Ode to a Survivor

It’s a bright, early Spring day. The sun is sharing its light and meager heat over everything. Even though it’s what I’d call chilly outside, as I pull onto the dirt road, her jonquils - Easter flowers - are shining. Bright yellow against the green background of grass and weeds. The original bulbs were lovingly planted many years ago, some even before I was born. Inside the hard, red, North Carolina clay, those bulbs have reproduced many times over. At one time, the name “Weaver” was spelled out and visible during this time of year. Now, that clump of bulbs has died out. Not to worry, though. The descendants of those flowers are spread all over the yard, mixed with larger daffodils and tiny narcissus. Added to the yellow will soon be traces of orange and cream on single stem – but occasionally double or triple petaled blossoms. She was always so happy when her yard began to bloom. Never was it a neat “city” yard. The grass was whatever came up – probably some variation of Johnson grass or orchard grass, mixed with moss and clover. Back then, country folks didn’t have time to worry about a neatly manicured yard. They were busy going to work, then coming home to work more. Flowers were their way of prettying up the home that they worked for.

I remember the first time I met them. Her, all of 4’11”, and him, 6’ something. They were so different, but somehow were perfect together. That day, she sent home a jar full of these beautiful, sun-shiny flowers to brighten my mom’s day. And after that day, I was one of their grandchildren, just as surely as if I had been born into the family. She was very much like one of those flowers. A survivor. She only had one child – a son, who died in a farm accident when he was 41. He had five children, all still young. They helped their daughter-in-law raise them the best they could. They outlived their son, but that one flower spread, and still continues today. 3 – 9 – 13 – 18 – 22 – 27 – ?

These beautiful flowers are survivors too. They come up earlier than most other blooming things, well before the last possible freeze here. According to science, they are equipped with a kind of antifreeze that will allow them to survive through cold conditions that would kill most young, tender plants. They get trampled on by deer, coyotes, cats, and people, and although bruised and battered, still survive. Their hollow stems seem so fragile – just like her tiny body – but God gave them both what was needed to survive tragedy and continue to bloom.

Wherever God has planted you, bloom, survive, and thrive. Show the world that with His help, you can make it!

 

The Journey Matters

How can it be that Christmas is nearly here? I haven't finished with half of my shopping, and my house feels hopeless. Regardless, Jesus is coming - soon! I mean, we will celebrate His birthday in less than two weeks.

Christmas was always my mother's favorite time of the year. But I've gotten to where Advent almost overshadows Christmas for me. I love this time in the church year. We look for, or even long for, Jesus' second coming. In our church, we sing, "Prepare the royal highway, the King of kings is near!", and "O come, O come Emmanuel, to ransom captive Israel..." Our scripture readings are about the prophecies of Messiah from the Old Testament, and Jesus' teachings about the Kingdom of God and its coming in the New Testament. We prepare to celebrate Christmas, but we also anticipate the time when all of God's people will gather in paradise. 

Meanwhile, the busyness of the modern world makes the time fly past. Before we know it, we will be drinking something hot and wishing for the warmer days of spring. Isn't that the way it goes? When I was a kid, I would desperately wish for summer vacation. My grandma used to tell me not to "wish my life away," and I remember wondering how she could possibly understand how I felt. I am the same age now as she was when I was 10-going-on-30. I imagine that our grandchildren feel the same way about me now - "you're old, how can you understand?" And yet I still find myself wishing for some point in the future to be here, or to be over. Advent reminds me that the journey is every bit as important as the destination. Joseph and Mary made the journey through their lives to get to that night in the stable, and every minute of their lives - whether hard or easy - led each of them to be the faithful people they were. They both trusted in God's plan for their lives and ended up raising His Son, who would be the long-promised Messiah.

May every step of your journey bring you just that much closer to spending eternity with our Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. Blessed Advent to you & yours!

Kay

Re-introductions

Maybe I should shout out, "I'm back!" I began this blog over 15 years ago when I had a lot of churchy things on my mind. I have deleted many of those posts and un-published the rest, partly because many of them are no longer relevant, and some because I read them again and realized that they need to be reworked. I may bring them back in the future.

Allow me to introduce myself and my family. I'm called many names - Kay, Mom, Nana, and Sis, among others. I have been married to Dennis for most of my life. Our family has grown and changed since the last time I blogged. We have two handsome sons, Dale and his beautiful wife, Raye Lynn, and Aaron. We now have five grands - Maggie is almost a teenager, Isaac (our only boy) is 10, Charley is almost 9, and Shelbie is 4. Shelbie's sister, Sophie, lives in heaven along with other family who have gone ahead of us. 

There are a lot of things that you will see on this updated blog. There will still be "churchy" things, and you will also see stories about discipleship, cooking, family, holidays, and really anything that God puts on my mind when I sit down to write. Oh, and there may be occasional short stories or excerpts from something I'm working on, too.

You may have gotten here by clicking on a link from my website. There will be more updates soon. If you didn't come here from that website and you're interested in what's over there, here's the link: kjw-designs.com/kjw-designs-website. Let me know what you think, but please be kind. This is the first webpage I have ever done, and it took what seemed like forever.

I'll be back later this week to check in and show you my 2025 planner. I am extremely proud of how it turned out, and am thankful that God (and family and friends) pushed me to do it. Have a blessed week!