Dear Reader:

Yesterday I found my little angel planter tucked back between two bushes in the front yard. I brought it out, cleaned it off, and remembered it once had ivy growing up the sides by the candle and some type of blooming plant in the center. All of this greenery had long since died and only brown brittle vines reminded me where once beautiful green life grew.

At Ace Hardware I found a small container of ivy and stuck a tiny poinsettia in the middle…One day the ivy will grow up and over the angel but this Christmas I will just have to keep the faith that the ivy will grow and climb to the top of the halo at a later time. For now it is pretty the way it is.

A  website called Rootwell mentioned that ivy’s unique characteristics included its amazing ability to flourish in the shade and winter as an evergreen and its ‘super-hero’ like powers to cling to almost any type surface…even the smoothest surfaces. 

Ivy is undaunted by the size or shape of an obstacle in front of it…it will steadily continue its upward climb to the top …never seeing the tiptop ending…only continuing to climb in faith that it is there…until it reaches its goal.

So I have now named my angel planter…the “Angel of Faith.” (And this discovery could not have come at a better time.)

While we have all been getting flu shots and pneumonia shots…I think this time of year we need to add “Faith” shots to our ‘to-do’ list. The family could all use a faith shot right now as I ask for your prayers to help Walsh and Mollie (and family) get through a  tough health-crisis time.

Most of you know my lovely daughter-in-law Mollie is expecting little Eloise any time now. In fact, according to her last check-up this past Friday…her obstetrician said Miss Eloise might even make her appearance this upcoming week or very soon after…

So will Eloise come before Christmas, during or after we don’t know?…But right now is not a great time. The stomach virus has hit their home with a vengeance…unfortunately it is not the quick 24 hour kind but the lingering one.

Walsh got it first several days ago and was home sick with it…after three or four days he tried to go back to work only to be sent back home yesterday… still sick. Mollie tried to quarantine Walsh off in the bedroom, as much as possible, but we know how limited that can be with two little boys.

Then yesterday Lachlan, still recovering from his adenoid surgery, started throwing up…now he has it. So far Rutledge has avoided it but for how long no one knows?

The biggest concern, now, of course, is Mollie. With the baby so close to delivery the idea of  Mollie getting the stomach virus is not something any of us want to contemplate…for the health and well – being of both.

So that is why we could all use some “Shots of Faith.” A God-Wink drew me to the story of ivy and the discovery that it grows, like faith, not knowing where it will stop or the outcome… but continuing to grow anyway.

When Mollie texted the updated news on the spread of the virus…she admitted being concerned about getting it and the possibility she might have to go to the hospital early to be monitored for dehydration but then she texted me back and said:

Mollie’s last text was: “I’m doing everything possible not to get this stomach virus. But if I do then I do and we deal with it.

That is faith. That is acceptance. When something gets too big and out of control for us to handle…we must turn it over to Someone who sees the path ahead and guides us through it…no matter which way it goes.

Catherine Marshall once said: Acceptance says, “True, this is my situation at the moment. I’ll look unblinkingly at the reality of it. But I’ll also open my hands to accept whatever a loving Father sends.”

So until tomorrow “Father please take care of Walsh, Mollie, Rutledge, Lachlan, and little Eloise waiting to be born. This situation is out of our hands and into Yours. Provide everyone concerned with the ‘shot of faith’ needed to carry us through this ordeal ending with a beautiful little addition of joy to a loving family. Turn our worry into wonder.”

Hopefully, one day, far down the road, this situation will become one of our favorite family stories…the Christmas of the “Monster Stomach Virus” and the superheroes in the family who fought them off to bring Eloise into the family…safe and sound.

“Today is my favorite day”

Yesterday afternoon when I was leaving Bi-Lo something bright and shiny caught my eye. The late slanted sun’s rays had hit a penny in the parking lot and it was glowing. I stopped and picked it up…heads-up.

I gave God a nod and put it in my coat pocket…hopefully a sign that things are going to start improving for the family…bringing back good health to all.

Walsh and Mollie texted me early last evening and said all was in good hands…a male nurse had taken charge…Rutledge. He was quite serious about his responsibilities. The Superhero who came to save the day.