Tag Archives: High Valley

Love You Forever

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For better. For worse. In sickness. In health. Oh, yeah. I’m all for the better and health part, aren’t you? But, what happens when the worse and sickness hits? Well, you show up. That’s what happens.

You put the closest hospital into the GPS after the accidental fall…just in case.

You pull into the drugstore on the way, and buy over the counter meds and a cane…because the pain’s real, and I can’t walk on my own.

You stand at the fast-food, women’s bathroom door…and wait for a knock, to open it from the outside…because I can’t open it.

You drive to the Emergency Room, get a wheelchair, and push me into the hospital…not knowing what might come next.

You tell the ER doc, after he shows you the x-rays of my broken hip, he’ll have to get permission from me, not you, to operate…you know me too well.

You hold my hand as they wheel me to surgery…and kiss me one more time.

You accompany me to the rest area family handicap restroom on the drive home…hunt down someone who has a key…only the key doesn’t fit…so you help me hobble to the women’s restroom.

You put foam on the handles of my walker to stop the blisters from forming on my hands. You put the orthopedic stockings on my legs because I can’t reach my feet. You make sure the bath chair is warm before you help me into the shower. You diligently place the bandage over my incision, even though that’s not in your comfort zone. You help me get dressed. You fix all my meals, and make special treats. You fill my water bottles day and night, so I can take my pain pills. You help me get into and out of the bed, until I’m able to do it on my own. You take time off work to drive me to my doctor appointments, and much, much, more. Why?

Because twenty-two years ago, you made a vow to love, honor, and cherish. In sickness. And in health. And because you put your love into action.

Thank you.

Love knows no limit to its endurance, no end to its trust, no fading of its hope; it can outlast anything. It is, in fact, the one thing that still stands when all else has fallen.                            1 Corinthians 13:7-8 (Phillips Translation)

My prayer for each of you reading this, is that you have people in your lives who show up, and that you do the same.

I wish you well.

Sandy

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Happy Father’s Day

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Happy Father’s Day to all you fathers out there. I hope each and every one of you have a relaxing, joyful day.I’ve talked about my dad in other posts I’ve written. Seems to be a subject I like.

My dad died in 1980, from a massive heart attack, a couple months after his 62nd birthday. He is dearly missed.

Fathers come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. They come in all kinds of colors and dispositions. Some are stormy. Some are calm. Some are demonstrative with their affection. Others are not. Some are actively involved in their children’s lives. Others are absent, and couldn’t care less.

I’ve mentored juveniles in our prison system, who had less than kind words to say about the men who contributed to their birth. Flip-side, I’ve been around children who couldn’t wait to spend time with their dads.

Good dads. Not so good dads. Both abound.

When I created a counted cross-stitch sampler for Pilot, one Father’s Day, I had trouble deciding between stitching the saying, Any man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad, or A father is neither an anchor to hold us back, nor a sail to take us there, but always a guiding light whose love shows us the way.

I picked the second message, partly because of the nautical reference.

No matter what our earthly fathers, dads, may be like, or have been like, we have an amazing Father in Heaven. He is unlike any father we could ever know, or even imagine. His love is unfailing. It never ends. God’s love doesn’t depend on how good we are. Sure, our Heavenly Father disciplines us, and that hurts, but he does it because he loves us too much to leave us in our sin. He doesn’t want us to be separated from him.

Our Heavenly Father wants what is best for us. He loved us so much, he sacrificed his son, Jesus Christ the Messiah, so we could have a way to live with God in Heaven.

What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are. But that’s also why the world doesn’t recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he’s up to.

I John 3:1 The Message

High Valley sums up how some of our earthly dads may have shown us their love. Even when we didn’t realize that’s what they were doing, at the time.

Author, Michael K. Reynolds, has an excellent post on his blog, Real Life. Real God.  Is This the Best Father’s Day Present…Ever? Stop by and check it out.

I wish you well.

Sandy

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