Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

It wasn’t until the fall of 2013 that I remembered how to listen again with plants as my teachers… it was the spring my backyard garden evolved from a dream to reality.

By that fall I was, not only, talking to my newly planted flowers and bushes, but also Eva Cate’s maple tree sapling. It took me immediately back to my childhood-reading and communicating all my thoughts to the crabapple tree -my childhood sanctuary-like my garden is now.

Plants and trees are the best teachers for listening… it is only now that I recall their whispered lessons. As a child-if I needed to pour out my troubles… it was the crabapple tree that would selflessly sit with me for as long as needed to learn another lesson in life. It wasn’t until I started talking to my garden plants again that I realized I had paid a high price for the absence-I had lost an important connection with myself! It is a prime example of listening meditatively.

Native-Americans intuitively knew the importance of talking and listening to all of Mother Nature. This is illustrated in the 1995 Disney classic-Pocahontas.

Responsive listening is listening meditatively backwards-rather than listening to understand our own needs-it is listening to understand the needs of others. This involves one of the hardest listening skills in gardening, as in trying to figure out out why a plant, flower, or tree is struggling-are they trying to tell us we have over or under-watered , too much or too little sun… wrong soil or location?

People are just as hard to interpret. If everyone stated their feelings or needs clearly… helping would be easier. It requires more than hearing another’s words. One has to recognize a person’s individualized style of expression, body language and interpreting information.

Finally… listening empathically-this requires a deep connection to another life while being able to also disconnect. Even though our first instinct is to help another human being… empathic listening means listening without interference. Instead we should use our presence, empathy, suggestions as props but we must let them lead. Plants are much better at this than people.

So until tomorrow… For many of us… turning to our gardens and plants has helped us reconnect to ourselves again and it is where I feel God’s presence most closely.

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

I have a personal mantra I silently and mentally entertain each morning… “Lord, let me be a better person today than I was yesterday. ” I have accepted my imperfections and been a Brene Brown follower long enough to know that perfection is unobtainable on this side of the universe but it doesn’t mean we can’t openly admit we are a ” work in progress.” And progress means we keep trying.

James Michener once revealed that he sees character as a ” consistency demonstrated on third and fourth tries.” ( ad continuum)

The last couple of days have been ” heavy” weather wise… the air feels thick.. laden with dark gray skies and the humidity feels like a blanket being thrown over me… if I stay out too long.

Doesn’t the atmosphere in our country feel heavy too? Daily we witness more controversial and frankly terrifying assaults on our democracy and constitutional/ personal rights. Political deceit and hidden agendas seem to hit us like waves crashing on the shore. Trust in our once respected symbols of justice and equality are crumbling around us… and revelations of greed and power for the few over the populace gain momentum by ” the root of all evil”-money. Will history one day point to it as the downfall of democracy…it was bought out…

Pinterest had a selection of excerpts and famous lines from Robert Frost’s poetry and one set of lines spoke to me. ” But with one step backward taken, I saved myself from going-a world torn loose went by me.”

Frost was not alone with these thoughts of pulling away from the way things are… Thoreau believed this too. He wrote: ” A man is rich in proportion to the things he can let alone ”

Frost wanted to tell universal truths about the human experience… he foresaw the negative effects of the Industrial Revolution on our environment and the loss of freedom from agrarian self-sustaining farm families to child labor in dangerous unhealthy mills where towns were controlled by the company owners and every aspect of a mill family’s life was controlled-loss of freedom by the many for the few. History repeats itself sadly… if we don’t learn from it.

So until tomorrow… ” The sun will come out tomorrow ” ( at least that’s what the weatherman says) and everyday is a clean slate God generously gives each of us… but it is up to us to drop back and re-enforce the essential qualities our children need to fight the negativity that pervades our politics and start instilling in our children the qualities needed to insure that our democracy prevails under honesty, kindness, compassion, tolerance, acceptance, and love for our fellow man. We have to never stop believing in love-always the victor over hate… in the end.

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

As I was cleaning out a drawer I found this watercolor-no name-but I immediately recognized Anne as the artist-I texted it to her and she confirmed it was one of her earliest water colors! It was just the scene I needed. A God Wink. Light… beautiful light! All is right with the world when beauty reigns supreme and light overcomes darkness!

Dear Reader:

Did you know that three of our five senses take us back …faster …down our personal memory lanes? They are sound, taste, and smell. In fact this post today is a testimony to this scientific observation.

Our Chick-fil-A in Summerville just recently reopened after a very long, extended period of renovation. I woke up yesterday morning wanting the mini-chicken rolls and hash browns for breakfast… I could smell them in my mind before they handed me my bag! What a great way to start the day and week!

As I was happily munching away at the kitchen table… a piano commercial popped up on the television screen … contending that they had developed a new system of learning the keys to replace ‘ Heart and Soul.’

As the old familiar melody flooded the den I found myself playing the imaginary keys to the melody while remembering my brother Ben-more musically gifted- playing the higher creative key accompaniment in the duet. The day was still young and so far I had been pulled down memory lane through smell and sound and taste!

*** Interesting historical tidbit on Heart and Soul( first created by Hoagy Carmichael) – composer who also wrote ” Stardust” and ” Georgia on My Mind.” ( 1939) Two years later… Frank Loesser added the lyrics…and decided on the name ‘ Heart and Soul.’

Today most people don’t remember the lyrics but do remember how to play the melody and can still do the duet! Carmichael and Loesser put the song in a short subject film … the film wasn’t that great but the song ( sung by teenager Bea Wain) went to Number 1 on the Hit Parade… the rest is history! An unforgettable memory for many of us learning how to play the piano.

My favorite culinary memory will always be mother’s chicken and dumplings. Mother always cut up left-over chicken breasts from other chicken casseroles and stored in the freezer along with real chicken broth, as well as, Swanson’s broth and chicken bouillon cubes.

Even though we knew the dish by chicken and dumplings… mother always referred to the dumplings as pastries. She made them from rolled homemade dough and cut them into rectangles which she slowly dropped into the hot simmering pot of cut up chicken pieces, chicken broths, butter and as a last minute touch … some cream she kept for her morning coffee. What made her chicken and dumplings so tasty was her secret of making them ” thin to win” They weren’t chunky and doughy but more like a scrumptious pasta with a southern kick.

If I ever am asked what dish from my childhood best symbolized security, comfort, and love it was ( and will always be) mother’s chicken and dumplings. The best smell, taste, and bubbling sound cooking on top of the stove in the old black iron/clad pot!

So until tomorrow… I think ” soul food” is color-blind since it also borders on the heart- it is universal culinary memories, stories, and recipes. It is our legacy given to us by those we loved and whose culinary memories still make us feel special …bringing us comfort and joy.

Today is my favorite day -Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

On a recent episode of Kardea Brown’s cooking show ( filmed on Edisto Island) she was planning a family gathering to be held on another sea island, close by, James Island wherein lies Mosquito Beach, or as islanders call it ” Skeeter” Beach.

It was one of six beaches available to African-Americans during Reconstruction and the Jim Crow era… most popular during the Civil Rights movements of the fifties and sixties.

Kardea is a descendant of the Gullah-Geechee culture … a distinct group of African-Americans living in the coastal areas of South Carolina and Georgia. They still preserve much of their West-African language, culture, and cuisine.

The intent of ” Mosquito Beach” was to give African-Americans a place to enjoy themselves by visiting friends, listening to music, dancing, enjoying freshly prepared seafood and ‘soul food.’ People could put aside the pressures and negativity associated with racial inequality and simply enjoy life.

Today Mosquito Beach ( mainly an area of pluff mud and a tidal creek) is one of the last recreational areas of its kind that is still active and largely intact. Most of the other five African-American properties fell prey to developers and ” wheeler-dealers.”

In 2019 Mosquito Beach was finally added to the National Register of Historical Landmarks.

With federal funding now… the famous landmark-The Pine Tree Hotel was to be fully restored and renovated… until a fire in April of this year damaged certain sections of it… but much was saved and the perseverance and determination of the committee and community are fighting for more funding to hopefully complete it.

So until tomorrow… I love it when well-known media personalities bring to light the history behind their genealogy and spearhead publicity to everyone interested in preservation of communities that tell a story of one people’s ancestral contributions to our country-made stronger by diversity!

Today is my favorite day… Winnie the Pooh

If nothing else… Winnie the Pooh taught us about the strength of diversity-he surrounded himself with all diversified friends… everyone was different-it is what made them great and memorable!

It is 3:00 mid-afternoon… and as if right on cue… here comes the thunderstorms… or as Linda Carson calls it -” Our drought and drown” summer cycle! 😉

Winnie seems to sense Eva Cate is leaving and is spending more time under the couch.

Dear Reader:

Over the weekend, which I spent in Mt Pleasant, I heard from one of my favorite cousins… Charles! As the oldest cousin, in our Laurens gang of cousins… he was my idol! Even before my family permanently moved to Laurens we spent most summers and holidays there!

Charles’ sister Marilyn …I also idolized… the big sister I never had… she and my older brother Ben were the same age… but we all turned to Charles as our leader!

Charles texted me to check on Ben and get his number… we now share similar life ” experiences ” since his wife, Sherri, has been also diagnosed with cerebral vascular dementia … actually for several years before Ben. It is comforting communicating with kin who understand what each other and their loved ones are going through.

Through our discussion we hit on an ” Aha” moment. I told Charles that ( as strange as it might sound) Ben is happier now than he has been in a long time. Even before PTSD attacked Ben following Vietnam, Ben suffered from depression as an adolescent-he has never really gotten over our daddy’s death… but now he is Mr Personality and a favorite among the staff and residents alike.

He is safe, secure, no worries over day to day issues… all those obstacles have been removed, he sleeps better than ever… since sleepless nights have plagued him all his life.Great food-made lots of friends- is a big helper and feels needed-the staff takes him out to hit buckets of balls… I told Charles ” God works in mysterious ways.”

Speaking from deep devotion to his wife Charles made this comment…” As you said, God is in our lives each moment of every day. I’m so grateful we had a rich Christian culture to guide our journey!”

Amen! The greatest gift we can give our children -faith and hope and the One to turn to when they feel alone …

On a lighter note all my cousins teased me about my obsession with potato chips-( as a child … and still today) usually meek and mild… I would turn into bearish Becky… I refused to eat a meal that did not include potato chips… because I was a picky eater as a toddler.. mother and daddy gave in and coaxed me into eating real food in exchange for a chip… a move they regretted.

All my cousins called me ” The Potato Chip Kid” … in fact Charles couldn’t resist… he ended his text message Saturday with…

” I’m so sorry that inflation is driving potato chips up each week at the grocery store-but I do think of your sweet self every time I purchase a bag. Now I even enjoy an indulging moment with chips. ..in fact… I think I’ll have a few chips right now to start my day!” ❤️

So until tomorrow… Thank you Father for family who always appear when most needed… the ones who remember you when and still love you now! Love you Charles! 💗

Today is my favorite day! Winnie the Pooh -Eva Cate changed my iPhone cover to…

Harriett… another year… another race! Love you!💗 I think I was ” fixated” with those pink glasses! 🤣

Dear Reader:

Emily Dickinson once wrote ” Home is the definition of God.”

She went on to say ” Eden is that old-fashioned house we dwell in everyday.” In other words… is spending time at home picking up and cleaning daily our idea of spending another day in Paradise? Emily thought so…

Today we remember Emily Dickinson as a poet with extraordinary insights in the beauty of everyday life… finding sacredness in the mundane.

During her time on earth Emily Dickinson was a spinster and ” home body” who rarely left her house, unless under emergency conditions -after age 34-her greatest two passions were cooking and writing poetry.

Since the bulk of her poetry wasn’t published until after her death -it was actually her cooking skills that gave her notoriety in her hometown in Massachusetts.

She was known for her dense black fruitcakes and periodically made gingerbread for the neighborhood children … lowering it down in a basket from her second story bedroom window.

Emily was one of a handful of poets who saw sacredness in the ordinary… like many of us… she would sweep and clean daily to restore order, harmony and peace to her world -her dwelling-then reward herself by going to her garden to commune with nature or make herself a refreshment-perhaps a pot of tea -throw open the windows to let the sweet smell of soft breezes in… a wonderful feeling restoring order again.

So until tomorrow… if we do not endow our daily life, both at home and work, with meaning, no one else can do it for us.

* Even Jimmy Buffet found a ” Cheeseburger in Paradise.” 😃

Today is my favorite day. Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

Yesterday was a busy day… lots of errands and preparations for picking up and organizing items for distribution. And suddenly , smack dab in the middle of it all… I got the most magnificent God Wink… more accurately a $23.56 God Wink.

Today I am picking Ben up to see his orthopedic doctor to examine his second shoulder which is now causing problems… Ben and shoulders don’t seem to be getting along lately.

So yesterday I ran by a Family Dollar store near me to pick up a twelve can case of Pepsis and cheese crackers for Ben. I also was out of a few household items and as usual by the time I had gotten everything… the line was backing up pretty heavy.

I was struggling to balance the Pepsis along with the other items… and trying to find the side on the carton you can push in to hold the carton easier. A father and little boy were in front of me… the little boy wanting to add candy to their list … the father saw me struggling with the carton and immediately found the location to punch in the ” grip” indentations.

His cute little son came over and said he would hold some of my items since the baskets were taken . I thanked him and complimented the father on raising such a courteous ” young man.”

When I finally made it to the check-out counter… I was able to prop the heavy carton on the counter behind the father while I gathered my other items together.

It appeared to be taking awhile for the father to check out… but then they left and I waited for my selections to be itemized before putting my card in… suddenly the clerk handed me my receipt.. confused I told him that must the customer in front of me-his receipt… I was still waiting to put my card in.

” No need lady” that man in front of you with the little boy paid for your items”. The cashier then grinned! I had never been so flabbergasted… a perfect stranger!

Still in shock… I turned to the lady behind me and asked if she saw that/she smiled and nodded. I found myself tearing up and suddenly she started clapping and it went down the line of everyone waiting to check out! Each person whispering to the person behind them explaining what happened!

Suddenly I knew I had to get to my ” benefactor” before he left the parking lot… God, bless Him… He gave me the strength to actually “run” towards the driver about to pull out. I must have looked like a crazy woman waving my bag high in the air… but he stopped and rolled down the window grinning. Inside the car was his wife holding a small child in her lap with the little boy in the back who was waving merrily too!

I profusely thanked my ” hero” and told him he had just made my day and restored my faith in humanity. His wife made a prayer gesture and they took off…

As I finally got back in my car… and turned on the AC… I realized I had not gotten his name… I watched and then took a snap shot as he passed me by in the family burgundy car… in my mind he will always be ” Mr. Burgundy” … my Family Dollar guardian angel… my God Wink!

The biggest smile fixated on my face and remained there the rest of the day! God Winks do that, you know.

Later as I ate lunch a ” Love Note” from artist/ author Kelly Rae Roberts popped up on her website… I loved it… the theme appeared to compliment my day as it continued to unfold. ( Here is a brief paraphrased excerpt from Kelly’s ” Love Letter.” )

Don’t we all want to live in a world where we can simply live the unfolding of our personal stories … so the collection of stories by life’s end have all been allowed to be made through our personal choices-through mistakes, small and large victories, grief, heartache, compassion, widening of our hearts and the deepening of our understandings, happiness and joy, tenderness over rigidity, and acceptance over biases.

It is already hard enough to be a human, right? Never forget… the universe delights in you… You are held and seen with unbelievable tenderness by our Creator… Your story matters… our stories matter… and we are all exquisitely beautiful! Start being the person whom you can love whole/heartedly … because God already does.

So until tomorrow… Yesterday God reminded me that when we need hope the most God can manifest it… anywhere… even in a Family Dollar store!

Today is my favorite day -Winnie the Pooh 💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗

Dear Reader:

While watching a cooking show recently, I noticed a whimsical guardian angel kitchen spoon holder that took me back in time to mother’s kitchen in the duplex in Fayetteville.

I remember asking mother about our kitchen guardian angel spoon holder, when I was little, and she told me guardian angels were all around us to protect us … and they also protected special rooms too… like the kitchen and watched over preparations of meals.

Sounded good to me and I immediately ran out to play and never gave that conversation another thought until… one afternoon, after school, my brothers and I came home from school, ate our snacks and went out to play… until mother called us in for supper. Just an ordinary day.

Looking back on it… this time , in our daily schedule, afforded mother a couple of precious hours to rest from work and start supper-that afternoon she was putting in a left-over casserole from Sunday dinner… the day before.

Tired… mother fell asleep on the sofa in the den. As the sun slowly started setting… it finally dawned on us that we were the last kids in the neighborhood to be called in for supper. It was strange but we were secretly happy -we had more time to play.

Suddenly the back door slammed open and mother called for Ben to come help her… drifts of smoke were circling outside. Mother gave Ben two potholders and she grabbed the other end of casserole dish and dumped the charred meal, pan and all, in the sand box so the grass wouldn’t catch on fire.

We had to raise all the windows and put fans in the kitchen and den to get rid of the smoke. While standing on a chair surveying the smoke I noticed our kitchen angel and pointed her out to mother.

” I thought our guardian angel was supposed to guard the kitchen and our meals?”

A small smile flickered across mother’s face as she replied to all of us… ” I reckon guardian angels, like mothers, get tired sometimes and need a nap too.”

” Okay… go wash up and jump in the car. We are going to McDonalds for supper to give the house time to air out!”

McDonalds! McDonalds! Mother might as well have told us Santa Claus was coming to town! It turned out to be an unforgettable meal and somehow I think our kitchen angel was winking as we left!

So until tomorrow… I still believe in angels-all kinds-what a spiritual gift they are… offering up the lines of celestial communication between us and our Creator.

Today is my favorite day -Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

I remember several years ago Anne and I taught a Sunday School class on the importance of telling our personal stories as followers of faith and the power of sharing our life stories with others.

The study guide had a cover similar to today’s title picture- the popular four trees representing the four seasons of life and each participant was asked to pick which seasonal tree they felt they belonged in.

This assignment opened up a lot of discussion on whether we selected our seasonal tree based on chronological age or based on our outlook on life-sedate and self-confined or still curious, learning, and adventuresome…. open to new possibilities and changes.

I, personally, felt chronologically I was hanging onto fall but personality-wise there was still some ” spring” in me. No one wanted to pick winter… though a couple said if they thought of warm fireplaces, hot drinks and warm blanket… a place of comfort and not an ending… winter wasn’t so bad.

In recent days, with Tom Cruise turning sixty, all kinds of information on talk shows centers around discussions of the ” New Sixties” and re-examining aging and stereotyping. The new catch-phrase is ” Stages… not Ages.”

Marketing has jumped on this new rapidly growing segment of the population. One of the most popular ” reads” this summer is : Stage-Not Age; How to Understand and Serve People Over Sixty-the Fastest Growing, Most Dynamic Market in the World.

The first paragraph says it all… ” The $22 trillion opportunity that can be unlocked only if you rethink everything you think you know about people over sixty. In the time it takes you to read this paragraph , another twenty Americans will turn sixty-five. Ten thousand people a day are crossing that threshold, and that number will continue to grow. In fifteen years, Americans aged 65 and over will outnumber those under age 18. People over sixty are the fastest growing age group in the world.”

These are ” My People” and now we are not only gaining popularity but a continued sense of place of importance in this world. No longer an age to be swept under the rug. * Look what happens when we live to that magical ” Goldilocks ” age when we are ” not too hot or too cold” … we are ” just right.”

So until tomorrow… Dear Father, be with us throughout our lives… encouraging us to live life daily ” to the max” squeezing out all the good …life has to offer… no matter which seasonal tree we chronologically fall under… but understanding we are all God’s ” children” living together in the Tree of Life!

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

Susan invited me over for dinner last evening with her and Bekah! I picked some flowers to take from my garden! It delights me to be able to do so! My retirement dream come true.

Dear Reader:

July 4, 2022, will always go down in family history as the holiday “that wasn’t” but yet the celebration of laughter… “that was! “

Mandy and John decided to go all out for the Fourth this year…bringing in many branches of the family tree-excuse the pun-it would be a ” Mighty Oak Tree” gathering… with lots of little two and four-footed ” acorns” running around.

We had all signed up to bring a dish and then some… a massive banquet for the memories no doubt… or so we thought. But someone or I should say-something -had other plans- that ” won’t go away” Coronavirus decided to visit Jake and then Mandy… bringing the July 4th celebration to a screeching halt … much to the disappointment of one and all. * The bright spot was neither Jake nor Mandy had really bad cases but just enough congestion to feel poorly and really tired.

The real disappointment was missing the rare opportunity to all be together again… since these opportunities seem to get rarer and rarer as time passes. And then it happened…

It started with a July 4th text to the ” Dirty Dozen” (on the same text line)…a little after 8 yesterday morning with a picture of an alligator crossing the street beside John and Mandy’s house carrying something in its mouth.

Doodle was the first to recognize the poor ” victim ” -an alligator eating an alligator snapping turtle ( isn’t that kind of a strange form of dietary nepotism? )

Alligators have certainly been spotted in their community since it lies besides different bodies of water… including the canal that ends right in back of the Turners’ home-but for the whole time they have lived there-(almost a decade) – up close and personal sightings have been relatively infrequent and the first for them. *** This must have been a patriotic alligator!

The fun started when Walsh alluded to the fact that the alligator obviously had never learned to read since there were plenty of signs that read Watch Out Alligator and Beware of Alligator. ( An illiterate alligator-imagine-we will blame it on the Coronavirus too-missing person to person teaching takes its toll on learning !)

Then Doodle warned Tommy he had better start leaving his ” fur babies” ( dogs) behind when he and Kaitlyn went to Mandy’s-especially little Pip! Walsh jumped in and predicted Pip would just be like one chicken nugget to that alligator… Julie cinched it with her new food title… a ” Pippen Nugget”!

But Tommy defended Little Pip’s size and strength-he was confident Pip could take down the alligator because under his fur he was ” jacked.”

By now everyone was on board with the fun… Carrie had just flown home earlier yesterday morning after meeting friends and seeing Yosemite-she encouraged the rest of us to add it to our ” bucket list.”

Suddenly everyone was exclaiming how fun all the ” puns” were and how if we couldn’t physically be together we could, at least, laugh together. No one wanted it to end! And all because an alligator crossed the road.

Mandy took a picture of the path of the gator cutting through the marsh behind their house. ( see the gap in the tall marsh grass?)

So until tomorrow… as Carol Burnett would sing at the end of each show…🎶 ” I’m so glad we had this time together…” just to have a laugh and share a pun .” ( So much fun!)

Today is my favorite day -Winnie the Pooh

I did feel sorry for Eva Cate and Jake since they love having their cousins come swim and play… but here in Summerville …mid-afternoon brought a severe thunderstorm and a deluge of torrential rains. Not a good outdoor afternoon.

Eva Cate had entertained herself making decorations out of old hats for the July 4 gathering -she was very disappointed no one got to see them … so here are a few she did.