Saturday, November 22, 2008

Thanksgiving - a time to remember . . .

There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time fore very event under heaven . . .

Thanksgiving - a time to remember . . .

It is funny how we all seem to remember "Thanksgiving" as a time of so many good things. And truthfully, it is supposed to be just that. A time to think back, and thank God for all the good things in our lives. But when I started to think about - and then write about it - I realized that sometimes they actually were full of joy and celebration. But just as many joyfull memories that I have, I also had times of hurt, or sadness, or even times that were bittersweet. I think that is the truth for each and every one of us. The truth is, our lives are full of it all - the good and the bad. And Thanksgiving is kind of a day to look back, at the things we have gone through . . .

For me, I remember so many wonderful smells, and times with my grandparents and family. I remember the laughter as Nana would shoe us out of the room. I remember parades, and yelling at my brothers when they would get to fighting in the living room. Those were years of childlike wonder, where each of us wrote prayers - to be said around the table. It was a time of family, of loving, and even of fighting.

Then I remember having little ones, and being so thankful for my children. The years were markers of a time that had both good - and bad in it. When my divorce was finally done with, it was right before Thanksgiving. It was a time of both sadness, as well as wonder - - - a wonder at what the future might bring . . .

One of the most difficult and yet wonderful Thanksgivings I ever had, was the one where Ted brought me to meet his family. I was so scared the entire 10 hours of driving. It was snowing out, and driving was terrible! Even so, we continued to drive on, worried - but trusting we would somehow get there. As we finally got closer, we called Ted's grandmother's house - only to find out that Grandpa had just been admitted to the hospital with a stroke. We drove straight to the hospital that night. Grandpa was the first of Ted's family that I met that Thanksgiving. We walked into the hospital room, and I worried what to say to this man who I had never met. But when he took my hand, tears were in his eyes. I knew at that moment - that I loved him! Even though he couldn't speak, his heart was right there, telling me how glad he was for his oldest grandson. As I stood there, I cried at meeting the man who had made Ted the person he was - and is. That Thanksgiving was so full - of meeting a new family - of learning more about my husband - and the family who raised him . . .

This coming Thanksgiving is going to be very difficult. There won't be a trip to my mom and dad's this year. There won't be a time to sit around and visit with my brothers and their families - laughing together - like we did last year. Instead, mom will be with my brother Wayne, while Ted and I celebrate Thanksgiving here. Our children can't visit with us this year, and yet I am so happy for them all. Mike is busy with his new wife, and their 5 children. The love I saw in their faces last week during their wedding - makes my heart so happy. Just thinking about them - makes me smile. My Jenny will be busy working in Vermont on Thanksgiving. She has little ones there, as well as her fiance, who will need her love and care. I will miss her terribly, but I know how blessed I am to have her in my life. So this year, Ted and I will celebrate alone. It makes me somewhat sad, but also looking forward to a day alone with my amazing husband . . .
Thanksgiving? It is a day full of joy, wonder, and every other emotion. Sometimes there is sadness, and sometimes hurt. But always - - - there has been the Lord - helping not only me - but all of us.

My wish for each and everyone of my family and friends this Thanksgiving? That there be a time of joy in the midst of whatever is going on in your life. May God bless you with some time of love, and laughter, and even times of sadness as we look back at those we have said good-bye to.

May you all, have a very blessed - and memorable - Thanksgiving Celebration . . .

In His Love,

Debbie & Ted Ayers

Sunday, November 02, 2008

My Father's words . . .

"For I know the plans that I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans for welfare and not for calamity - to give you a future and a hope."
(Jeremiah 29:11)
This is a blog in which I wrote about my dad's - and also My Father's words. It isn't the usual Weekly Word. But I felt as if I needed to share it here as well. I hope each and every one of you are doing well. My dad passed away on Oct. 13th. The weeks and months that led up to that were full of so much stress and emotion. I am just starting to get back to thinking about writing. Until then, I wanted to share this:

Listening to my father . . .

The other day I was talking to Ted about our personalities. I have to admit, I am one of those people who are passionate about certain things, and I tend to speak before I think about it. Most of the time, it is about the ones I love or about the Lord - that really gets me into trouble.

The things I don't discuss or debate with people - are my feelings about politics or the government. The only person I ever debated with about those was - well . . . my dad. As a teen-ager, I was just like everyone else. I believed I knew EVERYTHING! I didn't talk about much with my mom - we had that mother/daughter thing going on. But I did discuss a lot of things with my dad. He would read a lot, research things - and he would listen to me. Even though we were from Massachusetts, my dad would listen to my thoughts about politicians and things that I believed in.

I still remember being 16 years old and telling my dad that he should vote for Nixon! He listened and didn't say much. When the election was over, Massachusetts was the only state that didn't vote for Nixon! And they were the only ones that kind of strutted their stuff - when Nixon left office two years later. My dad never said much, but I knew that he hadn't voted the way I had told him he should!

I have a feeling that my dad made it much easier for me to become the person I am now. He let me express my passions, and my beliefs. Because of that, I was able to become a minister and counselor - passionately telling others of my beliefs and the things I love!

As I got older, the times of discussing politics and such got less and less. I was busy with being married, having children, and then being a grandma. I was living my own life, and my dad was busy with his. And then my dad became very sick. Ted and I started to spend more and more time with mom and dad. We visited more, and helped out more. And because of that, we had more time to talk - - - and to listen . . .

My dad started to talk about politics again. He had always voted democratic, but now he wasn't sure what he thought about each candidate. We talked about each, and he expressed his concerns. As he talked, I found myself filing away different things that he had said. And then my dad stopped talking . . .

I guess the reason I am writing this is that in the middle of taking care of mom and dad, I found myself getting so exhausted one day - that I decided to take a nap. Just as I got to that place where you are not quite asleep, but definitely not awake - I heard something. These are the words I heard: " America is going to be tested"as I heard those words, I tried to wake up. But I couldn't. And then I heard more: This country was founded on Godly principles, and now it's people need to decide what is Godly, and what isn't . . ." At that, I made myself wake up. What did this mean????

When I heard those words, I told Ted about them. We wondered about the election, or things going on in the country. And then our energies were back to taking care of mom and dad, and I let go of what I heard.

Then this past week I was cleaning out some of my parent's house. As I did, I found all sorts of things taped to the walls. One was an article that my dad had written many years ago. The article was titled - "Our Danger comes from within". It was an editorial my dad wrote about this country, and about God being part of it. This is the last paragraph of that article:
We either have to choose to be a God-fearing nation or kick Him out entirely. Let's wake up and make this country what our forefathers meant it to be. Otherwise our downfall will come from within, not from without. Robert C. Hohler

My dad wrote those words so many years ago, but it feels like it is about today. I don't want to tell anyone who to vote for - after all, my dad never did! But I do want to ask each and every person to pray - ask God who will keep this country One Nation under God!

My dad died two weeks ago, but his words and thoughts live on through all those that he spoke with and shared his passions with. Now I am sharing them with you. Please pray before you go vote this coming week. And if you want to share this blog, feel free to.

God bless, and thanks for reading this.

In His Love,
Debbie Ayers