Finding Our Sanctuary

Dear Reader:

I am home and another Winnie the Pooh blustery day. It just hit me that March came in like a lion and hasn’t stopped roaring yet… the windiest March in a long time. ( And you readers know now I do not like strong winds.) But these days it just isn’t my left over Hurricane Hugo phobia… but as a gardener-strong winds dry out all the blooming flowers and bushes – which means I have to set up the bucket brigade again. Hard work!

Still… since my garden is my sanctuary… it is well worth all the work. Look at what popped out while I was gone all last week!

After Mandy dropped the kids off at school each morning …we would watch the news and see what had happened overnight… I found myself holding my breath listening to the war in Ukraine and usually tearing up.

Next month Eva Cate turns twelve… I was twelve and in the 7th grade at Horace Sisk Junior High when the world was on the brink of nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Instead of practicing fire drills, we practiced civil defense drills weekly and during the Cuban Missile Crisis daily. It was terrifying. We all took canned foods to stock in the basement and practiced scooting under our desks. We had seen enough simulated nuclear attacks and radiation fall-out government films for public schools…to cause on-going nightmares.

As a post WWII baby boomer and Cold War youth I remember praying to God to give me time to simply grow up… and that He did… and more.

Now I am a grandmother of five ( having beaten many odds) to be where I am today. And as worried and concerned about the world my children and grandchildren might live in…I think about that twelve year old ” me” and my prayer being answered ten-fold.

So until tomorrow…Somehow someway… the world is still turning, the sun still rises and the moon still shines… in spite of the terrible stewardship its inhabitants have thrown at their home planet. My prayer is not just for life for the generations to come but a more caring and giving world community… one filled with love ❤️ and peace. A world that doesn’t tolerate hate, greed, bias and inequalities.

Bernice sent me this prayer quote that encompasses a petition of prayer with just a sprinkle of grit and ” in your face Satan” attitude! 🤣 I love it!!!

… ” And Satan trembles, when he sees

… ” the weakest saint upon his knees.”

–William Cower, English poet and hymn writer in the 1700’s

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

The grandchildren’s Japanese Maples are starting to bloom– growing stronger and taller each day… just like my grandchildren

This is my private sanctuary at John and Mandy’s -looking across the pond on a beautiful morning

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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