Category Archives: Mom

Life Lessons: What I Learned While in Haiti!

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They say “experience” is the best teacher, and that statement held true to the cause while on the mission trip with “Team Blanc” in Haiti just a couple of weeks ago.  Sure, I could read about these things in a book, but to actually see, touch, feel, and live among the people in Haiti and get to experience these life lessons — WOW!!!  Thanks for allowing me share a few of these simple truths — my “life lessons” — with you!

Life lesson 1:  You don’t need a clothes dryer to dry clothes.  The sun does a wonderful job, and it even gives you “sun bleached, fresh smelling clothes”!  Note to self: Quit the griping and complaining when the dryer doesn’t work for a day.  God gave us the sun and it works way better than a clothes dryer! Besides that, the sun never breaks down.

Life lesson 2:  Beauty can be found everywhere — even among the most difficult times of poverty, depression, sickness, or anguish.  God has not forgotten us and gives us beauty to enjoy at all times.  We simply have to look around us.  Note to self:  Stop thinking God has forgotten me.  He hasn’t!  All I have to do is look outside to view His glorious creation and be reminded that if He cares for the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, He tenderly cares for me, too!

Life lesson 3:  Fancy cookware and a top-notch state-of-the-art kitchens are not requirements for preparing delicious, nutritious food.  Cooking over an open fire in a big iron kettle will get the job done marvelously! (I wish you could have seen how this pasta was cooked!  It was amazing!!!   Note to self:  Stop feeling sorry for yourself that your kitchen and cooking utensils are old.  Instead, use what you have and be thankful!!!

Life lesson 4:  Kids will be kids under any circumstances.  They know how to enjoy the simple things in life. (This little boy sliding down the railing at Tabitha’s orphanage reminded me of my kids sliding down the banister at home hundreds of times squealing with laughter as they had “races.”)  Note to self:  Kids don’t need hundred dollar toys and a room called a “play room” to make them happy.  They just need an opportunity to be a kid!  Every child is born with a super creative mind!  A little bit of encouragement to use their minds goes a long way!

Life lesson 5:  Not all kids own a $200 pair of hiking boots, but they still manage to climb mountains and enjoy God’s beautiful creation.  Note to self:  Quit stalling when it comes to getting outside and enjoying nature!  Tennis shoes or flip flops from Walmart will take me where I need to go in order to exercise and take in the beauty of nature that surrounds me each day.  I don’t need to wait until I save up for that expensive pair of walking shoes!  Feet work just fine!

Life lesson 6:  Fancy conference rooms, a PhD in Psychology, and the most current forms of advanced technology are not needed for heart-to-heart conversations about life, faith and God.  A simple sit-down in nature with a friend and time spent in prayer and God’s word are calming to the soul.  Note to self:  Focus on reading more of the Bible, spending time with Christian friends, and spending quiet time in nature because these are the things that will give me life-sustaining nourishment right at the moment when I need it!

Life lesson 7:  There are flowers that are survivors and can thrive, bloom, and give beauty under any condition because God made them that way.  Note to self:  Stop thinking that circumstances have to be better in order for my life to be filled with joy.  Remember that I can bloom and thrive anywhere and at any time because God made me that way!

Life lesson 8:  Laughter is a universal language and can be understood and appreciated by everyone! (This lady lives in one of the aziles we visited, and she was overcome with joy as she enjoyed the food, the sanitation pack and the hugs that we gave her! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bigger smile!)   Note to self:  Laugh more!  Smile more!  Relax more! There are tremendous blessings of joy given to us in each and every day — no matter what our circumstances.  Remember to share a smile with someone every day!

Life lesson 9:  No matter what your financial situation in life you can keep yourself neat, clean, and find a way to share something with others.  (This man is part of Tabitha’s orphanage and used a machete to cut and prepare coconuts for us, the visitors.  Look how neatly he’s dressed!  He sure puts many of us to shame!)  Note to self:  Take care of what you have, and stop wishing for more.  Always, always find something to share with others!!!  And, share with a joyful, giving heart!  “A cup of cold water given in His name to the least of these will not be forgotten.” Matt. 10:42

Life lesson 10:  This is one beautiful world in which we live!!  This beauty was made for us to enjoy, to take care of, and to be used as a blessing!  (This was a daily scene in Haiti, and one that gave great peace and a sense of belonging to God.)  Note to self:  Never, ever become too busy to enjoy the gifts found in nature.  God created this world for us to enjoy, and when walking among nature we can really connect with God through our meditation and prayer. 

I could go on and on with the life lessons learned while in Haiti.  I took well over a thousand photos and there is a lesson and story to go with each one!  (Don’t worry!  I’m only sharing ten for now — not a thousand!) 

One of the most important life lessons of all I learned was this:  You don’t have to travel to a foreign land to learn life lessons or to enjoy close communion with God and others.  We have opportunities for this right where we are every single day of our lives.  That being said, sometimes people need reminders and encouragement and they need our help in pointing out the beauty in the not-so-beautiful parts of life.  And, that’s why seven very ordinary people prayed so fervently to make this mission trip possible — to be messengers of hope to those who sometimes feel forgotten and lost in a world of poverty and darkness. 

Let’s be a light that shines for others! And, quit worrying if you’re a bright light!  Any light is a bright light to the one living in darkness!  When we share God’s love, we’ve shared the most meaningful light of all —  an eternal light of hope! 

Love to all,
Clara

A Peek Inside a Mom’s Heart

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Above all else, there is one thing I am most happy about, most proud of, and feel most blessed about and that’s being a mom.  I can almost hear my kids saying, “Wow!  That’s a surprise.  You could have fooled me when you were yelling at us to keep quiet, go to bed, and leave me alone!” 

They’re right.  I did do that sometimes.  To them, it seems like a lot of times.  In reflecting back I wish I could have been calmer, more composed, and more put together like the modern day Pioneer Woman , but I wasn’t.  I was just  a mom — a mother of eleven doing the very best that I could trying to show my kids how much I loved them. Okay, and on occasion I was trying to keep them from falling off rooftops and doing all the other things eleven kids think of doing!

 And, when I hear my now grown kids talking and laughing and reminiscing, I think they have some pretty good childhood memories so I’m thinking life must have been pretty okay for them, too!  In fact, I know it was by the way they love getting together and sharing childhood stories! 

What happens to a mom when all of her kids are grown and leave home, she has no husband to share stories and happily talk about their forty plus years of parenting, and she’s living in the house that was once a busy, bustling place of activity every hour of the day and night?

For one thing, you sit back at night and relax.  And, you rest.  And, your heart smiles.  And, you remember.  The very, very good thing about remembering is that you can be selective and remember only what you choose, and I have chosen to remember some great and wonderful things!  Fun times!  Happy times!

Wanna know what I’m remembering today?  I can best remember by looking at pictures, so I’ll share a few with you.  To you, these might not mean anything, but to me — ahhhh, happy, smiling life!

 This little fella is a destroyer of tomato plants, and seeing him makes me remember all of the awesome, wonderful summers spent gardening with the kids.  We worked that big garden hard!  We planted, hoed, pulled weeds, and hunted down tomato borers like the one you see in this picture.  We snapped beans, shelled peas, husked corn, and canned pickles.  And, we talked and spent hours and hours together and I loved every single minute of it!  Oh, how I loved those hours together in the garden! 

Blackberries.  The delicious blackberries!  The kids would go out early in the mornings with their little pails and pick blackberries (eating half of them before they ever made it into the house), and then I would make blackberry jam — the old fashioned way sealed with paraffin wax .  The big treat,  other than eating the blackberries, was the kids got the leftover wax to carve out sailboats to float in the tub while they were getting their baths.  Yes, I love memories like this! By the way, the jam was pretty good, too! 

We moved to the country with six kids and number seven on the way (from our church parsonage in town) and one of the very first things I did was to get the kids to help me plant some phlox.  My grandmother always had flowerbeds filled with blooming purple phlox, and she passed on her love of flowers to me.  I can’t wait for our snow to melt so that I can see the first signs of my flowers peeking through the ground.  I remember when the stalks of these very flowers were taller than the kids who helped me plant them.  And now — they serve as precious reminders of bouquets of flowers they picked for me to put on the supper table.  Happy, happy memories for my heart!

Home.  Sweet, precious, wonderful home.  I’ve spent thousands of hours looking out the kitchen window washing dishes (nope, I’ve never owned a dishwasher) watching the kids play in this yard.  And, those trees….you have no idea how many babies I held and nursed under those trees while the others were riding their bikes, mowing the grass, and building camp fires.  My heart actually races every time I reach the driveway to this house.  It’s filled with wonderful, precious, happy memories that are forever etched on this mom’s heart.  Everywhere I look are happy reminders of my children.  This home brings me peace and joy every single day of my life for it holds reminders of so much shared love with friends and family!

  In the side yard is this snowball bush and each branch seems to hold a special memory for me.  I remember when this arrived in the mail the size of a teensy twig from Michigan Bulb .  I got some of the kids to dig me a hole for planting.  We grabbed a bucket of water and had faith that this little branch of a thing would make it.  And, it did!  It got mowed over at least fifteen times, but it’s a survivor!  This bush also was the backdrop for the basketball hoop when the kids played ball for hours on end.  I’d watch them from the kitchen window or while I was sitting on the porch.  They were pretty darned good, too!  Hmmm…I think we need to put up another basketball hoop.  It’s time for me to watch the grandkids play ball!

Sunset.  Beautiful country sunsets.  At the end of the day, I loved to walk out to the edge of the field, collect my thoughts, and breathe the evening air.  And, take stock of the day.  This is a place where I could sit my worries down for the night, and just be thankful for another day of health, and peace, and the blessing of being a mom.  I still make daily walks to the edge of the field.  I still take stock of the day.  I still count my many blessings

And, the biggest blessing of all is that I’ve been able to be called mom.

I love you, kids!

Love,
mom 
PS  Every day is a memory in the making!  Be sure to take time to journal it either by writing or photos.  One day these memories will serve you well!  I promise!  This has my heart stirring.and I hope this has stirred your heart, too…I can think of so many more — Poochie (our big dog), Blackie, Midnight, Batler, Spike (oh, there were lots of dogs) and Bell Bambie Christmas (our viscious cat). Maybe I’ll just have to pull more memories out of the photo albums!

And, hopefully you’ll share some of your memories with me, too!