Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

I learned early on ( through mother’s example) that taking a walk to declutter the extra baggage stored in the brain… as to see a problem more precisely… is the best problem-solving technique of all!

Every evening, weather permitting… mother would call us together and we would walk. We knew the ” etiquette “… give mother quiet time for about the first 15 to 20 minutes of the walk and then she would ask each of us individually about our day.

Walking is the best therapy in the world… think about the number of times Jesus needed ” alone” time to process His plans and study His problems… before rejoining His friends. Movement, the beauty of nature and simply taking time to listen to the life all around you produces amazing clarity.

If it hadn’t been for my early beach walk at Edisto beach ( at sunrise) in October of 2008… I never would have witnessed my dolphin relaying God’s message to me among the early morning jetties.

These days when I walk the neighborhoods … I love strolling on East Walker because it is still a graveled dirt road… the residents living on it vote to keep it that way every time the opportunity arises to pave it… gotta love a road like that!

The biggest bonus is getting to walk back in history as I get closer to the ” The Tea Farm” historical property where Dr Charles Shepard decided to take an earlier unsuccessful attempt at growing tea ( where Newington Plantation subdivision is today) and try it on a new parcel of land near the original site.

Dr Shepard was quite successful-in 1892 92 lbs of tea were produced. By 1907 12,000 lbs of tea were produced on 100 acres. During this prosperous time Dr Shepard would visit the famous Pine Forest Inn and entertain guests with his afternoon tea and ” tea talks.”

President Theodore Roosevelt toured the tea farm while staying at the Pine Forest Inn.

In 1995 the South Carolina Assembly made tea the ” Hospitality Beverage of South Carolina.”

After Dr Shepard’s death in 1915… plants few wild until Lipton Tea Company transplanted them on experimental farms in the 1960’s . In 1987 the tea was bought out by American Classic and Bigelow Tea properties creating the Charleston Tea Farm on Wadmalaw Island… open to visitors year round. A fun tour for the entire family!

So until tomorrow… If you are like me… all five senses are activated on a walk giving the brain the respite it needs to re-open fresh and ready to take on problems again … is it just me… but I am going to fix myself a glass of tea! Hum humm Good!

Today is my favorite day… Winnie the Pooh

*** Do keep Honey in your prayers as she is undergoing some dental procedures that will pay off in the end… but as we all know… not fun getting there. Like Dolley Parton, maybe Honey gave her smile to someone who needed it more than her so many times… it got worn out! We are all “rooting” for you Honey! 💗🙌

And speaking of ” tea” … all five grandchildren are signed up for golf lessons this spring… great game to follow you all your life.

Walsh, Mollie and children are at Fripp Island this long weekend… visiting Mollie’s aunt-looks like they are getting some golf pre-practice time in.

Dear Reader:

My crazy ( so unlike Becky) day began Saturday morning innocently enough. I was brushing my teeth and glanced over where the old bottle light was shining…as it has been for over a decade ( at least) non-stop. Isn’t that pretty miraculous?

I am sure there are many readers who remember the bottle light craze- it just took an empty wine bottle ( best part) being cleaned out and filled with a clear decorative string of lights and then plugged into the closest electric socket.

I remember making them for Christmas gifts long ago and also receiving them at Christmas. Over the years the string of lights would falter, flicker and die quietly.

… All except the blue one that I put in my bathroom as a nightlight originally …but over time began leaving on permanently …since there is no window in that bathroom. I honestly cannot remember how many years it has been lighting my bathroom but definitely ” double digit” years.

For some reason I picked it up and realized it needed some windex on it to erase dust and smudges… so I cleaned it.. but now I realized the whole top of the counter needed cleaning, along with the tub and shower heads. By the time I left over an hour later… the bathroom was shining and smelled ” fresh as a daisy.”

I cleaned out so much junk from the bathroom drawers that the trash bin in the kitchen was overflowing … and I had discovered the exact bulb size for this beautiful light fixture ( hiding in one of the bathroom cabinets) for another kitchen favorite light fixture!

Honey gave it to me one Christmas…I also used it for a nightlight for the kitchen …when the bulb was working… this second light inspired me to start cleaning off overdue cluttered drawers and countertops now in the kitchen… resulting in three more trash bags that had to be emptied outside.

So until tomorrow …Yesterday we were talking about letting ” inner spiritual lights” in to show us new bright, fresh perspectives on life and this weekend I was shown that physical lights can bring a sense of freshness and beauty into our lives also! A beautiful balance between our physical and spiritual lives!

Today is my favorite day… Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

It never fails to amaze me how God uses all His creations to keep life growing !

In the top title picture I discovered new life that could only have been planted in the strange location ( where I found it) by our feathered friends-the birds. They are very busy these days. Whereas humans sometimes are in a different place… a ” Balm inside your Being” -directing you to grow closer to the real creation God intended you to be.

Many of us go through different ” seasons” in the months of January and February that is sometimes labeled ” cocoon or quiet space between ” seasons. I like to call it the ” Secret Seed Seasons.”

It happens in different intervals for everyone. When suddenly you sense that it is time to tweak and make adjustments to your path … which requires taking time to simply” be” before taking action . We have to resist the urge to move forward… like my gardens… it is time to allow new ideas to form and ” take seed.”

But before we can even do that … we must first establish roots and take time to nurture them … increasing the chances of reaching our full bloom. Psychologists call it the ” fertile void.” It is a place that feels like nothing is happening but actually… just the opposite is occurring.

During this period… be extra nice to yourself…you need to rest as much as possible for new directions in your life to ” take seed.”

None of us know who will emerge from ” the fertile void ” but we trust whoever it is… is coming closer to the sacred creation … the person God meant us to be… all along.

So until tomorrow…

Today is my favorite day… Winnie the Pooh

Never forget that every day we wake up… we have the opportunity to create a life for ourselves that truly reflects who we are.

Yesterday was a good opportunity to do just that… Random Acts of Kindness Day. I just had time to make a few deliveries before the rains returned( after all it was Friday) but then I got a call of kindness that made my day.

Ben’s assigned nurse ( whom I adore) called me to talk and update me on recent check-ups and lab results and then wanted to know how I was doing… I explained some of the problems I have trying to call in to some of Ben’s specialists to get different procedures done outside their offices and she quickly said she could set up at least two of the problematic appointment procedures and have them done right there and then she will send results back to individual specialists before we return for the next series of checkups! I wanted to reach through the phone and hug her. I told her I felt so light …that I could fly. She was my Random Act of Kindness personified!

Hope everyone has found kindness in your own daily lives-and learned, like me, to ask for help when you need it. It could be a phone call away!

Dear Reader:

This past Christmas, for the first time, I bought lots of dried eucalyptus leaves at an outdoor plant market and put them in a bucket of water… soon the minty, woodsy scent of Christmas prevailed…so during the long winter months following , I found some more dried stems and some artificial dried vines and flowers to add to the mixture… just something to make me smile and appreciate the beauty of one corner… with an occasional wisp of mint.

It got me thinking… or perhaps the correct word – “re-thinking”… that dried flowers have their own unique beauty. Physical beauty passes with time/ replaced by a wisdom beauty that only comes … with time and life’s experiences.

As I sit here on a sunny afternoon … my two Valentines bouquets from family… are holding strong and bright… but by this time next week… they will have been tossed and the only thing salvageable will be any dried leaves or stems left in the arrangement.

You don’t have to be a history buff, necessarily, to appreciate traveling the world and touring ” ruins” from ancient civilizations. What we sometimes mislabel a ” ruin” is now appealing to us…no longer for its original beauty but today it is the exciting history behind its colorless, broken columns that still appeals to us in appreciating the people who originally designed and built it.

Take the Parthenon for example. When we connect memory and feeling to our appraisal… we can then see the wisdom and beauty still intact within.

Remarkably… in 1897 … a replica of the Pantheon was built in Nashville, Tennessee for their Centennial Celebration… amazing feat.

I don’t think any of us want to be regarded as a ” ruin” but there is a lot to be said about the beauty of a life enjoyed and appreciated in spite of the challenges … the insightful wisdom of a shared personal history that is attractive to heart and mind.

… the same attributes that bring thousands of tourists everyday to historical sites, like the Pantheon, respect for the remarkable feat of simple survival against the odds…catastrophes, medical, environmental and economic disasters, cultural, geographical and political… all components of life.

So until tomorrow….

So despite wrinkles and cracks… if we have let the inner light in… that’s all we really need …to glow with life … no matter how ” mature” the physical is.

Today is my favorite day… Winnie the Pooh

Look how large this cutting ” transplant” from ” Big Red” is… will one day takes its place on the bench when ” Big Red” II’s time is over.

Dear Reader:

Last Saturday as I ran into Walsh and Mollie’s house from the pouring rain…bringing toys , candy and cards…the kids were excited but especially the boys and it had nothing to do with Valentines… but history. Walsh has been studying the American Revolution-especially the Battle at Sullivan’s Island in the fourth grade.

Lachlan ( second grade) is studying the World Wars and he excitedly asked me if I knew how messages were carried and I responded… ” carrier pigeons.” He nodded yes and was talking a mile a minute about it. Rutledge was telling me about the palmetto logs saving the makeshift fort at Sullivan’s Island.

Music 🎼 to the ears of a history teacher Grandmother!!!

So I picked up a children’s copy of the story of Cher Ami … the most decorated WWI pigeon who saved the famous Lost Battalion. Figure the boys will enjoy reading it over a long weekend-Presidents Day.

Though carrier pigeons were used in both World Wars they were primarily introduced and used in WWI since by WWII more communication technology had been introduced.

Prior to the war Cher Ami ( French for ” dear friend” ) was a homing pigeon who lived on a farm in England. With the start of WWI Cher Ami was called to duty. At training camp Cher Ami even learned to march in line with the other pigeons.

Cher Ami quickly became recognized as one of the quickest pigeons to accomplish dropping off messages and returning messages …at nearly 50 mph.

Cher Ami was one of 600 messenger pigeons sent to help the French soldiers. Upon arriving on the French front lines… It was dark with gunpowder, loud and scary but Cher Ami followed directions … no matter the situation. Many times Cher Ami was shot at to stop a message from being delivered or returned.

One day a group of American soldiers were trapped in a ravine-they were being shot at by both the enemy -( Germans) and their own troops who mistakenly thought they were the enemy. They became known as the ” Lost Battalion.” Two earlier messenger pigeons had not returned so Cher Ami was their only hope.

Cher Ami made it there and the famous message telling their location was secured on its talon…or leg but as soon as Cher Ami took off German gunfire hit the bird in her eye, breast and the leg dangling with the message. But the little bird would not give up.. for twenty-five miles. One eye was gone, breast had a hole in it and the leg carrying the message was dangling by a thread and had to be amputated. ( One soldier carved a new leg for Cher Ami from a tree twig. )

The bird was declared a hero and became famous all around the globe. When the homing pigeon could travel … Cher Ami was returned to America… an honored mascot of the United States Army. Even though Cher Ami’s life was severely shortened by the injuries ( homing pigeons can live up to 15 years… Cher Ami only lived a little over a year but in the shortened life span… the bird had saved 194 lives with the Lost Battalion alone! )

Cher Ami was born April 1918 and died on June 13, 1919… today this date is celebrated as International Pigeon Appreciation Day. Cher Ami can be seen on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. In 2019 Cher Ami received the Animals in War and Peace Medal of Bravery.

So until tomorrow… heroes of all kinds should be studied in history… they all have a story to tell! And what a story it is… all God’s creations!

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

They say the older we get, the faster time flies. I think it is true because yesterday was packed with lots of ” happenings” … some wonderful and some just plain crazy!

It started off terrific… hearing from all my family and Tommy and Kaitlyn stopped by with a beautiful bouquet of flowers which really was a wonderful surprise! To be with them!

I made two bowls of beef stew to take Vickie and Jane for Valentines and then went to add my two new spring garden flags.

After returning back inside… I glanced at my calendar… Wednesday-February 15 coming up-this old history teacher yelled out-” ” Remember the Maine” … indeed the explosion of the USS Maine docked in Havana Harbor… Feb 15, 1898- which would spark the beginning of the Spanish-American War and turn Theodore Roosevelt into a household name as he charges San Juan Hill with his Rough Riders!

Around mid-afternoon I walked down the hall heading back to my bedroom when suddenly I heard the worst racket coming from the back bathroom .. someone or something sounded like they were tearing the place apart!

Startled I ran back to the den and called Vickie… we armed ourselves with brooms and dustpans over our faces and courageously started back towards the bathroom.

I went and opened the bedroom doors that lead out to the patio deck ( for the ” critter” ) to run through and out of my bedroom once the bathroom door opened. I heard Vickie knocking and saying ” hello?”… just thuds and crashes … and then before I could take it in… Vickie yelled ” It’s a squirrel!” Out he flew through the open door… he was as happy to go as we were to see him go!

This bathroom needs serious renovation-new foundation, flooring, plumbing , appliances, painting… and since that is not in my budget I have just used it as my ” fall pumpkin storage room” … and that squirrel had fun tossing my pumpkins in the toilet, shower, … everywhere… complete chaos.

The only way that squirrel could have gotten in the bathroom was from the basement… but how?

So now you see why Valentines Day was a crazy mixture of a little of everything… BUT very memorable!!!!

So until tomorrow… crazy days do make a difference from other days but sometimes that is good… leaving us with memories … like the Valentines Day when “Skippy the Squirrel” decided to play bathroom basket ball with my pumpkins.

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

We humans are famous for taking the simplest and most beautiful God given ” free” gifts and trying to ” sell” the idea that love can be bought. Love is the most powerful gift of everything God created and gave us. In essence there would be no life without love… or at least no life any of us would want to live. None of us can imagine or even would want to contemplate a life without love.

If we are really lucky we feel love and give love everyday of our lives… no designated day needed. It all started at the end of the fifth century… when Pope Gelasius declared February 14 St Valentines Day- since then February 14 has been a day of celebration – generally more religious than romantic.

Conflicting stories about who Saint Valentine really was or did consume the internet this time of year. One legend says that St Valentine refused to convert to paganism and was executed by the Roman emperor Claudius II. Prior to his execution, he was able to miraculously heal the daughter of his jailer, who then converted to Christianity-along with her family.

But it was Chaucer who began using the term ” Valentine” in his writings as a synonym for a lover. By the mid-19th century mass produced valentine cards were in demand. Enter sales companies pushing flowers, chocolates, jewelry, stuffed animals, desserts… etc. and here we are today. Love for sale!

But as for me… just a ” I love you” is the best gift of all! And free! Besides, like the little girl below… finding new life in my garden is love personified! God’s love! Always guaranteed to bring a smile.

Yesterday, being Monday, of course, the sun was back out and the earlier chilly temperatures warmed throughout the day. I decided to take a leisurely drive around my beautiful hometown.

In the Lowcountry…for just a few precious weeks …the camellia season overlaps with the early azaleas bursting into bloom… magnificent ” Valentine” natural floral gifts of red, pink, and white.

I loved driving by these Summerville yards so much yesterday…

Even though this famous home has changed hands many times since cosmetics giant -Elizabeth Arden bought it as a summer estate… it is still remembered by long-time residents as the Elizabeth Arden House.

While Elizabeth resided there she changed the door color for every season but these days… the door remains red … her signature color used on her entrances to her salons.

So until tomorrow… I hope for everyone you have a day of beauty, caring, and most of all love.

Today is my favorite day! Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

For so many people today… the popular phrase ” Here Comes the Sun” automatically sends them back to 1969 …as they listened to the melody and lyrics ( for the first time) with the release of the Beatles’ album -Abbey Road… with ” Here Comes the Sun” written by George Harrison.

Today it is recognized as the most popular Beatles song with its enduring, timeless universal appeal. It symbolizes hope, optimism, and a sign of better days to come. Using winter as a metaphor to express coldness and sadness… the entrance of the sun suggests spring, warmth and happiness.

We residents of the Lowcountry have been mired down in a sort of weird weather pattern lately… many of the five workdays have the sun making an appearance with warmer than normal temperatures but for the last three ( or is it four) weekends… cold, wet, windy, dreary weather has returned… reminding us winter hasn’t gone anywhere.

But my ” magic green thumb ” front porch is situated so as to protect plants from wind and chill while simultaneously attracting the healing warmth of the sun’s rays. ( It is why ” Big Red” has endured into its second decade.) It is also why Saturday morning ( as I ran to my car in the rain) I stopped in my tracks and ran back to snap the picture below… the late Friday afternoon sun’s rays apparently had done its magic… one of the lilies opened.

But you know what? Even though it was harder getting valentines bags in the houses of the grandchildren… just being together safe and snug was a real drawing card and getting to see Lachlan, ” Mr. Basketball” do his thing made this grandmother’s heart so proud!

When I got to Eva Cate’s and Jake’s house… I had a beautiful bouquet of flowers waiting on me… and homemade hearts by Eva Cate.

Eva Cate had looked for something about history to put in my card and found this phrase I loved!

After torrential rains ( heard during the night Saturday) it looked like the early morning sun was trying to defy the odds and come out! Sunday morning…

But, unfortunately, it didn’t last long… by the time I left Mt Pleasant to stop by Daniel Island… and give Ben his snacks and Valentine bag… it was pouring again and continued throughout the rest of the day.

Honey got her Valentines wish… she and Mike got their first snow of winter.., beautiful!

So until tomorrow… rain, sun, or even snow… let our hearts be happy to be alive, loved, and loving!

Today is my favorite day… Winnie the Pooh

Happy Valentine’s to all my teaching colleagues !

Hope everyone enjoyed watching the Super Bowl and all the spectacular entertainment and commercials… and of course the game!

Dear Reader:

When I first scrutinized the following line (from the recent book series I have been reading)… it produced a long pause for self-thought. The line read:

” There is nothing of which every man is so afraid, as getting to know how enormously much he/she is capable of doing and becoming.”

If I am honest with myself I can remember this observation being true in different stages of my life… as strange as it sounds many of us fear the unknown of success more than the familiarity of continuing with settling for mediocrity.

I needed some strong shoves from colleagues, friends, and even strangers to push myself up to the next rung of new opportunities in education that forced me out of my classroom cocoon into a world I would have never seen or traveled… if left to my own inclinations.

Every time I received recognition or an accolade for teaching in the classroom or conducting workshops, I was content with that being enough. But God had other ideas and sent people into my life to pull, push, and convince me to get my Masters, then Masters plus 30 while sending me applications for every graduate school scholarship around… against all odds … it worked.

No one would let me use three children, or financial deficits as an excuse… I was forced to consider my future after the children were out of the house… and then what? What did I want to do with the rest of my life and what must occur before my personal dreams could materialize.

Sometimes when I am working in the garden I sense a feeling of connection between all the plants encouraging small buds to bloom, pulling for older plants to reappear again for another season. A community of hope and beauty.

So until tomorrow… Take some time and reflect on the people in your life who took time out of theirs to encourage you to believe in yourself and recognize that you deserved to be the very best you could be.

Today is my favorite day… Winnie the Pooh

Over in Mt Pleasant this weekend for early Valentines… picture when I return!

Dear Reader:

I went out to my car yesterday and my ” beautiful ” day turned yellow gray! Pollen had fallen silently and sneakily during the night! Surely it was too soon for pollen but then Mother Nature has been quite baffling all year and the Lowcountry has been very fortunate to have missed the devastating destruction found in so many regions of our country. I began to feel small and petty… so instead of pouting…I started ” windexing” Surcie!

This weekend is supposed to turn cold again and be pretty much a ‘ wash-out’ but thankfully yesterday … the sun was breaking through and warm temperatures had me anxious to finish my errands and work some more outside… getting rid of dead debris and starting to add a little more color to the garden!

I stared at the lilies and knew I would need to bring them back on the porch to protect them from predicted heavy rain and wind.

I will be leaving in the rain this morning to deliver Valentines to the grandchildren and watch Lachlan play basketball 🏀! So I spent yesterday getting everything ready to go and then putting it in the car while it was still dry!

I have started ( this early growing season) realizing that many times the most beautiful blooms are popping up on the smallest plants and not the larger shrubs and bushes… like azaleas.

Isn’t this also true of humans? We might feel sometimes that we must be really ” late bloomers” … that everyone else seems to be ” with the program” and moving rapidly up the ladder of success ( blossoming along the way) while we feel like the lone azalea ” stick” stuck in a perpetual waiting zone to bloom… even just to survive.

So until tomorrow… But now ” who’s blooming” and ahead of the pack. We all have our moments in the sun… don’t worry… be happy”… that moment is coming!

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

I think we can change ” Names” to Numbers” while reading this Twain quote… ” Numbers are not always what they seem.”

In reference to supposedly this year’s ” special” February calendar, Jackson checked out the 2022 and 2021 February calendars ( out of curiosity) to see how this year’s calendar was different ( according to the idea that seven workdays would each appear four times within the month) Both 2022 and 2021 calendars had the same pattern… so then why would we have to wait over 800 years to see something already showing up right now and in the short past annually …the same???

Something obviously was not adding up. ( Leap year when February has an extra day-February 29-would be the only exception to the standard February calendar…and even that happens continuously over a small amount of time… happening many times within an average human lifespan.

So in the immortal words of Bugs Bunny…

And we need to always remember we don’t have to wait on a day to make it special… we get to do it every single day… including Valentines Day!