Dear Reader:

When I bought this sign from Marigolds several years back I took a long time deciding on the perfect place where it should be placed…it had to be some where I could see it daily… in all my comings and goings. It was too important a message to forget.

And then I found that perfect spot…. It sits on the window ledge at the end of the hallway that leads back to four rooms…the computer room (my office) the bathroom, the guest bedroom and my bedroom. So every day I have four chances to read the message for every trip down the hallway.

Believe me when I say I know how blessed I am…how very blessed! When I take time to reflect back on all the blessings that have come my way during my life’s journey…I realize how many blessings have arrived in unexpected ways….even hiding under masks in disguise. In fact…the blessings in disguise have turned out to be some of the very best ones!

One example: I was serving on the SC Teachers Council back in the early 1990’s and had applied to represent SC in a national conference in Snowbird, Utah…I had been awarded several IMPACT II grants which led to my eligibility for application.

But I didn’t get selected and I was, sadly, disappointed…At that time…the kids were older and money was extremely tight with one in college and two more to go….we couldn’t afford family vacations and the thought of getting to travel somewhere really cool, like out west (all expenses paid) had been so exhilarating before hope died on the vine…or so I thought.

I got a telephone call from Jeanne Sink, the SC Teacher of the Year in 1991, and she said that she was supposed to represent the state at this same conference but it coincided with her family’s annual vacation and her first priority was her family….would I please go in her place?

I almost dropped the phone….before I stuttered and said “I would be honored to take your place at the conference.” Jeanne went on to say that, coincidentally, the other representative from the state was from Summerville too….her name was Rene Harris.

I had heard of Rene but never “officially” met her….and it was no “coincidence” that when our paths collided…it was definitely a “God’s Wink.”

When we got together at my house to plan our project/presentation (A BIG BOOK) to take with us it was like Yin meeting Yang in creativity….we finished each others’ sentences.

( First two photos are from Miami where we did another presentation -watching television between workshops- second photo…the view seen from glass window conference center in Snowbird, Utah.)

By the time we left Snowbird we were best friends and continue to be today… even with long absences ….between sightings. We went on to travel and present together for several more workshops around the country, my youngest son, Tommy, was blessed to have Rene as his teacher for two years in the fourth and fifth grades at Newington, and we both continued promoting the power of storytelling in the curriculum through graduate courses we taught together.

So why was I surprised when I got a free McDonalds breakfast through the generosity of Rene Harris in a big, tall gray truck in front of me in line the other morning? We were meant to meet (all those years ago) as our paths coincided along our life’s journey. And we were meant to meet again last week.

In the follow excerpts from a powerful little story found in the book (God’s Little Acre) the blessing in disguise,  in this family situation, arrived in the form of a very special brother.

“God is Hiding Under My Bed”

My brother Kevin thinks God lives under his bed.  At least that’s what I heard him say one night.  He was praying out loud in his dark bedroom, and I stopped outside his closed door to listen.  “Are you there, God?” he said.  “Where are you?  Oh, I see.  Under the bed.”  I giggled softly and tiptoed off to my own room.

Kevin’s unique perspectives are often a source of amusement.  But that night something else lingered long after the humor.  I realized for the first time the very different world Kevin lives in.  He was born 30 years ago, mentally disabled as a result of difficulties during labor. 

Apart from his size (he’s 6’2″), there are few ways in which he is an adult.  He reasons and communicates with the capabilities of a 7 year old, and he always will.  He will probably always believe that God lives under his bed, that Santa Claus is the one who fills the space under our tree every Christmas, and that airplanes stay up in the sky because angels carry them. 

I remember wondering if Kevin realizes he is different.  Is he ever dissatisfied with his monotonous life?  Up before dawn each day, off to work at a workshop for the disabled, home to walk our cocker spaniel, returning to eat his favorite macaroni-and-cheese for dinner, and later to bed.  The only variation in the entire scheme are laundry days, when he hovers excitedly over the washing machine like a mother with her newborn child. 

… I  don’t think Kevin knows anything exists outside his world of daily rituals and weekend field trips.  He doesn’t know what it means to be discontent.  His life is simple.  He will never know the entanglements of wealth or power, and he does not care what brand of clothing he wears or what kind of food he eats.  He recognizes no differences in people, treating each person as an equal and a friend.  His needs have always been met, and he never worries that one day they may not be.

... His heart is pure.  He still believes everyone tells the truth, promises must be kept, and when you are wrong, you apologize instead of argue.  Free from pride and  unconcerned with appearances, Kevin is not afraid to cry when he is hurt, angry or sorry.  He is always transparent, always sincere. 

And he trusts God.  Not confined by intellectual reasoning, when he comes to Christ, he comes as a child.  Kevin seems to know God — to really be friends with Him in a way that is difficult for an “educated” person to grasp.  God seems like his closest companion.

In my moments of doubt and frustrations with my Christianity, I envy the security Kevin has in his simple faith.  It is then that I am most willing to admit that he has some divine knowledge that rises above my mortal questions.  It is then I realize that perhaps he is not the one with the handicap — I am.  My obligations, my fears, my pride, my circumstances — they all become disabilities when I do not submit them to Christ.

Who knows if Kevin comprehends things I can never learn?  After all, he has spent his whole life in that kind of innocence, praying after dark and soaking up the goodness and love of the Lord.  And one day, when the mysteries of heaven are opened, and we are all amazed at how close God really is to our hearts, I’ll realize that God heard the simple prayers of a boy who believed that God lived under his bed. 

Kevin won’t be surprised at all.

………………………………………………………………………… 

So until tomorrow…the next time a blessing (in disguise) comes along…remember to give it a chance to reveal itself …in God’s good time.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* Look at the buds on my passion plant….who would imagine buds in the hottest part of July…the vine is just covered.

*Update on Betsy….she is home and recovering quite nicely overall…she overcame many obstacles just to be eligible for the surgery…God has definitely been by her side and her loved ones’ too…Please continue to keep her in your prayers this week and especially Friday when she returns to MUSC for all the biopsy results taken during the operation.

What troopers she and mom have been through all of this…with the love and support of her husband and little girls…they have all made a formidable team to be reckoned with…with God as their leader. Warriors for wellness, hope, and love.