God's Grace

I wrote this poem one year after the World Trade Center attack on Sept. 11, 2002. I shared it in Connect Group on 9/11/11 and wanted to share it with you all as well. I hope it stirs your hearts and gives you hope.

God's Grace

As I sit and watch the world outside
I seem to look with new bright eyes.
The trees are bowing with such grace and poise
And God speaks through the trees with a soft and tender voice.

Listen carefully as they rustle and sway
You, too, might hear what God has to say.
This world was not meant for such hurt and sorrow
Trust me today and I'll give you tomorrow.

As I sit with a kitten on my lap
And a kicking child in my womb
God reminds me
This world was not meant for doom.

He willingly gave his life for me
My decision to live for Him was His plea.
Take a moment just to pause
For you dear child are a worthy cause.

Your life is a light so let it shine
Although this world may not be kind.
In your heart this you must know
My son awaits to welcome you home.

Your life is but a season
And I alone hold the reason.
Stand high like the trees
And still be able to bend upon your knees.

- Sharon Hinkle

Dangerous Road Ahead!!

Mrs. Ruble was a very old lady by the time I came along. She lived up the road from our house and my mother often sent me to check on her or to take her a plate of food, or tell her of some bit of news. I was scared to death of her for no other reason than she was old and had such lifelike pieces of sculpture in her house, I was sure they were real and would get me.

She had lived in her home for a very long time, so long in fact that the roads had been re-routed since her girlhood and were no longer in the same place as they used to be. She had driven the old roads so many years, day in and day out that it was embedded in her brain. When the city changed them, Mrs. Ruble found it hard to change too.

Well, the years advanced and Mrs. Ruble became forgetful and her driving grew more and more erratic and that's when the fun began. See, she was driving the old ways in her brain but the roads were no longer in the same place. Even worse, the original road was straight down the hill while the new road was a round about lane, with an easier incline.

One fine day, Mrs. Ruble set out for the store and to the shock of all concerned, she took off down the old familiar path, bumpity bumping over grassy hillocks at a terrifying speed and angle. Everyone held their breath! Would she make it??? Look out Mrs. Ruble...the old way is not the best way!!

I'm happy to say she made it and we all breathed a bit easier. Family took the keys and she moved away to live with those who could care for her, leaving the neighborhood a safer but more boring place to live.

I've been thinking about her for some reason and how she relates to my own life as a mom, wife, friend, Christian, etc. My mental vehicle goes where I've always allowed it to go, sort of on automatic pilot, and that has to stop. I've allowed myself to get into ruts of my own making and my own thinking....I'm not good enough, I'm not capable, God can't use me there because I don't have any particular talent, who would want me and I'll probably just fail anyway. Dangerous road ahead!!!

No, I need to change and travel along God's path of assurance and love, trusting in Him to do the work and letting him do the driving. I know if He's behind the wheel, we're headed in the right direction!

Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.

Holding on to Summer

Do you find yourself trying to hold on to summer?
As an old song by Nat King Cole states…Those Lazy Crazy Days of Summer. You’ll wish that summer could always be here.

Summer was fun with some lazy days…life was less packed with a have-to-do list. The list was still there but not as much pressure to accomplish all or to have such a set schedule. There was perhaps time to sit on the deck and enjoy your morning coffee…time to plant and harvest a garden…time to enjoy the beauty of planted flowers…time to go the beach and build sand castles with the kids….read a book for pleasure…..eat ice cream on a hot summer day…cool down at a water park…..time to slow down and enjoy creation.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good: his love endures forever Psalm 16:34

I just love that – forever part! All good things come to an end. Summer comes and goes. Seasons change…..nothing lasts forever. But, that old saying is not true! Step away to your quiet place and thank God that it’s not true. Thank Him for his love and for His goodness that does last forever and His forgiveness.

Just think with each change of season there is something new…..yes, the beginning of school can be a challenge along with all of the after school and weekend activities. A new chance to change things…to become an even better wife, mom, grandmother, aunt, sister, etc. A new time to invest in the future of those you love. To become a mentor to someone. To reach out to a neighbor. To be a servant.

Remember the summer, but be challenged with the fall. A chance for a new beginning. Pray for wisdom as you venture into fall. Wisdom as to where your time should be spent. You will need wisdom to meet the entire have-to list with an attitude of service and love. Schedule time for you to rest and to refresh your soul and don’t forget to add a dash of FUN.

God smacked!!!

Ever been God smacked? I'm talking about those moments when God makes something so clear to you, it's almost as if He's smacked you upside the head.... you know what I mean. Well the other day I sure got a doozey!

I've always been fond of Proverbs 3: 5-6 - "Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding; in all you ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path."

I think it just makes me feel good to know that can always lean on him and he will get me through things - whatever they might be.

So I've been praying for my daughter - something pretty specific - for the past few weeks. Sometimes I pray and it's just words in my head, no clear answers. Other times I might pray and it's more like a cnversation with God. Well, the other day I start praying for my daughter and it quickly turns into a conversation. Suddenly, I'm hearing "I've got this". Woa, ok, thanks for pointing out my doubt, I'll continue my side of the conversation now. Then it happens.... I hear "SHE'S got this!". ERRRRTTTT! Slam on the brakes! I think I've just been told! It was as if God smacked me upside my head to tell me to have a little more faith in my daughter. Woa, in all my weeks of praying this is something that had never even crossed my mind!

I guess as a mamma, I sometimes worry about things involving my kids more than my kids do (case in point). But, I can turn it over to God and he just might remind me that he's in control - or that I'm worrying a bit too much. Not sure about you, but that's something I really needed to hear this week :)

The Sesquicentennial

Remember that record-breaking heat wave a month or so ago? Remember the intense temperatures combined with sweltering humidity that had city officials issuing heat advisories and telling people to stay inside? Remember that day where Northern Virginia was the hottest place in the entire country? Remember how sane people did everything they could to find air conditioning wherever they could?

Well I’m not sane. That weekend, I and about 30,000 other people spent those days outside, wandering Old Town Manassas, soaking up the sun and history. I was one of many volunteers for the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, also known as the Sesquicentennial. It was 4 days of reenactments, exhibits, tours, lectures, and music all centered around life during the war. For those of you who are history buffs, you can understand why one would be excited about this; for those who aren’t I’m going to try to explain. Hopefully this won’t sound like a history report.

The best thing about history events like this is it’s so much more than just another history lesson. Rather than just reading about what happened, you get the opportunity to experience how it was – it’s history come to life! You can see how people slept, ate, dressed, played, and worked in the 1800s. More than that, you can learn how they handled the crisis that came their way; how they faced the adversity and challenges of war literally in their backyard; and how they sacrificed family, friends, and home to fight for what they believed.

There were military camps artillery demonstrations, dance lessons, musical interludes, and hundreds of reenactors spread throughout the Historic Manassas area, but it would take a long time to tell you about everything, so I’ll tell you about my three favorite events.

Coming in at number three was the Confederate Cemetery. I’ll admit a slight bias for this one because this is where I was volunteering for two of the four days. I asked to volunteer there because I’ve long had an affinity for old cemeteries. I love the stories literally buried in the grounds (plus they’re just kind of cool-looking). Our cemetery has many Southern Cross of Honor winners (the Confederate equivalent of the Congressional Medal of Honor) and a memorial to the Confederate soldiers killed during the war, as well as a Union soldier who earned the Congressional Medal of Honor. If you want to know some stories, feel free to ask me – I had to memorize a lot of them.



The runner-up was Liberia Plantation. Living in Manassas all my life, I’ve heard about it many times, but it’s rarely open to the public. For the Sesquicentennial, it opened its beautiful doors and let us look around a bit – it’s a gorgeous house and if you get the chance to visit, I recommend it. A highlight of Liberia Plantation was a reenactment of Rose Greenhow, a female spy during the Civil War. She spoke of how she passed secrets that were pivotal to the Confederates’ success in the 1st Battle of Manassas, as well as what life was like after she was captured. And she never went out of character, despite many people trying to trip her up with their questions



And now for my favorite event of the weekend! The reenactment of the 1st Battle of Manassas was amazing. Several hundred reenactors fighting exactly as their 1800s counterparts did. There was gunfire, cannons booming, horses running, rebel yells… it was intense. And those poor men (and women – they painted on mustaches and beards) in all that wool clothing, running around in the heat! The battle was the highlight of the weekend for me.


These videos give you an idea of what the reenactment was like, but it was a lot louder in person. (For instance, the little popping noises are actually gunfire.)

So why is this important? Maybe it’s not, but it was a major event in our little hometown, and I was honored to be a part of it. I used to think history was boring, but then I had a teacher who made it real for me; she made it “come alive.” Too bad she didn’t bring one of those cannons into the classroom!

Knowing the Truth

In the movie, The Help, there is a little girl named Mae Mobley. She is a white child who is considered to be plain by her very pretty mother. As a result she is not petted and flattered but is treated with shame. The maid, Aibileen, tells little Mae Mobley every day that she is kind, smart and important. Every day so she'll remember and store it up for the times she won't hear it from her own mother. The scene made me cry because it reminded me of my own childhood.

You're stupid.

You're ugly.

Nobody will ever want you.

You're fat.

You don't have any friends.

You'll never have a husband.

You .......fill in the blanks. These are words I heard over and over as a child and as a teen. You might wonder who would say such things to a child and then to a developing young woman. Let's just say it wasn't my parents or my sister. Perhaps as we get to be closer friends, I'll share more with you, but for the time being we'll call him Hurt. His goal was to cause as much of it as possible and to this day I don't know why.

What I do know is this. I have lived most of my life trying to believe differently and it is only through the love of the Lord Jesus Christ that I have been able to accept some different phrases about myself.

You are loved.

You are beautiful.

You are wanted.

You are MY precious child.

You are MY wonderful creation.

You are MY workmanship.

You will shine like the stars.

You are full of goodness.

You are more than a conqueror.

You are SET FREE!

Have you been believing lies about yourself? Don't you long to hear the truth and know in your heart of hearts that you are precious to Jesus? I hope you do know that and will repeat over and over that you are all of these wonderful things and so much more. Aibileen had it right. Let's start learning new truths about ourselves to store up against the lies.

Lesson in Contentment

The mailman arrived with the usual letters and one very interesting cardboard box. It wasn't a large box, but rather was long and thin and just big enough to be interesting. No one ever sent us packages and so this box brought all the kids to the kitchen to see what was what. Who could have sent it? We did have relatives who lived in far off places, but the return address was unknown and that was no help.

Mom asked Dad for his pocket knife and she very carefully cut the tape. Oh, we could barely stand the suspense as she slit tiny slits and edged the top off. At last the box was open and we could see the wonderfulness of what was inside. Laaaaaaaa.....it was.......a fork. Yes, it was a FORK! What in the world? Who could have sent us a FORK??!! This was no ordinary fork but it was, instead, the most fantastic, the most wonderful, the most amazing fork of all forks in the land. It had Japanese writing on it and it became the symbol of all that was out there in the world and all we didn't have right there at home.

If you had taken a tour of our silverware drawer, you would have found a hodgepodge of items. my grandparents had moved in with us, so add those in. My mother had cared for her father before that and so add in the Clark bits. My dad had been a bachelor for a while, so toss in the batching oddments. We had always eaten with whatever was set by our plate and never really noticed any difference.

The fork changed that. Every meal became a fight because the three of us wanted THE FORK. Fried bologna tasted so much better with THE FORK. Mashed potatoes went from good to sublime with THE FORK. Pot roast on a Sunday reached the heights of heights, but only if you ate it with THE FORK. Kids rushed to the kitchen to set the table so they most amazing and wonderful fork would be by his/her plate....the losers ate with the drab old silverware, no sparkle, no shine, no Japanese letters.

Of course, the fork became like any other fork and fell into the jumble in the drawer and the magic was over. I didn't think much of it until we cleaned out my mother's house and found it. Big and clunky, cheap and tacky looking.....VERY 70s in its design....how could we have fought over that ugly thing? I had a good laugh reminiscing and shared the story with my sister-in-law who was helping me.

I've been reminded of THE FORK this week. I've been to some homes of some friends and they are wonderful and beautiful and ORGANIZED and CLEAN and I came home and saw my own home as cluttered and busy and in need of a good scrub before I could enjoy it. I went from being content to discontent in less than 60, and it took a little reminding from my wise 13 year old son, to be thankful for our home. It's warm, inviting, comfortable and casual and HOME. ( I suspect he's trying to get out of the major cleaning session he sees on the horizon, but I'll give him credit for helping me out of the funk.)

It's so easy to let discontentment eat away at us and destroy our gratitude and our happiness. I Thessalonians 5:18 says to be grateful in all circumstances. I'll be thankful for the hodgepodge of silverware in my drawer (where DID all that stuff come from??!!!) and I'll be thankful for the beautiful home the Lord has provided...even if it's festooned with a few extra cobwebs and dust bunnies. Drop in and see me sometime and you can have the special fork.