Dance On

On Friday, Evangeline and I had the privilege of watching as Hadley Rae McHugh put on her dancing shoes, left her wheelchair bound body and accepted the invitation to dance with the King of Kings. It was a holy moment. In a room filled with family, friends and angels the song played “oh Lord, You’re beautiful, Your face is all I see.” Hadley decided at that precise moment to slip into eternity where she no doubt twirled her way up to the Beautiful One and commenced to take her new legs and body out for a spin on the sea of glass.  She is free indeed. Her parents, brother and sister are brave, beautiful and transparent in their sharing of the bittersweet journey they walked for 12 years. It was such a privilege to see Hadley graduate. Heaven just got sweeter. Dance on Hadley, dance on.

Thoughts

I wrote this June 23 2010 at a personal retreat at the home of a dear friend trying to process my dad's death and figure out what to do next.

Kiss me awake
I am roused from foggy slumber to see the light of Your countenance.

Who am I
that You wait expectantly by my bed
sure that I will arise and pick up destiny
knowing I will awake and try on hope again for size.

You are my encourager
the One who rescues me when I don't know I'm lost,
thank you very much.

Heartache, dullness and sorrow have been my weary companions
You awaken joy, belief, inspiration and hope to take their place by my side.

I like your clothes much better.

Cotillion Bound

Well, this past Monday Vangie danced with a boy. She was wearing white gloves so there were no boy cooties exchanged. She learned the foxtrot, how to accept the invitation to dance from a boy a good head shorter than her, and that it is a good idea to remove your white gloves before eating a cookie. It was a full and prosperous evening. She'll go back next Monday and do it all again, maybe adding the waltz to her growing number of dance steps. Wish I could have done this when I was her age. Manner and poise is important, even if they are used  less frequently.  This week I'm going to practice kindness and see where it gets me. White gloves are optional.

Sweet Sleep

I've been thinking about sleep lately, or lack of it, now that we have a new puppy in the house. As a teenager and young adult I always found it hard to settle down when it came time for sleep. I might be missing out on something if I closed my eyes. My mind would race as I would think of all the things to do, people that needed fixing, worries about things I couldn't change with my worrying. I'm still like that but honestly now I'm so exhausted by the time I lay my head on the pillow that sleep comes easy for me. But, there is so much more to the 6-8 hours that we are horizontal in the middle of the night. I've just discovered these verses and I'm chewing on them.
Job 33:15 "In a dream or vision of the night, when sound sleep falls on men, while they slumber in their beds, then He opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction, that He may turn man aside from his conduct, and keep man from pride; he keeps back his soul from the pit, and his life from passing over to Sheol."
Wait a minute, He opens my ears and seals my instruction? I'll take that! Ministry from the Lord while I am unaware. Unearned and unpetitioned.
Psalms 16:7 says "I will bless the Lord who has counseled me; indeed, my mind instructs me in the night." Wow, learning without having to sit in a classroom! Psalm 17:3b says "Thou visited me by night." Psalm 127:2 "It is vain for you to rise up early, to retire late, to eat the bread of painful labors; for He gives to His beloved, even in his sleep." Ok, I have never put this all together. What does God do while we sleep? I'm rethinking my night time routine if I am preparing myself for a visitation that I don't remember when I wake. I've always thought that Zephaniah 3:17 ("The Lord your God is in the midst of you, a Mighty One, a Savior! He will rejoice over you with joy; He will rest (in silent satisfaction) and in His love He will be silent and make no mention (of past sins); He will exult over you with singing.") means He is singing over me while I sleep. I need more sleep because I need more God activity that goes on while I snooze. No time like the present - I think I'll take a nap.

"I believe courage is all too often mistakenly seen as the absence of fear. If you descend by rope from a cliff and are not fearful to some degree, you are either crazy or unaware. Courage is seeing your fear, in a realistic perspective, defining it, and choosing to function in spite of risks." Leonard Zunin

I think this year I am going to pretend to be the person I want to be until it becomes such a part of my nature that I will discover one day that I'm not pretending anymore. I wish to bid mediocrity goodbye and say hello to the woman that is the twinkle in God's eye. I think that is for now how I will practice courage.

Welcome 2011!

Well, one of my heart's desires has been to start a blog. Since it is the start of a new year, it seems like a good place to begin. I'd like to connect especially with the incredible girls I've mentored over the years and to be a source of encouragement to them as they continue their journey. Life gives us peaks, valleys, bumps and bruises but when there is a contingent of familiar faces calling your name and telling you that you can do it, it seems the road is not quite so difficult to navigate. My goal this year is to practice bravery. I am considering the question "What would you do if you knew you would not fail?" This is my year to begin some new things I've been too scared to do.  I know some of you will be in that sea of familiar faces that tell me that I can do it, that I am enough. Wanna jump? I'm taking that leap upwards.