friends – We Are the Lucky Ones

Posted on December 10, 2024December 10, 2024 by landktheluckyones

Comfort

We mom’s, will do anything to protect our “cubs’ from pain and heartache. We do this each step of their journey of breaking away from us to their adulthood. We are their biggest advocate. Cheering them on with all our might. For us, it does not stop there. We live through our kids. Their moments of joy, their achievements, their pain. When they have spouses and their own children, it continues on, Our “cub family” grows and our heart does as well.

My own heart is breaking for the loss of one of my sweet cubs and the pain the rest of my family is enduring. Some pain, a mom can’t fix. Despite their yearning to do so.

To magnify my own grief, we have lost more family and friends and everyday hear of more pain and suffering in those whom we know.

Often, I can find peace in the Words of my Lord. There are times though, that I don’t feel God speak to me through His Word. He knows me in and out. He knows where to speak to my heart.

He knows I am relational. He knows that I don’t take the care of others for granted. He knows how much I value those around me. Kindness bestowed.

In 2 Corinthians 1, it states that God comforts and encourages us in every trouble so that we will be able to comfort and encourage those who are in any kind of trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

God has comforted me numerous times in my life and sometimes, I didn’t see it until much later. However, during the course of several years, the Lord has been surrounding me with friends and family that He, in his wisdom, knew that I would need for this time. If you are in pain or in a hard season, I imagine He has done that for you as well.

God has comforted me through a dear friend meeting for a cup of coffee and praying over me,cards from those I hold dear, words of comfort from so many. My family’s sacrificial love. Through my sisters in Christ who have surrounded me with love, acceptance, encouragement while my “armor” is a little cracked. Through ladies that I meet with weekly, that mean so very much to me.

Even in unlikely places, such as our financial advisor and his assistant that brought words of comfort and has gifted me with attachments for my boots so that I wouldn’t fall again.

I believe God placed me to work side by side for seven years with a young man. An unlikely friendship, yes. Yet, we share a camaraderie. I believe we have a mutual respect and think highly of one another. He has reached out with encouragement at just the right moment to bless my heart.

These people have humbled my heart in their outreach of an underserving soul and I am filled with love for each one.

I am a selfish person by nature.That has been revealed to me more times than I care to admit this past year. I can feel sorry for myself as quick as you can snap your finger.

I feel the Lord is urging me to put my selfishness aside and look for opportunities to reach out to those around me who are hurting. To comfort those as God has comforted me through the hands of others.

Does it take the pain away? No, but I want to turn my pain into someone else’s comfort. For there are many who are suffering, not just me.

Posted on June 14, 2024June 14, 2024 by landktheluckyones

Thanks, Julianne

When my daughter had only been out of school a few years, she came to visit. It was wonderful to see her and her new friends. We took pics and enjoyed the visit. After she returned home, I viewed some of the pics. I was horrified at how my hair was greying. Despite the fact that I never wanted to dye my hair, I embarked on that 15 year or so, journey. I was not ready to show my greying hair.

This last year, Leonard asked me to quit dying my hair. (I think that he wants to look younger than me). It has taken over a year for all the dye to grow out of my hair. I really don’t care for the result. Had I continued to dye my hair without letting all the dye grow out, I probably could have continued down that path. Being that I didn’t, I’ve been gathering advice from various sources.

My sister-in-law said that she had tried to do highlights but it made it worse. Hmm. My daughter has a good friend, that is a hair salon stylist. From what I’ve seen, she truly has a gift. Often, hairdressers ask you what you want and then end up doing what they want instead. I remember, my daughter sharing with me that Julianne truly listens and accommodates. This also is a gift–being a good listener.

I asked my daughter to inquire of her good friend, Julianne about what I should do. She was quite thorough in her response.

In the end, she said this: “Personally, I’m in the camp of if your natural white hair is beautiful, why not embrace it and forego all that root touch up maintenance. But if I’ve learned anything as a stylist, you can have someone who has the most beautiful natural color, gray, white or otherwise and if they don’t like it and they want it gone, that’s what matters more.”

This makes me thankful in her response, because it shows that she really cares about how that person feels. This, I believe makes for a good stylist and also a good friend.

As you can see, my hair has gotten pretty white, yet it’s brunette in the back. I’m still not sure what I will actually do, but I appreciate the knowledge that Julianne has.

Like the saying that your body ages on the outside, but on the inside, you still feel eighteen. I do still feel eighteen, and it is weird to be sixty-five and have white hair. It’s not like I’ve ever been physically beautiful, so I guess it’s a little vain to think about. Except for the fact that you want to be and do your best and you don’t want to be that “old lady”.

Posted on March 22, 2023March 25, 2023 by landktheluckyones

God is So Good

Everyone has things that go on in this life that are not good. We, as we journey through this life have a series of highs and lows. That is life.

Despite this fact, God is always taking care of us. He shows us bits of himself through friendships and loved ones. As we talk with Him, He gives us peace through the storms. Yes, we are the Lucky Ones to have an Awesome Father and those friends and family that touch our lives.

We had the opportunity to go visit my son and family. It was an amazing and enjoyable trip. My daughter-in-law was feeling good and we had the opportunity to not only see our grandson, Andrew’s first theatrical debut but also his band concert the next night. What a joy that was.

Even though he had a minor part. He did an excellent job!

Rather than giving him a bouquet of flowers for his performance, I made a candy bouquet.

Andrew is in the back with the green folder, playing trombone.

They did an amazing job!

On our way home, we were able to visit my daughter and grandson. Seeing both my kids in one weekend!

Today, I was blessed with talking with three of my friends. One of those friends that has been my friend since elementary school, treated me to lunch and gave me a beautiful card, some flowers and a little “smiley guy”. These are the connections that God designs to bring joy to our hearts and boy, does it! I am thankful for these times. He has blessed me with true, praying friends that I cherish so much!

If you know me, you know that I like “smiley faces”. I was excited when I came across this great find…and they go so well with the smiley guy! I just think that’s so fun! I feel smiling and laughter are God doing something special for His kids.

I am thankful to those whose kindness goes well beyond what I could ever dream.

Posted on December 17, 2022March 5, 2023 by landktheluckyones

More random thoughts

We spend most of our lives just trying to get by. We work to create a life that sustains with hopes that one day, we will live a time with ease–or to do those things we don’t have time for, while “doing life”. Yet, this is often not the case. In spite of this, along the journey our lives touch other lives and they impact us forever.

Yesterday, I attended the funeral of my friend’s husband. He, in his 58 years, had earned much praise for the person that he was. A man so loved by all who knew him. A talented craftsman, family man. Much love and laughter filled the life that he and my friend created. My heart is breaking for her as she must journey on without the man that she fiercely loved. From this moment on, she will need much support and love.

As I was sitting there, waiting for the proceedings, I looked around at others attending. Some relatives, some friends, some friends of relatives. Each were touched in some way by my friend, her husband, her family. Some were friendships that my friend and I had created from where we work. Each touched in some way. Attending a funeral often causes us to think of our own mortality. Some, for this reason, avoid funerals. For those that remain, it is a final goodbye, a time to honor a life lived or just wanting to be a support to those we care about.

God, in His wisdom, created each one of us, wonderfully. He has a purpose for each of us, the lives we will touch, connecting on this earth. Preparing us for life eternal. He alone, knows the number of days we will remain on this earth. I feel so lucky for all those He has placed in my path. Isn’t that what He created us for? To love Him, show that love to others and let others know how much He loves us and wants all of us to meet our loved ones and those we “brush elbows with” in heaven whenever that time may be.

Death, even though we know that it happens to all of us, don’t want to think about it. I have been thinking about it a bit recently, being that they have updated my daughter-in-laws diagnosis to only four months.We have the illusion that we will have as long as we want. We are not in charge of that. For some, it comes suddenly without a moments notice, for some, they have a long journey of pain and suffering. I do not begin to understand why these things are so, yet I believe there is a purpose for whatever journey we have.

I remember when my grandson was going through chemotherapy, my son wrote about fear. That fear of losing something that you have. I feel that if we have that fear and that heartache of losing someone close to us, that also means that we were lucky enough to have someone in our life of such value that we fear losing that.

My friend had that person of much value in her life that she was lucky enough to spend almost 40 years of marriage with.

May we always keep eternity in mind as we go about our life each day. Remembering, as my mother wrote in her own eulogy, that love is the most important thing.

This was something that Leonard picked up that we are now using as a centerpiece on our dining room table.❤️

Posted on September 12, 2022September 12, 2022 by landktheluckyones

Leonard likes to “scrap”. Due to the fact that I am more of a “I’m sure you can find a use for that” person. It is a bit of an annoyance to me, as we travel around the area, he is always scouring the side of the road for items to take apart. Yet,as God’s hand is on us through it all, we have “lucky” moments of blessing. This last week for example, there were appliances on the side of the road. Of course, these were too large to fit in our little SUV, so with that in mind, Leonard headed home in record speed to get our pickup. He found me some gloves, so that I could help him. This caused me much anxiety as I talked to the Lord silently. Is it long enough after my surgery to be lifting such items? Lord, this is not what I had in mind today. We pulled up to the appliances on the side of the road and as I was putting the gloves on…a man, came driving up and asked if he could have the kitchen range. He said his mother-in-law’s had broken. He called his mother-in-law, and it seems that she had already bought a new one. Even so, this man offered to help Leonard load the appliances! What? Really? Thank you, Lord for orchestrating this man to come to my rescue. A positive side of scrapping occurred on Labor Day. We were on a leisurely Monday drive and one of the summer residents was putting out some patio chairs and a patio umbrella (our current umbrella was broken). This time, it was a “good find” and not something to be taken apart. I am thankful to the Lord for His provision.

Leonard with the “new” umbrella and patio chairs. He’s pretty excited!

Another “lucky” fishing adventure.

My long-time friend, Chris asked myself and seven other ladies to do a study of this book

Our conversations were only via group text messaging. I only knew my friend and another friend that participated. This last weekend, I had the pleasure of meeting three of those ladies for a picnic at one of their beautiful homes. I feel so lucky to have met these women and the opportunity to visit with my two long time friends. It was so enjoyable.

Another blessing that I find interesting is that Leonard will on occasion, pick some wildflowers and put them in a vase. He knows that I like daisies. Even though, these are not daisies, they put you in mind of them.

As I notice God’s blessings everyday, I will always claim that.. We certainly are the Lucky Ones!

Posted on September 3, 2022September 3, 2022 by landktheluckyones

Moments in Time

Some moments in time to bring joy to my heart. Over the last few weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of some enjoyable moments, from nature…

To family and friends…

To my daughter sharing this pic of this car with me because I like Smiley Faces.

Yes, we are the lucky ones to have friends, family and beautiful landscapes to enjoy!

Posted on June 14, 2022 by landktheluckyones

Life: A mixture of Ups and Downs

It has been a bit since my last blog post. I always enjoy any time that I get to spend with my family, so this is the best place to pick up.

Tina asked us to join her for the Boyne City Mushroom festival. Tina and Isaac did the bumper cars together. This brought joy to watch.

I was able to meet some long time friends for lunch. I enjoyed seeing them so much even though I was self conscious of my physical state when I saw them. It was good to hear how their lives are changing with kids and grand-kids.

As I’ve stated previously, relationships and encounters are what I treasure above many things. On the 23rd of May, I went back to my doctor for a follow up of the hip surgery. He gave me the “go ahead” to return to work. Part of me was ecstatic, for this meant that I was doing well. As it turns out, that the day they told me to return to work, was the very day that my long time girlfriend was in the area. I totally missed an opportunity to visit with with her. Even though I was overjoyed to see the people that I have grown special relationships with at work… I cannot adequately explain how disappointed I was to not see her for this round of her returning to the area. Especially this year, when this fall has made me so aware of the frailty of life.

Since I have been recuperating, I have tried to be vigilant with walking and exercises that physical therapy has given. One of those walks, I was startled by this morning dove that did not seem to be disturbed by my entering it’s personal space.

Memorial Day weekend, Brian and family came to visit and it was such a joy to see them.

Isaac turned 11 and asked for us to take him miniature golfing. I made him an ice cream cake and he was overjoyed to get a Nerf gun that he had been asking his Mum for.

Just a few days later, was Tina’s birthday. I made her a cake made only with fruit which she thought was great!

After returning to work, I found that my ability to do my job adequately and how it was effecting my health was just not providing the desired outcome. I had many mixed feelings about this. We made the decision for me to retire. The reality of not seeing the people that I have grown so close to, puts a sadness in my heart that I cannot explain. Did I return to work to early? I don’t know. I never realized a simple fall on the ice could impact not only my health but also my emotional state in such a big way. I realized how fragile life is and how quickly that can change. We decided as a couple that we needed to be together as much as possible. We both are realizing that each day is a gift and not to take it for granted.We go through life believing that there will be a better day or that we will have another day. We count on it, but that is not promised.

Even though life is a mixture of ups and downs, I am grateful to my God for the many relationships that have blessed my heart along the way. To the friends I’ve made that are near my own age to the younger ones that are younger than my own kids and the unlikely relationship that I encountered with a young man that I worked with for 7 years. These people that I’ve been accustomed to seeing everyday, I had to leave behind, yet their uniqueness and the love that I feel for them will be etched in my heart for eternity. Will I forget about them? Not a chance! They have impacted my life and changed me in a way that could have not happened without their place in my life. We have photo albums of moments with our families but, I have a photo album of memories of these people that I hold dear on my heart. No one can take that away. These are moments of just living everyday…same place, same time and yet, that is what draws you close.

Yes, life IS a mixture of ups and downs, but we remain the Lucky Ones and I am grateful.

Posted on April 19, 2022 by landktheluckyones

Friends and Family

I have always felt throughout my lifetime so much gratitude for the family that I have and the friends that I have encountered. So, so lucky and blessed beyond measure!

Not only did I receive numerous calls, cards and gifts for this, my 63rd birthday, but some of them have caused me to be “crafty”, which has never been my strong suit. Nonetheless, I’ve been trying to do just that. My friend, Chris gave me a puzzle that had an eagle and the Mackinaw Bridge on it. She gave me this along with a Max Lucado book, that I quickly read through, which she had the following verse in: “But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31 Leonard helped me put this puzzle together, get a frame and mount it. Now it will be a daily reminder of this verse. I’m lucky to have this friend and a hub who will help me.

My daughter, Tina had given me a paint by number on canvas. Today, I finished it! Looks like we will be looking for another frame.

My brother Nels, did not have kids of his own, but his wife, Dorothy had two daughters when they got married. I’m so happy for him that Jen (his step-daughter) has called him grandpa to her adorable little Millie Jean. No one could love that little gal more!!

Lucky to have these young men in my life!

Easter Sunday was very nice. Attended church, then had Tina, Collin and Isaac over for dinner. Tina was a tremendous help!!! So lucky to have her in my life!

I continue to be so lucky and blessed!

Posted on July 17, 2021 by landktheluckyones

A great Saturday, so far!

I was able to visit with my friend, Barb and her granddaughter, Emerson. What a blessing that was!!!🙂 I sure am lucky to have such special friends that are dear to my heart.