Growing up in the midwest means I enjoy all 4 seasons. Spring with it’s flowers, summer and it’s outside fun, fall has the changing colors and winter with snow and cold. Honestly, winter is not my favorite but as a kid I enjoyed the sledding, ice skating, snowmobiling, and playing king of the mountain on the snow banks.

As we know, in winter there is the extra clothing that we wear to keep warm. The coat, scarf, mittens, snow pants, extra socks, long underwear and of course the boots. One year, not by my choice mind you, I had a pair of red boots with the zipper up the front, black fur on the top and they came past my ankles. Not to be to strong in my feelings about those boots but I hated them, everything about them.

Now I can be stubborn and that stubbornness came out in full force with these boots because I would refuse to wear them. I would hide them in the house, Mom always found them. I would think of ways of hiding them on my walk to school but then I wouldn’t be able to go out for recess. So I was stuck with wearing my red boots all winter. Thankfully my feet grew enough so I only had to wear them for 1 winter.

My Dad found the whole thing with the red boots pretty funny so from then on his nickname for me was Boots.

Now as an adult I can still be pretty stubborn and often times I get that way with God. My parents bought those red boots to keep my feet warm in the winter but it was not my choice so I didn’t like it. How often God has something for me and I don’t like it because it wasn’t what I wanted. So I’m sure there are blessings that I have missed. How important it is to be aware of the gentle voice of God urging us on to do great things for Him even when we don’t want to.

We all have events in our lives that seem to change us. Change the way we see life. One of those events happened when I was 8 years old and in the 2nd grade. My Mom was pregnant with her 3rd child, an exciting time for our family. I was looking forward to being a big sister again. When Mom went to the hospital I waited at home with my Grandma and my brother Brian.

When we finally got the news that the baby was a girl, I was so happy. But there was something wrong, I could tell by the way my Grandma was acting. They said there was something wrong with the baby.

What they discovered after testing that my Mom had German measles while pregnant and the baby had many deformities that were visible, many were not. I cannot describe the sadness in our family.

My sisters name was Beth Ellen and when I met her for the first time I fell in love and my big sister instincts kicked in and I would protect her no matter what. So if anyone said anything about the way she looked I would give them a look or say something that would stop them immediately. I figured that’s what I was there for.

My sister lived for 9 months and I will always remember her crooked smile, her beautiful blonde hair and even the way she smelled. She changed my life by knowing how to love someone unconditionally. My daughter Bethany is named after her. I look forward to meeting her again. I think I’ll recognize her by her beautiful hair and we’ll have so much to catch up on.

A while ago I asked my Mom to tell me some stories about her childhood.
What it was like growing up on a dairy farm? What was school like for her?
Well, the answer to the question about school rather surprised me.
This is what she told me.

When she was in the 4th grade she and her family (5 siblings) came down with scarlet fever. Their home was under quarantine for weeks. Because of this, she missed a good chunk of the 4th grade. When the quarantine was lifted they all went back to school.

At the end of the school year, when everyone is promoted to the next grade, my Mom was not. She had to repeat the 4th grade. She was embarrassed. That’s when some of the kids started calling her dumb and stupid because she had “flunked” her grade. From that point on she disliked school and only attended through the 8th grade.

My Mom is a soft-spoken, gentle woman. She’s 90 now and her memory is fading but this event in the 4th grade is still very clear in her mind and brings a tear to her eye when she talks about it. Unfortunately, she has felt “dumb” (as she puts it) all of her life.

What if someone had spoken encouragement to that little 4th-grade girl?
What a difference that would have made in her life!

Oh, those words of encouragement and affirmation are so important in our lives, young and old. To have someone on the sideline of our life encouraging us with words of loving honesty. Our words do make a difference and most of the time they are remembered for a lifetime.

“Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” Proverbs 16:24

Several years ago I attended a jewelry party at a friends home. So much jewelry to see and admire, rather overwhelming. I look, I ponder what can I afford, what outfit will that go with, do I really want that and then again can I afford that. I spot a little ring, something within my budget, on it was engraved HOPE. That was it because I needed the reminder to put my Hope in Christ.

In Psalm 42 the writer seems to be giving a pep talk to himself. He asks Why so downcast? I read this and say to myself why are you always looking down and allowing every situation to disturb you. Where is my hope? In material things, in people, in money? Things that so easily disappoint. Look up! Put your hope in God!

As I put on that ring most every day it reminds me of where my hope should be, in the redeeming power of Christ. The words of an old hymn come to mind “My hope is built on nothing less that Jesus blood and righteousness”.

Praise God for the hope that is found in Him!