IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE

I hadn't seen these two grandsons at the same time in quite a while and couldn't believe how much they now tower over me. (They flew in to be groomsmen at my grandson's wedding.)

It was fun putting "then and now" collages together. These were my favorites, but I couldn't decide on just one. Which one do you like best? 

If you missed my last post about the wedding, here's the link to it in case you are interested.

HIGHLIGHTS OF A BLESSED AND BEAUTIFUL DAY

It was a perfect day for a wedding. The sky was blue, the temperature mild, as we gathered at the historic chapel of St. Peter (atop a very steep hill in Harpers Ferry) to attend the nuptials of my West Virginia grandson. 

Many folks had come from out of town, and when we got to the chapel they were milling around, catching up with one another, and taking family pictures before it was time for the service. 

For me, it was a special blessing to be able to spend time with loved ones I don't get to see very often because of the distance that separates us.

My grandaughter and her family (above) traveled from Florida and were joined by her oldest son who flew in from California. 

My son and his family (on the left) drove down from New Jersey and were joined by their eldest son who flew in from Nebraska. 

There was a moment of cuteness, when my four-year-old great-grandson was spotted handing out rings to the ladies. 

He was the ring bearer in the bridal procession and apparently had a hard time at the rehearsal grasping what a ring bearer is. He thought he was supposed to hand out rings to everyone, and was very happy when his mom bought him a bunch from the dollar store so he could do just that.

Soon it was time for everyone to come inside, and my daughter and I took a seat at the back while waiting to get escorted to our pew.

After all the bridesmaids and groomsmen had made their entrance and taken their places, there was another moment of cuteness as my two great-granddaughters (the flower girls) and the ring-bearing great-grandson and his younger brother came walking down the aisle.

And then, the moment we were all waiting for. The doors to the chapel opened wide revealing the beautiful bride and her proud dad who escorted her down the aisle, lifted her veil off her face, and presented her to her groom. 

After the blessing, the newlyweds emerged as Mr. and Mrs., and it was time for more pictures before heading over to the reception.

Here's a shot of me with all six great-grands. Can you see the one hiding behind my shoulder? 

The reception was wonderful, and would take a whole other post, which I'm not sure I'll get to, so in case I don't, here's one photo taken right before I left. 

My daughter dragged me out onto the dance floor to dance a few steps with her, my daughter-in-law, and a couple of the grandkids. 

That I was able to do that, especially at the end of a very long day, was a huge miracle that two of my praying friends can attest to.

Up until almost the last minute, I wasn't sure I would be able to make it to the occasion, even though my daughter was going to pick me up and had made arrangements for someone to drive me home. 

The three of us prayed hard that the Lord would make a way where there seemed to be no way, and He answered our prayers. Not only did He enable me to attend, but He went above and beyond, giving me strength to enjoy the day without too much pain. 

I still can't believe how I was able, by His grace, to get in and out of shuttles, walk what felt like a marathon between garage and reception building, up and down several flights of stairs, and back and forth across the floor of the reception hall, without my rollator, and without my back brace (except for the long walk over from the garage). It was a miracle indeed for which I am grateful beyond words.

It was a beautiful and memorable occasion, and this hug from my grandson thanking me for being there was like extra icing on the cake.

TWO

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--TWO

Five minutes to free-write about it

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The number two has played a very prominent part in my life these last several weeks.

I won't go into any great detail because after much frustration, I distinctly sensed the Lord telling me to let a certain situation go.  I did, and instantly and miraculously, all the turmoil churning inside of me was replaced by a great peace that I do not wish to forfeit.

In brief though, it all centered around the number two. Two little paint pots in a paint by number kit I had ordered that were not the color code they were supposed to be, and my numerous and futile attempts to get the company I purchased the kit from to replace them. 

This week's FMF prompt, coming just a day after my decision to let it go gave me a good chuckle.

JUST A RANT...

 

Someone is turning 4 today.

I tried to write a cute post about it on Facebook that I thought would make readers smile. 

Facebook did not like that I included the link to the Instagram account his mom set up for him, or that I mentioned he had a book on Amazon, so they removed the post and threatened to restrict my account.

I think this is going a little too far, don't you?

Thanks for letting me vent about my frustration. I hope you don't all unfriend me as well.

DON'T WIND UP LIKE THE SPOTTED LANTERNFLY

This summer we have had a serious infestation of spotted lanternflies in my neck of the woods, and the plague is not yet over.

At first it was just one interesting looking bug sitting on a leaf on a plant on my balcony. It must not have liked it much though, because after I flicked it off, I never saw another one on any of the outdoor plants. They do however enjoy walking around and around the floor of the balcony and the table the plants are on.

They have also swarmed my windows.

At first it was just a few of them walking up the outside of the screens, but the few turned into hordes of them in the corners and all across the glass.

Despite how careful I have been not to open my windows, and to make sure I quickly close the screen door behind me when I go out to water my plants, a couple of them have found their way into my apartment.

They are actually quite pretty, and I need to constantly remind myself of how destructive they are, and not be deceived by appearances.

I still can't bring myself to stomp on them, but I do scoop the ones that manage to get inside up in a piece of tissue and flush them down the toilet.

The other day I saw one get caught in a spider web, and felt overwhelmed by sadness as I watched it try to escape. And I know that what I am about to write next is probably a real stretch, but I thought about how even though God does not want anyone to perish, but for everyone to repent and receive the gift of salvation Jesus purchased for us on the cross (2 Peter 3:9), He will not impose His will on us or force us to accept it. The choice is ours.

In the case of the lanternfly, I'm sure it was oblivious to the trap it was about to walk into. It was just going on its merry way, not realizing there was any danger ahead, as would be the case if you were headed towards a cavernous hole in the sidewalk hidden from view, unless someone warned you about it or yanked you aside.

So that is what I am doing now. If you have not yet received Jesus as your Lord and Savior, I am begging you not to be deceived as I once was, into thinking that there are many paths to God, or that we get to Heaven by our good works.

Regardless of what anyone else may have told you, or what your intellect tries to convince you of, or how foolish you feel the message sounds, please, please don't ignore it. Please don't let pride stand in your way.

The Bible tells us in Romans 3:23 that "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," and in Romans 6:23, that "the wages of sin is death." Because of Adam and Eve's sin in the Garden of Eden, a vast gulf separates us from our Heavenly Father, and there is no way we can cross it through our own efforts. Only one path can lead us across the bridge to eternal life, and that is Jesus, who is "The way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through [Him]" (John 14:6).

Jesus stands at the door of your heart knocking and waiting for you to answer and let Him in (Revelation 3:20). I pray that you would open the door before it is too late.

PRESERVE

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--PRESERVE

Five minutes to free-write about it

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This image came up in my Facebook memories the other day and I thought of it with a pang of sadness when I saw this week's prompt. 

9/11/2001 was an evil day in the history of our country, and there are many memorials to preserve the memory of it, lest we forget. But I can't think of any erected to preserve the memory of 9/12, when for a brief time people put aside their differences and came together, and many even turned to God.

From the very beginning, God called us to use visual aids to help us remember. The Israelites, for instance, regularly preserved memories of His miraculous works by erecting altars of remembrance, as in Joshua 4 when the Lord had them erect a pillar of 12 stacked stones taken from the middle of the Jordan River in remembrance of how He parted its waters to enable them to cross over on dry land. 

Without something to trigger our memory, we tend to forget the good things and focus on what is wrong. We forget who God is and what He has done. 

Reminders of God's mercy, grace, and faithfulness can lift us up and encourage us on dark days and preserve us from the danger of forgetfulness , which leaves us vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy and opens the door to fear and doubt.

Today we take communion in remembrance of what Jesus did for us on the cross. We can also preserve memories through journaling, pictures, and keeping a written record of the ways He has worked in our lives. We also have His Word to use as our guide, and I preserve memories in it as well by writing dates next to the promises I've seen fulfilled.

SUNDAY SELECTIONS - 1

Elephant's Child is hosting a link-up called Sunday Selections where we can post unused photos languishing in our archives. I have so many, I'd love to participate.

It involves posting the photos under the header, Sunday Selections, and linking back to her. My problem is that I don't know how to do that unless there's an actual linky to click on. Can anyone reading this tell me how to do it? 

This week's theme is Spring.

HISTORY

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--HISTORY

Five minutes to free-write about it

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Today I made history. 

For the first time in probably over half a century, I actually followed through on a fitness challenge and a fitness resolution I added to it going into the month. Exercise (other than ballroom dancing, which I can no longer do), has never been my thing. 

For the month of August I joined a fitness challenge to exercise a minimum of 12 times during the month (I actually did 13 times), and the resolution I added to it was to walk a minimum of 2500 steps every day. 

I can't believe I actually managed to do it--especially the steps, since that was a daily commitment with no days off, and there were some days that only the grace of God carried me through.

Some other firsts this week--though I'm not sure they qualify as history. Fungi growing in my indoor dracaena flowerpots. I've never seen such a thing before or even thought it was possible.

 

The other surprise was the discovery that a plant I thought was a weed was not.

The other times I've planted wildflower seeds on my balcony, plants such as this leafy green one were the first to pop up and I thought they were weeds because they never flowered. They just seemed to take over the flower pots they were in and crowd everything else out. 

This year, however, and at the end of summer no less, I was proved wrong.

When I least expected, it started to bud, and now has some pretty yellow flowers.

Good thing I didn't pull it out when I was tempted to.

USUALLY

This post was written for Five Minute Friday

Word prompt--USUALLY

Five minutes to free-write about it

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Usually, the wildflower seeds I plant in the spring that are supposed to attract butterflies and hummingbirds produce little to no flowers.

Usually, the only things that gets attracted to my balcony are hoards of stinkbugs.

Usually, the plants I put out for the summer so they can get pollinated start out doing great, but end up getting destroyed by said stink bugs. 

At the end of very summer, for the last 15 years or so, I've wondered why I bother fighting what seems to be a losing battle and promise myself I won't do it again, but every spring I'm right back at Dollar Tree buying seeds yet again and hoping that this year will be different.

This year, to my great surprise, it was different. The wildflower seeds I planted did actually bloom, and they bloomed profusely. It was exciting to see the variety of colors as they appeared in turn,  and I've spent many happy moments just gazing at them.

This morning, I was greeted by an even greater surprise. A hummingbird. The very first one I've ever seen on my balcony, and it seemed to be really enjoying the little blue flowers.

I rushed for my cell phone, but by the time I was able to get the camera focused, it had flown away. Hopefully it will be back and bring some friends.

That was not my only surprise. Even though it is late in the season, I found three new little green tomatoes on my tomato plant, bringing the total to six, and there are a bunch of flowers on it as well.

Not the usual morning I had expected at all.

Five minutes are up so there's no more time left to share my insights, but God has used my plants time and time again to show me things and if you are interested, a very good example can be found in an old 2010 post I wrote entitled It's Not Over 'Til It's Over (click link to read).