I am blessed beyond measure to have 2 of the dearest women on the planet as heart friends of mine. I say ‘heart friends’ because they hold my heart with their kind souls….and I hold theirs, as well. We have had some fun adventures through the years, and it’s not gonna stop anytime soon! Each year we have a FALL FLING…and a SPRING FLING. And, this is written in stone! However the year we went to Hawaii, we had just one HULA FLING…cause we were saving our money and all. But, Flings have become a necessity in our lives, and it’s gonna happen just as surely as we’re gonna breathe…or shop. We are leaving tomorrow for a day at the beach with Shirl, who is already there with her Mom and Sis. Then, we are headed into parts of Georgia…ending at the Cotton Pickin Fair in tiny Gay, Georgia on Sat. We will return home on Saturday night…exhausted, broke, and happy…..with just enough ‘fling’ to last us until Spring!
Adam and I are in Birmingham for another eye surgery.
We began talking on our trip up yesterday about how many years he and I have been coming to Birmingham for medical issues. He was diagnosed with cancer when he was three years old. That would be 1978. Back and forth we came for the next 12 years. But, he continues to be cancer free, and really, we do not ever think of that as a possibility anymore. God, in His grace and mercy, healed Adam. We accept it, we believe it, and we claim it!
And, now this eye business…wow! What a mess! Ian started this whole journey when he found this wonderful doctor in Birmingham, and decided to have Lasik done on his eyes. After his wonderful results, he talked to the doctor about Alex. We had no thoughts of there being anything that could be done. But, we were wrong. God used Ian to bring about help for Alex’s vision. The doctor told Alex that he had some of the worst eyes he had ever seen…vision wise. But, he set about devising a plan to give him back his eyesight. And, he did. Alex still has double vision…and nystagmus. That is not able to be corrected as those problems come from the brain…not the eyes. We are thrilled and thank God for choosing to heal this part of Alex’s vision.
And, then Adam wanted to get in on the party. He has been wearing glasses since he was 5…and his vision has continued to deteriorate through the years. He has, however, been able to wear contact or glasses ,,,then contacts AND glasses! When he saw the doctor, he told Adam that HE had the worst eyes he had ever seen! My boys…such over achievers!! 🙂
The doctor laid out his plan to help Adam, and he was anxious to get started. First, was the same surgery Alex had. All was well…for a few days. Then he had a torn retina…then a detached retina. That is extremely serious. More surgery. This was not caused by the first surgery…but just ‘happened’ to occur at the same time. So, that’s 3…then he had a cataract form that had to be removed. And, today, a vitrectomy…which is literally draining the fluid out of the eye and replacing it with another solution. This surgery was to correct the huge ‘floaters’ that were blocking his vision. One of them fell down as I think I told you…but it came back. And there was another one that he said looked like a windshield wiper! These floaters are debris left from all the other surgery. So that brings us up to 5. Now, next week he is going to have another surgery for a cataract in the other eye. His eye will be very vulnerable to another tear in the retina after that…but we are praying that that will not happen. And, then…after everything heals…Lasik. Wow! What a ride! The doctor had told him to start with that when he finished, he would have near perfect vision. However, that will not be possible now. It will still be much improved, but he will have to wear reading glasses. Hey! We’ll take that!
Here he is this morning before the surgery.
And, this is after.
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5″7
The human eye is a marvelous organ. It does amazing tiny activities all the time…without us even realizing it! Do a little research on the eye and see just how many different processes there are. Only the Master Designer could have planned and executed such a marvelous organ. Good or even fair eyesight…don’t take it for granted!
Have you ever seen such an adorable face? This little baby is Jezabelle McDougald, my great niece fur baby. She is the teeniest thing, and to hear her bark…oh, my! Too cute!
I spent the day today helping Lori with decorating her new home. Ben was away for the day and…not that he would mind or anything…it’s just easier to work when it’s just us girls doing the playing, isn’t it? Lori, Joy and myself had a full day of work to do. After we got the major moving around finished, we added some fall pieces to her house…one of which is this great fall leaf bowl. Suzanne, my daughter in love, came by and quickly fell in love with Jeza. She thought she would look cute in the bowl…and so she did!
However, she quickly decided that she did not like this place she was in and managed to hoist herself up onto the rim of the bowl. But, once there…she could not decide what to do next. It looked too far to the top of the table. “Rescue me someone!”
“Ahhh! That’s more like it! This is where I like to be most! With my mommy!”
Now, we had to do some rearranging of furniture to get things to their optimum ‘look-good’ potential. So, we moved couches, tables, and a TV…a big TV. A big TV with lots of stuff plugged into it…surround sound, WII, cable, DVR…many, many cords. Now to move the TV, we had to undo all the cords. However, and herein lies the unfortunate occurrence, we could not for the life of us remember what to do with all the cords once we got the big TV moved to another table and pushed back against the wall. Why would anyone have to have all those cords anyway? Seems to me that as smart as ‘smart people’ are these days, they could put all that stuff into the TV to start with and then you would only have to plug in ONE cord and everything would work. Now, this would not have been such a devastating thing had Lori’s new hubby Ben, not asked her specifically to tape the ALABAMA game that was on this afternoon. He was hard at work, and all he wanted to do when he came home was to watch THE game. But, alas, this is not to be. Hope he gets over it. Lori didn’t seem too worried. As I left, she was putting Jeza into the car and they were heading to Joy’s house…so SHE could watch the game! “Lori, if Ben asks, I’m telling him it was all YOUR idea!”
I am a collector at heart, and it really doesn’t matter what it is, if I like it…I like it…and I collect it. It is the ‘gathering together’ that is the fun! Most of the things I collect are of little value to anyone else. But, that’s OK…that is not even what is important. It is the feeling of other hands holding and other hearts loving an item that makes it valuble to me. One day I will tell you about all my collections…but for today, I will tell you that I love to collect photographs. I love the finding and sorting and catagorizing…then the reviewing!
Today, I want to share some of my favorite ‘early fall’ pictures. Why, yes, there are ‘early fall’ pictures and ‘late fall’ pictures. Just as there are pumpkin pics, and fall leaf pics, and fall decor pics. There are Halloween pictures, and Thanksgiving pictures, and most precious of all…’my family in fall’ pictures. I hope you enjoy looking at these. (Only collected by me…not taken by me).
I think I have mentioned recently that my church went through a terrible ordeal…it split. This has been a devastating occurrence in my life. And, coming so soon after Mom’s journey to Heaven, it has felt like another death to me.
I have written no less than 10 posts about what transpired. But, chose not to publish any of them. I wondered if they were too harsh. Or were they too angry. Maybe, they seemed too sad, or maybe, not really saying what I felt. I guess the truth of the matter has been…I haven’t known just exactly what I really have felt. All I could say for sure was that it hurt…big time.
I have been at Southside since I was in the 6th grade. I have become the person I am today within the walls of those buildings. I have formed my thoughts on life and the way to live it properly while listening to great men of God speak from the pulpit. I have struggled with problems in my life while being supported by the congregation there. I have faced my own personal battles while keeping ‘one foot in the door’ so to speak.
But, this, this breaking apart of the family of God is one of the hardest things I’ve ever faced. There has been anger and hateful and hurtful talk between both groups. It is so hard to take. It has split up friendships, partnerships, families. It has driven wedges between people where none has ever existed before. It has devastated.
In examining why I feel compelled to address this on my blog…I think it is because I have wanted to document every major life occurrence here. But, I have agonized over this incident and how to best explain it. I am usually not so careful with what I write. While I am always on guard to never knowingly write something that would hurt another person, I tend to pretty much write the way I talk. And, that is usually speaking my mind and saying whatever comes up. But, I am so aware in this matter, that I do not want to do or say or write anything that is not honest and true. I would never want to harm the cause of Christ. And, I think in the life of Southside Baptist Church, it has been harmed too much already.
And, so, I choose to not say anything about the particulars of this tragedy. Some of the dearest people in my life are now attending another church. And, I must respect that. Just as I wish them to respect my choice. Honestly, Don and I were torn in our decision. But, I will say this…this did not have to happen…and that is the biggest tragedy of all.
Pray for us…those who stayed and those who left. We all need it. We need to look closely at what has transpired. We need to ask questions, and get answers. We need to examine everything and make decisions based only on what God would do. I do know this: “…for God is not a God of confusion, but of peace, as in all the churches of the Saints.” 1 Corinthians 14:33 NASB I know He is not pleased with this occurrence.
I hope that this will fill the need I have had to write about this. As I said earlier, I do not want to offend. Everyone who stayed or who left had their own decisions to make. And, we all had to come to our decisions based on our own set of criteria. And, that is as it should be. The pastor of Southside, before this happened; and the pastor now of this new church was very good to my family. He has a heart for hurting people. He was so kind and faithful to pray for Alex, and he was so comforting to us during Mom’s death and funeral. He was there as she died and was a source of peace and comfort to our family. We will always be grateful to him.
There is not a winner in a situation like this. We all lost something very precious. We lost fellowship with our church family. Those ‘ties that bind our hearts in Christian love’ were broken. I miss the people that have been in my life since I was a child. I miss those people that gave me a hug every Sunday. I miss those people who I knew could be called on for anything…anytime. I wonder if they miss the fellowship that we had at Southside. I wonder if they miss those of us that stayed. I wonder if think about those who were hurting before they left and are hurting still. I wonder about lot of things…
I am a Christian woman who has survived many years on the planet. God has blessed me with a wonderful family: husband, 3 sons, a dear DIL, and a precious grandson. I also have dear friends to keep me inspired. I am an artist of sorts and am finding my way through the great blessing of retirement. I recently retired after 20 years as a music teacher. Life is good!
My Boys
"All your sons will be taught by the Lord; and great will be their peace." Isaiah 54:13
Read their stories... Adam Alex Ian
Hello, my name is Everly. I am a blogger living in New York. This is my blog, where I post about interior design and decoration. Never miss out on new stuff.
Hello, my name is Everly. I am a blogger living in New York. This is my blog, where I post about interior design and decoration. Never miss out on new stuff.