Dear Reader:

Have you ever had one of those days when your musings and ponderings seem to drift from one thought to another? It reminds me of a cow ‘chewing the cud’  or perhaps ruminating (the proper word) on a a certain topic or idea. (Of course we can also “chew the fat” or the rag.”)

Like the clouds…my thoughts yesterday took sudden right and left turns and even drifted through some unexpected detours. So I thought instead of trying to corral them into one pen…perhaps I should just follow them wherever they take me.

*I had one of the nicest, most unexpected conversations yesterday at my CVS store on Main Street. I had gone to the pick-up prescription window for some medications that I was getting low on and one of them had really jumped in price in this new year.

I recognized Jerri, the lead lab tech, at the window and commented that one medication was about as much as my specialized cancer medication that I get from CVS/CareMark in Pennsylvania.

It is mailed directly to me at home. (Believe me I am not complaining….the cost of my cancer medication per month (without insurance) would have me on the streets in less than three months.)

• (Sorry for the bad lighting in the photo below…I took a picture of Jeri’s photo on the staff photo wall beside the pharmacy and the lighting was bad.)

I was just surprised at this other prescription running so high. Jerri looked at me directly, hesitated for a second, and then told me that she had been following my medications since I was first diagnosed with  cancer and she knew from the prescriptions that I was fighting a formidable opponent. She herself had fought it and then I saw her breast cancer pin on.

She had watched me go (in appearance I am sure) from low moments to better moments to where I was today and she just wanted me to know that she had been praying and pulling for me. WOW! God manifests Himself in so many ways….she made my day. I left CVS pondering this conversation in my heart.

A shout-out to Jerri Crosby for being another guardian angel in my journey with ‘little c.”

…………………

Often people attempt to live their lives backwards; they try to have more things or more money, in order to do more of what they want so that they will be happier. The way it actually works is the reverse. You must first be who you really are, then, do what you need to do,in order to have what you want.

–

Margaret Young

I happened to pick up Simple Abundance...A Daybook of Comfort and Joy last week (Sarah Ban Breathnach.) As I skimmed through it…I realized how I had forgotten so many great words of wisdom found within. Cindy Ashley had mentioned recently that she was re-reading it for the same reason.

In the foreword the quote (above) started off the book and I was immediately hooked again. Until we know ourselves and our needs to nurture and recognize the items in life that will fulfill us, our quest for success will fall short. If we have everything life can give us and still find ourselves feeling empty…it is because we never stopped to find our first identity ….before the quest began, simply put…who we were.

I mean, come on, even Popeye knew who he was and he also knew what to do to keep himself moving forward in life . …“I’m strong to the finish…cause I eat my spinach…I’m Popeye the Sailor Man.“

I am no marriage counselor….but I would imagine most marriages, especially young marriages, fail because one partner or the other lives in the shadow of the other…losing their true identity to another until one day either/or decide it’s time to find out who they really are. The mistake…they put the cart before the horse.

Until we really know ourselves and then like ourselves…nothing achieved is going to mean much. We have to have found our passion for life…our creativity that identifies us as unique.

If we deny love and life…we deny God. It really is pretty much that simple.

So until tomorrow…the next time we pick teams for something…let us remember to choose God first in the game of life…then the rest will fall into place with the acknowledgment that each of us can say “I am a child of God.”  “I am beloved.”

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

*Yesterday provided another delightful surprise…there are now 700 followers signed in to the blog-Chapelofhopestories.com. Since I had to start over just a little more than a year ago. beginning  from scratch…I am thrilled to have 700 of you now in the family.

700 originates with the number “7” which is a holy number representing a process reaching its state of fullness…like the Seven Day Creation Story. When zeroes are added to a number the intensity heightens until the process is finished, complete. Lately I can feel that intensity in my writings for whatever reason ….thank all of you for your loyal support and caring. What a family we have!

I certainly didn’t deny love or life yesterday when Mollie brought the Dingle boys over to laugh, love, and play with Boo. It was such a beautiful day to be outside…..Mollie sent me this photo of Rutledge sound asleep before they had even left the Summerville town limits.

I emailed back that I was so happy that I could still wear them out and be the “last man(woman) standing.” Go grandmothers everywhere!

Here are some photos of how Mollie and I did it! The old cast iron train cars that I had left outside from Christmas, displayed along the railing on the deck, became the “hit” of the day….Rutledge was even ready to leave the park to get back to the train. Could there be a shift in the wind blowing….perhaps trains over trucks? Only time will tell.

Mud puddles and little boys go together…we had to have an emergency clean-up before Mollie and Lachlan returned.