I redeemed something today.
This is Summer's book bag from her school days back in the 1970's.
It's been redeemed more than once.
This bag first represented a deeply painful period in my daughter's life.
She carried her school books home in this bag and then back to school again. ALL her books. Every.single.one. Every.single.day.
It was a long difficult time. However, God gave her grace and the perseverance to survive the things she went through during childhood and even gain strength to overcome other adversities later in life. While this bag symbolized trauma and pain in my heart for the pain my daughter experienced - I decided that, instead of throwing the bag away, I would redeem it. Give it another chance for happy memories instead of sad ones. That's when I started using it for my art bag. It was 1976 and I had just signed up for my first art class. I loved and embraced art and when I painted my first landscape, I cried when I stepped back and saw that the canvas really DID look like sky and mountains and trees.
Never mind that 20 years later - when I was teaching landscape painting to a class here at my dining room table - I promised to show the ladies MY very first landscape at the end of the class.
I will never forget what one of the ladies said when I displayed it......
"Well! All I can say is that I'm surprised you continued to paint!"
There's always SOMEONE around to keep us humble!!!
The second time I redeemed this bag was when I decided to paint art ON it instead of carrying the art supplies IN it. I hang this now decorated bag up on a doorknob somewhere every fall. And it makes me remember that God can redeem anything and everything and he gave US that gift as well.
Today was this bag's THIRD redemption.
It is old. Summer is now 53 and she used this bag when she was in her young teenage years.
The seams have come loose and the straps began to fray.
This morning I sat down at the sewing machine and repaired every bit of that.
It is now as sturdy as ever.
They don't make things sturdy anymore. Things are not made to LAST as they used to be.
This bag has many more years of use fullness left in it!
Just because we get frayed and worn and old - God still has a purpose for us being here.
Not only does he have a purpose for us - he delights in our delight in Life!
I think I have finally shed the last bit of the mully grubs that had me down.
I wasn't feeling good about myself for a little while there.
That's when I need to remember that I have the grace of God available to me.
I never want to be ungrateful or mean spirited - but sometimes those feelings come even unbidden!
As I sewed this morning, I thought about this verse.....
Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.
Hebrews 12:15
The thing about memorizing scripture - it will come back to your mind when you need it!
Oh, MY!!! I did not mean to 'wax elequent' as I call it!!!
So - in other news!
Louis Dean slept late again - for the third morning in a row!
Tuesday he woke up at noon - Wednesday it was 11:30 - today was about the same time!
I took advantage of the this time to clean and decorate the 'main' bathroom.
He asked me to NOT say 'Louis Dean's' bathroom!
I was thinking 'outside the box' when I staple gunned a fall table runner up over the shower/bathtub!
I like it!
The lights stay here year round but I 'falled' it up!
I love putting fall 'debris' in EVERY single room of the house!!!
The bathroom won't always look as nice as I made it today.
Louis Dean has a tendency to mess it up and leave all the things he takes out of his pockets on the counter and his clothes on the floor.
No matter. He has ME! And when we are expecting guests, I will pretty it back up.
Do you think he can find his stash of Pepsodent Toothpaste in here???
He FINALLY woke up and I fixed breakfast for lunch!
My sister, Nita, fixes the best Breakfast Burritos when we spend the night over there!
I have learned to make them, too! I whisk the eggs with some cheese, a little milk, some peppers and seasonings...... rolled up in those awesome Hatch chili tortillas and served up with some Island Salsa from Trader Joe's and a side of diced watermelon - really GOOD watermelon from Central Market! - oh, YUM!!! All that was missing was a dollop of sour cream! I THOUGHT I had some - but I didn't.... It was a good meal anyway!
I decided to clean our bedroom today and one thing led to another and before I knew what had happened......Louis Dean made the decision that TODAY was the day that we would get a new bed! Mattress and box springs!
We have talked about getting one but just kept putting it off.
How much trouble is it when you turn over in the middle of the night and roll into the middle of the BED??? Or how hard is it to wrap your foot around the edge of the mattress to hang on for the night on your own side of the bed??? Well, that time is over!!!
I have been washing every single piece of our bedding all afternoon!
So WHAT do you do with an old and extremely HEAVY mattress and box springs?
It was a real chore getting it out of the bedroom this afternoon!
To take it to the city dump would cost $40 - because Louis Dean's truck is a one ton. And they charge by the axle if it's a ton or more. $10 per 1/4 ton.
When I married Louis Dean, over 12 years ago, he simply threw it over his shoulder and hauled it IN!
This afternoon, he bagged it up and hauled it OUT!
I have never seen anyone break down a mattress and box springs and sack it up in heavy duty trash sacks and take it to the curb!
But, then again, we are talking about LOUIS DEAN!!!
This is my favorite pic of the day!
Every chance I had to take a break, I sat here and listened to my music and played my games or sent emails or checked Facebook or Blogger.
As I write, Louis Dean and I are in the gazebo visiting over a glass of wine before we CLIMB into our new bed for the first time.....
I close my journal post tonight with thoughts and prayers for my dear friend, Reaoma, and her daughter, Pam.
The next two photos and words are from Pam's post on her mom's Facebook page.
just a short update: mom is under hospice care now, she is still at the same place where she has been living. She is still eating and drinking, but does sleep a lot. Prayers for her to pass peacefully in her sleep one night.
Mom sleeping with her "baby Oma".
This is the rest of the "family". Her grandmother June, Little Reaoma, her uncle "Tom Tom", her daughter Pam.
Reaoma made all these wonderful porcelain dolls.
Saying a prayer for both Mother and Daughter tonight as I close.
Ruth Ann and I will be visiting Reaoma tomorrow on our way to Fort Worth.
There is always more joy than sadness when it comes to times like this.
Thinking of and praying for my friend......
and remembering all the wonderful times we shared together.
Saying a prayer for both Mother and Daughter tonight as I close.
Ruth Ann and I will be visiting Reaoma tomorrow on our way to Fort Worth.
There is always more joy than sadness when it comes to times like this.
Thinking of and praying for my friend......
and remembering all the wonderful times we shared together.
16 comments:
I am so glad you are feeling better! The bathroom looks awesome, like a cool Fall breeze! You really do Fall up RIGHT! I am buying a Fall wreath for the kitchen this weekend!! I have never had one before, but they are 40% off now. You did a wonderful job repairing the book bag...what memories! Your table runner over the tub is GENIUS and it looks like it was made for that place! I cannot wait to read how your first night of sleep was in the new bed!
I didn't know there was another person but me that uses Pepsodent toothpaste. I always find it on the bottom shelf in the store. In Bob's better days he got rid of amazing amounts of stuff by breaking, tearing, ripping, smashing, or whatever was necessay, to get on the curb for trash day. It was amazing. He can't do that anymore. I do hope your friend's last hours will be peaceful. We're watching your coming storm Harvey. Cook Children's sent a plane to Corpus today and evacuated 10 of the most critical babies to the neonatal intensive care unit at Cook's. Had a text from daughter saying they were very busy getting those evacuated babies settled. I can't begin to imagine how hard it must have been for the parents to watch their tiny babies put on a plane and evacuated out of the path of the storm.
I love to think of you in your apron, carrying a feather duster and a bottle of Windex with paper towels stuffed in your pockets....while putting up fall 'debris' and hiding the Pepsodent from your he-man! ;)
For every Superman, there's a Superwoman like you... picking up his clothes---lest someone slip and break a hip on a tee-shirt!
xoxo,
Trudy
I cannot wait to read how your first night of sleep was in the new bed!
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Beautiful decorations and great looking breakfast! That is a comfortable looking bed. Have a wonderful day!
Just be aware, it does take time to break a new mattress in too, you might have a little uncomfortableness until that happens. Hugs
This post is loaded and so true to life. Ups and downs, good and bad and our needed reaction of gratefulness through it all.
Linda, you can wax eloquent anytime for me. I loved your post and it helped me. So there! Also love the bag and its journey and funny LD taking apart a mattress. He is so cool. Stay safe, Love to all.
I am glad you are feeling more like yourself. Mully grubs can wreak havoc with all of us from time to time. I loved your story about the bag and I had to chuckle at the art critic comment. Yes there is one person in every crowd who has NO filter. I am gathering all my fall things as well. I hope to start decorating when I get home from Georgia.
you are right linda, there is always more joy than sadness!!! sometimes we have to look for it, sometimes we have to create it!!
i LOVED the story about the bag, like the movie, about the traveling pants - i love that movie!!
we all have that one friend, that always speaks the truth and keeps us laughing!! you have so much energy linda, i really don't know how you do it!!
I'm so glad you are feeling better. Such a long informative post you've written. First I love all the fall stuff you've put out. I am not starting mine until September. Then I do it bit by bit to make the fun last.
We need a new mattress too. It's on our "to do" list and quickly moving to the top. Hope you get a really good sleep on your new one.
That was quite a story about the bag. Redemption is a beautiful word. All of us need redemption in one way or another.
Have been keeping you and all your family in my thoughts with the hurricane approaching. Hope you are all somewhere safe.
Glad you're feeling better. God's grace is the key and it's always available to us! A new bed! I hope you sleep well tonight! Praying for Texas!
Linda, I just got our computer back home and plugged in. You were the first one I check on...due to that hurricane . I pray for all in Texas to be safe...for the storm to fade away and not dump so much rain. It's so scary. The story of Summer's book bag squeezed my heart. Please give her a special hug from me. Beautiful Reaoma's story is precious. Blessings to her and her daughter Pam. LD is one working, thinking man...I let Ted read about him dismantling the bed...good job. Sounds like something I would try. LOL. Blessings to you, LD and the entire family. I have missed you so much. Love you guys, xoxo, Susie
Oh how I love catching up with your activites and decorating Linda....I so hope your Summer is feeling better these days. I believe you will recover your zest when September arrives and I will follow along with your sunflowers and smiles...hugs to you!
Oh dear friend, I'm so happy you are feeling much better!
I love your bathroom and all your Fall is looking gorgeous. Those dolls are the cutest ever!
Praying for Texas, very sad.
Fall is just around the corner and thus lovely weather, I guess.
Hugs to you, LD, the quads and all your family.
Fabby
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