Sometimes slow to grow, friendships can blossom instantly.  They can last a lifetime, while others have a season, and there are those relationships joyfully revived after a long absence—almost as though time never passed.

As a little girl, my grandmother was that best friend to me.  You will often hear me liken her kindness and gentle ways—even when reminding me that my mom’s rules were to be honored—to the love of Jesus.  When I reflect upon those young years, I realize that my grandmother’s expectations of how her daughter should be treated were what would melt and mold the relationship between my mother and me.

Often I’d wonder that my mom and I, as alike as we were, would be inseparable in life. There were many seasons during which we shared the kind of mother-daughter relationship that a girl dreams of having.  Like many families, too, ours had its share of drama with someone always in need of being first.  Life’s challenges would eventually split our family, although for my mom it was the freedom she deserved to become that woman I remember—the woman with a laugh you’d always remember; that twinkle of a smile that lit up a room; the best jitterbug dancer I’d ever seen; those beautiful fingers that expertly played the piano; the mom who loved the house filled with sounds of chatter and laughter.

While there would be many times I’d find myself wondering why my relationship with my mom was so different from the ones she shared with my sister, I’d remember those very young years when I’d say, “My momma loves me best.”   I don’t know that our mother loved me best, though she did love me differently.   Sassing or lying was sure to buy me time out, although I didn’t always  get a pass from a switching.

My mom was very young when I buried her.  I was very young as well and have often missed that we never got to have a more mature mother-daughter friendship, especially when I remember those special seasons we shared — just my mother and me:  cooking our favorite suppers; shopping for all the fix’ns for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners; the excitement having my hair cut like Doris Day; the relief not having to wear glasses; tutoring for spelling bees and history tests; nighttime prayers; Saturday spa mornings; Maas Bros cosmetic counter; the hardships that come with being a single parent.

There was a time when I idolized my mom—the one I most wanted to be like—which is probably why we bumped heads as much as we did.  After all, we aren’t to idolize anyone or anything.  We are called to love one another—through all kinds of seasons.  That’s my momma, always with us and for us.

There are many of us whose mothers have been carried home, many sons and daughters who’ve preceded their moms, and yet they are as close as their memories.

Celebrate each other—moms, moms of mom, and mothers of many.  This is your legacy.

Looking at the Henbit’s pink flowers (the all well-knowing hummingbirds and butterflies covet the nectar), I debated whether to pull the plants, leave them, or transplant them.  While pondering the options, a recent conversation about results came to mind.

Whether we’re talking about health, finances, business, or personal concerns, when we come into agreement on the desired results, the focus becomes how.  In my first (and favorite job), my boss and mentor every now and again reminded me of the necessity to come prepared for work.  What he was really saying was to take care of your health daily.  No advice is more informative than in today’s 24/7 society.

We can have the best mapped strategies for increases in wealth and health with a beautiful snapshot of how we hope that to look in real life, but what about the distractions?  While we often find ourselves bogged in multi-tasking and 24/7 social networking, the disruptions we most need to be concerned with go unnoticed until they become very costly.  Do you know that medical experts today are boldly emphasizing to their patients that they can be their own worse enemy when it comes to their health?

Think about it.  When bombarded with aches, pain and chronic concerns, what becomes of your energy level and attention span?  We may not realize that we become ineffective and nonproductive; especially to the very people who trust in our personal qualities.

Like most women, I recognize that my days are filled with responsibilities in the business world as well as enjoying a personal life.  Married 40 years, I have worked side-by-side with my husband for 30 of those years.  My titles vary, according to what hat I’m wearing on which given day—it’s a good thing I love hats!  And, like the days when you’ll find me in the gardener’s hat, wondering what to do about the wild child of nature, I can expect there will be a season challenged by distractions. During those times, I believe that you, like I, will find that we simply must discern whose turn it is and learn what will provide the best return on investment—with the full knowledge that the only results that count are how we go about on this life’s path to make a difference for the lives of others.

The threesome was part of a renovation team looking at the house for an investor.  As my husband quenched their curiosity about the history of the home and the neighborhood, we learned the biggest deterrent to buying was the foundation.  It is 3 ½” off on one side and 2” off on the other side.

Although its foundation was solidly constructed, the house was not properly maintained over time and then sat empty for two years. The end result is a house still waiting someone to take an interest and fill it with love.

I imagine that house was on my mind one morning when I thought I’d take a mental break by baking a batch of blueberry, banana and chocolate chip muffins. In the midst of my preparations, God visited for a chat.  It wasn’t long, then, when I was seeing the empty house with its damaged foundation as a metaphor in today’s society.  In fairness, the comparison applies not only to today’s society, for we are not a generation exclusive to life not working as we had planned.

It has been 56 years since my first grade teacher asked me to define the difference between a house and a home.  I remember as if yesterday:  A house is the outside.  A home is the inside.  Remember that I was only six, so the definition did not call for elaborating.

Like a house with its exterior protection from outside elements, the body is created with a covering of protection from all that is of this world.  Like a home with sights and sounds of life, the body is created to live in health, harmony and beauty.   Just as a house needs to be lived in yet also receive regular attention to detail for its care, the body requires daily care with a support system that exemplifies the unique lifestyle God planned for each of us.

Did you know before God created you that He had a plan for your future, right down to what He purposed you to do on His behalf?  Are you like me, sometimes finding myself in someone else’s dream for their plans?  Sometimes life’s detours are as simple as stepping back onto the green line.  Other times it may require a little digging to uncover the root cause for complete restoration.

The beauty in God’s Grace is that it’s just in time.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  Jeremiah 29:11

When a popular neighborhood restaurant closed and my husband began frequenting our kitchen for breakfast, a slimming difference in his midriff began taking shape. Along with healthier choices, we also had summertime, which invites more outdoor activities. In Georgia, our particularly sultry summer provided the right conditions for melting more belly fat while building muscle.

Our guys eventually do reach an age when they begin loosing muscle mass, which is one reason that it is important to break away from sitting in front of the computer screen for extended periods of time to stretch those muscles and to challenge them in strength training.

Although most conversations, including mine, are with women about women, the men in our lives entrust us with their health and wellbeing.  When my husband, therefore, reported that one of his customers commented on his looking thinner, I wanted to be certain he was taking in adequate calories.  If your hubby is like mine, however, mealtime doesn’t consist of counting calories and discerning whether there is balance in protein, carbs, and fats.  To make certain we both consumed a healthy mix of the food groups, I looked to see what the experts are saying.

Protein

Would it surprise you to know that most meals are heavy in protein and low in carbohydrates and fats?  A simple measure of how much protein to serve is the size of your hand shaped in a fist.  Consequently, a man’s portion of protein will be more than that for a woman. Why are proteins important?  Besides the educated reason that proteins build, maintain and repair, they make essential hormones and enzymes, preserve lean muscle mass, and provide energy when carbs are not available.  And, yes, they are important for healthy skin.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates and fats are essential macronutrients that we as consumers eliminate and minimize from our diets with the idea that they add fat to our body. Nevertheless, carbohydrates are the body’s main source of fuel.  Carbohydrates are also needed for the central nervous system, the kidneys, the brain and the muscles—including the heart—to function properly.  Fiber, which include certain types of carbohydrates the body cannot digest, are needed for intestinal health.

Fats

Why do we need fats and how much?  According to science, about 30% of calories should come from fat for normal growth and development, energy, and absorption of certain vitamins.  Fat also provides cushion for the organs and maintains cell membranes.  Fat make food more palatable. The best choice is unsaturated fat, found in foods like avocados, nuts and a myriad of selections available from exotic oils.  And, yes, fats and carbohydrates are important for healthy skin.

What did I learn while researching caloric intake that confuses even the experts in the field?  The opinions vary.  The answer could be in the number of calories needed to lose one pound, which one PhD simplified:  3500 calories = 1 lb.  If your desire is to loose weight, then for every 3500 calories you expend or cut, you’ll lose 1 pound.  It’s a good reference point if you count calories.  No, I’m not one who counts calories.

Another simplified means of losing weight is portion control.  That makes sense, until you learn that the healthy looking muffin you’re salivating over contains 425 calories. Clearly, staying away from baked goods on a regular basis takes the guesswork out of watching one’s weight.

In this age of weight, my family has been reminded from our youth that preparing meals with homegrown and farm raised ingredients, as well as including healthy fats and sugars, helps to take the frustration out of staying fit and trim.

God made you unique, so you surely ought not to copy someone else’s plan that likely would not work as well for you.  Quite simply, get to know how your body works and be particular when it comes to taking care of yourself and your family.

One such recollection takes me back to a 5^th grade literature lesson of There Was a Little Girl:

There was a little girl,

Who had a little curl,

Right in the middle of her forehead.

When she was good,

She was very good indeed,

But when she was bad she was horrid.

To recreate the poem, there were only two skit players, both of us named Anne—one with an E and one without; one with a hairstyle that allowed for a curl; one with hair too long to play the part.  Ann was like a big sister, always helping me be a leader.  I cannot even tell you my part in this skit, although I do remember wishing for a hairstyle similar to Ann.

These many decades later, the remembrances of a thoughtful and kind-hearted friend, who took me under her wings come to mind when least expected.  Perhaps it is God’s way of reminding me of His sense of humor and how He listens for the desires of our heart – even the most insignificant.

The poem, There Was a Little Girl, written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) is reported from Longfellow’s second son, Ernest, “While walking up and down with his second daughter, then a baby in his arms, that my father composed and sang to her the well-known lines….  Many people think this a Mother-Goose rhyme, but this is the true version and history.”

As I look in the mirror on this sultry summer day, what to my wonder is a curl right in the middle of my forehead.   God does have a wonderful sense of timing for reminding us of His presence.

In the midst of all the world offers, let us remember:

“The Lord your God is with you,

He is mighty to save.

He will take great delight in you,

He will quiet you with His love,

He will rejoice over you with singing.”     Zephaniah 3:17

Do you find yourself walking back and forth in an isle, looking up and down each shelf in wonderment of which product is the right choice?  Whether you’re searching for the next best in facial cleanser, tooth whitener or cool-as-a-cucumber fresh appearance, each day we consumers are offered new choices for the next best in looking our part.

Like you, I’m occasionally found in between the isles slaking my curiosity over what is new while I glance at ingredients. My curiosity is often ignited when a fellow customer asks for help.  As one beautifully tanned young woman questioned her choice in a sun protector, we discussed that somewhere between knowledge and wisdom is a balance.  Thankfully, science and research have been catching up over the past decade to the discerning common sense in consumerism.

Will we ever find that perfect product?  Perfection in anything is often oversold.  For the purist, there will likely remain one ingredient that doesn’t meet all criteria.  Some of us are a tad less fastidious; others are happy just for something that meets their needs.

I am thankful for customers’ feedback that provided a “aha” moment.  As I was relaying a customer’s find for a substitute for our favorite sun protection (she sent it to me via email while she was sunning in Greece), the delightful woman standing next to me gave a sigh of relief upon hearing that she was using that same brand.  One quick look at the shelf and we both laughed.  Which one of the five to choose?  A 30-second tidbit and we were both on our merry ways.

Blessed with wise and wonderful people who raised me up with a discipline as well as an art to living well, I’m privileged to continue the legacy.

All of 22 and certainly from my mind’s eye younger than when I had planned to marry, I was also much younger than my dad had hoped. Surprising to me, then, the news brought peace to my mother’s heart. Nevertheless, aside from a wedding to plan, everything else in my world appeared to be normal.

Normal, that is, until word came that my soon-to-be husband was being promoted.

With the promotion came a transfer to Baltimore, MD.  Could they have moved him any farther from everything I knew to be safe and secure? After a brief burst of excitement for his new job, I remember sitting at my desk and having the fleeting thought to ask him not to take the promotion.

Up to that point, my life seemed relatively stable.  I loved my work and thought I was settled.  Perhaps attending eleven schools and the experience of a topsy-turvy childhood had me so looking forward to planning a spring wedding and deciding where (as in, what neighborhood) we’d call home.  Simple transition, so I thought.

No matter my desire for stability, I let the question for my future husband to exit about as quickly as it entered my mind.  I wouldn’t have dreamed of asking him to cancel a career just as it was beginning, and God didn’t give me permission to cancel our future. Just as when very young the trust and faith in my best friend, One invisible yet very present, soothed the many growing pains, Christ Jesus didn’t leave me to fend on my own.

Moving wouldn’t be the only change presented to me.  The wedding plans changed from a spring event to a winter affair—Christmas in Kansas! In all of Tampa where I called home, I’m sure there was but one velvet wedding gown and it happened to be the first one I pulled from the rack.

Although God’s Grace wasn’t something I gave thought to then, I see His Grace in that moment.   In spite of my lack of courage to change, it is God’s Grace that gave me strength, moving me from my place of comfort, stretching and growing me beyond any plans I could dream.

Our 40^th anniversary is months away.  With many memories to reflect upon before the big day arrives, I’m looking forward to remembering the thanksgiving from those gone-by unexpected changes.

But I tell you the list is long—

Comfort and cheer and grace and love,

And sacrifice and song!

They often question what mother gives,

And I answer that she gives all—

Her life and her hope and her trust and dream,

Her heart and soul to the call!

She gives, she gives, ah, how shall we count

The million things there are

That she gives so those that she loves may walk

‘Neath the light of a lucky star!

She gives her patience, her rest, her rights,

Her pleasure, her chance, her turn—

And maybe they’ll never render you one

Of the million crowns you earn!

It’s always, what is it mother gives?

And there are so few who see

The life that she empties of all its wealth

For the boughs of her olive tree!

The gifts undying, the gifts so rare,

The gifts so precious and fine—

The gift of her days and her grace and love,

And the gift of her patience divine!

Why, nobody gives what mother gives!

Nobody could give more!

Day by day through the rolling years

She gives from her little store.

Tireless, cheerfully, all her life

A gift for the sake of others;

And how many children really know

What a beautiful gift is mother’s!

—The Bentztown Bard, in Baltimore Sun

Our home is a flurry of quiet emotions this morning as I go about making preparation for our cocker to frolic about with her buds.  A short time ago, however, one look at Jessie’s cutie patootie face, offset  with a gentle cock of the head in wonderment, caused me to question if I was doing the right thing.  With many factors tugging at my heart strings, that look that melts my heart conveyed that the time was not just yet.  And, for a couple months more Jessie would be the center of my attention, coupled with tending to her home hospice care.  All this while,  Jessie was teaching me a lesson:  I am to give myself the  same care that enabled her to enjoy nearly 22 years.  After all, besides Jessie, her dad also receives my special love and attention!

A blanket of comfort eventually came in the reminder that the greatest act in loving our fluffy family members is knowing that the time has come to let go.  An avid lover of God’s creations, great and small, going about the small busyness of a Monday morning, my eyes continually catch a glimpse of His presence on a budding spring morning.  And,  Jessie is also telling me that surviving with her clinical care is not the same as living as lavishly as she has over these many years.  Through it all, I am aware that God is fully present in our day.

While it would be easy to get bogged down in the details of daily routine, I’m reminded that we are in the Lenten season.   When many of us think of depriving ourselves from something for the 40 days of Lent, like chocolate or Facebook, I am struck by the vivid realization of God’s sacrifice.  He gave His ultimate love for any one willing to receive it.

How poignant a dear friend’s comment claiming, this the perfect season of transition.

I am fascinated by the manner in which  God weaves through all He has created so many reminders that He is with us, He loves us and He provides the way home.

Are there puppy dogs in Heaven?

I am here to tell you that God sent us a forlorn ragamuffin dog that quickly captivated our hearts.  In her 21 years with us, Jessie has left a smile on the hearts of many.  God uses us — great and small — through every opportunity to remember His ultimate gift.

Thank You, Jesus.