I really don’t know what the problem was.
I just remember being very scared as I watched it unfold.
I was a young girl, playing outside on my front lawn.
Two older girls in the neighborhood must have had an argument about something.

The two girls were under a sweet gum tree that was near our house.
The taller girl picked up some of the sweet gum tree balls that had fallen to the ground.
She pulled the other girl towards her and dropped the sweet gum tree balls down her shirt.
She took the palm of her hand and smashed them against the girl’s skin.

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I wanted a pair of shoes.
I was sixteen years old and had just gotten my first job.
I was thrilled to get my own paycheck and have my own work schedule.
I worked in a cheese shop that was found in most malls.

I had to wear a uniform….a denim jumper and red and white checked shirt.
I liked wearing the uniform since I never had to worry about what to wear to work.
I kept it clean and ironed and kept my shoes white, as they were supposed to be.

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I usually have a candle burning in my kitchen.
A nice “kitchen-y” smell.
Banana Nut Bread, or my favorite…Country Store.

One thing you must always do before burning a jar candle is trim the wick.
Every time you light it…without fail.
Wick trimming makes your candle last longer.

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Do you ever take the time to notice hands?
There are well manicured hands, nail bitten hands, vein-y hands.
Hands with long fingers, hands with stubby fingers.
Hands with large knuckles, just begging to be cracked.
Soft, smooth hands.

When our second daughter was born, that was the first thing my husband noticed.
Look at her long fingers…
Those long fingers would eventually play the violin beautifully.
Those hands selflessly serve the children in her classroom.

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It was a catch up kind of morning.
I saw a few neighbors on my morning walk that I have not seen in a while.
Busyness and vacation have kept us on different schedules, it seems.

One neighbor was pulling out of his driveway as I was passing.
They are having work done around their house…a pool installed, fencing, and landscaping.
It looks lovely and I told him so.

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Imagine if we treated all unborn children as royalty.
I saw that comment on Facebook soon after the future king of England was born.

People tend to park themselves in one camp or another concerning a royal birth.
Interested…not interested.
The birth of any baby is miraculous and a reason to celebrate.

I thought of the concept of royalty vs. commoner while at a restaurant.

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While we were on vacation two cars remained in our driveway.
My husband’s car and the car my youngest daughter uses were parked there all week.
My husband went back to work the day after we returned.
The other car remained in the driveway for a few days.

By mid-week, my daughter needed to use the car.
It may not start up right away, since it has been sitting there all week.
After a few minutes, she came back inside.
You’re right, Mom. It won’t start, she announced as she walked through the kitchen.
She went to find her dad.

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Band Aids.
A friend of mine teaches kindergarten.
She told me how many band aids she goes through in a day.

Mrs. J…my finger…it hurts! they say holding up the injured appendage.
What hurts?
There…see? My cut! I need a band aid!
She has to squint to see the injury, but it is real to them.

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Back in 1998, I wrote a letter to my father-in-law who asked me to explain why I left the traditional church I was raised in to go to a Bible church with my children.

It was 1992, when my son…my fourth child…was born.
After listening to a Bible study on TV early each morning as I fed my son, I was hearing things and learning things I had never known before.
I bought my first Bible and read through it in about eight months.
God the Father opened my eyes to the Gospel…and salvation through His son, Jesus.

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