Is Blue a Christmas Color?

Today is Thursday which means a 12:30 class at Campbell Divinity School. I usually leave home around 10 which gives me about 15 minutes for error. Today was a little different for some reason. I left home around 9:45 and enjoyed a leisurely drive down Hwy 17 and then around Wilmington on Hwy 421. My mind was on a thousand things, none of which were too important. I was thinking about this being the last day of classes for the semester and how I would have to get busy studying for exams tonight when I got home from class.

Hwy 421 becomes 2 lane about 15 miles out of Wilmington but this time of day doesn't usually pose any problems. Most everyone is where they need to be by the time I come passing through so I don't usually have to think about my driving skills too much.

I was still ahead of my Thursday schedule and in no rush as I cruised down the road when I noticed the yards of the community I was passing through. They were all decorated for Christmas. This had happened since I went through on Tuesday. One yard had a blow-up Santa and Snowman while another had the Nativity scene outlined in various colored lights. I chuckled a little to myself when I noticed Mary was outlined in red and Joseph in green. The shepherds were outlined in some dark color and then I saw the camel. It was outlined in blue.

BLUE. Who ever heard of a blue camel? The other colors fit the traditional Christmas color scheme but a blue camel? Blue isn't a Christmas color.

Because the road isn't very busy, I set my cruise control at 61 and don't usually have to change it except in Clinton at the stop light and at Spivey's Corner at a stop light. For some reason I had come off my cruise control when I was "admiring" the colorful Nativity scene. Evidently a car had turned off the road in front of me and I had to put on brakes. I guess I never reset my cruise when all of a sudden I saw blue, again. So much for being a little ahead of schedule.

The dreaded words were drifting into my window, "Ma'am, is there a reason you were speeding?" Well, I couldn't come up with a good reason so I simply said, "probably not" even though I wanted to add, "but give me a minute and I'll think of something."

After 15 minutes of the agonizing wait and wonder, the patrolman got out of his car with the pink paper. Why couldn't it have been blue? After all, isn't blue a Christmas color?

My phone rang shortly after the incident and it was David. He asked me what I was doing. My answer ........ about 55.

10 Hours of Cooking - 15 Minutes of Eating

Easy come, Easy go.

My parents came to our house and brought my 92 year old grandmother. My mom told me earlier in the week that they would be leaving around 10 which would put them here around 12:30. This was fine considering I was planning to have lunch on the table by 2 pm.

I decided I wanted to get my Thanksgiving shopping done on Tuesday night after I got home from classes at 7:45 pm. Wednesday morning I mixed up everything we were having and had it ready to go in the refrigerator by 2 pm. Roast Turkey Breast, Baked Ham, Dressing, Gravy, Broccoli Delight, Cheesy Corn Casserole, Baked Pineapple, Sweet Potatoes w/Apricots, Cranberry Salad, and Deviled Eggs. For dessert we had Butterscotch Supreme, Pumpkin Pie, Sweet Potato Pie and some Potato Roll my grandmother contributed. Everything was in the refrigerator ready to be baked on Thursday morning.

We had a great Thanksgiving Eve service on Wednesday night but I was beyond tired by the time the service was over. I was more than pleased there was no choir rehearsal after the service as is usually the case.

Anyway, my parents were early and caught me mopping the kitchen floor, which was the last thing on the list of things-to-do. My oldest son and his girlfriend came in a little later with my two grand-dogs and then my youngest son called from California where he is in the midst of desert training for the US Marines.

The dinner bell rang and we all gathered around as David said the blessing and we started the process. It was over in 30 minutes and that's only because we sat at the table and talked for a little while. Something that took 10 hours to prepare was consumed in 15 minutes. Can it possibly be worth all that?

Absolutely. To be able to spend time with my family is worth everything. I hope each of you were able to spend time with some if not all your family today.

Love One Another - The Same

While David and I were away at the state convention this week, there were two deaths connected to our church family. Mike McGinnis' father died - both Mike and his wife, Pat, sing in the choir I direct. another woman in the church lost her adult son in a fire, a tragedy we learned about only upon our return from Greensboro.

The McGinnis funeral home visitation was packed. We stood in line for nearly 50 minutes before we ever reached the doorway of the room where the family was located. If Pat had not come out and seen us and insisted we come on to the front of the line, I'm not sure how long it would have taken. It was apparent this man was well loved and that his family was well loved.

David went to see the woman who lost her son on Thursday while I was in class. She was home alone.

The McGinnis funeral service on Friday was over flowing with friends and family members wishing to show their respects. The speaker was full of praise for this man and his family and their dedication to God and his plan for their lives. It was a beautiful time of worship and the crowd was a testimony to the love the McGinnis family expresses and receives.

The kitchen staff of the church was prepared and waiting for the end of the service to offer this family a bountiful feast to further show their love and respect to the man who had just been
laid to rest and for his family.

We left the funeral, stopped by Food Lion to pick up some chicken and off we headed to the home of the woman who had lost her son in the fire.

This woman, a widow, had just buried her only child who died in a house fire.

We drove in the yard of the grieving mother to find ...... NO ONE. There were NO visitors to help console this lady, NO ONE bringing food, NO ONE there to wrap their arms around her to tell her how sorry they were for her loss, NO ONE. I was heart-broken. Not only because there was no one there to support here but because I didn't want to go either.

After following David up the broken steps and down the wooden walkway covered by some resemblance of AstroTurf that obviously was there to cover the rotten boards, we entered this home.

She lives in a single-wide mobile home with a floor that feels like it will give away any minute. Her furnishings are far less than anything you would find in a thrift store. The inside is dirty and scattered from here to yonder. There are cats climbing all over the counters, the stove, over dishes, etc. And, it stinks. Get the picture? It's terrible.

She was sitting alone, in this place she calls home, surrounded only by her animals. The "mother" in me wanted so badly to start picking up and straightening and washing and wiping, but my heart said to stop and listen to this heart-broken mother who had just lost her son.

Is there a difference in these two church members who had lost close family members? Then why was one family so surrounded and the other not?

A van full of church members drove 40 miles to a funeral home to visit and show respect to one family. I did not hear of a van full of folks going to the home to visit the other. There were church members who drove 40 miles again to attend an elaborate military funeral for one family, but I would be interested to know how many church members drove 5 miles to attend the small and simple graveside service for the other.

I don't know who went to the other because I was not one of them. I could try and justify my actions in that the son and daughter-in-law who lost their father are members of the choir and the other lady is a member who shows up once in a blue moon, but that doesn't make it right and it certainly doesn't make me feel better.

I hear the words ringing in my ears, "...whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me" and "...whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me" (Matt. 25:40 & 45).

The McGinnis family will move forward and survive. They are a close knit family and will be able to lean on each other. The woman who lost her son will survive, too, but maybe she will need someone to help her through it and someone to be there to lean on. Maybe that someone is me.

Happy Thanksgiving to you, all.

My Obituary

I had the strangest feeling this afternoon. I got home from school around 7:30 PM and decided to go ahead and get a head start on next week's assignments. I will be at the Baptist State Convention in Greensboro on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and I know my study time is going to be limited those days.

Our assignment in Ministry of Writing for next Thursday is to write our own obituary. I thought this should be pretty easy since I check our hometown paper every single day and the obituaries are the second section I look at.

I was moving along pretty well until I got to my death date. Do you know how hard it was to "predict" your date of death? I put a date WAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYY in the future. It would feel pretty weird for the date to get here and then have to wonder all day if I was going to die.

I decided to "die" at the age of 98. My husband told me if I didn't take better care of myself I'd never make it to 98 so I figured it was a safe date.

However, after he smarted off, he preceded me in death.

Rules ... Do they exist anymore?

I grew up in a small family, Mama, Daddy and one pestering younger brother. I guess we were happy. I don't remember too much turmoil at least until my brother and I got older. He was and is a pain in the patootie and he's 45 years old. LOL.

What I do remember, and quite vividly, was my parents' intentions for us to follow the rules. I grew up knowing that if I didn't follow the rules, a spanking was the next step. I didn't get many. Actually, I don't remember but two. I'm sure I deserved more, but I did try to behave most of the time back then. :)

What is so different? Do parents think they are going to spoil their "buddy buddy" relationships with their children if they discipline them? The word "No" is not such a hard word to say.

I think it's time we made our young people responsible for their actions. Consequences are going to face us as long as we live. I think we would do our young people a great service by holding them accountable for inappropriate behavior now before they head into the big world and find some that are not so forgiving.

Are teen-agers too old to learn the rules? No! See that wasn't so hard, was it?