Guest Post from my online friend, Joe

 Joe, you always touch my heart and encourage me with your stories... I wait for them every Monday to appear in my inbox! And I appreciate that you always send me a thoughtful reply the next day; when I've sent you a message. Today I'm sharing this week's "story" on my blog including your email address.

Readers: If you'd like Joe's messages on Mondays, send him an email at joemazzella@frontier.com

THANK YOU

With Thanksgiving fast approaching I have been thinking of all the things 

I am thankful for in my life. The funny thing is that the things I am most thankful 

for aren’t things at all. It is all of the special people who have blessed my life 

over the years. I am so thankful for Mom, Dad, and Nana. We may not have 

had much growing up but one thing is certain. I always felt loved.

I always felt cared for. I always felt supported and encouraged by them all. I am 

so thankful for my two brothers, Eddie and Tony. Even though they were five 

and seven years older than me they often made time to play with their 

little brother. Yes, they may have picked on me from time to time but they 

always protected me as well. 

I learned a lot about growing up by watching them both. I am so thankful 

for my wonderful wife, Fonda. We may have grown apart and divorced 

but we also had 3 beautiful children who blessed our lives so much. 

And we remained friends through all these years to this day. I am so

thankful for my two sons, JJ and Casey. You guys may have come

into this world with mental disabilities but it was your spiritual 

abilities that taught me so much about how to live and how to 

Love. Because of you both I laugh more, smile more, and am closer to 

God. Because of you both my life is blessed with Joy every single day. 

I am so thankful for my daughter, Beth. You will never fully know how 

much your love has helped me and touched me over the years because 

words cannot express it. You are a true Earth Angel even if you don’t 

believe it yourself. I am so thankful for all of my friends, some who I 

see everyday and some who I’ve never met in person. Your kindness, 

encouragement, and support uplift my spirits always. And I am so 

thankful for all of my beloved pets over the years. I doubt I could

 love as openly and unconditionally as you loved me, but I do keep 

trying to learn from your example.

They say that if you could only say one prayer in this life: 

“Thank You!” would suffice. 

Let me say then: “Thank You, God for all those you have brought into my life”

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Colors

My memory of art college was spending every Saturday buying what my son needed for his next week’s projects.
 “More colored pencils?” I asked; “You have at least a hundred by now.”
 “But I don’t have these,” he replied.
“Haven’t you learned to blend colors yet?” I asked… as I paid.

 Months later while we were traveling to Grand Rapids to spend a relaxing weekend, my son asked me to count the number of greens I saw. It was lovely spring day, my favorite season; and I wasn’t on-call for two whole days. So I smiled and began counting, but within a few minutes I lost track of whether that was a new green or not. The Creator of the Universe had painted the waking of nature with myriads of greens in all its shades, tints, and hues.

“The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts;” wrote Marcus Aurelius.

And this mother told her son, “You can have as many colored pencils as you’d like.”

Today, my son is a successful graphic designer and I am a colorist a.k.a., a color-er. I started with a set of colored pencils and an adult coloring book to pass the time and to keep from being bored.

 Soon I added gel pens…








                                                     then a cart to hold all of them.

 I never seem to have just the right shade. Sound familiar?

I love the flow of ink on the paper and seeing the combination of multiple shades of a color group form a flower. I’ve graduated from a 12 per box to 120 and still want more choices.

 The transition from threads and yarns to ink actually came first. The colors I use for my needlework add dimension and texture. My grandson called it threading (drawing with thread) when he was a toddler. 

Coloring does pass the time for this homebound woman. As a bonus, I have discovered bright colors becoming bridges to happy memories and problem-solving becomes easier while coloring. Best of all, coloring connects me to the author of all colors.

 I am thankful we earthlings were given eyes with “some of the most complex structures in all of nature. The human eye can take in a million simultaneous impressions and can tell the difference between eight million different colours.” (@http://www.eyesite.co.uk/news/humans-vs-animals-who-has-better-vision/)

 Jürgen Moltmann wrote, “Our disappointments, our loneliness and our defeats do not separate us from him (God); they draw us more deeply into communion with him.”It is when I’m coloring that I understand that the best.

 And it is through the eyes of others I see what my walls hide from me: [As I run each day] “ I learn to notice perfect strangers who go out of their way to share a smile; I pay attention to dogs grinning as they walk their owners; and my eyes are drawn, again and again, to nature waking up.” ~ Ryan J. Pemberton

The World Through My Window, Part 2

My apartment is one of 82 within two three-story buildings attached by a breezeway. And it has been a busy week outside of my window: painters, window washers, and landscapers. All are coordinated/supervised by our maintenance man.

Good maintenance men are hard to find. We have one of the best! Kudos to you, Josh!

In addition, electricians came as part of the city's preventive maintenance program to work on the huge electrical unit across from my window. Add the usual comings and goings: Dial-a-Ride mini-buses, a cable man, a worker adding a ramp to the garden shed, the Norco oxygen man, the Schwann man, garbage trucks, mailman, first responders and male visitors. That equals a lot of men! Lots of young men!

For this 73-year-old gramma, it's been a delight!

Join me as I tip my "hard hat" 

in appreciation for the men who keep things running and looking good.

Selah ~

Connie

[Sewer construction continues but is no longer in my window's view.]

Heartstrings, Guest Post

Guest Post

                  A GLIMPSE OF HIS SOUL

                       By: Joseph J. Mazzella

     YEEEE!  The sound jarred me out of my dreams on a cold, Winter’s night.  I sat up, threw aside my blankets, and fumbled for my glasses in the dark.  I opened my bedroom door and saw a light coming from the bathroom.  I knew then that it was my youngest son, Casey.

     Casey has had a severe form of Autism all of his life.  He speaks only a few words and is bound by his daily routines.  Small changes that we handle easily feel like the end of the world to him.  Sometimes when he’s upset he will cry uncontrollably, scratch his face, or hit himself.

      This time, however, I knew from the noise he was making that he was happy.  He was engaging in his favorite Winter pastime, sitting on the closed toilet seat while warming his feet on the heating vent next to it.  I walked into the bathroom and said, “It’s late son.  Time to go back to bed.”  Then I leaned over, kissed his forehead, and looked into his eyes.

      At that moment something happened that touched me to my soul.  Suddenly, there was no Casey and no me. There was only light.  I felt like I was floating on a lake of love and joy

surrounded completely by a Divine presence.  It was a moment of perfect peace.  Then I blinked

and when I opened my eyes again there was only my son smiling up at me. 

I think that for a moment God had allowed me to see a glimpse of my son’s true soul, unlimited by his handicapped mind.  I knew that it was one far brighter, stronger, and more loving than my own.  I felt so blessed being able to see it.  I thanked God again for my son while I watched him walk back to his bedroom.

     For all of human history the mentally handicapped have been looked down upon in our societies.  They have been ostracized, tormented, neglected and ignored.  Yet the truth is they are the best souls among us.  They are here on a special mission from Heaven to teach us about love, patience, compassion, and selflessness.  They are here to help our own souls to grow in beauty and light.  They are a blessed gift from God and we should accept them all, welcome them into our hearts, and embrace the lessons they teach.  May we always do so.

Selah: Think on this...

As with many things in life, we take our bodies for granted... until a part doesn’t work right.

The hand truly is marvelously made; it is made up of 27 small bones, which are moved by 37 skeletal muscles (plus the tendons that attach them to the bones.) It is the ability for the thumb and fingers to touch that gives us the awesome dexterity that only human beings have.

Just to touch your thumb to the tip of your first finger requires the coordination of 10 bones. When something is between the thumb and first finger, the muscles and tendons in our arm and hand work together, which is orchestrated by our brain, so we can pick up and hold on to that item.

How many things do you just pick up in an hour? In a day? A lot more than you are even aware of... until you cannot pick anything up. Try not using your thumb for one active hour! It's a challenge!

Selah-

Since my hand surgery, these verses express best what I am feeling:

I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking. Body and soul, I am marvelously made. I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. (Psalm 139:14-15 The Message)

I am thankful also for my physician's skill, the team that assisted him, the financial arrangements that allowed me to have the surgery now (instead of the 2+ years I thought I would have to wait), the therapist and the many people who have helped with food, transportation, emotional support, and prayer.

Writing and typing, needlework, and everyday tasks beckon me- to be able to do them without pain will be delightful! The present soreness, which keeps me from overdoing, is also a reason for rejoicing. For now, I will wait patiently, as I exercise my hand, knowing that each day I am closer to full function with no pain.

Yes, we are "fearfully and wonderfully made!"

Shalom, Connie