April, 2023

God, remember when I was a young mama, the nights I’d lay awake and ask you to let me live ’til my kids were grown? Well, you did that. You’ve let me live to see my grandkids grown, and some of my great grandkids grown- I humbly thank you. You are truly a prayer answering God.

Now, Lord, I ask that all my family will be saved. That’s my heart’s prayer now. And I know it will be!

Thank you, my Lord. I love you.

Ann

Recently we packed up my Mammy’s house. It was difficult, but her presence seemed near, it was where we felt closest to her. But there is a “season for everything” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) Through our grief, we grew closer as a family. We were able to find old pictures, dishes we remembered, the little notes she wrote to herself not to forget the tea boiling on the stove. There were things that each of us remembered from our childhood, or from recent times. Her stories were refreshed in our souls, and we could feel her nearby. The journal she wrote in still has the scent of her lotion. Her many quilts hold different memories for each of us. As we carefully packed each item, down to a bag of makeup and face cream we just couldn’t seem to part with, we held her sweet memories dear.

3 There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

²    a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
³     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
⁴     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
⁵     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
⁶     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
⁷     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
⁸     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8