Patience, Princesses and Magical Memories

Lucky me! A couple weeks ago I got to return to the “Magic Kingdom”! It had been 16 years since I had been down in Orlando, walking into the place where memories are made. Some things have changed; others are exactly as I remembered.

As usual it was packed with people from all over America and the world. Parents tried to entertain hot, tired, cranky children in long ride lines. The food consisted mainly of fries and ice cream and everyone was spending WAY too much on souvenirs such as character pins. Kids (and some adults) wore a ribbon lanyard around their necks, filled with character pins that they purchased for ONLY $6-$10 apiece.

The last time I had been in Disney World we had brought our oldest son and daughter and they were six and eight years old. We met lots of princesses and characters at a meal in Cinderella’s castle. Apparently that’s where princesses hang out because we never saw any this trip. We thought our 17 and 22 year old daughters didn’t really need the character lunch but we were disappointed not to see Cinderella! (Other than Mickey Mouse I think Cinderella is who best represents Disney World, don't you?)

After a day of rest by the pool we headed to Universal Studios to the brand new Harry Potter World. Since I haven’t even read the books and have only watched the first movie I was strictly an “I’m here to watch the joy on my daughter’s faces”. They LOVE all things Harry Potter. I felt like an alien as people waited hours to get a glass of butter-beer and watch the magic wand demonstration. Although I know the books are about witchcraft, luckily there wasn’t a dark, evil feeling in the park. Families were just enjoying seeing with their eyes, what they had read about and imagined from the pages of the books.

Toward the end of our second long day maneuvering through an amusement park I was feeling a bit un-amused by the crowds and long waits that ended in rides that weren’t quite as fun as we had anticipated. It was worth it though, to see my girls having special time together in sunny weather and to hear their laughter.

Back in “real life” there are days when it’s hard to be patient and wait upon the Lord. Some days are NOT fun, and I dream of escaping to a magical land.We all are expected to keep our eyes focused on Heaven and know that “if we look forward to something we don’t have yet, we must wait patiently and confidently.” Romans 8:24-25. Unlike Disney World or Universal Studios, Heaven is going to be more than I can even begin to dream about. “And the city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and the Lamb is its light.” Revelation 21:23

Stephen Curtis Chapman is one of my favorite Christian musicians and last week I got to go to his concert and hear his family's testimony. Tragically his little five year old daughter was struck by a car in the spring of 2009 and went to live with the Lord. Stephen sang his song “Cinderella” about making time to dance with his daughters as they grow up. He is confident that someday he’ll be reunited with his daughter Maria in heaven and they’ll dance once more. I was reminded again how precious my time with my sweet daughters is (and my sons) and that I need to make memories while keeping my eyes on Jesus and what is to come in eternity.

Living in the Color Gray

I love brand new boxes of Crayola crayons. All those colors! The new names they’ve come up with such as “macaroni and cheese” are quite clever. I call myself “color sensitive”. I guess I notice colors around me more than most people. I love so many different colors that lately I can’t really name a favorite.

When I was six I told my diary that pink and purple were my favorites. I wore baby blue in my teens to match my eyes. I’ve always gravitated to red and yellow. This came in really handy during college because those were the official colors of Chi Omega , my sorority. While I was teaching kindergarten I had a little boy who loved orange and I realized orange made me happy too! Was it because fall is my favorite time of year and orange is made by mixing red and yellow together?... Lately I’ve been drawn back to purple.

I tend to frustrate my husband because I have difficulty choosing paint colors. I want them to be just right. I’m a bit grumpy right now because the bedroom we sleep in (I hesitate calling it our master suite since its small and doesn’t have a bathroom) is the color of an eggplant and it's depressing. I know we’ll eventually get around to re-painting it but we are waiting until we decide if we’re knocking down a wall to expand it.

For the first time ever I now am the proud owner of a blue-gray dining room. I’ve never had a blue room before, other than some kid bedrooms in our last house. I LOVE having a blue-gray room. It looks sophisticated and modern. I enjoy gray when it’s on fabric and walls, but not so much up in the sky.I've been thrilled that the weather has been beautiful this fall. The days are sunny, the leaves are changing. The weather forecast for this weekend is cloudy and rainy so I need to prepare myself for the gray sky I grew accustomed to back in the Northwest.

Today someone mentioned to me that I would just have to accept the fact that right now I’m living in the color gray. As in, not clear like black & white. Living in gray doesn’t necessarily mean I’m indecisive. It means I don’t have much CONTROL but I need to persevere. Yep. Not easy for someone who likes structure and is a bit of a control freak. As a teacher I LOVED writing out lesson plans so I knew what was supposed to happen in my classroom hour by hour, day by day.

Sometimes our circumstances cause us to "live" in the color gray. Currently I have absolutely NO idea what the next six months will bring. I can’t even plan or imagine my day-to-day existence this coming spring. All I can do is live in the moment,prepare to be flexible and remember that God is in control. Am I alone in this? Probably not. There are probably lots of moms and wives who are living in the color gray. Perhaps they’re waiting on news from a medical test. Maybe their husband just lost his job. How are we to live when we can’t really make plans?

“Give your worries to God for he cares about you.” 1Peter 5:7. I know He’s working out His plan even though it might be awhile until I determine what that is. “God never stops working in our lives.”Philippians 1:6.

Right now I think it would be a good time to live each day to the fullest, count my blessings, and spend more time in the Word. Living day by day sounds like a good plan. Remember the Godspell song, “Day by Day”?
Day by Day,
Day by Day,
Oh, Dear Lord, three things I pray;
To see thee more clearly,
Love thee more dearly,
Follow thee more nearly,
Day by Day.

If faith was a color I think it would be gray.

Becky’s Closet

My friend Becky always makes me smile. She laughs at herself and her laugh is infectious. Despite the fact that she’s beautiful (on the outside and inside) and looks good in just about anything, she depends on others to help her decide what clothes and accessories look flattering on her. “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.” 1Peter 3:3-4

We middle-aged “girls” want to look our best and enjoy new clothes so its fun to share our latest fashion “finds” with each other. Every time I’m at Becky’s house I get a fashion show. At every get-together I’ve been to, we end up in Becky’s closet to see her latest purchases, give her our honest opinions and help her choose what to keep. (And my husband thinks I do a lot of returns!!)

As a community of believers, God wants us to be encouraging to others in our faith walks. We need to spur one another on, challenge each other to use our gifts to further God’s kingdom and occasionally tell the truth in love even when it hurts. We can do that best by really getting to know our friends well enough to be invited into their “closets”. “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” Hebrews 10:24

This past week when I was back visiting my Northwest friends I not only got to enjoy time in Becky’s closet, but I also spent time in a Loft dressing room with dear friends. (I’m not sure the store was used to three grown women having that much fun trying on outfits!) Not only that, but over cups of coffee and glasses of wine my friends spoke truth to me about some tough things I’m wrestling with. Maybe it wasn’t always what I had hoped to hear, but it was God’s love and wisdom poured out.

A couple days later I popped into Target and found the same darling dress that Becky had modeled for me! When I wear it I’ll think of her and all the fun we had. (I heard once that copying is a sincere form of flattery...)

I think “Becky’s Closet” would be an adorable name for a clothing store. I envision a boutique that you go to with close girlfriends where the sales help is kind but truthful and where you always leave smiling.

Reading Yard Signs

Our new hometown sure likes yard signs. As I’m on my walks I can’t help noticing all the signs posted by realtors and proud families. Even though there are quite a few “For Sale” signs, there are even more signs which announce who is a football player, soccer player, member of the music program, student at the private Catholic school, and on and on they go.

The day our house went on the market back in Washington was really hard. When they pounded that “For Sale” sign into my front yard it became “real”… Less than two months later our home sold and soon after that our realtor put the infamous “SOLD!” across the top. The next day I noticed another sold sign plastered on; the realtor who represented the buyer wanted to take credit too. OK! So it really was sold and it took the seller, buyer and two realtors to make that happen. The letters on the wooden sign let our neighbors know it was official.

Perhaps the proud parents of my new community want all the neighbors to remember that they officially have raised a great kid who is a star athlete, singer, dancer, etc… Well I have a great kid too. She’s the BEST! It just so happens that at the moment she’s not involved in anything I can brag to the neighbors about with a sign that the boosters or some other club created to be purchased as a fundraiser and stuck in the yard.

Maybe what I should do is create my own sign. It would say: Home of a princess, the daughter of the KING! She has committed her life to Jesus and is SOLD OUT to living for Him. Now that is something to be proud of…