If ye are prepared.....

The scripture "If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear", generally brings to mind images of wheat, honey, and powdered milk. I am coming to realize just how many realms that saying fits in. An Olympic athlete that has worked really hard is going to be excited but not really fearful as his event approaches. A student who has studied everything well will be somewhat nervous about an important exam but doesn't need to really be afraid because she has done all she can to prepare. Recently we heard a story originally published in the LDS Church News in August about a man (a bishop) who was planning a hiking trip with his son and some other people. (I haven't read the actual story so my details may not be accurate but the idea is the same.) As the time approached to climb the mountain, he knew he hadn't spent much time working up to the physical rigors of the hike. They packed up and started out. After the first day, they stopped to set up base camp. He knew by how exhausted he felt and how difficult it had been for him that he would never be able to make the trip. So he sat at base camp and watched as his son and other companions made it to the summit, wishing he could go where they were. He had wanted to be with them but had not sufficiently prepared himself, so they had to go on without him. Also in the scriptures, there is a parable of the ten virgins. Only five had brought enough oil for their lamps so five were not ready when the bridegroom came. Lately it seems that there is some form of disaster somewhere in the world every single day. Some people are better prepared to deal with it than others. The preparation isn't necessarily about flashlights and extra food. We can share food, fuel, transportation sometimes. What we can't share, is emotional stability.... spiritual serenity.... mental strength. If we spend our lives only at the surface- dealing with the day's errands, watching tv, eating, sleeping, bathing- doing the physical, worldly things that are a part of mortality, there will be no deep well to draw on when needed. Being able to recite lines from a movie will not get us through a financial crisis. Expertise at a computer game will not support us through a sudden, life-threatening illness for ourselves or a loved one. Having the right scent of bubble bath will not comfort us in a flood, fire, or hurricane. All of those things are fun distractions but we have to be careful not to neglect the real preparation necessary for peace and strength facing challenges of life. Faith can provide serenity in an insane world. We will not be afraid of dying if we know what to expect. We will not be afraid of facing God if we take the time now to get to know Him. If we are prepared, we need not fear.....now or ever.

Thorns and thistles to torment.....

I have done a blogspot before about the work we have had to do to undo damage to this house caused by animals- mostly squirrels but also raccoons. There remains one hole in the trim just under the roof line way up near the peak on the back side of the house. As the weather has gotten colder, that hole has attracted squirrels. It is amazing to watch their gymnastics through the trees and walking just like Spiderman up or along the sides of houses. They seem to get a particularly good grip on brick. Russ and I have been awakened several times a night with noise above our heads. The night before last it got particularly noisy, sounding like they were right in the space between the ceiling of the second floor and floor of the third floor. Russ had spend the day somewhat uncomfortable with a smaller pest- some kind of intestinal virus. I took his temperature in the evening and it was over 101. So, trying to save him from having to get out of bed, I threw on some clothes, went outside to look up on the roof just to make sure there weren't any really heavy creatures scurrying across the roof and just sounding like they were closer then went down to the basement and got our folding fiberglass ladder and carried it up to the third floor so I could get into the ceiling to see where they were coming in. I set the ladder up, climbed up and lifted the board in the opening to the attic and turned slightly to place it to the side and the ladder disappeared under me! I landed rather firmly on my back. I missed the sharp edge of the window air conditioner we had removed for the season by just inches. I was grateful for the padding and carpet on the floor. Well, so much for Russ not getting out of bed. Still feeling bad for him, I took the totally warped, destroyed ladder out to the porch and went down to the basement for our other folding ladder. This time Russ insisted on climbing it and saw several beady eyes in the attic space. We also found one very large squirrel in a space between the floor and ceiling that had been left open when Russ was putting in ventilation duct. It's in the knee wall of the third floor. I put boards over the hole, threw in rat poison, and weighted down the board.

In the morning, Victoria called and said that Kadon had been sent home from pre-school because of head lice (and the baby, Brooklyn, has horrible sounding croup). Victoria had been ill with diarrhea and nausea all weekend and just wasn't up to all the vacuuming, washing, and effort required to deal with the situation alone. Besides, it is very near the end of her semester and she really couldn't afford to miss class. Russ and I normally go down on Mondays anyway so we just went early. We washed all the bedding and remade beds, washed several loads of clothes, vacuumed everything, mopped, did dishes, and Victoria got to class. In the end, Kadon didn't have lice at all. It was just dandruff. But, there is an infestation in the area, even reported in the Cincinnati newspaper, and Kadon has had lice before so the teacher at the pre-school's concerns were warranted.

Just as an aside, while I was in Florida helping Lisa move, I started having a very itchy head. I thought at first that it was just due to sweating with all the heavy lifting and going up and down stairs and stuff. Then I thought maybe it was a reaction to Lisa's shampoo. I borrowed hers rather than hassle with taking a small enough container on the plane. After I got home and after a thorough examination by Russ and Victoria, we determined that I had lice !! I have never had the problem before so I really hadn't known what to look for or how to look. I have no idea when or how I got them- maybe on the plane? Anyway, I had to spend several days working on making sure I got rid of all of the lice and nits. I certainly have a better understanding of the cliche "nit-picking"!

The bottom line, at the moment, nobody in the family has head lice. The rat poison has had some affect. This morning Russ went up to check out the noise we had been hearing through the night.The picture you see above is the result. I am pretty sore in several places but okay. Russ is feeling better and so is Victoria. We plan to, but dread, getting a series of ladders up to close up that hole way up near the top of the house. We need to do it before the roof is icy.

The scriptures tell of God's warning to Adam that the earth would produce thorns and thistles that would torment man as a result of the loss of innocence and expulsion from the Garden of Eden. The world is simply not a really pleasant place. We really don't want to kill creatures. We don't want war. We look forward to the day when the lion will lie down with the lamb, a child can put his hand on a cockatrice's den, and the people who remain will live in peace and harmony. By the way, those people are not some kind of elite that will be favored by the Lord. They are the people who have chosen to live the lifestlye of God, peace and goodwill toward all men.

Selfish reasons for gratitude

As I drove the road from Cincinnati to Dayton for the umteenth time today (I have gotten so I pretty much zone out other than the traffic immediately around me), I pondered feeling gratitude. "Count Your Blessings" is good advice and even the subject of at least two songs that I know of. But why? Russ and I were discussing it once and I pointed out how good his life was compared to some people's. There is that saying about complaining about having no shoes until meeting someone who had no feet, etc. His response was something like, "So I'm supposed to be happy that someone else is suffering even more than I am?" I remember the first time I had an adult awareness of a more global suffering. I was in my early 20's and Ethiopia was big in the news. I had been watching a television program and then there was a piece about the starving people in Ethiopia. I had never seen such suffering and my heart ached for the children as well as the adults; for the pain of starvation, the agony of a mother with nothing to give her dying children to keep them from suffering and eventually dying. I wanted to have millions of dollars so I could call the number on the screen and pledge enough to keep at least some of the people alive. Later I learned how much food was actually available but in many such areas, political tyranny prevents needed supplies from reaching people who are suffering. Rather than let "the enemy" have it, some would hoard it and even let it rot in warehouses. After visiting my parents when they served a mission in Tonga, I went into stores pushing sales for Christmas and was sickened at the excess of unneeded stuff! I had seen people with very little in the way of worldly goods that managed to be very happy and very generous.
I guess my bottom line is, you can try to justify being grateful in whatever way makes sense to you........or not. For me, I could be unhappy to not have all of my family together for the coming holidays....OR I can be grateful for their love even if they're far away. I could be miserable about not having enough money to buy all of my loved ones gifts to show them how much I love them and think about them....OR I can choose to be grateful that everyone in my family has everything they need to not only survive, but be quite comfortable. Even Russ and I are managing quite well on his small pension. I could choose to fret over my puny physical discomforts...OR I can be so grateful that I am fairly healthy and strong- certainly enough to do just about whatever I feel like doing. I can see (better with reading glasses but aren't they a wonderful invention?!), I can walk, I can smell and hear and taste. I want to be grateful simply because I want to be happy. I really don't enjoy being miserable. I want to focus on what I HAVE, not mourn what I lack. Is it selfish to want to be happy? I guess not entirely because when someone is happy, it's much easier for those around them to be happy, too. So I'm going to choose happiness!

Thanksgiving thoughts

Thanksgiving is next week. This year, looking at the whole holiday season feels strange. Maybe that's because the circumstances of our life, even the whole world seem strange. We all want to be happy, loved, and important to others. Yet we are apart, not always by choice, and feeling a little anxious about the future. Russ and I expect we'll be together for Thanksgiving. As far as we know, we will share the day with Victoria and her three kids- all wishing we could be with the part of their little family (and our whole family) that is far away for now. Lisa and her two children will be with friends, wishing they could have the part of their little family who is in Iraq with them. James and his family will all be in Germany but not celebrating this American holiday in any traditional way. John and Janice's family will all be in Idaho with other family, maybe getting to have John with them for part of the time? Angela's family hasn't yet made a decision as to what they'll be doing. My mother will be still convalescing in a nursing home, wishing she could be home with my dad and whatever family can be there. Nevertheless, even if we can't all have the warm, fuzzy, we're all together type holiday, I am grateful for my family. I'm grateful for the places we have gone together and things we have seen and done. I'm grateful for the times we have managed to all come together from distant places to celebrate special occasions.

I'm grateful for the love we have for each other even when we first wake up and our hair is fuzzy, our teeth need brushing, and our eyes are puffy from sleep. I'm grateful for the good memories and grateful that I have so many of them!

I'm grateful for a Savior who made it possible for me to spend eternity with all of these wonderful people. All I have to do, all they have to do, is choose to want it. I DO!!

Perspective

Is it true that..........?? We have all heard a reporter ask that question either in a movie or in a real press conference. Often they are looking for an answer they can enlarge on to make a sensational story. Police at an accident or crime scene try to interview as many witnesses as possible because each version of "what happened" will be slightly different. We have all had a person throw an accusation at us about something we said or did only to feel and respond, "That is not what I meant!". Lately I have been thinking about the freedom we all have, and use regularly, to choose what we want to think. Jesus Christ was viewed by many as a heretic worthy of torturous death by crucifixion. Even from the few historical perspectives we have, what did he do that was so awful? Adolf Hitler was viewed by many as a hero that was going to save a nation wanting a better economy and world position. Many people refused to believe stories of horrible things he was ordering despite his "warnings" about people of different races, religions, and physical "defects". For those who read the scriptures and choose to believe them, we have been forewarned of a day when there will be a separation of the "wheat and the tares"- those who choose to believe/follow the teachings of Jesus Christ and those who don't. The recent events in California over Proposition 8 have shown what people who choose to hate people who are earnestly striving to follow their conscience and believe (by choice) in the existence of a moral right and wrong, can do, even though they have never been personally attacked or mistreated in any way. Those who choose to follow the shifting values of current fashion or immediate personal impulse see no solid right or wrong. They can be fired up about whatever someone convinces them of at any specific point in time, whatever mood strikes them. Unfortunately, that can happen even for people who profess to follow the teachings of Christ, IF THEY HAVE NOT MADE A DILIGENT SEARCH OF THOSE TEACHINGS FIRST-HAND so they know for themselves the personality of Jesus himself and made a personal commitment to follow Him. Many people turn away from "religion" due to the controversy it can create. But for anyone that takes the time to truly and thoroughly study Christ's teachings, He wanted no such controversy. He promoted PEACE and GOOD WILL TOWARD ALL MEN! Those who will be wheat are those who want to follow a shepherd (who leads without force) and will choose to be peaceable toward their fellowmen. Nevertheless, to stay the course requires not veering off to follow those shifting values of different people. Tares are a weed that looks very much like wheat, but isn't. True wheat will not only have the appearance of wheat, but also carry the nutritional value of wheat inside to the end of its existence. I am grateful for a Being who is wiser than I am. God is real. Jesus Christ is His Son and was willing to give Himself a ransom to balance justice in paying for our sins. He was also a great teacher and example. No one makes us wheat or tare; that is a choice we each can make for ourselves. The point will ultimately be what we are at the time the separation is completed. We still have time to make that choice, but not much.

Not too old yet!

I meant to take my camera to Florida with me but forgot it so I have no photos of the near-miracle I just pulled off with my daughter. We managed to rent a truck and move her entire household in a matter of days- including taking down a chain-link fence and setting it back up, putting pictures and most curtains up. That all occurred along with a very busy 4-year old who ran a fever but even while ill helped unload the truck, a 1-year old who has a mysterious chronic problem with diarrhea which her mother is still trying to find the cause for, and a lightning fast Russell terrier who kept taking off every chance she got requiring hunting her down and bringing her back home. Lisa had to deal with filling out all the necessary Air Force government forms and set up inspections. Their old house, which is going to be demolished but still had to pass inspection, passed with flying colors on the pre-inspection which was a relief. Two young airmen helped lug some of the heavy stuff on and off the truck but all the rest was done by Lisa and me. Both kids ran fevers for a couple of the days and we made one trip to the doctor and one trip to the hospital lab with the last of 7 stool samples for the baby. It was stressful a lot of the time but we managed to do what we had to do. Oh, and Lisa has chronic back pain so I tried to do as much of the lifting and toting as possible. She will have to go back to carrying the baby all day every day by herself now that I am back home. The original plan was for me to ride back to Ohio with her in her car but she decided that the move was traumatic enough for her and the kids. They need time to get acquainted with new neighbors and find the cause for the baby's health problems. Her husband will be back from Iraq in less than a month now so she feels she can manage. I guess I am pretty healthy and strong for a nearing-60-year old woman. Life goes on................

I'm on the road again!

Aaron got a haircut. He's pretty handsome, don't you think? He is Lisa's firstborn. This is Keith, Lisa's husband. You can see where Aaron gets some of his good looks.

This is Lisa at the funeral home for Ammon's viewing in April, the last time we saw her. Her daughter (above in Keith's arms) is playing on the floor. She is where the children get the other part of their good looks.

In case there is anyone who regularly checks my blogspot, I will probably not be adding anything for a couple of weeks. I have always taken my role as mother very seriously and the fact that my children are all grown and independent doesn't mean I can't continue to serve them. I have loved all opportunities to spend time with all of my grandchildren and delight to help my children in whatever way I can. I am leaving Ammon and Victoria's children in Russ's capable "grandfather hands" for a week or so to head south to help Lisa, our youngest offspring. Her Air Force husband has been in Iraq for a couple of months and won't be home until just before Christmas. Lisa has been dealing with chronic back pain and some fairly worrisome illnesses with her two young children-- uncomplaining, fully capable, but all alone. Now the Air Force has notified her that they are going to demolish the building she is living in so she needs to move- again. She went through this not too long ago. So I'm going to help her move then drive back here with her, her two kids, and her dog. They will stay here until her husband returns from Iraq. I am grateful to live in an age when having my children live hundreds of miles away doesn't mean I may never see them again.