A Watered Garden: September 2007

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

The Seven Wonders Of The World

Thanks Mom for passing this on to me. :-)

I'm Invisible

Thanks to Momma C. for sharing this with me. I hope you find encouragement and blessing in this poignant reminder of our position as Mothers. I dedicate this especially to those of you still "in the trenches"!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I'm invisible.

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?" Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?" I'm a car to order,"Right around 5:30 , please."

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going... she's going... she's gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it.

I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this." It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe . I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me untilI read her inscription: "To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees."

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:
1. No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.
2. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.
3. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.
4. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything. A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it. "And the workman replied, "Because God sees." I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become."

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my ownself-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride. I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree. When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table." That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, "You're gonna love it there."

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Live Simply.
Love Generously.
Care Deeply.
Speak Kindly.
Leave the rest to God
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And to add one of my favorite verses:
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Recognizing God's wake-up calls

I have so many posts I'd like to do floating around in my head...but currently I don't have time to sit down and write. Therefore, I'm sharing with you this great article I recently read on Ann Graham Lotz. (Ann is Billy & Ruth Graham's daughter) I hope it blesses you as it did me!!

Sept. 7, 2007

Anne Graham Lotz on recognizing God's wake-up calls

Don't miss blessings that come in plain packaging, says daughter of Billy Graham

By BARBARA KARKABI
Copyright 2007 (I think I'm ok in sharing this since I gave credit and linked back to the source-someone let me know if I'm wrong-thanks!)
Houston Chronicle

"The package arrived wrapped in plain brown paper. Inside was a small multicolored basket stuffed with tissue. But nothing else.

Anne Graham Lotz, the well-brought-up daughter of Billy and Ruth Graham, was confused about the straw basket but nevertheless called to thank her mother for the gift.

That's when Ruth Graham laughed and asked what she thought of the "real present" wrapped in the tissue paper Lotz had just thrown away.

"Luckily, I found the tissue paper and inside was a little gold ring, with a piece of lapis lazuli," Lotz recalled. "It had been given to my mother by an old friend from the British Museum."

As the story goes, the stone was from the Susa palace where the biblical Queen Esther was said to have lived with the Persian King Ahasuerus.

"I had thrown away a priceless treasure because I didn't like the way it was wrapped," said Lotz, who uses the story as a metaphor in her talks.

"Sometimes I think God sends us priceless treasures but they come in ugly brown packages. It could be the death of a loved one or an illness, or several things at the same time. We get caught up in the wrapping and ask: 'God, why are you doing this to me?' "

Lotz, founder of AnGeL Ministries, suggests looking at difficult experiences as a kind of personal wake-up call from God.

"It may be that God is trying to give you a fresh experience of grace and his power and love," Lotz said. "He has a blessing for you in it, but we throw it away because we don't like the way it's wrapped."

Wake-up calls can happen on a national level, too. She pointed to Hurricane Katrina and Sept. 11.

"God doesn't send them, but he allows them into our national life to wake us up," Lotz said in a telephone interview. "There is more to life than what we sometimes seem to be living for — our pleasure, entertainment or our bank accounts and reputations."

It's not always easy to find those blessings, and Lotz knows this from personal experience. The second of Billy and Ruth Graham's five children, she never felt any pressure to follow in the path of her famous father.

"It wasn't a natural thing for me. In fact, I would have felt the opposite pressure to stay at home," Lotz said.

The Baker Institute's William Martin,who wrote a biography of Billy Graham, described Lotz as a talented and powerful speaker.

"She delivers a strong message and doesn't tell jokes or try to jolly people into listening," Martin said. "She has many of the characteristics of her father's early preaching."
Martin said the first time he heard Lotz speak, he was stunned at how similar her gestures were to that of her famous father.

"She is a compelling figure," he added. "Her message: 'Just give me Jesus' is very biblically oriented. But she draws good crowds." ......As confident as Lotz appears, she has a secret — she gets stage fright almost every time she talks. So did her father.

"My daddy would say that every time he got up on a pulpit, his stomach turned over," she said. "It keeps you sharp and humble."

Since her mother's death in June, Lotz has tried to spend as much time as she can with her father. Recently, she gave him a puppy for what would have been her parents' 64th wedding anniversary.

"They were so in love. I never imagined a world without her, and I don't think Daddy did either, so it's not easy," Lotz said. As for her father's health, she said, "Daddy's mind is real sharp; he has some issues, but he will be 89 this year so I think he deserves to have some issues."

Lotz' personal ministry started because she was trying to be a better mother. "I wanted to be a mother like mine. She spent a lot of time with her Bible and in prayer, and I just didn't have the discipline to do that."

"I was losing my temper a lot," Lotz recalled. "I never saw my mother lose her temper, and we were a very feisty family. ... I wanted that kind of relationship with God and Jesus. It was so contagious and special."

But with three children, a husband and a busy schedule, Lotz felt that, without meaning to, she was neglecting God or drifting away from him.

To correct that, she started a local class based on Bible Study Fellowship International, just so she could take the class. She ended up being the teacher for 12 years. Hundreds of people had joined in the first few weeks.

"They had never been in Bible study before and didn't know I couldn't teach, so we just learned together," Lotz said.

Her revivals for women grew out of a series of challenging personal events.

Over 18 months in the late 1990s, her mother was hospitalized five times; her three children all decided to get married within eight months; her son was diagnosed with cancer four weeks before his wedding; and Hurricane Fran hit her home in North Carolina, destroying more than 100 trees in her yard.

"I felt that one of those things was hard enough, but all of it compressed in time just made me want to scream," Lotz recalled.

"My doctor offered medication, but I said: 'I don't want a quick fix.' I didn't even ask God for a miracle. I wanted a fresh touch from heaven because I felt that if I could get refreshed from the inside, then I could handle some of these things on the outside."

Lotz believed that others faced similar feelings, people "who desperately want a fresh encounter, not because they are bad, but life is hard, you know; it can be overwhelming."

Lotz began what she calls "Just Give me Jesus" revivals for women. Forget the idea of an old-fashioned tent revival. What Lotz offers is a reconnection with Jesus.

"God got me though those 18 months," Lotz said. "He just gave me a heart's cry for revival, and then he used that heart's cry to offer revival for other women."

Lotz also believes God has issued a wake-up call for organized churches — one she fears they are ignoring.

"I know there are many things he might want to say to the church, but for me as a messenger, there's a bottom line. I think he is calling his people to wake up about their relationship with him. I think in church we point fingers at other people and their social sins.

"Instead, God says: 'I'm not concerned with other people. I'm concerned with you.' We need to get it right."

See full article: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/religion/5116690.html

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Children Are A Blessing

Ok, so I'm behind in updating my blog...but this post will make up for it...trust me.

Megan was in town last week and it was nice to get to spend time with her...that is in between all her outings that filled her busy social calendar. All week I had been looking forward to having the in-town family together for lunch after church on Sunday. (daughter Meg & her boyfriend Josh, and daughter Erin and SIL Micah. Youngest daughter, Ashley & SIL Casey, of course, live out of town and were spending the weekend visiting his parents in New York.

On Sunday, when Erin & Micah arrived at our home, Erin was chatting on the phone with Ashley. Erin quickly switched her phone to speaker so that Ashley could make the grand announcement to us that she now has a new job. This was an interesting statement due to the fact that Ashley had just begun a new job at the University the previous week. It was with this announcement that Erin handed Brad and I the following piece of paper...that's when I knew something was up and began "a shout'n"!!

Wanted:

~A loving Grandma who will teach me, pray for me, read me stories, bake cookies with me, take pictures of me when I'm being cute, and encourage me when I need it.

~A fun Grandpa who will teach me, pray for me, do ALL the funny voices when he read me stories, tease me, play chase and hide-and-seek, and show me how to do cool stuff.

The Requirements:

1) Both Grandma and Grandpa will need to be available for their duties by May of 2008.

2) Grandma and Grandpa must both have enough experience with children that they can help Mommy and Daddy know what to do when I baffle them. (Just between you and me, I think they'll have a lot to learn!)

3) This is a life-long commitment, so please only accept the positions if you can put in the time!

Job Perks Include:

Lots of hugs and kisses, "I-Love-You"s, smiles, happy memories to make, the privilege of spoiling me without being liable for the consequences, and the opportunity to be looked up to as two of my very favorite people and biggest role models. You will also get to select your own official job titles!

A personal note, should you decide to accept the positions...

I'm sorry I won't be able to meet you until May! I'm afraid I'm a little tied up until then. But I wanted you to have a pair of my slippers to hang on to until I see you. Every time you look at them, you can think of me and pray that I'll stay safe and healthy. Maybe later I'll even have some pictures for you!

Love, Baby

We told them we'd think about it and let them know next week.....

Haaaaaaa! After the hugging, yelling, teary eyes and more hugging....we accepted the position in about 1/2 second flat!! Megan received AND ACCEPTED her own job opening for the position of AUNT. Of course Ashley had accepted her job long distance. I was glad she got to be a part of our celebration...at least via the phone.

Grandpa, Grandma, Mother in waiting/Baby,
Aunt Ashley (on phone :-), Aunt Megan, and Proud Papa

Huggin' on my babies...both of them!

Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. Ps 127:3-4