When God Answers...

My master's degree diploma arrived in the mail last Friday. 

I decided to go graduate school about the same time that Mema was diagnosed with cancer.  I almost used her illness as an excuse to back out of the whole thing, but she would hear nothing of it.  She wanted me to follow my dreams, and always encouraged me to get all the education I could.  I have to admit, I feel a little guilt over the amount of time I had to spend on school that took away from the time I could have spent with her.  She would get me if she ever heard me admit that, though.  You won't tell, will you?

The only picture I have of Mema at my graduation.  

About a week before my graduation, Mema started feeling bad again.  There was some discussion about whether or not she would even be able to attend.  This upset me, because having her watch me walk across that stage to have that hood draped over my head was one of the only reasons I even decided to go through the ceremony.  I didn't say anything, though, as she and my mother discussed the logistics of getting her there.  I left the room, and when I came back, she called me to the chair where she was sitting.  She told me that when she got sick, she asked the Lord to let her live long enough to see me graduate, and there was no way that she was going to miss it.  So, that was settled.  Arrangements were made to get her there in her wheelchair, and when they hooded me, I was looking right at her.  She had to leave before I could get back to see her, but she was there. 

It was a major ordeal for her to go to my graduation because she was so sick.  As a matter of fact, 18 days later, she had her own "graduation."  But, the Lord had granted her request and she felt she had to do her part to get that answer to prayer.  That is how it is sometimes.  We ask the Lord for something, but there is something we have to do on our side to receive the answer.  If she had stayed home, would that mean that God had let her down?  Nope.

I've been thinking about this in relation to my life right now.  Last spring, I asked the Lord to grant us favor in regard to the school where I work.  I wanted the faculty and students to be able to stay together, whether in our building or in a different one.  He gave us another place to call home.  But, boy, it has been a lot of work to get the place ready.  Everyone that works there, and many of the parents and community members have gone above and beyond the call of duty to make sure our students had a great place to come to school.  We had to do our part.

God isn't like a fairy godmother.  He doesn't wave a magic wand and make things appear for us.  Now, I'm not saying he couldn't, I'm just saying he doesn't work that way.  He moves through people.  He empowers us to be the best we can be.  He helps us to do great things.  So, when you pray for something, and God answers, be sure and listen to what he says!  Be willing to do your part, even when it's hard. 

Happy Birthday, MEMA!!!!

Today would have been Mema's 53rd anniversary of her 29th birthday.  Mema always said she was 29.  I remember when my mom turned 30, I told Mema that she needed to turn at least 30.  She told me, "Your mom can be 30 if she wants to, but I am 29!"  Yes, ma'am!

So, this morning Mom, Emily, Papa and I loaded up in the car. We went to breakfast and then took some flowers to the cemetery.  I made sure the bouquet had big lilies in it because that is what Mom and Mema would send me on my birthday sometimes.  It was nice to honor her with a short visit (before the 100+ heat set in for the day).  It was mom's first time to visit the grave since the funeral.  We were all glad we went.

Then, in honor of Mema, we took Papa shopping.  Yes, shopping!  We took him to Hobby Lobby because he's a little bored these days and it's too hot to putter around in the garden.  He got a balsa wood airplane to build.  After that excursion, we stopped at QuikTrip for drinks, and a miracle happened.  While Mema was going through treatment, she wore very little jewelery.  But there was one bracelet she always had on her wrist.  It was one of those magnetic bracelets that is supposed to help with joint pain.  She swore it made her feel better, so she kept it on all she could.  A few weeks before she passed, the bracelet was lost.  We all looked everywhere for it.  Where could it be?  She never went anywhere but to church and the doctor.  We took her chairs apart, looked all around the bed, searched the church, asked at the doctor, looked all over the car--no bracelet.  Today, while I was in QT, Papa was sitting in the back seat of the car, looked down, and saw the bracelet under the seat.  It made us all tear up and smile at the same time. 

So, Happy Birthday Mema!  I know you are having your best one yet!

Mema on her birthday in 2008--the 50th anniversary of her 29th birthday. ;)

Nothing You Could Ever Do....

We are gearing up for Vacation Bible School at church this week.  Boy, Mema loved it when we had VBS last summer!  She wasn't able to be there much but she wanted to know all about it.  The theme for this year is "God is WILD about you."  Basically, God loves you very much, and there isn't anything you could do to make him not love you.  Sounds like a theme Mema would have chosen.

As a matter of fact, it sounds like the theme by which she lived her life.  She wanted everyone to know that God loved them, but she didn't stop there.  She also wanted them to know that SHE loved them, no matter what!  Here is an example of how she showed this important lesson to me:

Before I was born, Mema made this Jenny Lind doll from a kit.  It was special to her because she didn't have a lot of toys and things from her childhood.  Most of them were lost, along with her younger brother Raymond, when their house burned down.  So, she had this simple little porcelain doll.  Guess who loved to play with the doll??? 

I loved that doll!  Mema would let me play with it.  I always remember one of the feet being broken.  I'm not sure if that was my doing or if it happened prior to my facination with it, but her little flaw made me love Jenny Lind that much more.  Of course, it wasn't long until I was carrying her through the house and knocked her good foot against the side of the door frame.  OOPS!  Sorry Mema!  I remember crying and insisting that Papa could fix it (after all, he can fix anything). 

Now I am sure that Mema had to have been a little frustrated with my carelessness, but she never let it show to me.  Jenny Lind was eventually sent off to the doll hospital where they switched her feet out for some that don't quite match the rest of her.  I remember the day she came back. Now, I probably would have put her away and not let her be played with anymore.  But that wasn't Mema's way.  She handed Jenny Lind back to me and told me to just be careful with her. (Later, Jenny even came to live with me at my house.)

A simple example.  Some might say that it is just an example of a spoiled-rotten kid.  Trust me, Mema would thank you very much for that assessment of me.  She worked hard to make sure I was good and spoiled!  But she didn't just treat me like that.  I don't care who you are, if Mema knew you, she loved you, and there is nothing you could ever do that would change that.  Some out there may disagree with me, but those people are just confused.  They don't get it.  Mema didn't have to like your actions to love you.  She didn't have to agree with you to love you.  It is the same way with God.  There are times when I do things that He doesn't like.  I have ideas and opinions that He doesn't agree with.  But he loves me anyway!  I may be careless, irresponsible, selfish...human...yet He gave His only Son to die for me.  There is nothing I could do to deserve that kind of love--and there is nothing I could ever do to change it.  I just need to accept it!  I'm a spoiled-rotten child of The King.  Are you?

Whither Thou Goest...

One of my favorite stories in the bible is that of Ruth.  She showed such faithfulness to her mother-in-law, Naomi, that she left her home and traveled with her to a foreign land just to take care of her.  Or at least that is what Ruth thought she was doing.  In all actuality, God was directing Ruth to go with Naomi so that He could take care of them both.  And, in the process, Ruth became part of a much bigger plan.  She promised Naomi, "Whither thou goest, I will go.  Your people will be my people.  Your God will be my God."  Wow!

Ok, so that is how I always felt about Mema.  Wherever she was, that was home for me.  It didn't matter if we were sitting at her house playing Skip-Bo, traveling around Arkansas singing at different churches, at our home church ministering to the faithful few, or those special nights at St. John's hospital having our "slumber parties".  Wherever she was, that is where I wanted to be.

When I was little, I loved to spend the night with Mema.  Momma would come to pick me up the next day and we would barely get 5 miles from her house and I would cry to go back.  I guess I was rotten, because more often than not, Mom would turn around and take me back.  There was always peace when I was with Mema.  As I got older, I learned that there was usually some crisis going on with someone, but Mema never let it show to me.  It was safe with her.  It was home. 

She used to live within walking distance to the little storefront church that she and my Papa pastored.  I remember getting up on Sunday morning and walking to church with her.  We had to get there early to make coffee.  She played the organ during service, and my place was right next to her on the organ bench.  There were two rows of keys, and I got to play the bottom ones.  Fortunately for the congregation, the bottom row didn't work, but I played them with all I had.  It was there that I learned to sense the presence of the Lord.  I became comfortable with the moving of His Spirit, and later could respond to whatever He wanted me to do.  I loved to be right next to Mema when the Lord would move through her....

Back in those days, Mema would hold prayer meetings at the church on a regular basis.  I don't remember these being huge prayer circles, but just a few ladies who would meet and interceed for their families and the congregation.  One of the most faithful to meet was Juanita.  She would often bring her grandson, Joel with her.  Joel and I were the same age, and I loved it when he came.  We would lay underneath the altar and play quietly while our grandmothers talked to God.  We never seemed to bother them, although their prayer meetings were seldom quiet and serene.  Sometimes it was just me under that altar.  I would lay there and listen to the ladies pray.  Here I learned I could be bold and ask God for anything.  My child-like faith would be such that if we were praying for rain, I would walk around outside with my umbrella waiting for the answer.  I wish I could get back to that child-like faith.  It was so easy then.  We saw so many of those prayers answered.  I know God still answers our prayers, but as an adult I think it becomes too easy to focus on the times He says "No" or "Wait" and take the "Yes" answers for granted. 

So, that is the story behind the title of the blog.  Mema may not have left behind expensive jewelery or a big bank account, but the inheritance is priceless!  She laid up her treasures in heaven, but she left plenty behind on earth as well.  She invested in people by giving so generously of her time and her heart. May we all provide the interest!!

Here We Go....

So, I've decided to venture off the deep end into the world of blogging.  Now that I've finished graduate school, I guess I still have this compulsion to write.  This should be a bit more fun than the history of cataloging.  Hopefully, the words I write will be a tribute to an amazing woman, and at the same time bring about the healing of my broken heart.

You see, the purpose of this little project is to honor a life well-lived--the life of My Mema, Helen Lang.  To say she was my grandmother doesn't begin to describe the depth of the love between us.  She was my cheerleader, my sounding board, my voice of reason, my teacher, my friend.  And now, she is gone.  She slipped away from us May 28, 2011, after an almost three-year battle against breast cancer.  As we went through the funeral process, I found myself reflecting on the stories she told me, the examples she showed me, and the dreams shared with me.  I would talk of these things with others, and then they would add to what I knew.  We touched on some of these at the funeral.  Afterwards, many in attendance would say "I didn't know this about Helen."  Or, "Your grandmother sure led a full life."  I would shake my head and say "She was amazing." 

So, here we go...I am going to put into writing some of the stories of her life.  I do not endeavor to make this a chronological journey, rather I will just write about whatever experience has wandered its way into my consciousness.  I do not claim that the events will be EXACTLY as they happened, but I will try to stay true to the facts as I remember them.  Much of what I will write about happened long before my birth, so I am relaying the story as it was told to me.  It is my hope that the people who loved Mema will read these things and always remember the legacy she left behind.  For those who didn't know her, or didn't know her well, I hope that this blog will carry forward the example of faith and love that she lived throughout her life.