The Day The Angels Helped - The End

. . .we did not go bungee jumping, but, once you know that God cares enough for you to send His angels to clean up a dirty old house, there's no excuse for fear. We did drive all the way across the state of Wyoming to get pizza from Pete's Pizza in West Yellowstone. We've floated in the Great Salt Lake with sea monkeys. We've climbed the Astoria Column. We've skim boarded on the west coast and snorkeled on the east coast. We go to New York City (now that's courage!). We feed homeless folks, mentor to drug addicts, visit prisons and witness to dying family members (the scariest yet). We're not fearless, but trusting. God gives us what we need, when we need it. Not before, not after, not too much, not too little . . . like manna. We do the trusting and God does the rest. We do the asking and God does the providing. We're obedient and God is faithful. It sounds so simple . . . right? Then why are we (okay, me) still consumed with fear sometimes? I think it's because we make what is simple, complicated. We complicate things with our limited view of logic. But God goes beyond logic and does what we see as impossible. Nick's house - that was an impossible mess, a mess no one could clean up but God. So . . . what are you afraid of? Where's the mess in your life? Get on your knees (they won't stick to the floor, I promise) and ask God to clean it up. Will it take an army of angels to clean up your mess? Can't you trust God with your dirty house? And, . . . my last question . . . where're we goin' next????

The Day The Angels Helped - Part V

. . . "Stop the car!!"
"Okay, what's the matter?!"
"Park it here and follow me!" My husband is very accommodating and my children are very obedient and so they did as I said. I walked right up to the ticket window that read, "Helicopter Rides Over Mount Rushmore." My family was shocked, as this was not something you would ever expect me to do. I said, "Listen, Nick gave us some money, he said to do something special. What would be more special than seeing the whole world from a glass helicopter, from an angel's point of view? I'm buying tickets." I could barely breathe, I gave no one any time to protest, lest I change my mind. Only two people could go at a time and there are five of us, so we needed to buy three rides. I turned to my family and said, "Are you all right with the Lord?" My son was the first to answer and so he was the one who would get to go twice. I had the tickets in my hand and we would be the next to fly. I asked my family again, "Are you all right with the Lord?" Yes, they said. I asked, "Is anyone nervous?" My daughter said, "Well, I wasn't until you started asking if I was right with the Lord!" My husband said, "Just in case, you and I should not go together." Sheesh, what are they so uptight about!
It was the most exhilarating thing we ever did. Just amazing. An angel's view of the world. Wow. . . as we drove away I yelled, "Stop the car!"



"Now what?!" my husband asked.
"Are you crazy??!!" I yelled. "How could you let us fly in a glass helicopter like that??!! Why on earth would you listen to me? If I said let's go jump off a bridge would you do it????!!!!"
My son from the back seat started doing a little jig and sang, "Oh yeah, Mama's goin' bungee jumping, oh yeah . . ."

Pop-Pop

Pop-Pop
Born - October, 1926

Died - February, 2009

We love this picture - it's from when Pop-Pop was living with us in September. He was happy then, free from the nursing home, eating well, laughing so hard that his teeth fell out (I don't know if you've ever seen someone laugh so hard that their teeth fell out, but if you haven't, you need to put it on one of those lists people make about things they want to do before they die). This picture (with our children not cropped out) is up on his board at the nursing home. Last week when we were there together my husband asked him, "Do you remember when we went out for ice cream and you ate both scoops of butter walnut?"

"No."

"No?"

"Are you hard of hearing? No."

"Don't you remember, Dad? We went and saw the goats and the cows and you ate 2 scoops of butter walnut ice cream. It was a beautiful day and the 3 kids were there, too. Look at the picture. You must remember."

Very casually, Pop-Pop looked at my husband and says, "I don't remember eating butter walnut ice cream . . . but I remember eating butter pecan ice cream."

That's Pop-Pop for you . . . in a nut shell . . . witty to the end . . . the last zing . . .

Peace.

The Day The Angels Helped - Part IV

. . . Nick returned home and thrived. The visiting nurse was also hired by Nick to do the housework. (Praise The Lord!) We did his food shopping for him and visited him regularly. During one of our evening visits he said, "We're friends, right?"
"Yeah, Nick, of course!"
"And friends don't say no, right?"
"Yeah, Nick, of course!"
"I have something for you and if you say no, we're not really friends."
"Yeah, Nick, okay (a little leery now)."
"Promise?"
"Promise."
Nick handed my son an envelope. My son looked in the envelope and whispered, "Aaaa, it's loaded with money." There was no protesting, Nick was determined that we have this money for a two week trip we planned to South Dakota. We wouldn't have planned our trip if Nick still needed us. He wanted us to go and he wanted to make it special. He felt that this was something he could do for us. It was not payment for what we did, just what a friend wanted to do for another friend. He made us promise we would take his gift before we knew what it was. So, we took it reluctantly. . .and went to South Dakota. Our first day in Keystone, SD was a beautiful, clear day. You felt like you could see the whole world if you could just get high enough. An angel's view is what we needed. That's when I yelled, "Stop the car!!" . . .

The Day The Angels Helped - Part III

. . . I prayed and cried and prayed and cried until the kids were like, "Mom, you're creeping us out!" By this time, my husband was back with the supplies and I had managed to detach my knees from the floor. We assigned each kid to a room and began doing the 12 loads of laundry that needed doing. We thought, "Who would put black tile on your bathroom walls and floors?" Again, the need to vomit arose in my throat as we realized the tile was really green and the black was mold. Then, this is how things went: each room started to shape up very neatly and very quickly, garbage bags were filling up with garbage without anyone doing it, 12 loads of laundry were done in 3 hours, the mold in the bathroom seemed to melt off the walls and floors, windows sparkled cleaned and the most surprising - the kitchen floor was spotless. God had sent us an army of angels. . .unseen helpers to let us keep our promise to Nick. When we think of angels we think of shiny, gleaming, bright white beings with wings and halos. But, for sure these angels got dirty this day. Without Divine intervention, our efforts would have failed. Imagine Nick's surprise when the inspector cleared his home for his return. Imagine our delight in keeping our promise. But the story doesn't end here. . .

The Day The Angels Helped - Part II

. . . With our bucket, mop, broom, rags and cleaning supplies we went to Nick's. He was very reluctant to give us the key. He said he was embarrassed that we would see. "Really, Nick, how bad can it be?"

Ooooh, it was bad - really bad - really, really bad. I cried and my son had to run outside to vomit. For sure, it would be condemned. But, we made a promise to Nick, "We won't let you lose your house," we said. So, we began to clean. First, my husband had to go and get real supplies; rubber gloves, heavy duty garbage bags, bleach, S.O.S. scrubbing pads, more buckets and more mops. I took the kids into the kitchen we started with the dishes. Every dish, pot, pan, spoon and fork needed to be washed and dried and put away, but first we needed to wash the cabinets and drawers. From there we went to the stove top and oven, then the refrigerator. . .that is when I thought we would all vomit. I knelt down to pull out the rotten food from the refrigerator and realized I was stuck on my knees - that is, my knees were stuck to the floor. And that, my friends, is when I began to pray. . .

The Day The Angels Helped - Part I

Background: We met this sweet old man at a local fast food chain where we would often go for coffee and milkshakes with the kids. The place was clean and had an outdoor play area that was hosed down weekly. It was a great get-away from the office for my husband and a great get-away for me from the house. I loved going there right after I cleaned my house . . . knowing the house would stay clean for at least as long as the kids weren't there. This is where we met Nick. He and my husband became friends first, then our family embraced the friendship. Nick lost his wife and so began spending some of his time with us - going to dinner or coming over for dinner.

One day, Nick wasn't answering his phone and stopped showing up at BK. It took us quite some time to track him down. He had fallen and broken his hip and was in rehabilitation. We went to visit and it was there that he told us The Board of Health would be condemning his house. As it turns out, Nick's wife was the housekeeper. His house had not been cleaned since she got sick and died. He would have to go to an assisted living home and lose his house. "How bad can it be?" I blurted out, "we'll clean it for you! We won't let you lose your house, Nick. Really, sheesh, how bad can it be??????" . . .

Shout To The Lord

We've been concerned about Pop-Pop. He's very sad and has stopped eating. We've been concerned about all the things in the here and now - you know, making a happy place for him to live, feeding him the foods he loves, playing games and telling jokes with him, keeping him warm and comfortable. . . .but now our concerns have shifted to all things eternal. Does he know Jesus, has he called on his name, believed in his heart he'll be in Heaven? My husband and I had a rare minute alone with Pop-Pop and he told us he wishes he were dead. We asked, "If you were to die, do you know if you'd go to Heaven?" He said he didn't know. We asked, "Do you want to know, do you want to go to Heaven?" He said, "What?" "Dad, do you want to go to Heaven?" "Where?" Okay, so now we're shouting, in the nursing home, filled with patients, nurses, doctors, visitors . . . . and we are shouting, "DO YOU WANT TO GO TO HEAVEN??!!" (there is irony here somewhere - gives new meaning to "Shout to the Lord") "Yes," he says as a single tear rolls down his cheek. So, we prayed with him and shared this scripture with him:
". . .that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9 Pop-Pop confessed with his mouth and believed in his heart and we believe we will all be in Heaven together someday. As we left the nursing home one of the nosey patients must have overheard us shouting to Pop-Pop and demanded, "Where are you taking him..........................."

You Go Girls

My daughters are extraordinary. Trendy - no, trendsetters - yes! Even though they use some vogue phrases, they refuse to limit their vocabulary and use the now chic expression of the 2000's. When they are irked by something they refuse to use the pronouncement, "That sucks." Say they, "How uncreative!" And I agree. With all the really cool words out there, why use such a feckless expression? If you are really annoyed, why say something that is inconsequential? Why not communicate your feelings with feelings. If something is tedious or nettlesome, why say it s****? My daughters are adept and clever and refuse to be limited by culture's substandard use of our vast language. Because of them, I am going to try and be more creative with my words. When my kids were little I used to tell them, "Use your words." (That was when they would hit or whine instead of talking.) Now they are young adults and they are using their words in a wonderful way. Yay them! So, yesterday when I saw a bumper sticker that said, "Life S*****!" I thought, no it doesn't, it's just vexing at times. How's that for a bumper sticker, "Life Is Vexing!"

Bye

We lost a dear friend yesterday. There are no words to say how truly special this guy was. Any attempt at defining him would greatly fall short. Someone once told me that if there weren't a word for it, it must not be real (1975 high school psychology class - that should explain that statement). Anyway, there are plenty of things we are feeling that words defy. There are a whole slew of real things we feel that there are no words for. Our friend defies definition, much like his life defied limits. He followed no man, set no idols before him, believed that anything was possible with God. He was strong, good natured and did everything with gusto. He lived hard, loved hard, played hard, worked hard and . . . died hard. He even defied death for many, many months. On his death bed, he started physical therapy because he said, "If I can walk, I can run." He saw many miracles in his life time and had the help of armies of angels wherever he went. He responded to his many blessings with a child-like glee and meekness and surprise. And he was surprised that God would honor him in so many ways. Humbled doesn't even come close to describing his response to God - awe maybe, mingled with reverence, appreciation and anticipation. If he were sitting here with me and saw my tears, he'd ask, "Is God still in the Throne?" And when I answer, "Yes," he'd say,"Then all is right in the world..................."

It's All About Perspective

So, I have been driving up Pillow Avenue for 20+ years and recently it has become an annoyance. When I first started driving up Pillow I was always cautious because there were a lot of little kids that lived in those little houses. Well, those little kids grew up and they all have cars. You would think that these kids would have some concept of space since they grew up in little houses, but apparently they don't because they park their cars about 2 feet from the curb. Last year the town decided that Pillow Avenue needed sidewalks, which drastically narrowed the already narrow street. And now, there is this truck (a State vehicle no less!) that parks right across the street from another car . . . . this narrow little road is a total annoyance. So, I decided it was all about perspective. If you tell yourself that something is an annoyance, it will be. I drive up and down this street several times a day. I told myself it doesn't matter that the State truck was no doubt clocked in while the good tax payers of NJ paid his salary whilst he sits in his house on Pillow. I told myself that it doesn't matter that these kids today can afford big cars and apparently not work all day. I told myself it would be a pleasure, an adventure to drive up Pillow. . . . so I decided that the next time I drive up Pillow Avenue I will close my eyes..........................