Dear Reader:

Hope is alive and well! I was watering the plants on the front porch yesterday afternoon…in the warm, delightful sun’s rays and I spotted something on the tip of the lone stem standing on “Big Red.” Was it…could it be?…Something was forming near the top of the solitary stem….a bud…a green bud is forming!!!!

“Gloriously Impossible”…but happening! It is still an uphill climb with just one stem left to go it alone…but new growth showed its pretty green head today and what a glorious day it was!

I give credit to you wonderful blog friends for injecting “Big Red” with hope. The first came from a comment from the “Can do” gal, Jo Dufford, when she read that “Big Red” was in peril.

Oh, Becky, I’m sorry about big red as she has become a part of all of us too. However, I believe SHE WILL COME BACK this spring. Because she, apparently, has required so little time and was our “ever-ready bunny” which just kept going, maybe she just wanted a little more TLC.

We have a lady in our church like that, She is so independent, always a leader in the church, seems to do everything for everyone and never seems to need anything, but perhaps she, every once in a while, would like something, unexpected, that shows a little extra love just for her. (Thanks for reminding me that everyone could use a little TLC from time to time. Maybe I’ll send her a “surcie” today.)

A “surcie“! I had so many fun comments about the word…stemming from Sherri Houston, who knew the term but not the history behind it… and loving it is Charlestonese….all the way to a new friend, Anya, on board our blog from Belgium!!!!! Climb aboard Anya and watch your step…you never know when another “new” word will appear!

Anya commented on “Surcie”…A Gift for No Apparent Reason…but Love

What a nice new word! Being from Belgium and not a native speaker of English, I had not come across this word before…but I’ll give it a go and try to spread the word (literally) in Europe. Hope you don’t mind. Love reading your blog – the beauty of this world lies in its stories.

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Sis…did you hear that? Our new (Chapel of Hope) friend, Anya, is going to spread “surcies” all over Europe. Now see what you started with one loving gesture?

Go Anya…what a great idea! Keep us posted how your friends like their “surcies” and the word, itself! These would be great “bonus” posts from you describing Europeans’ reactions to “surcies!”

(Seeing “Big Red”s bud was a surcie for me yesterday!)

Honey arrived while I was gone Sunday and left some pretty sunny flowers of hope on the porch by “Big Red” that brightened my whole day. Then came a “God’s Wink”…she sent a photo she took of me at her new water falls in the her mountain home’s back yard (tucked inside the bouquet)… She aptly named her water falls… “Hope Falls“….and I think hope is falling on “Big Red”… the struggling six year old geranium!

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The term “gloriously impossible” is a Madeleine L’Engle verbal delight that she uses in several books and writings….including a small Christmas book by that name

I found a short article (“Gloriously Impossible Us“) about L’Engle and her application to this “glorious” term from her book….and I really liked it. Here is a short excerpt from it.

…How often do we have to remind ourselves that without God, we are impossible. Riddled with reality, hubris, temptation, fear, and whatever else seems to have power over us, we are doomed to failure without God.

…However, we do not have to look far to see indications of the wonderfully impossible miracles that happen daily in our lives and our world. God is working his purpose out in his time, not ours, and it is always for our good. That which happens that is not good is not of God and as Madeleine L’Engle concludes,

  “Jesus came to us for love, and he died for us for love, and he rose from the grave for love, and he ascended into Heaven for love, and the Comforter came to teach us love. So, beloveds, let us love one another as Jesus has called us to do. Amen. Alleluia! Amen.”

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So until tomorrow…I think L’Engle’s conclusion sums up our “gloriously impossible”  existence day by day…for the scriptures tell us:  But Jesus looked at them and said, ‘For mortals it is impossible, but for God all things are possible.’ (Matthew 19. 23 – 30)

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* When I looked at all three of my grandchildren Thursday evening….and uttered a prayer of thanksgiving and gratitude to God…I wish I had known this wonderful phrase “Gloriously Impossible“…because here they all are….the love of my life!

 Johnny Johnson sent the nicest blog comment about the grandchildren which touched my heart. Thank you Johnny!

Just wanted to let you know, like you don’t already, you have some of the prettiest most handsome grandchildren. I have one grand child and I think he is made of gold!  You feel the same way.

But Eva Cate. Already carries herself like a lady, Rutledge looks like a little man, especially in the picture wearing his tie and dress outfit, well Jakie, is just a fine looking baby. So healthy, and every picture he looks like a happy baby!

It is such a gift from God to have happy healthy grandchildren, isn’t it Mrs. Dingle? I continue to adore your blog and it makes me feel as though I have known you and your whole family for years, yet we have never met! YOU MAKE MY DAY, EVERYDAY WITH YOUR GIFT!

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*Ending on a comment like that….is a “gloriously impossible” high to an amazing day of grace and love. Thank you readers for keeping my heart, soul, and hope soaring…like “Big Red” …budding in spite of the odds.