Are There Waterfalls in Heaven?

Do you ever wonder what heaven looks like?  Since my mama died, this photo is how I envision it.  Mama wasn't a swimmer, she was a "wader".  On day trips to the mountains, Daddy would often ask, "Ellen, you want me to stop so you can wade in the creek"?   I guess this photo was taken on one of the days she agreed.  I love that she is barefoot and wearing a cotton summer dress.  She seldom wore slacks until she was well up in years, and she NEVER wore shorts. 

Daddy was an excellent swimmer, but I don't think Mama owned more than the one black, 1950's era swimsuit, that I remember, in her entire life.. and it probably never even got wet!  At the beach or lake, she usually stood on the shore looking worried and wringing her hands until all her duckies were safely back on shore.  My kids think I'm just like her in that respect.  Okay, guilty as charged. 

Today would have marked Mama's 93rd birthday.  Although she has been gone for eight years, Alzheimer's Disease stole her from me years before that.  I still miss her and would so love to be able to pick up the phone and talk with her about my day.  Maybe we'd get out the old VHS tapes and watch a few hours of Ann of Green Gables, or While You Were Sleeping.  After that I'd like to sit at the little wooden table in her kitchen and share a banana sandwich, or a piece of apple pie and a cup of coffee...with lots of cream.   Unlike me, who loves cake of any kind, Mama preferred apple pie to cake any day.  Daddy always said that mama and I liked a little coffee in our cream...and I still do.  Happy birthday, Mama.  Are there waterfalls in heaven?  I sure hope so!

 

Copyright 2013 Charlotte Laney

Coveting, Comparing, Jealousy & Loving Are All Choices

I must admit, until today, I hadn't read the ten commandments in a while.  If we all read them daily, and committed our lives to keeping them, even so we would still be sinful people.  The purpose of the Lord's commandments, in addition to giving us the foundation of moral and civil law, is to show us our depravity and need for a Savior. 

The tenth commandment, "Do not covet", while we may not admit it, is probably the sin most often committed by professing believers in Christ. It is not an "outward" sin that others might easily recognize, but an ugly one that stealthily takes residence in hearts and minds. 

It's easy to fall prey to the snare of coveting, comparison, and jealousy.  We are born with sinful natures that "want" what we don't have.  How did Satan tempt and deceive Eve in the Garden?  Although God gave Adam and Eve wonderful fruits of the Garden for food, they were forbidden only one.  But, Satan tempted Eve by implanting these thoughts:  "You have been deprived of something you deserve.  Although your needs are met...you need more.  You should have what others have."

Sound familiar?  Have you looked with envy at Facebook friends' photos or posts of fabulous vacations to faraway places, driving new cars, or moving into new houses?  Maybe you are secretly envious when friends are getting married, or having babies, and you still haven't met the "man or woman of your dreams."  While you cope with screaming babies, leaky roof, a failing marriage, car repairs, credit card debt, bankruptcy, troubled teens, a terminal illness, a lost job, hospital bills, loneliness, a house that won't sell, college loans, aging parents (have I covered it?)...the whole world is out there having FUN!  Why can't your life be like theirs?  First of all, "THERE ARE NO EASY ANSWERS"!  Life isn't always fair...the playing field isn't always level.  God causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 

God created us, so He knows our weaknesses.  Maybe that's why He repeated in Romans 13:9, " ...Thou shalt not covet", but He added more:  "...if there be any other commandment, it is summed up in this word, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."  Wow!  Maybe the secret to conquering the sins of comparing, coveting, and jealousy lie in the last phrase... "love thy neighbor as thyself."  When we stop selfishly focusing on our own problems and wants, and instead give thought, prayer, and action to the needs of others, their importance diminishes. 

When we truly love someone, aren't we happy when they get a new house, or a job promotion?  When we love someone, don't we want to help when their world is falling apart?  We will keep their screaming baby for a few hours so that mommy can get a much-needed nap.  We take a meal...make a phone call, say a prayer, write a check, offer a shoulder to cry on...be a friend.  But the secret is LOVE...and loving is a choice.....  Selah

Copyright 2013 Charlotte Laney

Grandma Daisy and Little Orphan Annie

My paternal grandmother, Daisy, was a tall woman, who from my earliest remembrances often wore a pocketed apron over her flowery cotton "everyday" dresses.  She kept all her money in that pocket, which probably only amounted to a few well-worn dollars and a few coins.  The coins were saved for buying a "dope" at Johnny Russell's store on a hot summer's day.  For the uninformed, a "dope" was the southern synonym for colas.  Although a bun secured most of her hair to the back of her head, curly wisps of coarse white hair sprouted all about.  Dark skin and eyes, combined with high cheekbones, hinted there's more to be discovered of our family's roots in Cherokee County, North Carolina.

How much formal education she received, I don't know.  I'm sure it couldn't have been much, because her sister could not read at all, having gone to work in the cotton mills when she was a little girl.  I was told that my aunt had to stand on a wooden box because she was too small to reach the machinery.  What a sad commentary for times before child labor laws were passed. 

Although it's now called Parkinson's Disease, I was told that my grandmother had "the palsy".  Her handwriting was wavy, and her head and voice shook a little when she spoke.  I have discovered that during a turbulent time in my grandmother's past, she was a songwriter.  But, I only knew her as a storyteller, and one who could quote long stanzas of poetry from memory.  

When we visited my grandmother in the summer, we sat outside under the trees because of the oppressive heat indoors.  I remember Grandma telling the story of Rip Van Winkle so descriptively that when I heard thunder, I could imagine little men bowling.  But it was her animated recitation of  "The Little Orphan Annie" that put goose bumps on my arms every time!   For a scared-y cat little girl, it was probably a bit too much...but nonetheless, it would have me on the edge of my seat....and maybe it will yours, too. 

The Little Orphan Annie

by

James Whitcomb Riley

Little Orphan Annie's come to my house to stay.
To wash the cups and saucers up and brush the crumbs away.
To shoo the chickens from the porch and dust the hearth and sweep,
and make the fire and bake the bread to earn her board and keep.
While all us other children, when the supper things is done,
we sit around the kitchen fire and has the mostest fun,
a listening to the witch tales that Annie tells about
and the goblins will get ya if ya don't watch out!

Once there was a little boy who wouldn't say his prayers,
and when he went to bed at night away up stairs,
his mammy heard him holler and his daddy heard him bawl,
and when they turned the covers down,
he wasn't there at all!
They searched him in the attic room
and cubby hole and press
and even up the chimney flu and every wheres, I guess,
but all they ever found of him was just his pants and round-abouts
and the goblins will get ya if ya don't watch out!!

Once there was a little girl who always laughed and grinned
and made fun of everyone, of all her blood and kin,
and once when there was company and old folks was there,
she mocked them and she shocked them and said, she didn't care.
And just as she turned on her heels and to go and run and hide,
there was two great big black things a standing by her side.
They snatched her through the ceiling fore she knew what shes about,
and the goblins will get ya if ya don't watch out!!

When the night is dark and scary,
and the moon is full and creatures are a flying and the wind goes Whoooooooooo,
you better mind your parents and your teachers fond and dear,
and cherish them that loves ya, and dry the orphans tears
and help the poor and needy ones that cluster all about,
or the goblins will get ya if ya don't watch out!!!

Copyright 2013 Charlotte Laney

Bedtime Rituals and Redeeming Time

Last night the two oldest "littles" stayed overnight.  They worked 4th of July word puzzles and coloring pages.  Later, we made popcorn and watched "The Prince of Egypt." 

Since all fun things must come to end, it was soon time to clean up all papers, crayons, colored pencils, and markers littering the den floor.  Oh, the whining that ensued.  But, Pappy and Laney are not averse to bribery.  "You may watch ten more minutes of Sponge Bob, when you've cleaned up."  The "littles" parents would never have been permitted to watch Sponge Bob.  But, we've matured in our parenting skills.  I can endure poor cartooning and even poorer dialog for the greater good.  It's #1 in the Grandparent's Creed...."Whatever works".    

It's on....  bedtime rituals:  snacks, PJ's donned, a cursory swipe with the toothbrush.  Okay, maybe the teeth didn't get brushed tonight.  I don't remember.  But the important stuff follows.... who sleeps where, books chosen. 

Our #2 "little" must read (or should I say, look at) the Gold Bug book.  It's a cute little book.  Actually, the title is "Cars, Trucks, and Things that Go" by Richard Scarry; but at our house, it is "The Gold Bug Book."  Somewhere on the page a tiny gold bug is hidden in the picture.  Sleep cannot come until every single little gold bug is discovered. 

I know, I know.  They know exactly where every little gold bug is hiding, and I also know it's a stall tactic to keep the light on just a few more minutes.  Hey, it's been a while, but I was a kid once, too.  You know the drill....  I need a drink of water.  I have to go potty again.  It's too dark in here.  Do you snore?  Do I snore?  Why is the dog making that noise?  Laney, are you asleep?

I'm savoring the moments with our oldest grand, realizing how quickly she's growing up.  She gets to sleep with me.  We started reading "Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm" last night.  Although at seven, she's an excellent reader, she still loves for me to read to her.  I find a connection to my mama sharing childhood classics with her.  "Rebecca" was written over a hundred years ago, was read by my mother, by me, and now my granddaughter.  Good literature, and art, transcends generations.  Point in fact, will Sponge Bob pass the 100 year test?  Ummm....I don't think so!

When our "littles" daddies were their age, we were busy making ends meet...mortgage, car payments, groceries, medical bills, shoes and clothes for growing feet and bodies.  There never seemed to be enough hours in the day to accomplish everything.  There were piles of dishes, laundry and toys.  Often beds weren't made.  We just dropped into them, exhausted, at the end of the day. 

Time passes so quickly, though.  They don't last forever, those precious moments.  Way too soon...children and grandchildren are too old for lap sitting, being read to, cuddles and tickles.  The Bible says that we "...do not know what will happen tomorrow.  For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away" (James 4:14).  In Ephesians 5:15-16, we are reminded to "...walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time...".

I have decided that God gives us grandchildren for the exclusive purpose of redeeming some time. 


Copyright 2013 Charlotte Laney