Chapel of Hope Stories

Dear Reader:

By now many of you have probably heard a news analogy between the Biblical story of David and Goliath and the horrific assault on Ukraine by Russia with two main ” characters” -David played by Ukrainian President Zelensky and Goliath-Russian President-Putin who is attempting to crush his neighboring country.

CBS reporter, Mo Rocca, met with Rabbi Steve Leder ( Los Angeles) to discuss this modern day version of ” David and Goliath.” Rabbi Leder made his personal stance quite clear. ” Zelensky is a true, courageous leader and Putin -a coward!” ( as most bullies are if cornered)

Zelensky grew up in a Russian Jewish family who were forced to carry papers tainting their citizenship status and acceptance in society-so Zelensky has known all his life how it feels to be subjugated into a lower classification of human being. Thus his strong stance and faith in democracy…

Day by day haven’t we witnessed the courage and acts of bravery play out on the evening news by men , women , and children, ordinary citizens fighting for democracy and their beloved country?

These are the thousands of Ukrainian” David’s” with their homemade weapons, their symbolic slingshots, fighting as hard as they can.

I loved Zelensky’s message to Putin: ” Even if you destroy all our cathedrals and churches -you will not destroy our sincere faith in God… in Ukraine.

When Mo Rocca questioned himself… if he could be as brave as Zelensky… Rabbi Leder simply responded” If you must… you can!”

When Zelensky was asked how he continued fighting against this ” giant ” of an enemy he quietly responded…

” We have nothing but our freedom and dignity-For us, this IS the GREATEST TREASURE!”

For almost three decades I taught the Holocaust to my eighth grade students. On the last day… to sum up how these horrors were allowed to transpire… I read the most important lesson of all.

So until tomorrow…

First Words… Then Action.

Today is my favorite day -Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

I remember being asked, on several occasions, in different educational collegiate classes, to name the teacher who had the most positive influence on me going through school. I always wrote down the same name -Mrs. Williams, my fifth grade teacher, who took a timid, shy, introverted little girl and transformed her into the personality I am today-happy, fairly confident, and so grateful for every day that comes my way.

Only one time during all those teacher training classes did one professor ask us to select the teacher in our past we would never want to emulate and why?

That was my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Persons, who I honestly can say simply didn’t like children-how she ended up in the classroom is probably a long story… but she was miserable being there and spread that misery throughout the classroom.

She sighed audibly if a student asked a question and hated any kind of noise… she had zero patience and was the ” worksheet queen ” of the fourth grade. We had to work silently, read silently and even whisper the Pledge of Allegiance.

Yet … she probably did more for me in knowing what kind of teacher I would never be …or would never subject my students to …than the positive role models.

Last week , Lynn Gamache, my Canadian blog post buddy, writer, and fellow breast cancer thriver, saw an article called ” Bits and Pieces” and thought I might like to share some thoughts with it.

I love this particular excerpt ( final stanzas) about the ” planned” rendezvouses we have with both positive and negative people who help mold us throughout our lives.

… ” You find you are made up of ” bits and pieces” of all who have ever touched your life. You are more because of it and you would be less if they had not touched you.

Pray to God that you accept the “bits and pieces ” in humility and wonder… and never question and never regret.

…Believe in God’s master plan in life. He moves people in and out of each others’ lives and each leaves his mark on the other.”

So until tomorrow… Isn’t it nice when we have enough ” past” in our lives to be able to remember and now understand why some of our more difficult fellow life travelers were there just for a ” cameo ” to steer us in a different direction

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

When Ukrainian President, Zelensky, was elected in 2019… his acceptance speech included this prophetic line.

” It’s a victory when the weapons fall silent and people speak up!”

It’s our turn to speak up- teachers and parents and grandparents alike-teach children what a democracy is at their age level and have the school children show their support for Ukraine and all countries fighting tyrants and tyranny.

I am ordering stickers for the grandchildren to put on their notebooks and lawn/garden signs… signing petitions, writing letters…our voices need to be heard!

I loved it when I passed a house yesterday decorated in blue and yellow-like this one on Main Street in Summerville!

Until my flags arrive … I worked on a make shift flower arrangement to remember Ukraine at every meal!

Dear Reader:

Another ” God Wink” this past Wednesday… the day of my procedure and the day of the new moon. It was also Ash Wednesday … the start of the Easter season symbolizing hope and resiliency.

On GMA3 it, once again, was ” Faith Friday.” The guest minister yesterday was a hospital chaplain. He explained, that like PTSD, the most difficult period for front-line caregivers is ” post” Covid… when hospitals slowly return to ” normal.”

What can possibly be ” normal ” again after all the horrific trauma they shared and witnessed with dying patients and their loved ones waiting outside for news.

The chaplain said that once this latest “wave” of Covid finally began to recede the front-liners finally had time to process the memories which quickly turned into nightmares.

Searching for a program to help these heroes and heroines he used the example of preparing for a white-water rafting expedition-in preparing the raft everyone had to be taught how to makes the raft ” rigged” to flip in case of an emergency.

And the most important thing to remember was to look for ties attached to the raft and hang on to them or as closely as possible to the raft-if you are still in the raft, after the over-turn, reach out and help as many back inside the raft as possible.

Easter is about hope and resiliency… the hope that first Easter was that faith would carry the loved ones and followers of Jesus to a better day… a better time… and three women had the resilience to return to the tomb of death which had now miraculously morphed into a place of renewed birth of life!!! The stone had been rolled away.

The chaplain concluded that God is our Divine River Guide… the One who could walk on water-He is still letting us know that calmer waters will prevail and you’re never alone… as long as love exists.

I have certainly felt the love this week and am stronger for it. Mandy had car trouble Thursday but arrived yesterday, laden down with groceries for me. We spent a wonderful day together and picked up some floral ” surcies” for Vickie for helping me out Wednesday-a long four hour wait!

So until tomorrow… May we never surrender up hope that God can and will calm the waters if we keep the faith and never relinquish the power of love!

Yesterday I forgot… until after the blog had published… that it was my younger brother, David’s departure date and also the date when Kaitlyn lost her older sister, Amanda -we share the sadness of losing beloved siblings too soon.

But Kaitlyn discovered a fascinating fact that has become the cornerstone of my faith-that we are all connected together… all of life… the whole universe. She found an article that announced that human ashes (looked at under powerful microscopes) resemble stars and/ or even the universe itself.

But today, March 5, is a wonderful day of birth because it is Honey Burrell’s birthday!!! And on this date…the world sat back and smiled at her epitome of kindness and generosity! Happy Birthday 🎈Honey!

Today is my favorite day! Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

Kaitlyn texted me Wednesday evening… checking to see how everything went and was happy to hear the surgeon got all of the port out.

She then reminded me that Wednesday was also the day ( night) of the first moon and that always brings good luck and healing.

She sent some articles on the new moon and apparently this particular March 2, 2022 was predicted ( by The New York Post) to be ” the luckiest new moon of the year!”

All new moons present new beginnings, opportunities, and paths before us. But this new moon centers on healing-not just the body, but our hearts, as well. It made me feel even more grateful for the ” random” timing of my procedure.

Throughout many European cultures-Irish and German for two… people have recognized the significance of the monthly new moon.

Irish: ” I see the new moon and the new moon sees me, God bless the new moon and God bless me till I see another one.”

German: ( National Folklore)

” I see the new moon and the new moon sees me -God bless the new moon and God bless me. God in the kitchen, grace in the hall, the blessing of God be about us all.”

But to me the most beautiful symbolism of the new moon comes from the memories of Archibald Rutledge and the simple spiritualism he grew up with on Hampton Plantation.

One day Rutledge was returning home with three of his tenant workers after a long day of working on the restoration of Hampton . Suddenly he realized he was walking alone.

He recalls: ” Suddenly I was aware that my humble comrades had paused behind me and were chanting something in unison. Turning I saw them standing together, each with hands clasped reverently, and as they gazed into the rose-tinted west they were saying, as if softly intoning a prayer, ” God bless the New Moon.”

” Far in the west hung the silvery sickle of the new moon. It marked, in its way, the beginning of the new month; and my colleagues, grimed and tired as they were, paused to bless God and to worship.

” Then my own memories growing up here flashed back to this joyous mystic rite. Even little children, in the midst of their last entrancing twilight frolic would, upon seeing the new moon gleaming in the heavens, pause in their play to look upward and, with hands clasped, say ” God bless the New Moon.”

So until tomorrow… When we stop to bless the new moon we are thanking God for our lives and the celebration of living through another cycle of the moon… for healing and life. Thank you God!

I placed this pot of beautiful colors in the center of my side garden…yesterday as I watched it and the framed azaleas from my bench… I remembered one of the gifts Jo gave me recently… a wooden box with this message!

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

Look at this picture Pam Stewart found and shared with me on-line!! Rabbit Rabbit!

Dear Reader:

… and the right time was yesterday. I was determined to be a ” good” patient. The result: new friends, lots of laughs, and a surgeon who was so ” easy on the eyes” I was sad that I had a ” tent” around my head snd couldn’t watch him in action.

He had his work cut out for him because the port had been in me since ( 2008) 14 years! ( I wonder if I set a record?)

As he studied it-he mentioned he had never felt that much ossification around a port and warned me that he might have to leave the lower section of the port in if it was too entrenched but he was going to try everything possible to get the whole thing out… and he did! Heard the assistants clapping and I smiled.

Vickie got me there a little after seven and picked me up a little after 11… We picked up Chick Filet on the way home-I gobbled it down and immediately fell asleep until 5 o’ clock!

It does feel like someone threw a fast ball and nailed me but overall just sore and ” glued ” together.

In one cubicle the two assistants helping me discovered that we were all Libras when she asked for my birthday-I replied September 24-one girl chimed in she was the 23 and the other the 25! Libras having a good time together!!! Ah… those perfectly timed ” God Winks.”

Life really is what you make it… everyone was so nice and friendly … and I left without my longtime ” port” … can’t say I will miss it but it once helped me through some tough times so ” Thank you Port” you were there when I needed you!

So until tomorrow… I am filled with gratitude…. for all your calls, texts, emails, etc. Special thanks to the best neighbor ever… Vickie! And today Mandy is picking up groceries and coming over to ” hang” with mom! I am very blessed!

Today is my favorite day!!!!Winnie the Pooh

Dear Reader:

March is the fickle month… as winter and spring fight for temperature control. This week the mornings have started off in the 40’s and ended in the 70’s… jackets and sweaters in the mornings -gone by afternoon.

It is also the month when it is warmer outside than inside as the heat cuts off each afternoon but my old house hasn’t warmed up and one’s face, nose, fingers, and toes stay cold. It’s elevator weather. Soon spring will win… but winter is still throwing some pretty good punches!

Do you know people who run hot and cold? Doesn’t it make one a little nervous working with people whose moods run the gamete almost daily? Children pick up on this quickly… especially with teachers.

I remember my own children telling me ( mostly in the middle and high school grades) that when they went to one teacher’s class they were always apprehensive over what mood the teacher was in. Kids being kids… they worked out a silent communication network where the preceding class gave a thumbs up or down leaving as they congregated in the halls-praying for a ‘ thumbs up.’

Extremes in any life situation makes most people uncomfortable… again my favorite mantra comes back to me… Live life in moderation ( ” Moderation in all things”)

When writing I realize I am more comfortable using terms that symbolize moderation. Instead of something or someone being ” hot or cold” … I prefer calm, cool, warm, fair, partly cloudy, moderate, patience, balance, constraint, composure, restraint, etc. ( You get the picture… must be those Libra scales in me.)

Today Vickie is taking me to get my port out… have already had to jump through some medical on-line ” jibber-” jabber” with verification code names , passwords, medicines and so on… Hope by the time I arrive-all of that kind of red tape is over… and I won’t have to wait too long on either end of the procedure.

I thought it was a God Wink that a wooden plaque ( ( I had ordered) came in last evening and that is my mantra for today

So until tomorrow… let’s all try to put on a happy face!

New garden flowers and baskets make me happy!

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

( I will just keep telling myself that…) 🤣

Dear Reader:

If it is true that ” The best things come in small packages” then a small little white book titled ” Small Graces” by Kent Nerburn is one of my favorite ” best things.” In it’s beautiful simplicity we are reminded of the quiet gifts of everyday life.

As I browsed through it, I was immediately drawn to ” Gift of Dawn.” At the stage of life I am in now… I find that my ” inner dawn clock” appears set each morning so that I wake up around 7 initially and drowsily watch the gray dusk of dawn lighten and brighten .

I then go to ” My Happy Room” and stare out the window as the side garden turns to magic with the first sunbeams descending on each plant and flower… it has become my favorite time of the day… the silence provides me clarity … a path to follow.

Nerburn’s history lesson in man’s reverence for the dawn provides identity to many great spiritual traditions .

” The Christian monastics remain silent until their first chant of morning praise. Muslims begin their day with petitions of humility and thanks. The Dakotah Indians learned as children to walk in silence to a lake or stream, splash water on their faces , then offer up a prayer toward the sun. ”

Today with ringing mobile ” alarm clocks” early mornings can be hectic though I must admit I am spoiled by having most mornings to myself and I never tire of the luxury of slowly starting my day. I do realize now that something precious is lost if we rush headlong into the mechanics of daily life without first pausing to pay homage to the mystery and gift of another day.

So until tomorrow…Each day our heart must pause ” so the spirit can take wing and be lifted toward the infinite. ”

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

And of all of our favorite days … we love the first day of each month and remember to say Rabbit! Rabbit!” So get ready… not only do we want to have good luck and success this month… but we want our fellow freedom fighters ( Ukraine) to get theirs !!! 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

In my garden a battle between the upstart azaleas and entrenched camellias is still ensuing… the camellias are not giving up the fight for dominance as the azaleas keep popping. So glad they aren’t because look at this beauty I discovered yesterday!

*** Libby got into a Rehab room yesterday and Betsy told us she was so much more comfortable there- better mattresses and room conditions and already has made friends with the staff. A good day!!!🙏🏻💗

Dear Reader:

While walking through the garden last week… this one lone bloom was sitting on a mound of dirt, above ground level, pulled up by some burrowing ” critter” I suppose, with only one central root still intact underground …providing just enough nourishment to sustain life for one single bud. Amazing! Life is a mighty force of nature and a powerful warrior.

Take a moment and think back to your first discovery about the world in which you live and your place in it. Where did your first awareness about good vs evil begin? Stories!

Children six and over need stories to develop their spirituality. If children were always just read stories of good vs good… where nothing bad happened -they would develop a false sense of reality.

Madeleine L’ Engle ( Wrinkle in Time) once wrote: ” Rather than taking the child away from the real world …fictional stories prepare children for living in the real world with courage and expectation.”

” Story, at its heart, is one of the primary modes in which God speaks to us, which means it is one of the main vehicles for God’s truth.”

Einstein’s famous quote on the importance of reading fairy tales to children dealt with intelligence( ” If you want your children to be intelligent, read them a fairy tale-if you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”

But, of course, we want our children to develop a moral compass along with intelligence and this is accomplished through Biblical stories, classic children stories and fairy tales. Children always root for the underdog in every good vs bad story-the underdog who symbolizes goodness, justice, and courage against the meanest monster, ogre, or bully!

Today … a great teaching tool is explaining to our children why historical monuments in our country , as well as, other free countries, are lighting up in the colors of Ukraine to symbolically speak up for democracies and freedom everywhere against ” bullies.”

… Or another teaching tool -… President Zelenskyy ( Ukraine) was the Ukrainian voice of Paddington the Bear! Such a likable guy who speaks out for the common man.

So until tomorrow…

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

Mollie and Lachlan headed back from NYC yesterday with lots of birthday memories in tact-know they are glad to return to more warmth-frigid temps in NYC. Hope they got to see the Empire State Bldg lit up in blue and yellow at night!

Your prayers are definitely helping our Ya Libby-it is going to be a long road and lots of pain but she is a fighter and hopefully will get settled into a Rehab facility this week-Betsy and family are on top of the situation-prayers for the amazing caregivers too-a stressful job as we all know.

Dear Reader:

Have you ever read a book… undecided if you want to finish it… and then discovering ( to your immense pleasure) that the ending explained all your questions and misperceptions? Your final analysis… ” Best book I ever read!”

This happens in life too… if we don’t let our lives play out to the very end… we might never see the hidden truth of how our life changed others… for the better.

Historical example: Don’t you remember, as a child, yelling at another child for taking back a gifted object they had given you earlier? The common refrain was an indignant ” Indian giver! Indian giver! You are an Indian giver!” It referred to the gesture of being given a gift… only to have the giver ask for it back.

But this angry response is based on a fallacy… a misinterpretation by Westerners …who distorted the true Native American understanding of what it means to give and receive.

European immigrants moving westwards ” stopped short” in their understanding of the unfolding of the beautiful Native-American gift …flowing back and forth to whoever needed it the most.

In this way the gift gained ” sanctity” and power” for passing through so many hands, …including those who offered it initially …and now saw another with a greater need.

So until tomorrow… Finish out each day with gratitude and thankfulness -Let’s restore our sense of being a part of something larger than ourselves. No matter the situation or story… we must let the story unfold for future generations …and beyond if necessary.

” In the unfolding is the WAY.” ( Nepo)

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

Go Aunt Carrie! Our hero!

Dear Reader:

Yesterday was a flurry ( blurry) day… running errands that kept me hopping from place to place. Around noon I had a ” pizza attack” and called in a large pizza while getting some banking done! I rarely get pizza since it is just me… but decided to go large and share with neighbors.

When I got to Vickie’s house to surprise her with pizza slices I finally paused and studied her beautiful tree up close and personal…the petals were falling like snow and her whole backyard was covered in a thick carpet of beauty that reminded me to breathe again!

Wednesday Vickie is taking me to Trident to get my port removed… as thrilled as I am to get it done … am also a little nervous since it was first put in me in May 2008-afraid since it hasn’t been used in a long time ( with oral daily chemo regime I am on) it might not want to leave easily.

Mandy called while I was out and about… and invited me to supper and spend the night to see Jake’s first soccer game of the season. It will be a nice break also.

So until tomorrow… on days when I try to overdo… I must pause, breathe, and remind myself that ” Life is a marathon, not a sprint” Great things take time-so don’t rush it… pace yourself. When we pause to breathe and look around at all our blessings… we are filled with a sense of gratitude!

Today is my favorite day-Winnie the Pooh

Mollie texted me … she has taken Lachlan to Connecticut where her sister lives for Lachlan to see NYC -special sites for his upcoming birthday-on the train in to NYC the conductor let him blow the whistle! Memories galore! It was in video form so it won’t transfer but picture a big smile… like the s one here with his big bro Rutledge.

Please continue to keep Libby in your prayers… she is still in a temporary hospital room while waiting on a permanent one to become available and Libby’s least favorite color is purple… unfortunately it looks like someone took a paintbrush and threw swabs off purple all over her. But her spirits are good and she keeps the staff smiling! That’s our Ya!!! We love you Libby!!❤️❤️❤️