Sometimes we say words but they are only words.
We say them so often, we fail to stop and think about their meaning.
If we fail to think about their meaning, then we are not thinking about how they apply to us.
The words become something intangible and not really applicable to our lives.

I was thinking about one such word: faithful.
According to the dictionary, faithful means: loyal, constant, and steadfast.
We know the meaning intellectually.
What does faithfulness look like in our daily life?

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I ran into someone I knew from a church I attended years ago.
It was so good to see her and her husband.
I have seen her a few times through the years, but it has been a while.
I knew that we had a lot of catching up to do.

I would love to stop and see you, I said.
Oh, that would be lovely, she answered.
I pass her house often as I do errands around town.
We laughed that we both still have our landline.

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My husband and I were going to a restaurant.
We were going to a retirement dinner for someone who works with my husband.
Both my husband and the retiree have worked for the same company for many years.
I talked to the man’s wife at many work functions through the years.

We are in that season of life.
There have already been some retirements and there will be others.
I knew the restaurant where the dinner was being held.
The restaurant is located on a golf course.

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I ate a lemon.
I did not mean to eat a lemon.
I thought the lemon was something else.
It caught me by surprise.

It was an honest mistake.
Who would ever expect to have a lemon slice on top of a bowl of vegetable soup?
My youngest daughter and I went out to lunch.
We enjoy the same organic things.

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Wednesdays are lovely days in my home.
That is the day the women come for Bible study.
Some of us have been studying the Bible together for years.
New women join us each year, which is such a blessing.

Bible study is from 9;30-11:00 in the morning.
Women come earlier to talk to each other before we begin.
Sometimes, a few women will linger after Bible study to talk in my kitchen.
This past week two women stayed, so I made some lunch for us.

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The message came early in the morning.
A friend of mine wanted to inform me of something before I saw it on social media.
Another young person took their own life.
There was no name given; I did not need to know the name in order to pray.

My heart hurt.
I could not imagine the pain of this young person’s mother.
I could not imagine the pain of any siblings who would be grappling with the Why of it all.
I was so sad; I grieved for a young person I did not know.

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My husband cannot see in the dark.
I do not mean he is unable to drive at night.
I simply mean that he cannot walk around a dark room without bumping into things.
He teases me that I must have cat eyes, since I can see in the dark quite easily.

I guess it must have been all those carrots my mother made me eat when I was a girl.
Carrots are good for your eyes, she used to say to me.
I have no idea if that was true.
Perhaps it was, since walking in the dark is not a problem for me.

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I love one particular shop in my favorite place of Amish buggies.
Some may call it a thrift shop but it is so much more.
There are clothes, housewares, toys, and books.
The shop supports a Mennonite mission.

There are Mennonite women who work there.
I see Amish women as well, as evidenced by the buggies parked in the back.
An elderly Amish man is always there when I bring donations.
His long beard, black pants, and suspenders make that quite obvious.

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We went to our son and daughter-in-love’s church.
It was their first Sunday on the worship team.
Our son was drumming.
Our daughter-in-love was singing.

We drove to the church and went to the second service.
We planned to go out to lunch afterwards.
The church is quite large.
We found our seats.

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We have a pest in our area.
It is a nuisance to homeowners.
It can be found on sidewalks and buildings.
It can be found on patios and trees.

The pest is now a threat to our state’s grape, fruit tree, and logging industries.
The Department of Agriculture has placed a quarantine on certain areas.
The greatest threat comes from transporting things that contain the egg masses.
Those egg masses are found on smooth bark, stone, and other vertical surfaces.

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