Granny's Homegoing

I will interrupt my blogging vacation to share that my dear grandmother is finally home with the Lord as of sometime between 7:30 and 7:40pm this evening.  She would have been 101 at the end of February.

This was not unexpected, but the likelihood of it progressed rather quickly, by the mercy of God.  She had a stroke a little over a month ago that left her bedridden, unable to insert her teeth, without much use of the left side of her body, and unable to talk clearly.  For a woman who was still cutting her own grass at 90, and was still living on her own until she was around 95 (96?  Mom will have to correct me on the age), being in this situation was the worst place she could be in.  Because she had her mind until the very end.  It was her body that finally quit.

But, she said she would walk again before she was 101.  And, now, she is walking.  And laughing.  And singing praises to God as she could not do at the end of her life.  She is finally home.  And the end of an era has come.

We love you Granny.

The words are hiding

Almost no Christmas pictures, no news of the kids' activities, no interesting updates in general.  What has happened to the Zoo, you wonder?

Honestly, I'm in one of those places where my words are missing and my thoughts are jumbled.  Nothing is wrong, really.  But where I usually think about how to blog about certain things that are happening, I am instead finding myself stressed about when to find the time to sit at the computer and deal with all the pictures.  The blog, right now, is almost just "one more thing" to get accomplished instead of the fun, coffee-talk'ish sharing place that it usually is.  It's a busy time of year for us, anyway.  But, for some reason, there is just a need to simplify for the moment.

Oh, we'll be back.  There will be things to share and pictures to post and laughs to enjoy.  Heck.  We may not be gone very long a'tall.  But, for now, I'm taking a mini-blog-vacay.  This way, if I post something, it will be a nice surprise.  But, if I don't, then no one will be left wondering about what the zoo has done with all the monkeys.  :-)

From a Friend in Honor of the New Year

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,

...Plans to give you a future, and a hope.    - Jeremiah 29:11

It's Time to move;

Out of an old year,

into a new one.

It's time to pack --

It's time to square away our lives,

Pack up old baggage,

Move forward, or continue onward.

Time to clean the cobwebs

out of the attics & closets of our souls:

to bury the dead, the hatchet -

hate, old hurts,

old sins, dead sins,

dead works, dead self.

Time to make a bonfire for the old year --

To pile on the wood, hay, & stubble from our lives,

To relegate to the ash heap the chaff,

The broken shards,

the unworthy priorities --

the busy-ness of life that stirs us like leaves in the wind.

Time to prepare to give away our lives, our souls, our selves.

Time to pick up what's good, cherish it,

pack it carefully into memory:

Days with friends and family,

Blessings,

triumphs,

Halcyon days,

Those days when God inexplicably reached down

into our lives and souls,

New faith, tested faith, joy,

Character-changing trials,

Hope, dreams,

And Love.

Time to plan a prominent place in the New Year

For more of the same:

More time with family and friends,

More love for others,

More opportunities,

More worthy pursuits.

More Faith, more Hope, more Love.

More joy, more peace

               --  more peace in waiting.

More kindness, & rejoicing with others,

More humility, grace, & selflessness,

Patience & forgiveness,

More truth, more strength,

More sensitive hearts,

Endurance for the race.

More ways to serve,

More awareness of His Spirit.

More room for God in our relationship with Him,

More of Him in our relationship with others,

More of our dreams in our own life -

                for that too is of Him.

                Time for a New Year --

                            not filled with resolutions,

                                         but full of less -- and more --

                                                                   and Life.

J. Arrendale, Dec 31, 2006