TAKE ME AWAY

What do Harlequin romance novels, drugs, and alcohol have in common?  They can be used to take me away. 

Do you remember the Calgon commercials and their phrase take me away?  When this was popular, we had moved to another state, with two children ages 5 weeks and 4 years, and a mother-in-law with dementia.  Life was full of challenges and I often wanted to shout, “Take me away!”  Instead of shouting, I read Harlequin romance novels.  Why?

They were like the Hallmark movies today.  From the first page, I knew what was going to happen.  The woman would hate the man.  They would fall in love.  Something would be taken out of context and they would breakup.  Just before the plane took off, the truth would be revealed, followed by a makeup kiss and all was good in paradise.  BUT for a short amount of time, I didn’t have to think.  Toys magically put themselves in the toy box.  Dementia was not part of any character.  And supper appeared out of nowhere.  

That is until I would realize how quiet it had become.  Quiet, when there are children in the house, is never a good thing.  The heroine would have to wait on the happily ever after ending.  I closed the book, took a deep breath, and came back to reality.

REALITY

Reality is what we are trying to get away from.  We want to be taken away from the stress of life.  The trials of life.  The drudgery part of life.  We want to have the toys pick themselves up.  We want loved ones to be healthy.  We want the food to magically appear on the table and to qualify for the James Beard Award. 

Take me away has many forms.  Thankfully mine came in the printed version … books … which could easily be put down.  For others, take me away comes in the form of alcohol or drugs or other addictions.  Returning to reality from addictions can take years or a lifetime.  Sadly, some never find the strength to return.

Life is real and comes with trials and stress and drudgery.  We do not like them.  We do not want them.  But there they are.

REALITY II

If anyone had the right to be worried about reality, it was Joshua.  His reality changed when he became the one to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land.  God told Joshua:

Have I not commanded you?  Be strong and courageous.  Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.     Joshua 1:9

Be strong and courageous when you face reality.  Do not be terrified or discouraged.  After all, the Lord your God is right there with you.  He’s got you covered!!!

 NO SENSE OF HUMOR

Day five, of my hospital stay, began way too early when the technician came to draw blood.  As he was performing his duties, I said, “I have had so many needles stuck in me that when I drink water it squirts out the holes.”  He looked at me, with a dead-pan look, and left the room.  That poor man had no sense of humor.

How does someone function without a sense of humor?  If you have no sense of humor, how do you react when a child, with cookie crumbs all over their face, says, “I did not eat a cookie.”?  Such sweet innocence.  Such an out and out lie.  All of us with a sense of humor would be struggling not to laugh.

A no sense of humor person would be upset because a goose decided to land on the baseball field.  A person, with a sense of humor, would be laughing as a proper goose removal technique was being carried out.  How sad to be missing a sense of humor. 

That got me to thinking about how my life would be different if certain “things” were missing.  Not the obvious things like family and friends or things most of us take for take for granted like home, electricity, water.  I got to thinking about the invisible things.

Let’s start with an easy one everyone can relate to.  I cannot see the breeze blowing the leaves, but I can see the leaves moving.  A gentle breeze … invisible but it is present in our lives and can bring joy as we watch leaves swirling in the air.  That is only the beginning of invisible things.

I cannot see trust, but it impacts my life.  Have people I trusted let me down?  Of course, but I refuse to live my life based on the actions of a few.  Even when we are not there, three friends, numerous family members, and the guy who will come in an emergency to work on our furnace, water heater, or electric problem know how to get into our home.  And I trust God.

I cannot see hope, but it moves me forward through life.  I hope my family and friends will have happy, healthy lives.  I hope people will change their lives and find faith in God.  I hope our churches would be strong against the current culture and not hide.  Without hope, I would hear the news and fear tomorrow.  And I place my hope in God.

I cannot see forgiveness, but I can feel it.  It is as if a burden has been lifted from my shoulders.  It is as if my very soul shouts, “I will suffer no more from my sins.”  And I accept the forgiveness of God.

I cannot see all the ways I am protected.  I cannot see the times I did not fall or every time I was almost in a wreck.  I cannot see an angel stepping between that ole Satan and me.  I cannot see all the prayers being said for me.  And I call upon God’s protection.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11:1 KJV

I am so thankful for all the unseen things in my life. 

I am so thankful for a sense of humor, because I still think water squirting out all those needle holes is funny.

 MY MIND

Every so often I forget and make the comment, “Well, you know how my mind works.”  Why should I not make this comment?  The minute the words are out of my mouth anyone within ear shot replies, “No one knows how your mind works.” 

I have two pictures that might help you understand why this is a true assessment.

I will admit my mind does work in a unique way.  At my age, I still see cloud shapes.  Just this week I saw a dog!  I really tried to help hubby see the dog, but all he saw was a cloud.  He needs his imagination checked.

Going down the road, my mind wonders why someone would leave that tree in the middle of the field to farm around.  Or what are those black tarp-like things? (Found out they shade ginseng.)  Or how did they get that power line over the mountain?  Of course, all of these are directed to Bill.  He usually replies, “Do I look like the Shell Answer Man?”  (If you recognize “Shell Answer Man” you are approaching old.)  I can also see an abandoned house and picture the family that lived there.  When going through North Dakota, I saw an Indian Chief, proudly sitting on his horse, on a rock outcropping along the highway.  And, when I see a buffalo, I see how the west looked before the first stranger came over the horizon.

HYMNS AT CHURCH

Are you wondering what this has to do with church and hymns?  Well….. one Sunday, when I was Lay Leader, the congregation sang When The Roll Is Called Up Yonder, I’ll Be There.  Now that is a toe tapper.  Then, and this is where my imagination kicked in, the song during the offering was I’ll Fly Away.

I am sitting there trying not to giggle.  Or even laugh out loud.  The song ended and I said, “I have a very vivid imagination so when she started playing that, I thought, ‘Yup, when the roll is called up yonder I am going to fly away,’ so if ya all ain’t flying with me and I’m up here some Sunday, I’m just gonna disappear.”

I guess this leads to the question:  When the roll is called up yonder, will you fly away?