Fort Worth Treasures...... Lonnie, Deanie and Lillian

I was awake and even UP before 8:00 this morning, probably because I was so excited about finally getting to spend some time in Fort Worth with two of my siblings as well as a visit with Lillian.

I let Louis Dean sleep as long as I could and finally woke him up after I had my prayer and praise time and two cups of coffee. He still had to stupor for over an hour before we got ready to go to Fort Worth. 

We stopped at Subway for sandwiches all around and met up with Deanie and Charlie at Lonnie's house. We ate lunch together at the their kitchen table and laughed and talked and simply enjoyed being together. Lonnie is doing well as are we all. Life changes as we age.....most often it's a gradual change....and then at times it comes rather abruptly.....and sometimes in stages. We have no control about how it comes to us and know only the certainty that it WILL come. In one form or another. My prayer is that I will meet and accept it with grace.....the grace that only God can give. I saw that grace today.....in every pair of eyes and every face around Lonnie's kitchen table. I'm grateful there is no bitterness in us....in any of my siblings or myself ......as we journey through this winter season of our lives....together. That's a blessing right there. We are still together. We did not lose Lonnie. We have - the four of us siblings that grew up together - experienced every single season of  our lives - together! And we have shared these seasons - or at least parts of them - with our other siblings as best we can.....Luann and Shari. They are part of our story and we love them, too.

I'm grateful we siblings and spouses have bonded so well together.

Louis Dean and Deanie bonded on the road trip home from Houston after Amber delivered the quadruplets....Trystan, Kailey, Harrison and Logan in the spring of 2012.

We have all loved Charlie and Mike from the get go. And we were so blessed with Michele when she and Lonnie married. God has been good to our family.

And I can't leave this thought without mentioning the new siblings I will be meeting soon.

Only God could orchestrate things in such a way that I connected with siblings from my father.... Leo Everett Gage. I love the name 'Gage.' Buster, Rita and Lori. I love them already.

And another miracle that they have been so kind and welcoming. I was a surprise to them. It could have gone so many ways.....

Only God......words fail me to describe the feelings of my heart tonight.

We left after lunch to do some shopping for Lillian.

She wasn't able to give me a list of things she needed from Walmart as she usually does.

We stopped and bought her some flowers and a vase and some fairly green bananas - she likes them green so they do not get too ripe before she eats them. The ones at the nursing home are all usually over ripe! I bought some pretty gold clips for her hair and some chicken salad and macaroni salad from the deli. 

When we arrived at the nursing home - and I had made an appointment for our visit - they gave us a N95 mask to wear and both Louis Dean and I were able to spend an hour with her.

We prayed together......

And Louis Dean got a smile out of her!

She is very frail and skin and bones.

The stroke has taken a lot of 'Lillian' away and I am hoping and praying she can recover.

She knew who we were and when we arrived, she was clutching a card from Elizabeth S. in her hand.

That made me tear up. She asked me to read it to her.....

She reads and rereads the cards....and then she gives them to me to 'keep' she says.

We came home and Louis Dean and I both spent some time doing 'therapy.'

Our visit with Deanie and Lonnie left us happy and full of joy.

I admit the visit with Lillian hurt my heart as much as it gladdened it.

Louis Dean changed the oil in his truck and I changed the sheets on our bed.

I did laundry and picked up the house.

Then together we sat outside and talked about our day.

He made me promise that I would never let him live out his last days as Lillian is doing.

You never know what Life has in store for you.

Lillian is the youngest of 11 siblings. Only one is left beside her.

She had 4 children.....only one is left.

I think the best thing we can do - the only thing we can do - is to trust God.

He alone knows the plan for our life and if our heart is perfect toward him - and that does NOT mean  that WE are perfect - we will have the grace to accept his will. Whatever it is.

Because this life is not all there is.

Heaven waits.

And while this evening I have had some sobering thoughts....

I will continue to rejoice.

The best is yet to come.