October 2007
In this issue:
Flo's Thoughts
SPEP’s First-Ever In-Town Women’s Retreat
Dreamland
Things to Celebrate
Flo's Thoughts
Have you ever wanted to gain membership in some exclusive group? Perhaps a sorority, a country club, a Phi Beta Kappa membership or a prestigious neighborhood? How much did you want it? Some coeds have cleaned the white line of a highway with toothbrush in hand. Others have pulled strings with influential people who could open closed doors; scholars have worked to earn qualifying academic credentials. Some places, such as an impressive neighborhood, may present a sticker price beyond attainment.
In July I entered the world of grandmas, and all the other perks mentioned above paled by comparison. Here in my arms lay a four-day-old wanting only to be fed, changed and held. She opened huge blue eyes that would someday make male hearts flutter, but that day she nestled in my arms, soft, sweet smelling (most of the time), and swaddled. Her birth made me a grandma. Imagine that! I’d heard much about this new role, yet words alone could never have prepared me for the power of the emotions that engulfed me. Joy welled up, but sorrow came on its heels because I would grandparent from afar. Additionally, she would grow up in a world more hostile to Christianity than her parents’ world and alien to her grandparents’ cosmos. How could I teach, read, play games, or shield her from teasing when I lived in Maryland and her Pack’nPlay resided in Georgia? While her parents held the primary roles of teaching, modeling, and protecting, what exactly was my job as long-distance Grandma?
After only two months of ruminating over my new post, I’ve struck upon everything from websites to grandparenting calendars. Advice says that the relationship between grandparents and grandchildren remains so important that even if sepaprated by miles, monthly visits need to occur…but that’s not in my budget. Webcams and FaceBook, however, provide opportunities to experience “seeing” phone calls on a weekly basis or video footage of each skill mastered. Being a fan of the written word, I compose a letter each Monday (the day she was born) and email it on to her parents. Some day I hope Austyn Grace will read these and know my thought of her during her first year. I also wondered if some of you readers of “Women’s Life” might not email (fwolfe@spepchurch.org ) with your suggestions for godly grandmas.
Thinking about Lois, Timothy’s godly grandma, I know that the Lord uses the prayers and training offered by mothers and grandmothers. Not all grandmas live close enough or have the invited opportunity to actively participate in the training of their grandchildren. We can each gain passage through Psalm 71:17-18. “Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds. Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.” Whether grandchildren live near or far, we godly grandmas can all pray for this.
SPEP’s First-Ever In-Town Women’s Retreat
What an opportunity is coming your way on October 12-13, 2007! SPEP will have its first-ever in-town retreat at the church worship center. You won’t want to miss this opportunity to immerse yourself in the teaching laughing and fellowshipping that will hallmark the weekend. Registration occurs each Sunday in the Narthex through October 7, and the $15.00 covers snacks on Friday, a light breakfast and a hearty chili lunch on Saturday.
We will meet at the church to worship and then hear Pastor Glenn on Friday night. If you and a few of your friends want to have a slumber party after 9:30, head for your home and have a great time. That party is totally up to you! On Saturday, we’ll meet back at the church from 8:30-3:00 for more skits (These, our own “Rock-ettes,” you will not want to miss!), a light breakfast, lunch, and extended worship, teaching (Beth Boyd this time) and small group discussion groups.
Our topic, Worthless Rock to Precious Jewel, will allow Pastor Glenn and then Beth to explore where we’ve been and the Lord’s current and future plans for us. Please save October 12 and 13 so you can attend this retreat. Meanwhile, meditate on Zephaniah 9:16: “The LORD their God will save them on that day as the flock of his people. They will sparkle in his land like jewels in a crown.”
Don’t forget to register soon. Then you can organize your own pajama party!
As I sat in my office at lunchtime, munching on a cheese sandwich (American on whole wheat, light mustard, no lettuce or tomato), I slowly pondered important life issues—will I have to use the sprinkler this evening or will it rain again, what color should I paint the basement walls, should I order a pepperoni pizza tonight or really try to stick to my diet (maybe I should take Papa John’s© off of speed dial…)—when I began to participate in that great American pastime, daydreaming. Suddenly, the light was streaming through the office window at just the right angle. Soft breezes gently stirred through the trees. I was once again young, carefree, and healthy. My life stretched out before me, full of endless possibilities and promise. There was nothing I couldn’t do or be. I would sign up for that marathon after all. I had plane tickets in my pocket, headed for two weeks in Europe. My heart nearly skipped a beat as joy and bliss flooded my mind. Life was good. Then, like a puff of smoke, the dream was gone as suddenly as it had appeared. I was back in my office and everything was just as I had left it—the same sandwich, the same drone of the air conditioning, the quiet shuffle of papers from coworkers’ offices down the hall, doors opening and closing as meetings finished. I still had to make decisions about the sprinkler, the paint, and the appalling lack of pizza in my immediate future.
Then, I wondered if I had just been given a glimpse of what it’s like to die. Oh, not in the morbid sense, but just a foretaste of what it might be like to close my eyes in one place and be immediately transported to another. A place that I’ve thought about, read about and dreamt about countless times. Nothing but joy and bliss are allowed there. A place where I’m young and healthy again. A place that offers endless possibilities and promise. Like meeting Eve and demanding to know, “What were you thinking?!” Or asking Elijah what it felt like to be carried away in that chariot. Finding the apostle Peter shorter than I expected. Or seeing Mama and Daddy healthy and whole again (hallelujah!). And, most amazingly of all, looking into the face of my Savior—finally knowing exactly what He looks like. Asking Him to explain some of those parables again, or why in the world did He choose me, and did He really never tire of me asking for forgiveness over and over…and over. Just imagine what that would be like: no more sin, no more tears, and no more disease, complete peace and contentment stretching out as far as I can fathom and beyond.
It would be just like my daydream, except that this time, there’d be no going back to the place where I was before, because this time (sigh), the dream would be real. Vanessa Carter
The ballpoint pen was invented - October 30, 1945
The microwave oven was invented by accident - October, 1945
A collapsible tube for toothpaste was patented - October 11, 1841
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