Too Blest for Stress (Unexpected Blessings #3)

The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and the love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord: And the Blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, be amongst you and remain with you always

I was raised with the words - bless, blessed  and we always asked the blessing at mealtime.

One of the blessings I can look back on are the friends our family had because our dad was a Gideon.   Sometimes those friends lived in other states - like Rick and Kathy Darrow and the Sanders crew.  Kathy and I have been friends for 60 years.  And oh the crush I had on Sonny Sanders!  One Thanksgiving, the Huffinghams were visiting the Sanders in Bamberg, South Carolina when we learned that the supper menu included turkey soup.  My father was not impressed until my little brother said the blessing that night and thanked God for the turkey toup.

Even when we don't really like something it is good to give thanks.

When I met my new friend, Karyn, at the Care Partners Conference  the other day, she was very open about what she is doing in order to care for her husband.  Yes, she gets tired, very tired; Yes she is sad when she realizes he will be on a heavenward journey soon and Yes they have made most of their plans.

"He is a financial planner by trade", she said "And he took care of that well.  I have no worries".

That's good.  It's not always the case.

"But the best thing about his illness is what it's done to our relationship.  We talk more, we listen more and we pray more."

"I feel like his illness has been a blessing".

I left the conference feeling so uplifted.  I guess you might say I felt BLESSED - which I didn't expect to feel when I registered for that conference. Doesn't it have to be "spiritual" to be blessed?

"This person (name and email address) is interested in becoming a volunteer".  The note had been left on my desk at the Mandarin Museum.

So I sent Toppy Carter an email and an application and told him he could drop it by or mail it.

Within a couple of days a brown envelope arrived in my mailbox.  The return address said Toppy Carter, III. 

Hum - this man is a great candidate.  It even listed his reference as his assistant. He had an assistant?  And then I read the attached resume and the words "Quadriplegic" about jumped off the page.

A few days later it was my heart that was jumping when I saw a man in a wheelchair coming up the ramp at the museum. I'll never forget meeting Toppy Carter and his assistant Cory Hutchcraft..  And now I have gotten to know them a little and I am duly moved.  I have watched the way Cory cares for Toppy and been delighted to hear what Toppy thinks we might do for the museum.  He even brought us a CD of Civil War music to play while people look at the artifacts from the Maple Leaf and learn about Harriett Beecher Stowe.

Toppy was born with cerebral palsy in the early 50's.  He has been dependent on others for all of his 50 plus years.  He knows no other way. 

"Sure, I have bad days", he said. "But, really I have it better than most".

It's meeting people like Karyn and Toppy that remind me I really am "too blest for stress".

The words at the beginning of my thoughts to words to a keyboard to Cyberspace to your eyes and your heart (quite a definition for a blog isn't it?) are often used at the close of Eucharist (or Communion) which is in fact a way to give thanks to God.  They are also words I choose to wish for anyone who is reading this.  As my dear friend, Father John Owens says "be blessed"!