From the Desk of a Hurricane Survivor

I know what it is like to go through a Hurricane. Hurricane Ivan in 2004 hit the Pensacola, Florida area as a Category 3 storm, creeping along in it's destruction at 3 MPH. It was the scariest night of my life. A 17 ft storm surge hit our house in Gulf Breeze, Florida washing everything we owned away except what we took with us when we evacuated. After the initial shock, you get down to the business very quickly of living your life. Along with eating Red Cross meals, hunting for personal belongings in the piles of debris and cleaning up, I got to taking some photographs and the later, when I could think better, writing a few poems. With Hurricane Florence's depression still raining on the Carolina's as I write this, I am brought back to my own experience and thought I'd make this post.

Abrupt Changes

How could you have done to us what you did, salty, beautiful blue?

Why roar at your gazing lover?

Sue, who gardened by your breezes has gone.

No voices or crabbing adventures and grandchildren playing...

who knew that one day YOU would grow ENRAGED

and take it all away.

How can I love you, trust you, though you woo me daily with your calm lapping, making up to me.

Breathing your scent I can't help myself.

Lover again.

Sue's Home, Sydney's Chair

The Unnamed Storm

Perhaps to name you

was to know you.

Your gradual approach

allowed the denial.

…as if preparations were

unnecessary or not to be rushed…

maybe your landfall would be soft

in the middle of the night as

I slept, unknowing.

Oh but that doesn’t ever happen with

a hurricane.

The steering currents warm

with energy

made certain

that

your arrival would be noticed.

You brought a power greater than mine.

I stood helpless on the shore

to

hold you back

or keep it as before.

My belongings scattered…should I search or

are they ruined by your caustic pounding and should I

just let them go?

The Morning After

But As For Me...

I am currently reading a book entitled, Love Like You Have Never Been Hurt by Jentezen Franklin. The book was sent to me by a dear friend who knows that I have been struggling, and I am so glad she did. I highly recommend it to anyone who has been hurt, disappointed or discouraged. I am currently at a portion of the book that references Job and the book in the Bible named for him. Something caught my attention regarding this and I thought I'd write about it here.

The book of Job is the story of a wealthy man who literally has everything taken from him, including his health. Although the extreme suffering of Job can seem foreign to those who have not literally lost everything, I still over the years have drawn inspiration from this book a few ways - the first in the seemingly good advice of his friends, which turns out to not be good in God's eyes - (read Job 42:7-9 - in my opinion allowing freedom from persistent persuasion that seems well meaning but not ringing true within), another is the beautiful portion in Chapter 28 about where the source of wisdom is, and then lastly is the section of scripture in the Chapter 42, the last chapter - verses 6 - "I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes." I have always loved this scripture as it spoke to me of the greatness of God in comparison to man and that moving from head knowledge of God to experience with God enabling a soul to see Him is when we actually know something.

But in Franklin's book on Page 193, his reference to Chapters 19 and 23 brought something to mind that I had not seen before that I would like to share here.

Job said in regards to God, in Chapter 23 - "I travel East looking for him - I find no one; then West, but not a trace; I go North, but he's hidden his tracks; then South, but not even a glimpse" (Message 8-9). I know I have felt that way. WHERE IS GOD? I am in my 60's and after you have asked yourself that quite a few times over your lifetime, it can wear you down. When I was a younger person I would see grouchy older people and tell myself I would never be like that. Now, with some age to me, I know that experience of being disillusioned by life can make you that way when you give up. God forbid I ever give up!

So, to the heart of this post - Job exclaims in Chapter 19, verse 25 - "But as for me, I know my Redeemer lives". What determination! What faith! Although Job can not find God, Job is saying that no matter the circumstances, he knows that His REDEEMER lives. When all Job saw or was experiencing was loss and pain, he still knew that his savior lived. Job was not in denial of his circumstances. He acknowledged his suffering. But in his suffering he stayed true to God in his heart.

I don't know how long Job stayed in that state of loss and pain, but I do know that God restored to Job more than he had before and blessed the latter days more than his beginning. So I hope this encourages anyone who, in their latter days are feeling discouraged. Hold on to faith and as for you, know that your redeemer lives!

Diane Britton Dunham - artist 

Simple Truths

"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works, my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance, in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them"
Psalm 139:13-16

Life. Precious and profound. Certainly a human life is more profound in it's potential than any wisdom of mankind, for you see, mankind is not God. Simple statement? Simple truth. But somewhere along the road mankind has discarded their faith, their awe of what is beyond their ability to grasp and understand, which is the potential of a human life. This potential MUST be protected.

I read recently of Priscilla Presley and Kim Basinger protesting with PETA in front of the Korean Embassy in Los Angeles regarding the Korean dog meat trade. I looked up PETA's mission statement, a portion of which reads - "People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is dedicated to establishing and protecting the rights of all animals. Peta operates under the simple principal that all animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, or use as entertainment".

The logic of Peta - protecting the RIGHTS of all animals; operates under a SIMPLE principal that all animals are NOT OURS. Above we have celebrities holding dead dogs for a shocking statement of a principal.

The logic of protecting human life - that the unborn child has RIGHTS; the unborn human is NOT OURS. They are God's. 

Shocking.

A Dose of Humility

I wanted to write something that would help me sort through and process the crazy mess going on in our country right now; I don't know if it's possible to do, but here goes...

A man walks into a church in Texas and shoots dead 26 people. In Charleston, SC- precious church going people died because they were black. Another man plans the slaughter of many at a music festival in Las Vegas and murders 59 people. A different man walks into an Orlando nightclub - 49 dead. Another gunman, Aurora movie theatre shooting - 12 dead. A younger man enters an elementary school and murders 20 children and 6 adults.

As I write this, sexual harassment stories are all over the news. Started serious enough and now it seems that everyone who had their butt pinched for the last 30 years is suddenly outraged and "courageously" stepping forward...into the spotlight for their next few minutes of exposure, ironically, and in effect, trivializing the issue by exaggerating their truth for personal gain.

CNN and Fox News - switch back and forth between their web pages for the news and you will see clearly that truth has become subjective, and perhaps false. Democrats and Republicans - Russians, back room deals, millions of dollars paid to win: politicians smile and wave.

Personally I have been internalizing this all and as much as I would like to dismiss it from my psyche, I can't so I have decided to write this for my 3 blog followers. (Smile).

Who are these people and how did they get that way?

Can a society be healthy when children that are raised within it are spending more of their time playing video games, texting, watching TV or videos then they do interacting with other people? Humans need the touch of others, the facial expressions in conversation, the ability to share together. How can electronic devices provide that? These same children have watched outrageous horror movies where realistic depictions of savage murders are clearly portrayed. They have watched overtly sexual videos at ages that they shouldn't even know what a sex act is. A person eats junk food - a person becomes unhealthy. In the name of freedom of speech everything has become a human's right to produce whatever song, video, game, movie they desire, however depraved - and the right to do so has eclipsed the moral right to protect and defend the innocent.

Abortion - the right of the carrier is greater than the carried.

Death - the right of choice to die is served rather than the God who created the dying.

My mother, 1983, a few months before she died at home from ovarian cancer, with her grandkids. She let God decide how long she lived.

I used to retouch negatives years ago when it was done by hand - using a machine where you put the negative in front of an opaque glass with a light behind it and with a very small brush, contrasting dye and a magnifying glass, you dabbed away acne, scars and wrinkles so that when the negative was printed they had been removed.

I got very familiar with the contours of faces working on 30 negatives a day.  Due to that experience I can spot plastic surgery that has been done fairly quickly so I might be more sensitive to viewing it - but I can't understand how swollen lips and skin stretched tight is beautiful. The majority of the selfies you see of young women have the "pout" - and I can't help but believe these young girls are spending too much of their precious time and energy trying to portray an image of themselves then being themselves. And the fashion industry and the entertainment industry spend billions to keep putting an unrealistic image out there, to the real harming of vulnerable young women.

How did we as a society get this way? Sin, violence and inhumanity is not unique to the United States or this generation  - but our society still has descended into a more violent society and self centered society that created these mass murder monsters. How can that be fixed?

Practically, I believe parents can make it a priority to raise society conscious kids, not self absorbed avatar's. That would be a start for the benefit of society in 20 years. As far as right now those who are already adults can stop, take a deep breath and visualize the mass of humanity on this planet, 7.442 billion, to aide them in realizing that THEY are not so special themselves. I would hope this vision of the mass of humanity would generate humility. Humility breeds knowledge and wisdom in the place of pride, arrogance, and vanity. Maybe a big injection of humility in our society would work against the tide of selfish humans who work only for their personal gain. Maybe we would celebrate the volunteers who work with Habitat for Humanity, the Salvation Army, those who man the soup kitchens all over the country and comfort the dying in hospice. Maybe we would realize that a 4.5 million dollar engagement ring is really a gross neglect of the poor, weighed in the balance. Maybe.

What Easter Means to Me

Pepere and Memere Chabot,  Pepere and Memere Bosse, and my Mom, Annette Chabot Bosse

Easter - He is risen!

...and I think about what His sacrifice means in my life, that the people I have loved and are gone are not gone forever. I remember when I gave my heart to God at age 16, I knew that I knew that I knew He was real. And although the years have found me in and out of close fellowship with Him and in and out of close fellowship with others, I know that I know that I know that life has purpose and it leads to an everlasting one, because of this very day.

Pearl and Terriell Price, my in laws


…2"In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3"If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. JOHN 14:2-3

MAN ON THE CROSS - song

Facebook. Conditionally.

I have gone back and forth and up and down and all around about Facebook in the last 6 months. Deactivated it numerous times. Deactivated others. Said too much. Said nothing. I'm still trying to work out the kinks of using Facebook in a positive way and working the kinks out of not seeing posts that aggravate me. It is a blessing to me so many times to see posts by people I love about their journey in life, but it is not a blessing to read thinly veiled criticisms or ones posted to cause others sadness or grief. Since this is a blog post resulting from reading a post I perceived as such on Facebook, BEWARE! You may not like what you read. I like having a blog because I can write to my hearts content and you can CHOOSE whether you read it or not.

Facebook. Fast communication. Instant, efficient, a platform for quotes, insights, backhanded scoldings and...mostly unaccountable. Rarely researched. Usually accepted as true, yet many times it can be proven upon deeper reflection, flawed.

A recent post I read on Facebook gave me pause - a comment that love provided to the person "without conditions and expectations" was "the spirit of what Christianity was all about". That statement has prompted these following statements as my way of wading through them in an effort to gain clarity if they are essentially true.

Christianity was about Christ, the son of God. Christ came as a child  - divinity humbling himself to be confined in flesh. Immortality to be made mortal. The condition of the process of redemption. As Christians we acknowledge Easter as a time of celebration for the end result (resurrection) from the submission of Jesus to conditions put upon him regarding his time on earth.

Marriage. We expect fidelity. A condition of marriage vows is to love and honor and keep oneself only for the other. Do people fail in this? Yes. Are they forgiven sometimes? Yes. But that does not mean that to truly love the other person you don't put expectations on their behavior nor does it mean there are not consequences when those expectations/conditions are not met, even violated.

The "unconditional love of God". People sling that phrase around so easily sometimes that I wonder if they are confusing God's love with their own will. God loves therefore I can do whatever I want. If that is the case, then there are no standards and conditions in life and I believe there are. And when they are violated, are there consequences? If the violation is acknowledged, then the forgiveness is always there, in the love of God. So maybe it is more true to say that God loves always and forgives you unconditionally when you ask to be.

Words are tricky. You may mean one thing and choose an inappropriate one in which to convey that thought which results in people misunderstanding what you are trying to say in these formats. That happens all the time in Facebook, Twitter, Text and Email. I understand that. I acknowledge I could have done that in the post that prompted this writing. So be careful when we are sure we have something to say to others we are appreciating and to the ones we are attempting to correct through the long arm of social media.

Lion Killer

Regarding this recent sad issue about the Minnesota dentist killing the African lion - and all the outrage...I am outraged too and think it's terrible.

I'm very sorry about the lion and I think this man has some serious issues to pay the amount of money he did to kill the lion, and to want to do it in the first place BUT I am more disgusted that the killing of an animal gets way more attention when it is brought to the attention of social media than the daily, even hourly killing of unborn human children that happen every single day.