Untangling the mess

 I have lots of good Halloween memories...

....from my childhood, I especially remember the year I was too old to go trick or treat.  Donned in one of my mother's  black dresses and a witch's hat, I served witches brew (lemonade) from an old black cauldron to the many children of Sans Souci.

...from my memory bank of my children's Halloween experiences, I especially remember Tray when he was a senior in high school. He was late coming home from his job at Ace Hardware and knocked on the door with the words "trick or treat."  He was, of course, a helpful hardware man.

And each year I look forward to a visit from some precious trick or treaters who call me grandma.

My favorite Halloween, however, has nothing to do with trick or treat.

Or does it?

Rich Suhey had always wanted a boat.  His mother passed away in the summer of 1997. There was some extra money from the sale of her house.

And so it was that on a Friday afternoon which also happened to be Halloween, we drove to the Julington Creek Marina and picked up the Manatee.  Rich was like a little boy in a candy shop.  It took us about four hours to make it back to where the boat would be moored at Colonial Point but that was okay.  We were having so much fun!

What a treat!

We were enjoying our first experience on the water when the engine began to spurt and sputter and make a grinding noise.  And then we realized we were stuck.

Now, Rich Suhey knew all things about cars and engines. So I assumed he knew all things about boats.  Besides, we both had certificates from the Coast Guard's safe boating course.

Was this a trick???

Fortunately, a seasoned fisherman came by.

"You are caught in a crab trap."

Not to worry, he could help us.  And he did.

It's been 19 years since that experience. Sometimes I feel like the boat's propeller's looked that day as the mechanic freed it from the mangled wire of a crab trap.  Life can make me feel bogged down, stuck, a MESS.

But fortunately, I have a Mechanic who can make the mess a message.  I just have to put my faith and trust in Him.

May your life be filled with enough sunshine

to make you appreciate the shadows

Bless this Mess

They're everywhere.

Piles of leaves and branches.  Separated from the source of life, they have lost their color.  No longer pretty and in a word - messy.

Maybe you've read this little idiom - God can make a testimony out of a test  and a message out of a mess.  Or look at the first four letters in the name Messiah - same concept.

You're looking for a Pollyanna approach - right?  You want me to tell you how beautiful this is, don't you?,

Sorry, I haven't come to see that as yet.  Maybe sometimes...but not as long as there is this mess in my back yard.

You see the way I figure it; my mess can wait. The people in my life who can relieve me of the mess are busy with their "customers."  And that's the way they are feeding their families.

So what am I to do?

If I had a chainsaw...

But I don't.

It falls my lot to wait.  My words are negative.

I'm really looking for positive.

Surely it's there - somewhere.

It's a mess; there is no doubt about that.  And for days I thought - no harm, no foul.  Just ugly.

Until. . .

In September I started the process of refinancing my house.  One of the goals is to remove  and replace the worn and weathered siding in my 17-year-old dwelling.

All was going well.   Six weeks ago it got an A+ when the appraiser looked at it.

And then Matthew paid a visit.

So the bank sent a second appraiser who - according to a licensed builder contractor who knows my house well - saw something that has been an issue for 10 years.

There is absolutely no damage.  Except in the appraiser's eyes.

And now I wait - you know that's not my favorite thing to do.

See, I told you - it's a mess.So what's my point?  I have learned that some things are a cause for pause in my life.   If I know it's going to make me sad, disgusted or could be the breeding ground to get me into trouble, I try to avoid it.

Or in this case, I don't have to open the back door!

I'll let you know when I find the message in the mess!  It's just around the bend!

May your life be filled with enough sunshine

to make you appreciate the shadows

O Ye of Little Faith

These are my neighbors.  I don't know any of their names.

Thursday, October 6 - The media and elected officials told us to prepare. Matthew was coming.

Brookdale Mandarin, the Assisted Living Facility that is home to our mother, ensured us of a generator, water, and any medical help required,  With our mother's agreement, my family and I determined that Brookdale was the best place for her.

In fact, my children thought I should go and stay with her rather than in my home.

Friday, October 7 -  We watched and waited.  Newscasters told us of winds, rain, bridges. The mayor and the governor warned us. And by and by, the wind and the rain were here.

I heard a crash around 3:30 and looked out my back door to see that a couple of trees had landed on my deck.  I was not the least bit concerned.

Nightfall came, the wind and rain continued.  I never lost power. Two filing projects that  had plagued me for weeks were completed. I also finished reading one book and started another.

You might say I was quite confident at daybreak and remained that way as the sun began to fill the sky. Assessing the damage, I noted that no elves had come to remove the trees or repair the rail. Still shattered - with branches, leaves, and vines adorning the well-weathered wood   And that's in the back of my house.

The front was not that different.  Leaves, branches, and trees were on the ground.  And across Paddle Boat Lane.  There would be no leaving anytime soon.

My cell phone rang.

A nurse at Brookdale Mandarin told me that my mother had fallen during the night but that she was okay.  There was an issue at Brookdale, however.  They had no power.

Panic.

Both my brother and I telephoned and talked with mother's suite mat, Sally. They are an interesting pair. My mother's issue is hearing, and hers is sight.  Sally told us that mother was fine.

My children were not content with that information.  I learned that my son was on his way over there.

And then I heard it.

Chain saws.

And I saw it.  Smiling neighbors with rakes and garbage bags.

It was what we used to call a Kodak moment.

I wasted no time taking my leave.  I later told them why I left without helping.

So do you get why I am feeling a bit chastised this morning?

I'm  not sure my children believed that either me or my mother were going to be okay during the storm and I KNOW that I never dreamed that my exit out of my development would be passable that quickly.

And how many times have I asked myself if she would have fallen if I had been there?  Never mind the fact that the fall was very minor and that she is not hurt!

And how about the guilt I feel that I didn't help when my neighbors were clearing the way.

Hum - me - the writer who touts herself as a person of FAITH.

Did I learn my lesson?

May your life be filled with enough sunshine

to make you appreciate the shadows

"'Til the Storm passes by"

I love it when  something reminds me of a song.  It you know me very well at all, you know that happens all the time.

Like most Northeastern Floridians I am spending today watching the sky.  From my kitchen window, I see branches, leaves and moss swaying in the breeze.  Every now and then rain splashes on the walkway.  It's a dreary, but gentle sight.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not just daydreaming.  I've done my due diligence in preparation for the storm that is on the way.  I have gas in my car, cash in my pocketbook, a thermos for coffee and my bathtub is filled with water.

Unless the Gulf stream waters push Matthew further out to sea our area will be the object of that hurricane's power.

Which brings me to the song.

It has been more than 40 years since I first heard:

"In the dark of the midnight, have I oft hid my face
 While the storm howls above me and there's no hiding place.
'Mid the crash of the thunder, Precious Lord, hear my cry
"Keep me safe til the storm passes by".

The chorus goes on

"Til the storm passes over, til the thunder sounds no more, Till the clouds roll forever from the sky; Hold me fast last me stand in the hollow of they hand...Keep me safe till the storm passes by."
("Till the storm passes by" - Mosie Lister)

HUM - did I mention that today is so dreary? Or that there's a tall oak tree in the next yard that night not withstand the winds, or am I far enough from the river so that no flood waters will effect me and how long will we be without power ?

This morning I read a devotion called "God is in the clouds".  It was written by Tracie Mills and it's a part of the Real Life Devotional Bible for Women which is published by  Proverbs 31 ministry.

Her words were related to the cloud that positioned itself over the tabernacle where the Israelites worshiped as they were wandering 40 years in the wilderness.  Talk about feeling bleak and unsure about their future. ( For more about this you can read the book of Exodus).

To paraphrase Ms Mills - Sometimes there are clouds all around us (this day the whole sky seems to be a cloud) so we think there is no sunshine but there really is....we just can't see it.

So what am I to do?

Believe God is present and He will guide me ... no matter how dark the skies are today!  That's finding sunshine (I know that sun is there some place) in spite of shadows,