EYES
Today I looked into a beautiful pair of brown eyes. They sparkled, they danced, they said "Isn't it a great day? I love you." I picked up my granddaughter, gave her a tight hug, and told her, "I will love you forever." She said, "I love you too- forever, now let's have breakfast."

Today I went with my mom and dad to an adult day-care facility. Mom's Alzheimer is at a point that she is afraid to stay alone, afraid to stay with dad, just plain afraid. When she asks "Where's dad?" I am never sure if she means my dad or her dad? At times she is a young girl looking for her parents. At other times she is looking for her husband, my dad. The hardest part is when he is sitting right next to her. I know if I say he is here she will become angry and frustrated because she thinks its a trick. So I look into the eyes of the woman who is such an incredible mom and I do what she whipped me many times for doing as a small child... I lie. "I don't know where he is?" Or, I mumble something that even I don't understand. Today I prayed that she would like the facility. It would be a place for her to go, visit, sing, and laugh with others. It is also the place that will give my dad a much needed break from the 36-hour day of Alzheimer's care-giving.

Today was picture-day at the facility. They asked me to man the camera and get a group picture before going in for lunch. I was searching the faces in that group. What could I read from them. Were they happy, were they cared for, was this a safe and happy place for mom?

Today I looked into a beautiful pair of brown eyes. They sparkled, they danced, they said "Isn't it a great day? It is good here." I smiled into her eyes, as she pushed her walker my way, she smiled and winked her eye." It said, "It will be okay, she will love you forever." And then we had lunch.

The Bible says the eyes are a window to the soul. I want my eyes to reflect the joy, peace, kindness, and the unconditional love of the Father to anyone who looks my way.

Vacation!

I love vacations. I love the weeks leading up to them, the planning, the packing... Okay not really those parts, but I love dreaming about it with Randy and seeing him take care of the details. I do like packing except for knowing that I will always need something more than what I packed. Randy and I have a goal to see how many days we can travel with packing no more than a back pack each. This time it was seven days. Probably because bathing suits don't take up much room.

Randy and I just got back from Cozumel. We have wanted to go for years. In fact we made plans on our 25th anniversary and just didn't follow through. This year was our 30th anniversary. We made the decision rather on the spur of the moment, so that was fun. I think that is how we work best. Be spontaneous, go for it. This way we don't have time to think of all the extremely "good" reasons why we shouldn't follow through.




We had a wonderful seven days of being awed by the beauty that God has created. We snorkeled in water that looked like it came from a bottle. I know now what it must feel like if you could swim in my brother-in-law Keith's fish tank. (I've never seen a cleaner fish tank, by the way.) I kept thinking, if I could just catch that little fish I could take it back for Keith's tank. Illogical I know, but they were just so beautiful.




This morning I was reading in 1 Corinthians 15 and it was talking about the resurrection. Amazing. I thought of all the diverse things we had seen and experienced(swimming with dolphins!) on vacation and that is such a small speck of life that is in our world today. I can't imagine.

1 Corinthians 15:35-41 from the Message translations reads:

35-38Some skeptic is sure to ask, "Show me how resurrection works. Give me a diagram; draw me a picture. What does this 'resurrection body' look like?" If you look at this question closely, you realize how absurd it is. There are no diagrams for this kind of thing. We do have a parallel experience in gardening. You plant a "dead" seed; soon there is a flourishing plant. There is no visual likeness between seed and plant. You could never guess what a tomato would look like by looking at a tomato seed. What we plant in the soil and what grows out of it don't look anything alike. The dead body that we bury in the ground and the resurrection body that comes from it will be dramatically different.

39-41You will notice that the variety of bodies is stunning. Just as there are different kinds of seeds, there are different kinds of bodies—humans, animals, birds, fish—each unprecedented in its form. You get a hint at the diversity of resurrection glory by looking at the diversity of bodies not only on earth but in the skies—sun, moon, stars—all these varieties of beauty and brightness. And we're only looking at pre-resurrection "seeds"—who can imagine what the resurrection "plants" will be like!

Isn't that glorious! Praise God from whom all blessings flow, now and forever more.