Life as a mom, nana and follower of Christ; hoping to share from lessons learned
The Weekly Photo Challenge, was to share your interpretation of “on the move.”
As I watched my granddaughter on her first bike, it seemed like just yesterday that it was her mother….Wow, time flies! Enjoy them every minute that you can!
I’ve got this!
This week the challenge at the Daily Post said; In this week’s writing challenge, you’ll write a post using three photographs for inspiration. I choose three photographs by Sue Nash whose blog is Heavenly Raindrops.
I pulled my car into the parking lot and checked once more to make sure I had placed my new beach permit within clear view. Just a few more moments and I would be walking on the beach, wind whipping my hair while the sea air cleared my head.
A beautiful peace ensued as soon as my bare toes met with the gritty sand and I breathed in a deep cleansing breath of salty air.
It was a quiet day on the beach, just the way I like it. The only sounds were the boisterous kiss of the waves on the shore and a few hungry seagulls searching for a hand out.
As I walked, I found I wasn’t completely alone as I noticed a couple of others meandering along the shore. I wondered for a moment if they came here to make decisions too.
Since I was a small child, there is something about the ocean that calms me. I have found that in a pinch that other bodies of water will do, although the ocean along with the sound of the waves is my preference.
I feel so close to God when I stand in awe of His creation and I needed to feel that way now. There was a lot riding on the choices I would soon make, and I desperately needed to hear from Him.
I stopped and flopped down in the still warm sand, just far enough away from the waves to stay dry. I thought back on all the prayers uttered here and gave thanks for those answered and the ones God chose to answer in a different way than I could have imagined.
I knew as I squinted towards the sky that I would leave here knowing what to do and having a deep peace about it. As I looked out across the ocean and began my prayer, the sun was beginning to sink a little lower.
Moments later, my heart full of peace, I got up, brushed off my jeans, dipped my toes in the water and felt a smile tug at the corners of my mouth. As I walked past the fences, placed there to keep people out, I was glad nothing kept me from God. Ever.
Refreshed, restored and replete with God’s goodness, I made my way to my car, ready to meet the challenges head on.
Poppy and Granny with Ashley (my youngest)
“Lee-see-o, Where are you?” I could hear my grandmothers voice growing louder the closer I got to her back porch. Granny, complete with silver bun and glasses, was easygoing and lenient, but when dusk fell it was time to go inside.
“Coming, Gran”, I would yell back as I begin to say my goodbyes as my friends also turned homeward.
Inside? Already? After all there were more cartwheels and handsprings to be attempted, games of tag left un-played and more stories to hear and to tell. Who wanted to go inside with two old people who didn’t own a television?
Well, I did. I could spin a yarn about how I hung my shoulders down and stuck my bottom lip out and lamented my horrible fate. But, it’s just not true.
I remember it more like this.
“Hey Granny!” I would say with a big grin spreading across my dirt-stained face. “Hey, doll baby, what did you get yourself into? Come on inside and let’s get you washed up”.
Poppy would be in his favorite chair, reading the newspaper, relaxing after his day as a fishing guide and tending to his garden when he got home. He didn’t talk as much as granny did, so all I would hear from him for a while was likely to be the rustling sound, as he turned the pages of his paper.
All clean and in my pj’s or jammies as we liked to call them, I would come back into the living room and Poppy would make some funny comment. He loved to tease his grandkids.
“Granny made chocolate pie”, I would her say in a sing-song voice from the little kitchen. She would cut me a hearty slice and we would begin to talk about my day. Granny always listened more like another kid instead of an adult. She looked at me, right in the eye, when I was speaking and she didn’t interrupt. She listened with seemingly rapt attention to every detail.
Of course, I didn’t realize as a child, how much adults can glean from our ramblings if they just pay attention. Yes, as I shared my heart, Granny was listening because she loved me, and also so she knew how to pray for me and others. When I reached my tumultuous teen years, I sometimes resented that she actually had a use for my freely given information, but her motives were always for my good.
Poppy, already having enjoyed his pie right after supper, would get up and give me a hug and a kiss goodnight to meet his early bedtime. As silly as it sounds, I can still feel the roughness of his cheek and smell that sweet, distinct smell of Poppy.
Oh what I would give to spend one more quiet, pie partaking, newspaper rustling evening with them. I crave the quiet, the conversation uninterrupted by various electronic devices, sharing the Sunday funnies, the hot tea mornings with toast and jelly.
Poppy is gone now and Granny’s mind isn’t what it used to be, but I treasure all the time I spent with them and the memories that seem like yesterday. I was blessed to have them and I pray that one day my grandchildren look back at time spent with me and my husband with as much fondness.
I wrote this poem today after gleaning inspiration from this photo I recently took. Lately, more than ever, I have learned to enjoy the “right nows” in my life. We are always rushing things, thinking that something in the future is the big thing that will finally right our world or somehow perfect it. We have to live for now, cherish each moment with our loved ones. Time is fleeting and we never know what today, much less tomorrow holds. Be blessed!
Time is fleeting, time is flying, and time is promptly rushing by
While I sit and wait for “moments”, the sun is setting in the sky
Wasting the now, biding my time, as the important event; it draws near
Losing the present, while lost in the future, forsaking the now and the here
Might I live in this moment, embrace this fine hour, presently finding the bliss
Making beautiful memories today, on which I will soon reminisce
Thanks to the beauty in my backyard and the recent rains making everything colorful and bright, this was an easy one for me. I went for the flowers I planted with my granddaughter to attract butterflies, then a potted plant and finally, the top of one of the pilings on our dock.
I captured this one day on my phone while our granddaughter was watching out the window to see when Papa would get home in his boat. Every time I see this I think about her future. She was just concerned with the next few moments, when Papa would get home and probably let her have ice cream. Nana ponders her entire future and prays for God’s best for her daily.
Today’s challenge from “The Daily Post” reminds me of the scriptures in the bible about the potter and the clay.
The question was: Your personal sculptor is carving a person, thing or event from the last year of your life. What’s the statue of and what makes it so significant?
The sculptor in my life would be God and the carving would be me. My hopes would be the following scenario. My expression would be one of awe and reverence. My position would be a yielded and submissive one. My heart would be visible for all to see and somehow carved to show an openness, a place to give and receive love.
My hands would be shown as doing and my feet also in motion, on their way to help. There would be stages shown in this carving as I change and grow. There would always be room for improvement. It would somehow express the spiritual side of me because the physical isn’t what is important. If the carving were just to depict this past year, it would look the same as many prior years; there would be growth and change and failure and successes; all moving me towards the final me that God created me to be.
I am very thankful for this “prompt” today because it has caused me to think and reflect and meditate on this past year. I’m grateful for the positive growth in my life and the wisdom that comes with age.
I’m thankful for the beautiful SW FL sunsets we are blessed with and the opportunity I had to share this one with my youngest who will be leaving the nest soon!!
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