My Mom

Why Women Cry.

by Gregg Braden

Watch her eyes.

A little boy asked his mother, "Why are you crying?" "Because I'm a woman," she told him. I don't understand," he said. His Mom just hugged him and said, "And you never will."

Later the little boy asked his father, "Why does mother seem to cry for no reason?" All women cry for no reason," was all his dad could say.

The little boy grew up and became a man, still wondering why women cry. Finally he put in a call to God. When God got on the phone, he asked, "God, why do women cry so easily?"

God said: "When I made the woman she had to be special.

I made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the world, yet gentle enough to give comfort.

I gave her an inner strength to endure childbirth and the rejection that many times comes from her children.

I gave her a hardness that allows her to keep going when everyone else gives up, and take care of her family through sickness and fatigue without complaining.

I gave her the sensitivity to love her children under any and all circumstances, even when her child has hurt her very badly.

I gave her strength to carry her husband through his faults and fashioned her from his rib to protect his heart.

I gave her wisdom to know that a good husband never hurts his wife, but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve to stand beside him unfaltering.

And finally, I gave her a tear to shed. This is hers exclusively to use whenever it is needed."

"You see my son," said God, "the beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart - the place where love resides."

Retreating From the World

When we retreat into our inner self who goes with us? Since I believe in the literal translation of the Bible I believe we never walk alone. Our heavenly Father is always with us.

I believe that those times when we think we are walking alone it is because we don’t become still and quiet enough to hear the Voice of God.

Alberta Anne Thomas

QUOTE: Girl Power

Girl Power

Guideposts Encouragement 2013 SCI140-12

It’s no secret that a woman is a formidable force - couple her with a girlfriend or two and you might be looking at an F5 tornado. Women just have an instinct for camaraderie and a talent for collaboration that men often find only on the sports field. Maybe after making men bigger and stronger God felt that women needed a little certain something to equalize the equation. Whatever the case, it’s impossible to deny that “girl - power” changes the fabric of the world every day. Together women are unstoppable!

With a friend you can face the worst. Can you round up a third? A three-stranded rope isn’t easily snapped. Ecclesiastes 4:12 MNG

Mother's

"Your Mother is always with you. She's the whisper of the leaves as you walk down the street. She's the smell of certain foods you remember, flowers you pick, the fragrance of life itself. she's the cool hand on your brow when you're not feeling well. She's your breath in the air on a cold winter's day. She is the sound of the rain that lulls you to sleep, the colors of a rainbow, she is Christmas morning. Your mother lives inside your laughter. She's the place you came from, your first home, and she's the map you follow with every step you take. She's your first love, your first friend, even your first enemy, but nothing on earth can separate you, not time, not space, not even death."

                                  Author: UNKNOWN from SuzanneSommers.com

Anniversaries

I don't think that I really understood what Ms. Alberta was telling me about the feelings that she had about anniversaries. I may be getting a little more understanding.

Tomorrow is the anniversary of my father's death; he was buried on the 17th of January. January 17th is also the anniversary of the diagnosis and prognosis we received about the type of cancer Ms. Alberta had.

I can remember when we were first told that Ms. Alberta had cancer thinking to myself that people recovered from cancer every day. I had sat at my computer for hours after the diagnosis searching for everything that I could find about cancer. When Ms. Alberta found out what I was doing she made me promise that no matter, bad or good, that I would tell her what I had found.

On the 17th, after we returned home, I had once more searched for the type of cancer Ms. Alberta had - oat cell carcinoma. It was one of the fastest growing types; it would spread rapidly throughout the body; even going into the cells in the brain. And by the time it was diagnosed it was probably too late for any thing to be done. I did NOT want to tell Ms. Alberta what I had found. I didn't print my research but I did save it.

Ms. Alberta didn't spare me or herself; within hours she asked me what I had found and reminded me of my promise to her. I couldn't tell her; I went to my computer, printed the research and took it to her so she could read it for herself. Ms. Alberta made me read it to her.

Looking back I think Ms. Alberta did that so that I would face what was happening to her. I have never felt that I was as strong as Ms. Alberta; that day she made me become stronger.

I love you Ms. Alberta - mentor, friend, and mother.

Second Year Anniversary

May 4, 2013

Today is the second anniversary of Ms. Alberta's death. I had thought time would help the feeling of loss to abate. This has not been the case. I miss her stories, I miss being able to pick up a phone to ask her advise. Most of all I miss her sense of humor. She had the ability to find laughter in the worst.

My only consolation is the sure knowledge that she is in a better place, free of pain. Praise God for sending His Son for our salvation!