“The Pause That Refreshes”

Dear Reader:

Coke used “the pause that refreshes” as one of its many advertising campaign slogans over the years and it is a good one. My diet coke does refresh me when I need to take a pause…and my 2018 National Football Championship (Clemson specialty coke) makes me pause too and remember the happy moments of that final game this year…a memory for the ages!

But actually that isn’t what I want to talk about when I say “the pause that refreshes“…I want to talk about the moments in our lives when a scene or a comment or perhaps a lingering floral smell or a gift of laughter forces us to pause, reflect, and leave refreshed.

I remember reading about a little town that used this slogan for their welcome sign….”Welcome to Eden… the “Pause that Refreshes.” I like it!

Yesterday when I finally got home and plopped down in my recliner I noticed the new wooden cross I bought in the ETC. shop behind Hutchinson Square….simple but pretty in its simplicity…just seems to take a planter up a notch!

I got a little ‘delaying’ news at the weekly wound center examining room in Mt. Pleasant yesterday. My wound has come so far since early October and is about 90% there but the most important ending is still pending. My skin just doesn’t seem to want to finish the job of covering the wound.

So it looks like Dr. Stroud (and the rest of the medical team) concur that we will drop back and punt by going to plan B…using another (more regularly used procedure) to hopefully get the job done. It will happen…I know that..my immune system is just having a hard time right now ‘sealing the deal.” For me it is going to require patience and ‘amazing grace’ to see me home’…100 Rainbow Road home! 🙂

But the good news is….I am completely free from pain and can continue to maneuver through the normalcy of daily life with the help of my beloved car Surcie and my own two God-given feet…so all is good.

And…I can even walk around a couple of blocks with absolutely no trouble….Mike and Dee Lesko  kindly sent me another kind of “surcie” yesterday! When I saw their names on the card in the box I knew I was in for a hoot of a surprise! I was not disappointed.

It is an indoor exercise block to help me with my daily exercise regime. Before I show you the picture of this ‘machine’….Thank you Dee and Mike…you made my day. I have never laughed so hard in all my life. Love you two! Perfect timing!

  ***And I found the accompanying card absolutely prophetic! A hairy evangelist from the wild…and you two do get an “Amen” from me as soon as I can pick myself up off the floor! I think you just gave me Plan C and it sure sounds quicker than A or B! 🙂

If laughter is the best medicine…then I am miraculously healed…God provides exactly what we need when we need it…to remind us not to take ourselves so seriously….just enjoy each moment and all the wonderful surprises life can offer!

After I left the office I went by Walsh and Mollie’s and we took Eloise and went out to eat lunch…so much fun! I then surprised Rutledge by showing up with Mollie to pick him up from school and got a four-leaf clover in return…Rutledge was really surprised to see Boo Boo and I got to see all his newly acquired football moves when we got home!

So until tomorrow…Thank you God for sending me “the spiritual pauses that refresh” yesterday…a reminder of Your love and the love and support of friends, family, and laughter!!!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

 

 

About Becky Dingle

I was born a Tarheel but ended up a Sandlapper. My grandparents were cotton farmers in Laurens, South Carolina and it was in my grandmother’s house that my love of storytelling began beside an old Franklin stove. When I graduated from Laurens High School, I attended Erskine College (Due West of what?) and would later get my Masters Degree in Education/Social Studies from Charleston Southern. I am presently an adjunct professor/clinical supervisor at CSU and have also taught at the College of Charleston. For 28 years I taught Social Studies through storytelling. My philosophy matched Rudyard Kipling’s quote: “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” Today I still spread this message through workshops and presentations throughout the state. The secret of success in teaching social studies is always in the story. I want to keep learning and being surprised by life…it is the greatest teacher. Like Kermit said, “When you’re green you grow, when you’re ripe you rot.”
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2 Responses to “The Pause That Refreshes”

  1. bcparkison says:

    Love the block and the card. How cute.
    Now on a serious note…What will you do if he decides to play for a team other than Clemson?

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