This house believes

 My friend, Karen, found a sign at a yard sale and said she thought of me immediately.  I was touched that it reminded her of me.

I think it's fairly clear that I believe in America and the Florida Gators ("whether we win or we lose").  But that's not what is  the most important 

I also believe in love and joy and peace and HOPE   - sounds like an advertisement for Advent.

Even though our parents were Methodists when they were children, the liturgical practice that observed Advent did not come with them when their parents were a part of starting Glendale Community Church in the late 1930s.  It was only when they began to attend the University Blvd Church of the Nazarene (whose roots are also in Methodism) that we learned about Advent.  So for more than 35 years, I have appreciated this season. And I always have an Advent wreath and write something about the theme of the four Sundays before Christmas.

As a part of his homily at our church service on the first day of Advent 2022, the Rev. George Hinchliffe asked us to participate in the verbiage included in our Baptismal Covenant.  Following the message we stood (as we do each time we are worshipping together) and read (or recited) the Nicene Creed. https://www.ccel.org › creeds › nicene.creed.html.

l.org › creeds › nicene.creed.html

That's what this house believes  as far as the basic tenets of my faith

However.  . .

When we were little children our parents taught us that although Santa Claus is not real we could believe and practice the spirit of Christmas.  There were always unwrapped gifts under the tree - our Santa stuff.  We also left a cold drink (I think Pepsi) crackers and cheese for Santa.  Not milk and cookies for our daddy.  It was all about the GIVING (God gave His Son - John 3:16).

It was Christmas 1984.  My children and I were getting the hang of this single-family business.  There was not a lot of money, but somehow there was always fun.  That was the year that we watched a Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton Christmas Special  From that day to this one of my favorite Christmas songs is I believe in Santa Claus

It's a rollicking down-home country rendition performed as only Kenny and Dolly could do. After they sing about miracles and magic and forgiving and forgetting - and the fact that love should prevail at any cost  and lots of feel-good words of wisdom is this line:

"I believe there's always hope when all seems lost"

When I was thinking about what I wanted to write about HOPE for the first Sunday in Advent, I googled "Scripture that has the word hope" So many verses but this one from Psalm 71:14a seemed most appropriate

"As for me, I will always have hope"

If you read all of Psalm 71 you will see that the writer was in a state of despair.  Life was not good. If you are like me, then there have been times when you were sure there was no hope.  The writer of Psalm 71 expressed much despair.  And yet throughout the chapter, there are words that indicate some sort of restitution - and answer to the struggles.   

And so I am glad that

                                                                        and has a reason for hope.

"The Lord delights in those who fear (honor; respect) Him and those who put their HOPE in his unfailing love" Psalm 147:11

                                               May your life have enough sunshine, 

                                                To make you appreciate the shadows

Thank you for the spinach

Spinach???

In a salad - okay

But from a can - the one Popeye used to think gave him strength?

Not a chance

In fact, there's a box of frozen spinach in my freezer. I didn't pay enough attention when I was purchasing for ingredients for a Happy Birthday broccoli casserole for my son in law, Dale.  Who knows why I didn’t take it back to Publix?

Back to the Spinach

One of my favorite Ray Parker Thanksgiving messages was about his mother encouraging him to eat his spinach so that he could have the chocolate cake that was for dessert.  His point - sometimes we have to experience bad before we can appreciate the good

The lives of me and my children and Ray Parker became an excellent example of that (Romans 8:28)

But that’s all in the past

In many ways, I feel like I have experienced way too much bad this year.  I've been pretty noisy about events in my life between April 21 and July 15.  I lost two uncles, had a vehicle accident that not only totaled my ride but caused me to have a brain bleed.  My siblings and I determined that our mother needed to be under Hospice care in early June.  She went to be with the Lord and our daddy on July 5 and on July 12 I tested positive for Covid.

I remembered the words from Uncle Howard's eulogy when Rich Suhey died (24 years ago "but who's counting?).  He pulled a line from an Ink Spots song “Into each life some rain must fall, but too much is falling in mine".  The aforementioned Ink Spots were an American pop vocal group who gained international fame in the 1930s and 1940s.

It has felt like so many things have happened in my life (and the lives of those I love like my siblings our children our aunts and our cousins).

I loved that dark green Honda Accord.  Somehow it reminded me of the dark green Jaguar that Rich Suhey bought just four months before his death. I have been more upset over the loss of that car than I was with the fact that I had a brain injury.  Besides, it was a minor bleed.

My mother had been such a dear friend in my life.  She never minded helping me get on the right road when I was feeling sorry for myself.  She always had a solution (even when I didn't ask for one).  Although our relationship had changed as I became the parent (which she disliked vehemently) I look back on our relationship with much thanksgiving.  While I am relieved that she is no longer in a state of confusion, I still feel a great void at my loss.

So, I’d say those two things are my major dose of spinach this year.... But wait can there be chocolate cake?

After months of waiting for the right vehicle, I am the owner of a Honda CRV with much thanks to my son-in-law, Dale.

And because of the loss of my mother, I attended a Grief Share Group that has been so very helpful.  As I participated, I realized that in the last two years I had experienced other deaths that I had not really grieved - my brother at the end of 2020 and my children’s dad in the middle of 2021. Through Grief Share, I have identified that while my most recent loss is my mother, my most devastating loss is my husband, Rich  Both of them were very dear friends

I just knew I would never have a friend who was as dear to me as Rich - and most people know that thanks to my friend, Burt Wasamund, I interviewed and wrote a story about the President of the Mandarin Cemetery Board and somehow, I have a new best friend

He doesn't like canned spinach either!

                                                 May your life have enough sunshine, 

                                                To make you appreciate the shadows