The Faith of Hanna

The last few days my sweet husband has been checking my blog to see what wonderful wit, wisdom, or wild thoughts I might have posted. So last night he told me it was about time I put something new here.

I've stayed away from my blog because I've been overwhelmed. Not with the normal overwhelming things like work, or illness, or business, etc. I've been internally overwhelmed. Those of you who are mothers, especially mothers of adult children, know the feeling. Sometimes your heart is so heavy for your children that you simply can't find the strength to lift yourself up and pursue your own interests. That's where I've been.

All my kids have their individual sets of circumstances, trials, hardships, decisions, challenges... And this mother's heart feels their pain, knows their frustrations, understands their longings, hopes for them, fears for them, wants for them, rejoices with them, cries for them...and prays for them.

A young mother of three girls once said to me, "I guess parenting is not as intense for you now that your girls are older." Boy, did she have it all wrong! Broken toys and boo boos were easy fixes. Lost jobs, financial stress, career choices, time investments, influence of friends, life lessons, disappointments--now you're talkin' intense parenting!

As I've poured my heart out to the Lord on behalf of my children, a voice in the back of my mind (or in my heart) keeps telling me I need the faith of Hanna.

You remember Hanna. She was the one that went with her husband every year to worship and offer sacrifices to the Lord. And every year her husband's other wife would tease her, make fun of her, and talk trash to her because she didn't have children. Finally Hanna had all she could take--"And she, greatly distressed, prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. And she made a vow..." (See I Samuel 1: 10&11) Remember? She asked God to give her a son. She prayed so hard that Eli, the priest, thought that she had had one too many sips of the hard grape juice?

Oh no! I know what you're thinking! Don't worry! I may need the faith of Hanna, but God has blessed me with lots of common sense. This old gal knows that she's past her prime and I'm not crazy enough to ask God for more kids. (Grandkids? Yes! Kids, no!) You'd KNOW I had one too many at that point!

The faith of Hanna that I need is found in I Samuel 1:19-2:11--the keeping of the vow.

When I was a little kid I was taught the story of Hanna in Sunday school. Secretly I thought she was a pretty lousy mother. What kind of a mother could just take her kid to church, drop him off, and leave him there. Didn't she love him? How terrible! I remember one teacher I had trying to reassure me that it was okay because Hanna could go visit Samuel every year when she went up for her annual worship service. Humph! I still didn't like the woman!

But now, I respect her. She knew she was simply a vessel belonging to God, put here on this earth for God's purpose and glory. She knew, even before Samuel was in her womb, that he belonged to God too. She simply wanted the privilege of bringing Samuel into the world so that she could give him back to God--a gift of love and gratitude.

Hanna knew that God was a good parent--the best parent--a better parent than she. Her faith was in a God who could care for, provide for, guide, and teach her little boy like no other parent could. Not even...well, you know.

I think of Hanna now and how she might have wished she had not made that vow to God. I'm sure she cried long and hard every time she left the temple, and her baby boy. Did she hug him until he couldn't breath? Did she hold on to his hand until both their arms were stretched out tight as she walked away? Did she wish for the days when he was a tiny baby and she could cuddle him and hold on to him? And when she was back home, was her heart so heavy with thoughts of her son that she could hardly pull herself up to pursue her own interests? Maybe so.

Yet her faith in a God of all hope and possibilities caused her to make a vow, and that same faith enabled her to keep that vow. She gave her son back to the Lord for His service. I need the faith of Hanna.

The most intense part of parenting? Letting go.

Is it an Award, or is it Tag?

Remember my new friend Sarah? I told you about her in yesterday's post. Well, she passed on this award or tag or a combination of the both. It has rules. Y'all know I'm not always good with rules. But here they are anyway.

The Honest Scrap Award: A) First list 10 honest things about yourself - and make it honest (hence, the award 'Honest Scrap'), even if you have to dig deep!

B) Pass the award on to 8 bloggers that you feel embody the role of the Honest Scrap. (This is an award only to display on your blog that everything you write on it is in truth, sincerity, and integrity.)

Now I don't know exactly what to do. I'm trying to think back and remember if everything I've ever written in every post is the absolute truth. I've been known to exaggerate sometimes, if I think of something funny. But for the most part, I am a truthful person. Do I accept the award or decline?

If it is a tag, then I can play tag, but to follow the rules and pass it along to 8 other bloggers I find difficult to do. I don't follow that many blogs and I'm afraid that they might get sick of me always tagging them. And I don't want to make them want to run away when they see me coming.

So, here's what I'll do. I'll let you know 10 more honest things about myself, but I will skip the tagging. If you stop by here and see this post as inspiration and want to get tagged, then grab the award and run with it! If you'd just as soon your readers not know honest scrap about you, then leave it alone. How's that?

Okay, honest scrap. Let me see...

1. I started going gray at the tender age of 25. My hubby doesn't particularly like my silver strands and he likes for me to get my hair color out of a bottle. So, that's what I do. But the honest scrap is...my roots are salt and pepper.

2. Day after day I don't see very many people or talk to anybody except my kids or my mom. (On the phone) So when I get around people I have a tendency to talk too much. That's the honest scrap.

3. I love my husband more than words can describe. But the honest scrap is, some days (and they are very few) I don't like him very much. But that's okay because some days he feels the same about me. (I'm not always a sweet nice person.) That's how marriage is sometimes. I'm glad that love conquers all.

4. Sometimes my arms ache to hold my grandchildren and hug my children. Honest mommy scrap.

5. My thumbs hurt. I guess I'm getting old. Opening jars has turned from a thoughtless action into a major ordeal. That's OLD honest scrap.

6. I might, statistically, be un-churched. Our on-the-road living and working rarely allows us to go to church. That makes me sad. But thankfully the Holy Spirit doesn't live in a brick building with stained glass windows. That makes me glad. Honest trying-not-to-backslide scrap.

7. I've told you this before, but I HATE washing dishes. I wish I could just throw dirty dishes, pots, pans and all, out the window after every meal. Honest lazy scrap.

8. I'm not scared of dying, but I'm not crazy about the dying process. I want to go instantly. Morbidly honest scrap.

9. I love my kids more than life itself. They are all my "favorite." Sometimes they frustrate me, but that doesn't change how I feel about them. More honest mommy scrap.

10. I'm tired of trying to think of honest things about myself. Not that honesty is a problem. It's just that I've got other things I need to be doing. Like vacuuming the floor. That's real life honest scrap!

If you pick up this award, let me know so I can read your honest scrap too!

Say Cheese! I'm Pleased!

There is a sweet gal named Sarah blogging about her family, her Bible study, and just life in general. She's got a beautiful design and a heart focused on God. God may not be finished with her yet, but He's done a great job with her so far. Please take a few minutes to click over and visit her.

Sarah has blessed me with a photography award. I'm honored! I'm not sure I deserve an award, I just get snap happy from time to time. I don't know anything about lighting or shutter speeds or f stops or anything like that. I've got a middle of the line camera that is great for dummies. It's obviously smarter than I am, and it takes great pictures. Sarah, I'm glad you've enjoyed them.

I've tried to label a few of my posts. I'm slowly but surly trying to get them all labeled, but if any of you want to see more of my pictures, you can find the label in my side bar. If you click on "Photos" it will take you to the posts that I've gotten labeled. There are probably still some with photos that I've not labeled, so check back again some other day--maybe I'll get more done.

I've got a few photos that are my favorites, but I'd like to know your favorites. So if you have time and want to go back and enjoy some of my older posts, make a note of your favorite photos and let me know. Thanks.

Now, like the Lemonade Award that Ida passed on to me, I place this one at the feet of Jesus because as I think about all my favorite photos, I realize that the subject matter of each of them is something beautiful that God has allowed me to see or be a part of. It's all because of Him, so it shall be all for Him. For His glory I write and for His glory I capture and post pictures. If people who stop by here find pleasure or joy from what they see, then I'm blessed. I'm pleased.

Thanks again Sarah! Say "Cheese!"

KABOOM!

There is was again. I wondered, is that thunder? Surely not. The sound started in the distance a while before sunset. But as the evening wore on and nighttime pulled the shades over the sun, the thundering sounds came closer. Kaboom! Kaboom! No longer a noise but a sensation, the explosions vibrated the ground and rocked my travel-ready home. What in the world?!?

My husband is a genius. Well, not really. Not like my blogger friend Walter Mitty or my son-in-law, Tony. But he is often what steadies me in a shaky world. He keeps me informed, and he thinks of things that would never cross my mind. He always knows where he is and what's going on around him. (Unless he is working or watching TV and I'm trying to talk to him.)

So when all the booming and shaking and rumbling prompted too many "I wonder..." remarks from me, he pulled up a map on his computer and showed me that we are parked, as the crow flies, only four or five miles from the backside of Fort Knox.

Fort Knox is the U.S Armor Center. (Just in case you didn't know.) Tanks. Those indestructible animals of battle. And when one of those cannons perched on top of one of those tanks is fired, it makes a loud KABOOM, and the ground shakes and the windows of an RV will rattle!

Thank goodness the soldiers and marines stopped their target practice or whatever they were doing before midnight so I could get some sleep. But they were back at it again this morning. Not long ago I heard some faint RAT-A-TAT-TATs in between the KABOOMS!

I had a oxymoronal (Is that a word?) thought. The thundering and rattlings of big guns, the sounds common to battle, are somehow comforting to me. With every blast I know that there are men and women staying in a state of readiness to defend me and my property from enemies of which I may be completely unaware. They train themselves daily to protect my home, my country, my family, my freedom.

Though the ground may shake and my windows may rattle, I can rest in peace. Thank you, men and women of our armed forces, for choosing to do what you do for those of us who can't do for ourselves.

To Answer Your Questions

You sweet readers have asked a couple of questions in your comments and I want to answer them. One thing you wanted to know is how I got through the third grade in just two weeks.

My Third Grade Story

I went to Bivins Grade School at Masterson, Texas. The only thing smaller than Masterson, TX was Bivins Grade School. On average there were about 24 students K-6th grade. My class had three students, including me.

I was an A+ student without trying and my classmates had to work hard to earn their letter grades that were not as high as mine. I'm not meaning to sound proud, after all, we're talking first and second grade. Not much of a track record to brag about.

The second and third grades occupied the same classroom and were taught simultaneously by one teacher. Mrs. Doughty.

I never remember having a problem with Mrs. Doughty and I didn't know that she had any problems with me. But undoubtedly she did. I whizzed through second grade and had a good time doing it. It was the good time I had that prompted Mrs. Doughty to ask my parents if she could advance me after only two weeks in the third grade.

That teacher told my parents that I didn't apply myself. Humm. I didn't need to. I was bored out of tiny little gourd. And in my boredom I became a distraction to the other students. I cleaned out my desk, played in the sand box, and talked (imagine that) when the other students needed to work and study. I finished my work quickly and had too much free time on my hands. I needed to be challenged.

I'm guessing that if I'd stayed in the third grade all year, Mrs. Doughty might have decided to take early retirement.

But I like to think that the real thing that scooted me on through the third grade so quickly was the providential hand of God. There are many people that I would have never know had I entered Jr. High and High School a year later. My husband of 27+ years is one of them.

My history and my life would be totally different if I had not skipped the third grade. I could play "what if" for days on the thought. But what a waste of time that would be. Instead, I'll offer a "thank you" to God for numbering my days and ordering my steps. How HUGE is my God!

Now you tell me...
How has God numbered your days and ordered your steps to change YOUR life and YOUR history? How huge is your God?

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Your second question is, Why do I travel about the country and call so many places "home?"

Living Like Gypsies

It's my husband's job. Rick is a catastrophic insurance adjuster. In the industry he's know as a CAT adjuster. (Sounds like a chiropractor for furry pets, huh?) It works like this--

Insurance companies employ a small number of staff adjusters. They live and work in one place handling those day to day claims like grease fires, toilet overflows, vandalism, thefts, etc.

But when a disaster strikes and too many claims come pouring in for the staff adjusters to handle, your insurance company calls up a third-party company whose business it is to supply temporary adjusters (aka CAT adjusters) to help you get your money in a timely manner.

CAT adjusters don't get paid when there are no CATS. We depend on hail storms, ice storms, hurricanes, wild fires, mud slides, floods,... You get the picture. Cat adjusters usually live in RVs or extended stay motels. We all have places we call home, but the more time we spend there, the harder it is to pay the bills.

It's a different life for sure. It has it ups and downs, its positives and negatives. Why do we do it? I don't know for sure, but I think it has something to do with desires to live by faith, help people who are facing trials, and, well, EAT.

It's your turn.

Why do you do live where you live and do what you do?

I'm SO glad I have holes in my head!

One small drawback to traveling all over the country is elevation--and the changing thereof.

Elevation of my most recent "homes."

Mobile, AL: 16 feet

Amarillo, TX: 3,607 feet

Louisville, KY: 462 feet

So what's the problem you ask? Take a look at a few of my bottled goods.When we leave a place like Mobile (16 ft.) and travel to Amarillo (3607 ft.) the air trapped inside the bottles is dense, thus puffing the bottles up like a bunch of labeled puffer fish. Sometimes the air pressure inside the bottles is so much greater than the thin Amarillo air that the cleaners are actually pushed out through the spray tubes. I wind up with puddles of cleaners in my cabinets when I get home.

Then, when we leave Amarillo and drop to a place like Louisville (462 ft) the denser air outside the bottles pushes against the thin air inside so that the bottles cave in, as you can see in the photo above. When I try to use the cleaners, a vacuum forms and I have to open the bottles to get anything to come out.

I'm used to this routine, but it always makes me stop and think... I'm SO glad I have holes in my head. Once again God knew what He was doing when created us. Just think what it would be like, traveling across the country, if we were air-tight. Either our heads would cave in or we would puff up until we...

One time when we were camping in the Rocky Mountains we took a picnic lunch way up to the top of a mountain. Our bag of chips actually exploded because of the change in altitude. (That's kind of a messy thought.)

So if you need some reason to give thanks today, thank our wise Creator for the holes in your head!

They make travel much more comfortable!

I am fearfully and wonderfully made!

Winter Winter Everywhere

The weather is miserably cold, but if you like winter, Kentucky is the place to be. (I'm not complaining, but winter is NOT my favorite season.) Starting Monday night ice and freezing rain started to fall.It continued to fall all day Tuesday. Then after a few inches of that, and once the road looked like an ice skating rink...then snow, a few more inches of it, fell, hiding all that ice. If you are one of my readers living in the south, remember this post in August. Put your feet in a bowl of ice, pull this post up and "escape" the awful heat!

Aren't you glad this is not your home? Poor little birds!

I've stayed in and tried to keep warm, but I did get out and slip around on the ice to snap these pictures. There really is something beautiful about ice and snow even though they can cause so many problems for so many people.

One problem, for example, is trying to drive. We were sitting around here yesterday evening minding our own business when a motor home came down the road spinning its wheels on the ice. It started to slide, then...

BLAM! It slid into the side of our truck.

Spring is still a couple of months away, but it only takes one good ice storm to make me ready for it! I'm watching the local weather as I type. There is "possibly" more snow in the forecast. I think I need a cup of hot cocoa!