The Robin

I have been debating for a while now if I should post some of my stories on the blog. I have decided that I will at least post this one. Why? Because I feel it's not really my story but God's story. It was a random day and a friend of mine had been on my heart. She had been struggling with the loss of her mother and although I had the same experience we both handled our pain in different ways but I still knew the pain she felt.
I remember wanting to do something special for her and while I was in my room I picked up a journal and a pen. The words came in a flood and this is the story God wrote for my dear friend.


The Robin



A warm summer breeze was blowing when a young Robin landed on Mrs. Knight’s window ledge. What the Robin saw was a tearful Mrs. Knight holding a photo album and blowing her nose.

Robin asked a fluttering moth, “Why is Mrs. Knight so sad?”

Moth replied, “I hear it’s because she’s lost something dear to her.”

“What did she lose?” asked Robin.

“I don’t know, but it must be something she misses very much,” said Moth.

Robin heard a familiar voice call to her, “Robin, come to bed. The early bird…”

Robin interrupted her mother, “I know I know, the early bird catches the worm,” she chirped. Robin hopped along the branch of the tree and into her nest. Momma bird tucked Robin under her wing where it was warm and Robin fell fast asleep.

Early in the morning Robin and Momma bird pecked at the ground where Mrs. Knight had strewn some bird seed like she did every morning. Robin watched as Mrs. Knight and her two little boys walked to the car with their backpacks and lunch boxes. She chirped a good bye song to them and flew off to find her friends.

She played all day in the birdbath. They splashed about and sang songs. Soon it was dusk and all the momma birds were calling their baby birds back to their nests. Robin didn’t hear her momma calling so she became afraid. She flapped her wings and flew as fast she could to her nest. When she landed she saw Mrs. Knight on her knees under the tree. She was holding something wrapped in a patch of yellow linen. Mrs. Knight was crying. Robin chirped and Mrs. Knight looked up at her. Mrs. Knight wiped her tears quickly away and said, “I’m so sorry, baby Robin. I was mowing the lawn and a pebble flew out from underneath and knocked your momma out of the nest. I’m afraid she has died. I have her here in this cloth. Don’t worry. I will take care of her. Please stay, baby Robin. I will take care of you like I’ve always done.”

Baby Robin felt many things. She was confused, she was so very sad and she became very angry. She was mad at Mrs. Knight even though Mrs. Knight said she was sorry and said she would take care of her like always. Mrs. Knight looked so sad too. Robin didn’t stay long enough to think about what happened. She flew away as fast as her wings would let her. She didn’t even think about her friends, she just flew as far away as she could. Soon Robin became lost in a big forest with lots of tangled branches and dark corners. Robin was afraid. She had never been this far from home and she had never been without her momma. Robin made a quick nest out of prickly needles and dried leaves. This nest was not warm and cozy like the one she was used to but she was still angry and didn’t care. Robin pulled and tucked some leaves around her to keep warm but the wind would blow them off and she would shiver. Robin wished for her momma’s wings and remembered how safe and warm she felt tucked close to her momma’s side. This made her sad and so she began to cry.

In the morning Robin woke but she was still tired. She remembered what her momma said about the early bird but she did not get up, instead she ducked her head and slept some more. When she awoke at last she felt very hungry so she carefully hopped along the forest floor where she found nothing! She asked a passing squirrel, “Where are all the worms and seeds?”

“Silly Robin,” said the squirrel, “Didn’t your mother teach you the early bird catches the worm?” He rolled is eyes and said, “The earth has hardened and the worms are deep under ground. No one here is going to feed you, survival of the fittest, you know.” And he leaped away with a twitch and a titter.

Robin felt silly but she was still angry and now very hungry so she thought she would look for food in the bushes. It wasn’t long before she spied some shiny red berries on a prickle bush. She landed very softly so as not to hurt her feet. As she held a bright berry in her beak she was shoved off her branch and fell through the prickly leaves to the ground. She chased after her rolling berry that was soon stopped by the paw of a skunk.

“Get your own berry bush, Robin! This one is mine and you can’t have any. Now, scram!” the skunk shouted. Robin took off and flew as she cried back to her nest. Now she was tired, hungry and her feathers had been plucked out in patches all over.

Robin felt sorry for herself. No matter what she did she couldn’t seem to make it on her own, no matter how hard she tried. She thought about Mrs. Knight and what she said. Robin remembered how even Mrs. Knight cried over her momma. Mrs. Knight loved her momma too. She didn’t kill her momma, the rock did. Robin thought about getting mad at the rock but realized that would be silly. Robin figured there was no one to be angry at. It was just part of this world she lived in. Robin still felt sad but she wasn’t angry anymore. She wanted to be with Mrs. Knight again. She wondered if Mrs. Knight would take her back and take care of her like she said she would. After all, she did fly away after she had been so nice. Maybe she would be angry; however, the thought of staying one more night in the forest frightened her, so she took her chances and flew the long way back to Mrs. Knight’s yard and her home.

When Robin finally landed on Mrs. Knight’s window ledge she looked in and saw no one. “Where could she be?” thought Robin sadly.

“There you are,” said the happy voice of Mrs. Knight. She had been waiting for baby robin on her porch. “Where have you been?” she asked with concern.

Mrs. Knight bent down as Robin landed on the ground by her feet. With her hand Mrs. Knight scattered bird seed among the ground. As Robin pecked up the seed hungrily Mrs. Knight looked on lovingly and said, “I was worried about you. I prayed you would come back.”

Mrs. Knight saw how hungry Robin was and she saw her missing feathers and frowned. Robin saw her frown and tried to cover herself with her wings. Robin looked down with embarrassment. “Oh, baby Robin! Look what’s happened to you while you were away! Don’t be sad. Stay with me and I will help you feel better. I’ve lost someone too, so I know how you feel,” said Mrs. Knight with all the love and compassion she had. Robin remembered seeing Mrs. Knight through the window crying and what Moth had said about her losing something special. Now Robin understood what Mrs. Knight had been feeling and that made Robin feel better.

From that day on Robin stayed close to Mrs. Knight and sang for her as Mrs. Knight loved and cared for her.



The End

Ham and Macaroni~A Love Story

Once upon a time there was a Ham and Ham was lonely. he wanted a side dish to be his constant companion. Suddenly Ham was struck with an idea and a light in the oven went on. He said to himself, "I'll hold auditions to find me the best of all side dishes." He saw many a side dish such as candied yams, baked green bean casserole and even something called mashed potatoes but none seemed to be the one for him.

Ham was about to give up and dry out, but just then the oven door opened and in slid the accompaniment of his dreams. She was lumpy in all the right places and cheesy all over. Ham asked for her name and she said she was called Macaroni and Cheese. Not the phony mac and cheese picked up on the way home from work but the kind made with real class. Ham was smitten and so was Macaroni. Together they cooked and simmered until they were perfected. They moved in with each other on the same plate, their flavors melting together creating sweet heavenly bliss until they were devoured. The End...guess what we had for dinner?? ha ha

Some Short Thoughts on Body, Soul and Spirit

The word "I" is only one letter. It isn't long or fancy but it means so much. Who am I? I am body, soul and spirit. I have a body that is intricately and beautifully made. My body takes me places, my body brings me pleasure and pain. My body needs care and attention. My body is so important and yet it isn't all of me.

My soul is a mix of feelings and thoughts. My soul moves me. It's influenced by senses and experiences. It also needs care and attention or it can greatly damage the rest of me.

My spirit has always been in me but wasn't alive until I believed in a God who created me. My spirit guides me from wrong to right. My spirit longs to be filled with worship. It's always wanting more and lets me know when I am lacking. My spirit is what leaves my body when I die and will go to be with God in Heaven until all three are reunited. My body, soul and spirit are all one. I can't live without all three and they each depend on each other to keep me, as a whole, healthy.

This is my attempt at a very short definition in my own words of what body, soul and spirit mean to me. Please add your thoughts.

Spirit

Sometimes I feel like my soul is too big for my body. My spirit wants to flee it's confines and fly free. To skim the surface of this earth. To blow through the wheat fields to the tips of the mountains. To look down upon this earth and say goodbye as I zoom through the clouds, punch through the atmosphere and glide between stars and planets. To approach heaven and know that God is so near. So close to being full forever. That's what my soul longs for. It's what I'm looking for.

Dear Sir,

I have made up my mind to run away. I have had it up to here with you constantly pushing my buttons. You push and poke and never give me any rest. Right when I think you will give up and go away you push some more and I just can't take it any more.
I know I left before when you kept letting your kids wipe their greasy hands on me. I especially didn't like it when you let the baby chew on me just so you could have a few minutes of peace and quiet. I STILL have the scars from that. This time Sir, you will not find me so don't even try to look. You can even make your children search for me but it will be to no avail. No matter how long you search or how loud you call I shall remain mute.

Sincerely,
Your remote

~Don't turn that channel, the conclusion of Run-a-way Remote will be back after these messages.

Soul Searching

Okay, so off and on through life I've thought about bodies and souls. How they mesh.

I'm going to take some time this week to think more about it and write something out in an orderly fashion. Until then (if anyone reads this) I'd like to hear any thoughts you might have.

My Fly Guy

<-- This is a picture of the ceiling in our bathroom. Do you see the little black dot above the shower? That was my fly guy and this is our story.

Snuggled beneath the down comforter on a wintery January morning, I drifted in and out of sleep half dreaming about kids screaming and playing and waking up to a louder version of kids screaming and playing. As the fighting ensued and Daddy's voice became more stressed I decided I best get out of bed and start the day before all the kids ended up grounded for life or starved. Rolling to my back I tucked the covers under my chin as I eyed the bathroom thinking of how cold it was going to be. Working my way up to a sitting position I plunged my arms under the covers and inwardly groaned at the thought of leaving my warm spot. It takes a lot of time and complaining to get me out of bed on cold mornings. Finally I threw back the covers and swung my legs out of bed.

"Thank God for carpet!" I thought as my feet touched ground. A few anckel cracks later I was at the shower turning the knob to HOT, just to get the bathroom nice and steamy and then I'd turn it back a little. I collected my things and shut myself in the bathroom. Fast forward to washing the shampoo out of my hair -> -> -> I leaned my head back under the water to scrub out the bubbles and to my sickening surprise I saw a black spot on the ceiling directly in front of me.

"Ohmygosh, WHAT IS IT?" I screamed in my head but squeaked out loud. I didn't move. It didn't move. I still didn't move. It still didn't move. I squinted my eyeballs to try and squeeze some clarity on the thing. I ruled out a spider cuz I saw, "Wings?" That was strange. It was a fly and it looked rather dead and hanging. I was very much relieved that it wasn't a spider and that the fly wasn't going to land on me, "Unless the steam from the shower loosens it and it falls down on me." I thought. Then as I conditioned, I thought some more about this fly. Where did it come from? It was the middle of winter. How did it die? How did it get stuck on the ceiling? Why didn't it fall? Was it a guy fly or a gal fly? The only answer I came up with was that it must be a guy fly, cuz only a guy fly would choose to die on the ceiling of a shower. I turned the water off and got out at the other end. The last thing I wanted was to have a dead fly fall on me...bleck.

After getting dressed and going downstairs I asked my dear hubby if he had noticed the fly in the bathroom. Yes, he had and no, he didn't know when it got there or how. I asked if he could get it down and throw it away at some point during the day. Well as the day went on we both forgot about the fly. The next day...same shower, same fly and so it went for over a month, then two months. Every shower I wondered about that fly and every day I would forget about him until the next shower. Every shower I was guessing when he might fall. It got to the point that I was actually looking for him every time I turned the water on and smiled when I saw him. I thought about how he must be all hollow inside and couldn't get over the question, "How is he sticking to the ceiling?"

It was now a game to me. When was Fly guy going to fall? Would he fall during someones shower? Would he fall into a bath with the kids? ( I surely hoped not cuz I could see Gabe eating him.) or would he simply vanish? A mysterious ending to match his mysterious beginning. A few days later I decided to take pictures of him so I could share him with you guys..thinking we could place bets on how he might fall and when. (Come on, you know it would have been fun)

Sadly, the next time I went upstairs I looked up and my fly guy wasn't there.

"What?" I said out loud. "Where did he go?" I asked myself as I pulled back the shower curtain. I scanned the bathtub. No Fly guy. I scanned the walls and bathroom floor. Still no Fly guy. I ran downstairs and asked my hubby, "Did you get the fly off the bathroom ceiling?" I wondered if my disappointment showed.

"Yeah, I got it this morning." he said without a care.

"Oh." I said and then asked, "Did you flush him? Throw him in the trash?"

"Huh? Yeah, I threw him away" he said as he read e-mails. I didn't want to ask again because it was silly that not knowing exactly how he went was bothering me, but I asked anyway, "So did you flush him then?"

"Yeah, No I put it in the trash."

So that settled it then. Fly guy was gone. I was totally disappointed that he didn't fall naturally and that we didn't get to play our little game. I still think of him from time to time, wondering what his life was like before he died. This might sound nuts to you, but I hope that at some point during eternity in Heaven, God will tell me the fly's story. You know...after I learn all the important answers, of course.

<--- Close up of my Fly Guy before his unnatural removal.

I wonder, do you have any silly questions that only God would know the answer to?

Relay for Life

It's that time of year again. Relay for Life is Friday May 15 and I hope that any and all family and friends can make it out. Thank you to all who have said they will be coming out and to all those who have donated. It's an important cause that means a lot to so many. I will post the exact time when I know for sure but it is in the evening around 5 or 6. One great way to donate is by purchasing a luminaria in honor/memory of someone you love to be placed and lit around the track for the luminaria service. If you can't make it to the relay, your luminaria will still be there and placed near my camp and will be lit by me or someone on my team. The cost of a luminaria is $10 and this year they have a new caregiver luminaria that is $15. Instead of it being white like the other ones it's a golden color.

For more information about the event go to www.relayforlife.org/westminster
You can make donations on line, at the event, or contact me by calling or go to my web page by clicking on the link above, go to 2009 teams, click on GIRLFRIENDS FOR LIFE and then click on my name to donate and read my story. THANKS! :)