I Can't Even Walk Without You Holding My Hand

Sometimes, I stop and take a look at where I am, and I think, "Wow! How did I get here?"

I'm talking figuratively…sort of. lol Seriously, though, it's good to stop and take a good look at our lives. Are we at the place we planned to be? Are we doing what we thought we would always do?

Back when I was thirteen in 1992, I went to a retreat at Camp Whitney in WV. We put items in individual plastic baggies and put them in a time capsule. Our plan at the time was to open it in the year 2000. The funny part of this is, 2000 seemed so very far away; now it's in the past.

A lot has happened to me since the year 2000, and I think I can say with all honesty, I'm not the same person I used to be; I am more. That girl's dreams and aspirations are not different from my current reality; they are broader.

When I was in elementary school, my teachers had a hard time getting me to do my school work rather than write stories. I wrote stories all the time, and about anything I could think of. Now, I am a published author.

When I was six-years-old, I received a tambourin as a birthday present. I recorded myself playing and singing. My right leg even got sore from banging that noisy thing against it. Ha! Now, I play piano, sing and even have a couple of CD's out. Wow!

I am the oldest of four girls. My sisters are 3-1/2 years younger, 10 years younger and 15 years younger than I am. I remember carrying my sister Veronica around, as if she were my own. Mom worked evenings, I was in high school, and during those long winter evenings, while rocking my sister, I remember dreaming of children of my own. I wanted babies to sing to, babies to rock, babies to love, and a Christian home. Now, I am happily married with two rotten, little girls of my own. I sang to them as babies, and I sing to them now. Amazing!

As a teenager who was blind, I used to wonder if I would ever meet nice guys. Every blind woman who was married, my mom said their husbands were ugly. That wasn't nice of her to say that, but that's how she felt. I remember begging God in my prayers, "Oh, God, please, please, please, don't let me meet an ugly man!" lol Now, i have a husband, who I think is the handsomest man in the world. And, I don't care whether anyone's mom likes the way he looks. :)

I used to wonder if I would ever have a home of my own, if I would ever be able to cook and clean for myself...you get my drift. Now, today, I have all of these things, but there's one thing I have learned that you might not be expecting; I don't do it on my own.

Nope, I can't be kind to my husband and children on my own. I can't write books, sing and play piano, take a walk down the street, all by myself. Now, don't y'all go thinking Terry does most of the work around here. I changed more diapers than he, I wash more dishes than he, and I do more laundry, too. Of course, since he likes to cook, I let him. lol No, I don't get help from anyone down here; I rely on my heavenly father, and He has never let me down.

When it came time to change the first nasty diaper, I literally prayed for God to show me how. When my first baby threw up all over herself, the high chair and the kitchen floor, I stood in the middle of the mess and cried out in the quiet of my house, "Oh, God, I need you! I do not know how to clean this up! Please, God, help!!!"

It's that way with everything, and I plan to keep it so. God showed me how to care for the babies. God showed me how to clean up their messes, and it's God who keeps reminding me, that I can do nothing without Him. After all, doesn't the Word say that He is the vine, and we are the branches? In another place, it says that if God be for us, who can be against us? And, yet another place, it tells us to cast our cares upon Him, for He cares for us. With such wonderful reminders of His love and willingness to be our very present help in time of trouble, how is it that we go astray?

How about you? Where has God brought you from since 2000?

Be sure and come back Wednesday. Not sure what I'll write about; having surgery and I'm not sure when I'll get to come back home, but I will blog. Also, be sure and come back Friday. I'm interviewing a new author, Peggy Hoy, reviewing her book, and you just have to be here.