Month: September 2015

People ask me, “Have you lived here all your life?” My husband says, “Not yet, I haven’t.” I have lived in Vinita, Oklahoma, most of my life except for 7 years back in the early 70’s. I came home in 1977 and have lived here ever since.

It used to be a “two-stop-light town” but now we have 4 stop lights.

Most of the graduates of my Vinita High School Class of 1967 just wanted to get away from here, no matter where they went. You can find Vinitans in Dallas, Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Tulsa….especially Tulsa. You can’t even walk through the mall in Tulsa without running into someone  from Vinita.

There are some people who live here now who would give anything to be able to get away from Vinita. They would go anywhere just to get out, but they are stuck here because of financial setbacks or family ties.

God cannot change the situation you are in until you learn to be happy where you are. God doesn’t cause your troubles and trials; the devil brings some things on you, but some you bring on yourself.

When you learn to say, “Lord, I don’t know why you want me to live in this town, but as long as I am here, I am going to like it,” then you may learn to like it so well, that you won’t want to live anywhere else. On the other hand, God may open the door for you to move to some other town you like better.

In the meantime, instead of cursing Vinita, start praying for Vinita and blessing Vinita, (or whatever town you live in.)

 “And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captives, and pray unto the LORD for it: for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.” Jeremiah 9:7.

Like my daddy always said, “Just be happy.”

Warm days, cool nights. Rainy days. Leaves turning autumn colors. I love the seasons of the year. Can’t say which I love more. Each has its own special treats.

Seasons change. Nothing stays the same. We are born, we live, we die. Some have called it futile, but there is a peace in knowing that each season follows the one before. When seasons are disrupted, it causes confusion and uncertainty.

When we have a warm spell in the winter, nature sends forth buds and leaves, which are killed by the next freeze. A late freeze in spring kills the fruit on trees. 14 inches of snow in March when gardeners are preparing their soil for planting is not normal.

Here, of course, I am speaking of weather in the Heartland of America-Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas. I don’t know about weather and seasons in other parts of the country. And I can’t even guess what it is like in other parts of the world, like Australia or Africa.

Genesis 8:22 NKJV says “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.” This was a promise from the Lord. Noah came out of the ark after more than a year and built an altar to the Lord God Jehovah, sacrificing burnt offerings on the altar. Then the Lord spoke to Noah, making a covenant of blessing with him. God promised never to destroy all the earth with a flood again and as a sign of His promise, He set a rainbow in the cloud.

This promise included the seedtime and harvest, winter and summer. There is something very reassuring in knowing that while the seasons change, they will always remain. As long as there is an earth, as long as the earth remains, there will be seasons.

I was young, I became a teenager, married, had children, have grandchildren, now growing older, when I reach my 90’s on earth, and am satisfied with my life, then I will lay my life down to go be with my Saviour and my Lord Jesus Christ.

Seasons change, seasons remain, as long as the earth remains–this is God’s promise to me.

MOTHER HEN

Once a week, my 97-year-old mother gets a full shower, her hair washed and set, and her nails trimmed and filed. Sometimes we polish her fingernails. When I give her a choice of color she always chooses a light pink almost pearl color.

I can remember as preteen girls, my sisters and I would polish her nails. We curled her hair, even cut it, and gave her permanents. When we were young we believed our mother was the prettiest mother there ever was, but as we grew up into our teen years, our mother seemed old-fashioned and behind the times.

I got married, moved about 100 miles away, and settled into work, but I still felt so attached to my mother and family that I came home to Vinita almost every two weeks. I didn’t care what it cost to drive home. The town we had moved to never became home.

After my first child was born, I continued to return to Vinita bringing him to visit my mother and mother-in-law. When he was sick, I called Mother and she’d catch the bus down to help me take care of him. When I was divorced and moved back to Vinita, I moved my mobile home next door to Mother to live, and once again, she was the one who helped me with everything.

Mother and I have had our ups and down, probably because we are both stubborn and mule-headed, but I learned as I matured that my mother was truly my best friend even during those times we butted heads.

Jesus stood looking out over Jerusalem. “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood [chicks] under her wings, but you were not willing.” Luke 13:35 NKJV

Jesus, our Savior, our Lord, our Master, our Healer, and yes, even our mother hen who watches over her little children, gathering them under wings of love to protect us in troubled times.