Changing




	WRITE 2 THE HEART Stories that are aimed "Write 2 the Heart" October 16, 2003 Cheryl Speir, Editor, moderator@write2theheart.com ----------------------------------------------------------- Welcome to your latest issue of "Write 2 the Heart" You are receiving this newsletter because you requested a subscription or a friend generously forwarded their copy to you. To subscribe send a blank e-mail to subscribe@write2theheart.com. ------------------------------------------------------------ Hope has met the challenge of the changes in her life and marriage with faith and compassion. Despite the situation coloring their lives, she is able to bless her husband’s life. ------------------------------------------------------------ Changing By Hope Hudson ------------------------------------------------------------ Life sure takes a lot of dips and curves! Things happen when you least expect. One minute you can be settled happily in a daily routine and then everything changes. My husband, Jay, and I have been married 35 years. That is a good amount of time. I know of other couples that have been married a lot longer, but when you consider this is a second marriage for both of us I think we are doing pretty well as far as marriages go. Jay is 17-1/2 years older than me. I was 24 and he was 41 when we married. He was the oldest dad in Cub Scouts! Recently Jay had to go to a nursing home. There are several reasons for this happening. I always thought I would be able to care for him at home, but that is not the way circumstances went for us. I love my husband and I always will. Nothing changes the feelings for him just because he cannot live here any longer. I miss his presence in our home very much. I bring him home every other day for 9 hours or more. I take him to lunch, bring him home, and take him back at 9:00 p.m. or 10:00 p.m. It’s hard on me but I want at least this much time being with him in a normal setting. This way he gets a good home-cooked meal as well as much attention. His joy is his 6 cats. Annie is the one that stole his heart. They crowd around him and on him when he is home and he loves it! He can’t go outside and putter around the garage anymore. He is in a wheelchair and ‘walks’ while sitting. It is hard at home, though, because of the carpet so I wheel him from room to room when needed. I miss Jay being strong, healthy, and able to do anything he wants to do. He had a sharp, intelligent mind, but dementia has softened the edges. It’s a good thing God doesn’t reveal the future to us. If we knew everything in advance it would be too much to endure. Unfolding slowly is the only way we can handle the ups-and- downs, and the ins-and-outs of life. Dips and curves, twists and barrel rolls is what life is about. Nothing stays the same. It shouldn’t! If life did stay the same we would never grow personally and never complete our journey to God. Someone once said to me, “To be in the center of God’s will you have to be moving, because God never stands still.” When you move, you change and changing means maturing as an individual for the betterment of yourself, your family, and all others close to you. No matter what change brings, as long as you are close to God, don’t be afraid. Hope Hudson kittymom @ citlink.net You are encouraged to write to the authors to let them know what you think of their story, just remember to remove the space before and after the @ symbol. The space is placed in the address to protect our writers from viruses and email harvesting programs. Have a comment on today's story? Send it to: moderator@write2theheart.com ---------------------------------------------------------------- My name is Mary Baxter but I have chosen to write under the pen name of Hope Hudson. My mother used this pen name in 1937- 1938 when she wrote for the Kansas City Journal-Post in Kansas City, MO. I do this to honor her. I love to write, listen to music, and read good books. Making new friends is one of the things I enjoy most, and I like to hear back from those who read my stories. You can reach me at kittymom @ citlink.net -------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------- Letters From Our Readers -------------------------------------------------------------- I love this story! I've always wondered what would happen if one tried to "cook" an egg in its shell in the microwave. I figured it would EXPLODE, but not to what extent. Now I don't have to try the experiment; I’ll take Lyn's word for it. Please thank her for me. I do enjoy her stories and the spiritual applications she puts in them. Nancee Cheryl, Yes, little boys love puddles. I watched my one and only grandson come from the workshop in the back of the house the other day. I thought to myself - he will go right in the middle of the only puddle on the way back. Sure enough!! Splash!! Splash!! I would have missed so much in my life without that one and only grandson. Melva Cooper Jmelva @ cox-internet.com What a funny story. Stories like that make me think God has a wonderful sense of humor. How far can an egg go in a kitchen? How far can an egg go in witnessing? Now we know. Tina --------------------------------------------------------------- Military Prayer Reminder --------------------------------------------------------------- As you read over this list of names, please take that moment to pray for these young people and their families: Chris Speir Tim Speir Alan Thaddeaus Howard Todd Holland Graham William Julie Sagel Jessie Marshal Thompson Jason Eric Hernandez Kristin Danielson Ken Prieur Ryan Please continue to pray for our country, our leaders, and our troops at this time. If you have loved ones in the military, or who are being called to go overseas, send their names (first and last or first only) to be included in our prayer reminder. --------------------------------------------------------------- Cheryl's Corner Little Tyler celebrated his second birthday. He loved all of the attention. He loved playing on the playground with all of his cousins. His favorite thing was eating the frosting off of the cake with the help of his other grandmother. When it came time to open all of his gifts, he was not interested. No amount of coaxing or bribing could induce him to open that mound of packages, until he spied wheels peeking out from under one gift. The electric motorcycle he opened and got on in a hurry. But that was it. He refused to touch the rest. His mother, Junie, finally got tired of trying to convince him there were other good things in the brightly wrapped boxes and bags. To everyone’s amusement she stood and thanked everybody for the Christmas gifts. God Bless, Cheryl ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- © 2003 Write 2 the Heart Nothing may be reproduced or published without the written permission of the individual author or copyright owner. All rights belong to the authors.