Saturday, March 10, 2012

Right Under My Nose All the TIME

Up to the shoulder inside a cow.
Last week my daughter wrote a book review that got me thinking. She tells a story about picking up a book several times, even purchasing a few copies over a period of months, only to read it at the right time and the right place. Which, by the way, was on a cattle ranch where she had to have her wedding ring cut off to save her finger.


Later in the week, while cleaning out some stuff in her house she found a document linking her husband to a toy store we used to frequent when the girls were little. I have a faint memory of a friendly, tall, dark, and handsome boy chatting with us.  But Rachel didn't meet John then, at least not in the way that led to their marriage.  She met him while shopping for a truck at a dealership where he worked as a salesman and where he is now General Manager.
After they met, Rachel learned that he lived right around the corner, which means she probably saw him many times as a girl riding her bike or gazing out her window.  I recall driving her to work one day; when we stopped at a traffic light, we both looked up into the driver's seat of a truck, where a handsome young man smiled back at us.  It turns out it was her prince -- the chatty toy store clerk had grown up! None of us knew it then.  All three of us still remember it now.
By the way, this is the ring that needed to come off to save Rachel's finger.

Rachel's story is amazingly similar to my own story of knowing Jim since kindergarten, never imagining that he was my prince.  More about that in a previous post. (My Husband, My Prince)

And her story is a lot like the one told by my grandparents,who were born (1899 and 1900) on different levels of the same house, who met and fell in love in their teens.  My grandfather used to reminisce about watching a beautiful girl walk down the sidewalk, a huge bow in her long brown hair, her coat and hair blowing in the wind.  Many years later, he learned who the girl was -- my grandmother.

I can tell a similar story.  I remember at about 12 years old I was standing outside a 5 & 10 cents store, wondering who I was going to marry.  Many years later, when I wed my prince, I realized that this store was right at the end of his street.  I would NOT be surprised if he was in the store while I was thinking this.

Why am I writing about these events?

Because Rachel's blog got me thinking and because they happen all the time!  Because time, although it seems 1-12, is not  exactly linear -- or even cyclical -- to our Creator.  It just appears that way to us in order to facilitate our life experience.  I am coming to understand more about time, now that I am old and gray on the outside.

My post didn't start as a philosophical rant. It started with thoughts of  my garden window.   Many years ago we built a much needed addition onto our home.  While designing the addition, I received input from my parents.  Bill suggested we add a bathroom.  At the time we had four young children at home, all girls.  He had raised all girls too... thus, the inside knowledge of the need for extra bathrooms!  (He was so right!)

Mom suggested a garden window. Her love of gardens and eye for beauty perceived it as useful as well as beautiful for us to have.  Then, Jim and I went to a home show and saw a garden window for the first time. YES!  I have always loved everything "garden," so I drew it into the plan.

Our three room addition was constructed by a man we met in the same 'serendipitous' way described above.  He is married to one of my dear friends who I met through another friend, who I met when looking for a home to buy. My grandmother's neighbor knew a couple who had just built a home in Tucson; and they introduced me to a friend who then introduced me to the wife of the man who installed the garden window. Cathy ended up being my daughter's preschool teacher, and her yet-unborn child would be one of my yet-unborn children's first and dearest friends.  Some would claim that these things are accidents.  I've learned otherwise.

Did I fail to mention that my father, "Bill" is really my stepfather?  Yes, he is the natural father of one of my close friends from high school.  I knew him for years before he met my mom?  And that reminds me of when I saw his daughter for the first time, combing her flaxen hair in the junior high girls bathroom.  I was admiring her straight hair.  Mine was frizzy.  And I was thinking Wendy was the prettiest girl I had ever seen.  It was months before we "met." -- and years before we became sisters.

I know I am losing some of you................ I promise I'll tell about the garden window now.

For all of its 20 years, this window has been a home to  ornamental houseplants. Recently, I've become interested in using spaces to produce more than "beauty."  Our landscaped yard now houses egg-bearing chickens and compost-bearing bins.  Our pots are full of yummy things to eat.  I'm also planning rain barrels, and worm factories.

The garden window will now get to fulfill its purpose on Earth. There is a train traveling backward toward sustenance, and our pretty, little 4x5 garden window and I are on it!

Can you see him?  I was taking a photo of the garden window to add to this post. My prince, the landscaper, was cutting about 6 feet off the top of our Oleander shrubs.

I can't wait to find out what else is right under my nose that will become a crucial and special part of life's experience!

Love,
Becky
Pin It!

5 comments:

  1. Awe, best blog yet :))) And not just because I'm in it. I love the philosophical aspect and the pictures through the garden window are fabulous!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. He makes all things beautiful in His time... thanks for the reminder via your thoughts here. I am always in need of the perspective of time (and the timelessness of eternity!)

    ReplyDelete
  3. SMILE!

    Love the first pic...I'm sure most readers don't realize whoever that is, is shoulder deep in an animal! (right?)

    Love your daughters hand with hubs...on the rope. A cord of three strands is not easily broken! Keep holding that rope!!! It is your lifeline!

    Also love that you captured your Prince! I'll be celebrating 30 yrs with mine in 1 week from today! Wow, how time flies by. It's gone in a flash and we never get it back. I always say, "live with no regrets".

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yes, Diane, she's was helping with calving at a ranch in Sedona. She moved her ring onto the other hand in order to do this...the problem was , the other finger is bigger. It swelled up so much, they had to cut it off with a grinder.

    ReplyDelete
  5. What an inspiring post, Becky. I love how a garden window that’s supposed to only cater to your interest about gardens could become such a vital part of your life. It’s amazing how destiny could be watched from this simple corner, without us noticing it. =)

    Regards,
    Ashlee Starns

    ReplyDelete

Please share your thoughts.

To Subscribe by Email :

Enter your email address:

Precious Readers

My Father's Words

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." Love never fails

Father's Love Letter

An Intimate Message from God to You:

My Child,

You may not know me, but I know everything about you. Psalm 139:1

I know when you sit down and when you rise up. Psalm 139:2

I am familiar with all your ways. Psalm 139:3

Even the very hairs on your head are numbered. Matthew 10:29-31

For you were made in my image. Genesis 1:27

In me you live and move and have your being. Acts 17:28

For you are my offspring. Acts 17:28

I knew you even before you were conceived. Jeremiah 1:4-5

I chose you when I planned creation. Ephesians 1:11-12

You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book. Psalm 139:15-16

I determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live. Acts 17:26

You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14

I knit you together in your mother's womb. Psalm 139:13

And brought you forth on the day you were born. Psalm 71:6

I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me. John 8:41-44

I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love. 1 John 4:16

And it is my desire to lavish my love on you. 1 John 3:1

Simply because you are my child and I am your Father. 1 John 3:1

I offer you more than your earthly father ever could. Matthew 7:11

For I am the perfect father. Matthew 5:48

Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand. James 1:17

For I am your provider and I meet all your needs. Matthew 6:31-33

My plan for your future has always been filled with hope. Jeremiah 29:11

Because I love you with an everlasting love. Jeremiah 31:3

My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore. Psalms 139:17-18

And I rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17

I will never stop doing good to you. Jeremiah 32:40

For you are my treasured possession. Exodus 19:5

I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul. Jeremiah 32:41

And I want to show you great and marvelous things. Jeremiah 33:3

If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me. Deuteronomy 4:29

Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

For it is I who gave you those desires. Philippians 2:13

I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine. Ephesians 3:20

For I am your greatest encourager. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you. Psalm 34:18

As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart. Isaiah 40:11

One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes. Revelation 21:3-4

And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth. Revelation 21:3-4

I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus. John 17:23

For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed. John 17:26

He is the exact representation of my being. Hebrews 1:3

He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you. Romans 8:31

And to tell you that I am not counting your sins. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19

His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you. 1 John 4:10

I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love. Romans 8:31-32

If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me. 1 John 2:23

And nothing will ever separate you from my love again. Romans 8:38-39

Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen. Luke 15:7

I have always been Father, and will always be Father. Ephesians 3:14-15

My question is…Will you be my child? John 1:12-13

I am waiting for you. Luke 15:11-32

Love, Your Dad.... ...Almighty God

PERMISSION TO COPY:The printed version of Father's Love Letter can be copied and used for free distribution providing the following copyright information is displayed... 'Father's Love Letter used by permission Father Heart Communications Copyright 1999-2008 http://www.fathersloveletter.com/

If you would like to look up the verses...copy and paste to the search bar on this site: Bible Gateway