Consider The Lilies

Friday night, I went to a party Addyson invited me to attend along with a few of her friends. Elizabeth had planned a dress-up party for Addy and invited seven little girls that Addy has met since starting school. Elizabeth did each girl’s nails and I did each of their make-up. It was so much fun! Eight giggling little girls together for two hours – I haven’t had that much fun in a while!




The girls were so cute in their dress-up clothes – Snow White, Aurora, Belle, Cinderella – and they had so much fun together! I love to watch children because to them everything is such a great adventure!






It’s a shame we can’t all keep that innocence and exuberance forever! So often, we let life’s realities change us into guarded and fearful adults. It would be so great to be able to go into each new situation with the excitement we had as a child – not carrying past hurts and disappointments with us into every new experience. I believe that is the life that God intended us to live – through forgiveness to those who caused the hurts, and repentance for those hurts we may have caused to others! Putting each of those hurts and each of those disappointments away – “wiping the slate clean.”
“Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults.” 1 Corinthians 14:20
“Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18:4
I really don’t like change – I like routine, knowing and planning each day and activity. Sometimes changes can really throw me off! I carry each of my past experiences with me, afraid of disappointment or failure when I really should go into every situation with child-like wonder! That is something that I am constantly struggling with and try not to carry that “baggage” with me as I go through life.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds” --Philippians 4:6-7
Candace came by Friday afternoon to pick up some clothes that Elizabeth had bought at a yard sale for Levi and Joey. Candace had also been “yard sale shopping” Friday and Levi had on a pair of shoes she bought at one of the sales. They were nice shoes in good condition and he was so proud! The Hospice Chaplain, Cathy, came to see Mom while Candace was still here and Levi met her outside and showed her his wonderful pair of shoes and told her all about how they found them at a yard sale. I don’t really know a lot of people, adults or teens, who would be so excited about a “used” pair of shoes, but he sure was! To him they weren’t a used pair of shoes from a yard sale – they were a “new” pair of shoes bought just for him!
"Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.” Luke 12:27
All three of the kids – Addy, Levi and Joey – were excited about their “new” clothes and could hardly wait to wear them for the first time! I miss that feeling of excitement and wonderment about each and every new situation.
Mom is living more and more in her state of confusion. I’m afraid some days that I am not able to maintain my composure on some of her subjects. Yesterday, Jody was going to the grocery store and Mom asked him while he was out if he would look for her car!
Now, you have to understand that Mother has not driven a car in about 25 years. At the time she stopped driving, she had been experiencing some blackouts and she and the doctor no longer felt that it was safe for her to continue driving. Jody just went along with and said that he would – even though he would have loved to talk about her car and listen to the explanation! Michael, Elizabeth and Addy had all come for supper and as they were preparing to leave, she asked that they, too, look for her car as they drove home.
Mother told me to tell them that she thought she might have left at the house of the man who makes fun of “ToTo” (from the Wizard of Oz) all the time! I turned around to tell the kids what she said and tried really hard to tell them with a straight face, but I totally lost it! Once I started and was able to tell them the whole sentence, we were all hysterically laughing! Thank goodness, Mother was so confused because I told her we were laughing because none of us could remember that man’s name. She laughed about it then, too, because she could not remember his name either!
Some days, it is really comical around here! This is the first time I’ve lost it in front of her! Jody, Chance and I share chuckles about her stories a lot, but not in front of her. I would never want to hurt her feelings, but I guess in her mind, she doesn’t believe it’s anything against her because she totally believes everything she says and knows that nothing she’s said is funny. For that reason, she just takes our explanations of the laughter for whatever we tell her.
Mom continues to sleep a lot, but not so much of her waking time is spent in tears anymore. I’m so thankful for that! It was so hard to see her in that condition. She still doesn’t always know who I am and calls me “Mom” a lot of the time. Her nurse, Christy, told me that even though she doesn’t always recognize me as “Ann” or as her daughter, she does recognize me as her caregiver. It’s getting easier for me all the time knowing that she doesn’t recognize me because at least she is calmer and less anxious about things. That’s what really matters – that she can live the rest of her life in as much comfort as possible.
The prayers in her behalf are definitely working, helping her to get through each day much more relaxed. Thank you all who are praying for her!
“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” I John 5:14,15