDQAJbmk1Vd77HZQuAbjk7YVbOF-mvZQoCr_tXcHB0v7jGMobcjivHAJKPvE6Du7iLcsDwkqhDD_PQuYTF35b2nLidPVXPkRP1_-ZICImAlC52wCw/s320/Seppa+Family-0057.jpg" width="213" /></a><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Annora</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-color: white;">I love fresh starts and new </span>beginnings. So the beginning of a new year is the perfect opportunity for me to at once reflect back on the year gone by and also look forward with anticipation to the days and months to come. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">When I look back at 2017, over and over a theme arises, a mantra if you will, a silent whisper in my heart. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I am just so grateful. I am in wonder at life's blessings and how God works. I am amazed at the power of prayer.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Even in the hardest of times in the past twelve months, God's grace, love and a peace that passes all understanding have cushioned my happy heart and my hurting heart.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I've come to believe, in the seventy years I have been on the planet, that it is the tough times, the hard times, the grueling times that help me to truly cherish the good times, the easy times, and the joyous and calm times. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">When I know deep pain, it helps me to more fully embrace and appreciate deep joy. When I feel the most alone, that's when I remember that I am never alone. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">God is right there in the hardest hard.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And when I look at the pictures of Amy and her children, at the start of this blog post, I am overcome with emotion. Tears spill freely down my cheeks as I look at these loved ones.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This daughter that we adore and these grandchildren who have stolen our hearts. Bert is Boppa and I am Nana and when </span><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">they call us by these endearing names, well we just melt.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">These "grands," as my dear friend Jackie calls them, are joy-givers, that's for sure.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And when hard things happen to them, like Jacob's recent mountain bike accident (sees the bog post prior to this one for details)...well, it hurts more than words can express.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Yet the pain of this accident, when shared, gave us such HOPE and gratitude. When our dear friends and family members prayed...well, it sustained us in a way that changed</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">us. Knowing we could turn to others and they would faithfully pray, well, there are no words to say how grateful I am.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Some examples....</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Immediately when we heard about Jacob being hurt, I contacted my dearest friends. All of them are powerful and</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">faithful prayer warriors...</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Jackie, my dear forever friend, who reminded me over and over, with small messages on my blog and email, that she was praying.Thank you, dear friend. Your friendship means so much to me. Love you, sweet friend!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Vicky and Peggy, my soul sisters, thank you both for praying</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">for our beloved grandson Jacob. I love you both more than words can ever express.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Sharon, my dear friend, who now lives here in Spokane,</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">thank you for your special friendship and for your prayers for my family and Jacob. We have known each other forever it seems and I love and appreciate you so much.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">My friends at SCC, including Mark and Larry on the facilities team, thank you all for praying for Jacob.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Our church family at Bethel AME, thank you for holding all of us up in prayer.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Others who read this blog, like Gramma Grits, thank you for your prayers. Other friends and family members...thank you for your prayers! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">And finally, my dear friend Chuck. You are a wonder and miracle to Bert and to me. I will never forget our encounter at Bank of America. I had just heard the severity of what had happened to Jacob and you are a nurse. As I came through the set of doors to go back outside, there you were. You took </span><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">one look at my face, walked me back into the bank, and asked what was wrong. As I started to tell you, I was crying so hard the words would hardly come out. You pulled me aside to the sofa in the bank, sat me down, held my hand and prayed out loud with me right there. Right there, loud enough for all to hear. You asked God to protect Jacob, to heal Jacob.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I know that He heard your prayers and your deep love and trust in God inspired me, more than you could ever know.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">So while it is only January 7th, and 2018 is still quite new,</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I am thanking God over and over again for His love. I am in wonder and so grateful for dear and faithful fiends who love us and pray with us. I am grateful for joy and grateful for the hard times that help me be closer to God.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">May you know how much He loves you, too!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Love, Linda</span>Linda Seppa Salisburyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13336969827398454131noreply@blogger.com1