Category Archives: LIFE

Reflection

Christianity, GOD, LIFE, love

When a person gets to a certain age it becomes apparent that the days are shorter and the time that we had which seemed so abundant is now only fleeting memories. My son is so looking forward to summer vacation. The clock couldn’t tick any faster for him..he is so ready to be out of middle school and move on the High School. Okay I must stop there for a minute. WHAT!!! High School already…case in point! He is the age that my oldest son was when he was born….good grief! Geeez….I can’t even talk about it with out getting misty eyed. The hard thing for me is that these days of reflection seem to be coming upon me more and more. I can hardly get through one day without reminiscing about the life I have had in the past thirty years…WHAT! 30 years!!! Oh my goodness…I have been with my husband for 30 yrs and well where did the time go? WOW! I mean I can remember so well all those times then…seriously…the beautiful blond hair and blue eyes with cute freckles on his nose that instantly made me take a second look at him. It is a fact that Hubble Gardner had nothing on him…this man of mine. I knew he was the ONE! We were on our way and a few years later we were blessed with a beautiful, blond, blue eyed baby boy…twenty seven years ago…WHAT!!! 27 years…I am about to give myself a heart attack! Later we had three more to follow, each one just as special as the first, just a beautiful. And then I realize we have four! Yowza! These have been good times, mostly and when it was hard or is hard it is my memories and my reflections back that keep me going. I don’t believe in looking back..turning into a pillar of salt is not my idea of a good time! Reflection is a good thing, it allows me to take stock of where I have been and what I value the most. I am able to adjust and give thanks to the one who has kept us all from harm. He is a good God, He has allowed us to walk this path with Him alongside us. He has given us the strength, He has carried us when we couldn’t go another step. Even so today I feel Him holding me up, encouraging me and standing with me in the gap, as I interceded for my family and my friends. This life can be interesting to say the least. I never know each day what twist or turn will come. All I do know is that I know who to turn to and that it is His comfort that keeps me, His abiding love that catches my tears and surrounds me like a warm blanket. Just the way I do as I mother these babies of mine. I have had a good teacher.

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Even so Lord……

Christianity, GOD, humor,hope, LIFE

Even So Lord…come quickly! All this talk about the end of the world…the Rapture of the Saints which is suppose to happen tomorrow, May 21, 2011, can be a bit disturbing. Not because I am not a believer or I am not ready, on the contrary. I know that I have the Blood of Jesus covering me, I know I have the Grace of God and His spirit running through me…I know that I Know that I KNOW, I am saved from a horrible eternity spent in Hell. I know there will be snakes there…wasn’t a hard decision some 30 yrs ago! I believe! The sad part is the multitudes of humankind that do not have that assurance, people who are clueless to what all that even means or what it takes to be “safe.” I have to think that if I truly have all this surety that my sins are forgiven..( I keep a short list on that one, I wouldn’t trust myself to go very long with one of those things looming over me, ha) I feel like I would have some sense of anticipation, a feeling of this is the time. But the people in the days of Noah didn’t seem to realize it, it is a for sure brain teezer..were all the people on earth way back then heathens? Was there nobody who said…hmmm maybe that dude is right, so just in case I am throwing in with ole’ Noah. What do we have to loose…our pride? I just don’t know…God is the only one who does. I can’t spend all my time on what was, I can only do my best to keep on top of what IS. If it happens tomorrow…Praise the Lord! If not, then there is a lot of work to be done. One thing I see good is that there have been a multitude of people talking about it…The Rapture, that is! I haven’t often heard that much in the news before now….if it brings people to their knees then it has been a good thing. The truth is the truth…WAKE UP WORLD…THIS IS GONNA WRAP UP SOONER THAN LATER! It will happen…some day, in Gods time. My prayer is that we all are ready..to all my family and friends…be ready…pray and believe…it will cost you little, but it cost our Lord it all. It’s not Religion…it’s a relationship with the best friend you could ever have. I love you all enough to say…Get on the Bus!!! Maranatha! (look up!)

Oh Christmas Tree!

Christianity, enjoyment, encouragement, GOD, humor,hope, LIFE

As I settle in to an evening of watching my Christmas tree twinkle, I can’t help but think back to the days as a little girl. As with most children, the excitement that comes with putting up a tree each year is the biggest day of the season…well, the first in a row of biggest days, actually. Not to diminish the start of Christmas vacation from school and the biggest day, Christmas morning to say the least! That day was special as my dad or brother would go and cut down a big old cedar tree on the farm that we lived. None of those big city trees for us, nope…no way. And boy was I glad…that tree smelled so good, better than the others, literally fresh-cut! The tree was always huge, perfect and ours. My mamma had these beautiful decorations that she got from Germany when my family lived there during the Korean War. My daddy was in the Army and she went there to live with him. Bless her heart, she traveled on an Army transport airplane with two young children in tow. She recently told me about this trip, (these days she tells me a lot of stories from way back when, she remembers those better than what has happened today, bless her heart) when she went far away from home with these little ones all alone on a big “non luxury” plane that took her to my daddy, which made it all worth it. This was back when they were happy and even had a third child in Germany. Those were the best of times. I can only imagine the life she had there. Those decorations were beautiful glass balls and I had always loved what they stood for, beauty and adventure and a life that seemed so far away from what is was now. We also had the huge light bulbs all strung up in the primary and secondary colors, stark and bright! Cedar trees aren’t exactly known for their sturdy branches so needless to say it was an effort in fortitude to get those decorations to stay and not droop. We also had the bubble lites which were my favorite…always were a mystery! The tinsel was silver and like aluminum foil all crinkled up on a string and the finishing touch was icicles. At different years(when we were older and could do it ourselves) we would make ribbon chains for garland too and had painted wooden ornaments. Our trees were the prettiest of any ones….no ones ever could compare, I am pretty much a snob about that, unashamed so. I have no apologies to give because rarely do I profess so much surety about something about me. Even now as an adult, I will tell you if you ask me that I have the prettiest tree of anyone. A few things I know for sure and this is one of them, even though I no longer have a cedar tree, I am a city girl now and loving that fact. My sweetart husband did cut me one for our first christmas together…how cute was that? The second thing I know for sure, that man loves me, after that it is stuff like I know all four of my babies think the world of me, not bragging on me but them, they all have a tender heart and especially toward their mamma ( and dad!( I say they love me more..ha!))but We never doubt that one and I know I make the best potato salad….
bar none!!! Do I presume too much? I think not! This time of year brings out the brag in me and that is because I have so much to brag about…My GOD is so good to me….He has given me more than I could have ever asked for so I am only telling of HIS great love. This is my testimony of him. I am pretty sure he likes my Christmas trees the best too!

Posted by Rosemary Mcknight Fritts at 7:18 PM

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Ordinary Girl

enjoyment, encouragement, Family, GOD, humor, hope, LIFE, , , , , , , , ,

Recently, I was reminded by my dear friend from college of a time when I had thought my life was a great as it could be. She posted some pictures of us laughing and having a blast like we always did. It made me pause with nostalgia remembering a girl I had seemed to forget about. An ordinary girl with big dreams and places to go.

The future looked bright; I had it all ahead of me.

I was young and popular and the pictures weren’t ones I wanted to hide in a drawer. For me it was a good time in my life. A Kappa ALpha Fraternity “Southern Belle!” It wasn’t always that way th20120404-153920.jpgough.

Growing up on a my beloved farm and then having life take an awful turn when I was ten, created a feeling of loneliness and abandonment. There was only one thing that I had on my side, I thought….but it was the best thing, Hope. Somehow during this time of unknowing and fear I had this tangible feeling, a sense of freedom that told me, “you can do this, you can have Hope!” I thought I could do anything I wanted, accomplish anything. I felt that deep down in my soul even though I had no real understanding of what I felt. I wasn’t raised with a strong christian background. My maternal grandmother whom I adored did attend church regularly.

But, I have not many memories of being taught any strong spiritual strengths from that time except for my sister who made me read the Bible when ever I asked a question that could be answered by the Word.

For some reason I have always had ….the look on bright side personality which is ironic because I spend most of my thoughts about myself assuming I will end up walking in a hole or tripping up steps and splitting may pants or something equally embarrassing. Not normal I know but I have a constant movie reel running in my head and when I appears the worst thing could happen I fear it will. On the flip side I have crazy feeling of “Hope” and I just believe that life will turn out okay.

What I do know is that I was raised with a strong work ethic, my father and mother always were hard workers, none of that laying around watching television for them, there was always something to be done. I know that if you want to eat you must work, if you want new shoes…work to earn them. They were not special, that is how they were raised, children of the Great Depression. They had little or nothing. They were just ordinary people living their ordinary lives raising ordinary kids day in and day out. And I was an ordinary girl but I always had my sights on an un-ordinary life.

What I saw for my life was fantastic and fearless, full of excitement and mystery and an unabashed determination to get where I wanted to be. I am here to say today that to this point I feel like I have made it, maybe not what I had first expected my life to be, but what I got was so much better. It has been a road less traveled and a road that has been splattered with rocks and dirt and puddles and blockades.

But when I total it all up I have been given a great gift, the gift of a belief that there is always room for more, the day can always bring better and I have the ability to make it a better day for someone else. I still believe I will become all the things that my little girl mind had hoped for. I have had some pretty exciting times in my life and I have been loved by some very fantastic people.

The mysterious meanings of life have been revealed to me (well, some of them) and I have raised some fearless children and I still have an unabashed determination to get where I am going with a pretty special mate to go there with me. I am still hopeful…hope filled actually; and for an ordinary girl who could ask for more.

 

 

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To Honor

Christianity, GOD, LIFE

There are some days that I wonder if we all will ever really know what it means to really be loved. I assume the purest way to feel the unabashed love that GOD has for us is the love I feel for my children. I know the heartache and the heart joy that comes with loving my children…all of which can happen in one twenty-four hour period…who am I kidding, it can happen in one hours time in my house! When you are the parents of four kids there is a never-ending supply of ups ans downs that like clockwork are ever ready to tick tick tick away at your very soul. The amazingness (new word) of it all is that HIS love is just the same, only better. It becomes more prevalent each day, how much of a pain in the neck I am to HIM, yet HE is still here, taking my calls, answering the knocks and forgiving my shortcomings just as often as we parents do our own young ones. Each time I tend to get overwhelmed I try to remind myself that I behave badly also and to further complicate the situation, the circle of life reminds me of the sacrifices made by my dear parents. Then it is my obligation to honor them even when it is uncomfortable or not exactly what I may want to do at the time. This obligation is what I would assume every Jewish mother has used since the beginning of time as well as every other mother. I plan on reminding my precious off spring how lonely I am and how much I miss them when they take too long to visit me. I guess it really depends on the relationship we have with our parents and or our kids. That opens up a whole kettle of fish. I guess the point is by virtue of our place in life, whether we are the kid or the parent we are obligated to be there…happily….joyful…or just be! Even as I say these words I laugh since I know I fall short in my honor of my own mom. The part that really is going to suck is that payback is gonna be cruel…times four. I better start whining now to prepare for the lonely days of my senior years….not that I particularly believe in Karma…but when “what goes around comes around” hits I will be the worst of all the moms…times four. Lord help me to be kinder and more patient….rats!!!! It always comes back to me changing….story of my life!

Berry Good

enjoyment, encouragement, GOD, humor, hope, LIFE, Uncategorized

While shopping the other day at my local grocery……that cute little corner market with the select fruits and vegetables and baskets of Daisies out front….,me in my high heels and pearls…strolling down the aisles …white gloves and perfectly coiffed hair………oops sorry, I fell into a dream sequence there! Back to real life! Anyways back to the point… With my worst jeans on and the chewed on the toe ( by our crazy dawg!)clogs that I can’t bear to give up……. I spied a new batch of strawberries. After a closer look I saw that they were from Florida which I have it on great reference that they are the best. It took me immediately to one of my bazillion phone conversations with my friend and sister, Ramona and her emphatic argument that only the strawberries from Florida are even worth eating…… “all the others from California are so pithy!” and after my questioning wether or not “pithy” was even a real word?….I finally gave in to her strong belief that they were the best. Her opinions on such random things were always confronted by me ….who would oppose her only to enjoy the debate, a daily conquest for one of us which became common for two such good friends…the volley back and forth was how we rolled…strong women as we both are, never allowing each other to win gracefully, but with total denial of the others wisdom, sparing was a way of life. Life that made for a strong bond and one that is sorely missed by me, left behind without friend or foe to banter with. Funny how that is, living without someone who has been such a part of ones life. It is a mystery….life as well as death, and I can
only make peace with it because of my strong faith in my God. Everything that lived will eventually die, that’s the reason we have to make use of the time we have….say the words we are too prideful to say, hug and be hugged, bankrupt our hearts on the things that matter, have no regrets of a life yet lived and only eat the good berries, anything else is just pithy!

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“The Thrill”

Christianity, enjoyment, encouragement, GOD, humor, hope, LIFE,

To say that my life has been changed in the past twenty-eight years would be an understatement….as any woman who gives birth to a child would say, you no longer are your own person. You have given a huge piece of yourself to create another and the first time it happens, the shock and awe of it all is more than any movie maker in Hollywood could create. Needless to say this drama takes place every minute of the day… and night, all over the world. It isn’t anything special I hear, it can even be done in a laboratory! But from the eyes of this first mom…on that day, it was a thrill! The world of the unknown was finally revealed and for the first time in my life I have something….someone who is all mine. How can anyone ever question if there is a GOD after all that…still surprises me after all these years and three more beautiful smiles-that it is even possible, pretty smart I say. This thrill was only enhanced by all the firsts to come in my beautiful boys life… smiles, steps, sweet kisses, flat top haircut!!! First day of school, home run and graduation day….. A life of joy and fun being the big brother to three more little miracles. When he was kicking people in the shins we called him “a pill!” and during his teenage years he was the self proclaimed….”the thrill!” all of which were true and have remained constant in the life of this young survivor….. For the past ten years survival has been the goal and true to form it has come to pass… Still kicking shins and being a pill as well as living in the thrill of freedom and complete honesty, the same way he came into this world. His is a life that changed mine forever and my heart has been lost to him, my blue-eyed boy who still remains the biggest thrill of my life!

Judge-me-not!

Christianity, enjoyment, encouragement, GOD, LIFE

Most of the time it isn’t very hard for me to love someone….at least when I hardly know them(duh!); when it becomes difficult is when some time has passed and I have allowed myself to get to know them. This comes as no shock to most people… We are all more alike than we care to believe. But as of late, I have been keenly aware of the opportunity to close the door on people without much thought. It just is easier, less drama. When we get more intimate with them and we become accustomed to having them around….hence a friend, someone who we wish to spend time with we start having expectations. The problem starts when “they” don’t behave or live up to the standards for which I do….or supposedly do!…..they let us down….boohoo! Poor me! I have always prided….(oops, yep I said it, pride, ouch) prided myself in my open-mindedness. I have a history of life experiences to prove such a fact. I could give many examples of my openness to people from all walks of life…..but that would be boastful and It wouldn’t be very honorable of me! To the point….it is never my job, nor right to judge any other person….ever. This is not a new revelation; it is basic Christianity, but rarely practiced. I have found that when you make the conscious effort to not judge, you realize how much you really do. It is frustration in over drive and when you allow yourself to see with Gods eyes….well, let me warn everyone…it can be shocking. Not at what you see, more at what is seemingly “allowed”! Seriously… How is it fair that “they” get away with that….grrrrrr! I am laughing as I am even writing this… Keeping score so to speak is so futile. But we do it, sadly and it is so silly. We all have our own moral rules and regulations, a code, a line we never cross… But as different as we are there are that many different lines. About the time I think I am as loving and open as anyone…WHAM! Smacked right up in the face with another chance to blow it. Grueling as it is, I must change. UGH! Please Lord fix me….ok, ok, I know… Judge not lest ye be judged! You’ve told me already! Now I know why my kids get frustrated with me when they are complaining and I zip off a scripture like I am sooo smart! Smak! Right back at my own self. Lesson to be learned. We are all at different places in our lives and learning about this thing called life and GOD and we are not the judge or even the one that holds the ruler…nor our job! I am not the boss of everyone! Hello, my name is Rosemary and I am a control freak….I will think for you if you let me and point out all the things you do wrong…in my eyes! Sigh!

Best Friends

Alzheimers, Christianity, enjoyment, encouragement, Family, GOD, humor,hope, LIFE, love, Old Age, Parents

This is the day I reflect on the last year…not on New Years Eve or New Years Day but today…January 2nd. What is so great about this day? Nothin’ at all but, it is not a typical day that a person would typically make the run of the mill reflections or words of encouragement or wax poetic about the things to come. Since I do not consider myself…”run of the mill” I of course change things up and find myself on this day… pondering. The last year has been a time of many changes, the loss of precious family members, gone but never forgotten, as a matter of fact it seems as if they are only sleeping and soon we will be together again (that’s my two cents on the future…we will be together again soon…see you guys in heaven….Maranatha!!) We have survived another year of twists and turns, rebirths and confinements…healing and becoming the people we thought we had lost…..I am one happy Mom needless to say and I see a bright future for the first time in ten years. The world as we all know it has changed, presidents come and go, wars and rumors of wars stop and start and… the beat goes on. And sometimes lives sorta become frozen in time. The hardest thing about these times are the losses….or even more, the lack knowledge of the loss. There are times in a person’s life when the world becomes very small and somewhat retroactive. I have been plummeted in the middle of a life that has been halted, a season of unknowing the reality of the moment. And even though this time of life for us is demanding and frightening and even down right scary as hell(yes I said it) it has also had some comforting realities. I am living through a time in my mother’s life that has over the past year or so been gone, even though she is physically in the here and now, she is mostly living in her memories and wanting to share those good and bad times of her life with me. It is an education to say the least and even though painful, has opened up a whole world that I had not known…a time before me or at least before I was old enough to understand. It is somewhat fascinating to hear about what the life back then was for her, as well as sad but it gives me comfort in knowing that our memories are what we have, sometimes the only thing we have and they are precious…to be savored…until that day when they have vapor ed away. I do not look forward to that day for her or for that matter, myself. After one particular day of stories…painful…funny and at times disheartening it was time for me to leave and she thanked me for listening…it was sweet and I said I enjoyed it and she is my friend…and her reply was…”you’re my BEST FRIEND!” I was honored to say the least, knowing of course that my sisters are probably hearing the same stories and been given the same title, but for me it was a sweet surprise that I will always cherish. Mostly because she is my momma but also because maybe when the day comes that she may not know me as her little girl anymore…she may remember me as a friend…her best friend and that will be enough. I hope! Later that day as I was telling my precious husband the story of my day and I asked him if he will take care of me if this awful disease befalls on me…he smiled and said..”yes, I will NOTEBOOK you! Boy… what a way with words that man has….I instantly know what he meant.(his reference was to the book/movie THE Notebook by Nicholas Sparks)which is the sweetest story ever of unfailing love. Now there is a best friend and once again I am blessed by this man of mine. So to those people in my life that have given me so much love…I am the one that realizes my joy is in the memories we make and remembering the days..good, precious and even the hard ones and as long as I have my best friends I have a good year ahead. Look out world!

Patchwork Days

art, Christianity, enjoyment, encouragement, GOD, humor, hope, LIFE, , , , , , , ,

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2, 2011
Patchwork Days
When I was a little girl I was blessed to stay at my maternal grandmothers home each and everyday. All of the big kids would go to school, my parents worked and I was taken to Granny Maxwell s house. This was during the very best days of my life, before the dreaded divorce of my parents and even more before we left my beloved farm. These were the days of laying in the yard on a breezy day and watching the Silver Leaf Poplar tree leaves blowing in the wind, shiny and glistening, feeding the scary chickens, only scary to me since I had been “flogged” one morning. I now believe I had actually fell down and all the feed fell all over me and they were only eating, it just happened to be pecking me into a scared frenzy. Poor chickens, it really wasn’t their fault, though I am still traumatized! I digress!

 

These were good days and they were the beginning of many good and bad days. This is what makes up a full life, days filled with ups and downs, twists and turns that take us to places we might not ever expect to be. These are the times of our lives that make us the people we are to be. They are like the squares that are so delicately sewn together by the strong and faithful hands like my granny’s. Many days were spent playing underneath the huge quilt in a frame with four or five elderly women, church women, no less, who worked their magic quilting this work of art which would end up on the beds of its creators.

 

The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

The stories that a young girl would hear, not too terribly offensive unless you were the particular church lady that was the subject of conversation or maybe the preacher or even the husbands of these sanctified women. While playing there it was always a special world, not Narnia, but fun even so, the rolled down stockings and the black discreet shoes, no high heels in this group. Printed shirt dresses and everyday work clothes. It was a world of simplicity and a creative vibe that I have carried with me ever since.

 

Our own lives are like that, we don’t know when we wake up what the day will hold, a patchwork of sorts, stitched together with love and laughter and this makes for an edgy and frightful; fun-filled and possible eye-opening batch of realities that make up the moments of our own lives. My life, so far has been filled with many days that have caused me to pause and take stock of where I have been and where I am going.

 

How much of the time have I wasted and what portion has been fruitful? Were my decisions the best ones or should I have thought more about the results of my actions? Well…..yes, of course. If I had thought more I may be better off….but then also if a person thinks too much we may never get anywhere. Hence the dilemma that I usually find myself in. Thinking ahead is a good practice and I usually do but to the degree which stops me cold and causes me not to do anything useful… procrastination sets in and another one (day) bites the dust.

 

So I have to take stock of a life lived the best way I can, I can’t look back, those days are gone, but ahead to what will someday be that completion of the quilt…these patchwork days that are what makes me… Me. My quilt may not be the best but it is mine and if I learned anything from my granny it is to keep on sewing!

 
Posted by Rosemary Mcknight Fritts at 10:04 AM

 

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