Fruits & Nuts

God’s Inabilities Comfort My Heart
I don’t know about you, but I definitely need constant care. I was reminded of this recently while I was in the bathtub getting ready to go to a Tuesday morning Ladies’ Bible Study that I like to attend. The tub is a good place for me to be myself and “myself” was talking to God, (actually more like whining), saying “So… is this really IT, Lord? You want me to just be Rick’s caregiver for the rest of my life?” (I’d been feeling pretty stuck in a role I’d felt drafted into after my husband’s car wreck nearly nine years ago.)
Usually, when I’m whining, God doesn’t even answer me. He just listens and lets me vent. But that morning, He DID: “Now remember, I am your caregiver…(I heard a familiar, gentle voice say)… and I love taking care of you…”
Stunned, I sat up straight, completely humbled, and thought about His kind response to my one-woman-pity-party.
“You’re RIGHT, Lord! I’m definitely a “long-term care patient” of yours, and You do take great care of me! I’m sorry I was complaining about having to take care of Rick. I’m glad he’s still here with me Lord. THANK YOU!”
As I thought about His calming statement, I realized an amazing thing: While God is taking awesome care of me 24/7, He’s also taking care of bazillions of other people at the same time, and running the universe!
That revelation totally snapped me out of my pitiful state and empowered me to “get going” again. I’m not stuck! I can still take good care of Rick and interact with friends and family too. I can resume hobbies I’ve ignored for years and even start new ones! I can go on with my life and use all the talents and skills God’s given me to do all the good I can, just like I’ve always wanted to do. I just needed an ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT!
God went on to show me that if I can just learn to take care of one person correctly, there’s hope I can learn to love many, and if I can love many, I can learn to love them all.
Since that epiphany in the bathtub, I’ve been re-energized. Remembering God is taking good care of me, I’ve been able to re-focus on taking good care of Rick while I am with him, and on enjoying a myriad of other activities when I’m away from Rick and he is in the competent care of his other caregivers. Life is good again and I am content to know God is with me every second of every day. He has given me life to live to the fullest, enjoying His own precious companionship all the while. What a gift!
This morning, in my quiet time, I was thinking of how, in addition to all the “exceedingly abundantly, beyond what I can ask or think” kinds of things that God can do, that there are also a few things that He cannot do, and even these comfort me: He cannot lie. (“God is not a man, that He should lie.”) Therefore I can trust His Word and this truth sets me free. He cannot fail. The Bible says “God is love.” and “Love never fails.” My life is safe in the hands of the One Who never fails. Together, He and I will ultimately succeed. He cannot leave. He is honor-bound to stick closer than a brother, because He has promised in His Word to never leave me nor forsake me and that nothing shall ever separate me from His love! What a comfort! What a joy! To have Him, His Word, His Truth, His Promises, His Presence, Power and Peace in my life day after day!
My prayer for you is that YOU will find true comfort and joy in a lasting relationship with the Jesus of the Bible. That you’ll begin to hear His precious voice, and sense His tender-loving care and companionship filling your life: ‘God is Love’.
Paddy lives in Silverlake, Washington with her husband, Rick, and furry friends, Pumpkin, Patches and G.G. Paddy wishes you all a season of miracles and a lifetime of hope in God. Email her at paddy.burrow@gmail.com or call her at 360-274-5231

Honoring R.A. (Pete) Clark Toutle Lake Class of 1933

On August 20, 2011 about 100 members of the Toutle Lake Senior Alumni gathered in the school multi-purpose room for the bi-annual reunion. A pot luck dinner was served, followed by recognition of the attending classes. The classes of 1970 and 1971 were welcomed to their first reunion. The class of 1961 celebrated their fifty year anniversary!
And pictured above is R.A. (Pete) Clark, honored as the oldest attendee. Pete graduated in 1933!
“Boy, I sure wish that I could be in the paper before I die!” exclaimed Pete Clark to columnist Paddy Burrow, of the Valley Bugler newspaper.
Taking that to heart for the 96 year old gentleman, Paddy has offered up this space in her monthly column as a tribute to Pete.
“I’d really like to have his picture printed and give him the joy of seeing himself in the local paper!” said Paddy.
We were only too happy to oblige. Pete – here’s to you, and many more happy Alumni Reunions in the future!
- The Valley Bugler

Fruits & Nuts

After World War II, my parents married and bought a three-story English Tudor apartment building thirty minutes north of New York City. The building had a basement with an oil-burning furnace and a detached double-car garage and sat on 1/4 acre of property sporting the tallest evergreen tree in the neighborhood.
Dad and Mom converted the apartment building into a wonderful family home and raised nine children there of whom I am the oldest. So many memories surface when I recall the years we spent at 153 Highmount Avenue. Like the summer we got to the Jersey shore beach house three hours from home and realized we had left Micheal, then five, home by himself. (He had been in the bathroom when we’d left the driveway.)
When my Dad called home and said: “Hey Mike, what are you doing?” Mike answered : “I’m watching whatever I want on TV!” (A total treat for the fifth of nine children in a one-TV household!) Dad then had a neighbor go to the house and get Mike and Dad drove back to New York to pick up my resourceful little brother!
A picture of that old house is the screen-saver on my computer! To me, it will always represent “home”.
My Dad had just gotten out of the Navy and had partnered with a business associate to start an engineering firm that became his main source of income for the rest of his life to this present moment! (He’s now 86!)
Dad was the undisputed head of our household and was, until my adult years, my #1 role model and hero. I trusted and respected him and lived to make him smile.
Dad was a hard worker and provided many wonderful things for me and my brothers and sisters: a private education, piano lessons, guitar lessons, swimming lessons, regular dental check-ups every six months and an annual 2-week vacation at the beach at the end of every summer. I was “a spoiled little rich kid” and didn’t even know it until my first husband pointed it out to me when I was in my early twenties and he was struggling to keep me supported in the style to which I had grown accustomed!
But my Dad wasn’t perfect. He made a few serious mistakes in my opinion like divorcing my Mom after twenty-eight years of marriage and marrying my Aunt Dorothy. Fourteen kids were involved in that “family re-arrangement” and the confusion and misunderstandings continue to this day. (No wonder God hates divorce.)
Dad still justifies his decision and has never apologized to me or my family for the hurt he caused us: (immediately after Dad announced he was divorcing Mom, my first husband announced he was going to divorce me! It was an awful time in our family history and now, some thirty-odd years later, I am still not sure I am completely over it!)
I definitely have trouble trusting men, but trusting God has become increasingly easy for me because there was literally no where else for me to go.
This morning I heard on TV: “WISDOM always chooses to do NOW what it will be satisfied with LATER.”~Joyce Meyer
Oh, if only we could be born with wisdom like that instead of having to acquire it by a lifetime of trial and error!
I am so thankful to God for His patience with me. It has taken me many years to learn to “let go” of these painful situations and to relax into God’s goodness and His unfailing loving-care for me.
Men don’t have the power over me they once had because I no longer expect them to BE like God. They are human. They’re “gonna mess up!” It’s just a matter of when and how much.
But I DO expect GOD to be like God! And HE has never let me down. He’s always kept His Word. He has taken care of me and my family through good times and bad. Even when I was foolishly trying my best to ignore Him and His wisdom, He stayed with me and has never forsaken me. He supplies all my needs through His riches in glory. Now, I’m a TRULY rich kid, and no matter how any human beings treat or mistreat ME, I can still love and forgive THEM because God has filled me with good things and shown me by His example how to share them with the appreciative as well as with the ungrateful.
Even if some of the people I’m trying to love and serve don’t appreciate my efforts, I know GOD DOES, because I’m doing it as unto Him. Now I’m living to make HIM smile! It’s a much better deal.
Paddy and her husband, Rick, live in Silver Lake and enjoy their quiet home together. She loves hearing from you: paddy.burrow@gmail.com

Security and Significance in Christ

The title of this month’s column is short but “packs a wallop”.
Even the Bugler readers who deliberately by-pass my column because I have offended them by something I’ve done or said in the past may still be BLESSED if they catch that title and ponder it for even half-a-second!
I mean aren’t we each on a quest to feel secure as a person and to find significance in and purpose for our existence? Think about it…If we’re honest, we spend pretty much every waking minute seeking one or the other! Unless…unless we’ve already found BOTH in Christ!
For in Jesus, alone, do we find both the security of being loved unconditionally and eternally as well as the significance of a life long mission to love others as Jesus has loved US!
I mean, what could be more eternally significant than helping others understand their worth in God’s eyes, and that He has a Master Plan that includes THEM? A good plan – to give them hope and a future!
Married women who know Christ do not have to look to their husbands to provide them with security. They already are securely loved in Christ. This frees them to minister love and respect to their husbands even when their husbands occasionally miss the mark, as all human beings will from time to time.
Husbands who know Christ do not have to look to their wives to make them feel significant because they already know they have an important role to play in God’s Kingdom, and part of that role is to love their wives as Christ loved the church. Christ loved the church enough to DIE for us while we were yet sinners. So guys, there’s your example. By the grace of God, love your woman even when she’s doing things you don’t necessarily understand or agree with. Your very love can turn her around and help her get back on track.
My husband of almost thirty years has amazed me on many occasions with his uncanny ability to love me BEST when I’m at my WORST! This approach of his has proven to be an effective strategy to disarm me completely and turn the whole situation around. The twinkle in his eye and his long, strong, silent hugs when there was absolutely nothing he could have said that would have been “right”, have often helped to restore sanity to his wife and peace and humor to our household. God has graced him with wisdom beyond his years!
Eight and a half years ago, Rick lost the ability to walk and talk as a result of a car accident. But he can still hug and his eyes still twinkle. He still knows how to calm me down and make me feel loved. I am so grateful for that. The only reason our marriage is still flourishing to this day is that we built it on the solid foundation of Christ: “On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand – all other ground is sinking sand.” That’s it in a nutshell, folks…
So I just want to encourage anyone out there who still feels insecure or insignificant to turn to Christ and to trust Him with all your heart and receive all He has to offer you. First of all, He will fill the emptiness inside you with HIMSELF.
Then, for the first time in your life, you’ll know true security. As you get to know Him better and better, you’ll discover all He’s done for you and given to you, and you’ll want to share those free gifts with others! You’ll find that you have more than enough love to share with your household, your neighborhood, your community and beyond. You’ll sense your own significance as you see the effects of Christ’s love working in you and through you to meet the needs of others.
Instead of looking to mere humans to meet your needs for security and significance, you’ll be freed up to minister love and grace to those very people, drawing it directly from the true source of living water and endless love – Jesus Christ.
When I was twelve years old, I used to sneak up to the attic to listen to Billy Graham preach on the radio! I had so many questions about God and Billy sounded so sure of himself. Now I know he was RIGHT. Jesus really IS real.
And Jesus really DID die for our sins. And Jesus really DOES love us and have a wonderful plan for our lives! He’s not willing that ANY should perish.
He’s been patiently waiting for each of His beloved children to come humbly back to Him and accept His love and forgiveness. Is today your day, my friend? “If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts.” “Cast thy burden upon the Lord and He shall sustain thee.” Psalm 55:22
Paddy and her husband, Rick, live in their Silverlake home with their many beloved pets. Comments are welcome! Editor@valleybugler.com

Why is trusting GOD so difficult?

By Paddy Burrow
It’s been many months since I’ve been able to sit at my own desk in my own house and have the pleasure and convenience of being online. All I can say is – take nothing for granted!
You never know when God will allow a situation to come along that will challenge every resource you think you have until the only resource you realize you TRULY have – or need - is HIM! I have been going through that kind of situation forever, it seems!
God simply won’t allow me to depend upon anyone or anything except HIM! But then, when I get to that place of utter dependence upon JUST HIM…AGAIN… He comes through with flying colors, of course, and I wonder why it took me so long to get back to just trusting Him – for everything. Can you relate?
One reason it’s hard for me to trust God is that I forget He is different from all the human beings I’ve ever met.Unlike the best-intentioned people in my world, God keeps His Word 100% of the time. Children, parents, teachers and even preachers have let me down. I’ve even let myself down.
A lot.
I make a decision followed by a commitment, and then, before long, I’m off on a rabbit trail until I’m lost in an unfamiliar place and can’t find my way. Days, weeks, months or sometimes years go by before I wake up and smell the coffee… I have drifted away from God! HE hasn’t changed! Or moved. I have.
So with resolve and determination, I pick myself up and trek back into His arms of love. Exhausted from my own wanderings, I rest there, marveling that He is always willing to receive me and comfort me and care for me – His repentant child. In the first few seconds of that reunion, all the pain and frustration of the previous trial of any duration melts away, and I am safe. I am loved and forgiven. I am home again.
Our nation needs to come home again. CNN and FOX News don’t have the answers. Our leaders in Washington DC don’t have the answers. The sports and entertainment industries distract us temporarily from the problems we’re facing, but they don’t have the answers. But there is One who not only HAS the answers, He is HIMSELF the answer. And that would be Jesus, of course.
One of our grown children confided to me several years ago that he wasn’t sure God even existed. I challenged him to talk to God about any issue as though He WAS real, and to give God a chance to answer him. I don’t know all the details, but my son is now a believer. I trust God answered him and they now have a relationship, because God promises we’ll find Him when we truly seek Him.
I challenge you to do the same, my friend. If you’ve been allowing alcohol or drugs or TV or work or play to be your comfort and escape from the problems you’re facing, try this instead: find a quiet place, calm yourself down, have a heart-to-heart talk with Jesus about any topic that’s on your mind, and LISTEN and WATCH for His answer. The timeline is HIS, so be patient. His promises, clearly outlined in the Bible, are for “WHOSOEVERS” like you and me – for anyone choosing to believe them… for that is how they are activated – when we mix them with faith. (Hebrews 4:2-3)
I know what you’re thinking… “But you don’t realize what a crisis I’m facing. I’m in a mess so big that not even GOD can fix this!” Yes, my friend, He can. ONLY He can. Turn to Him. Focus on Him. Humble yourself before Him. Trust Him. Believe in Him. If you will just give Him a chance, He’ll make something beautiful out of what’s left of your life. Nobody loves you like He does. Remember He died for you. What have you got to lose except your fears, doubts and worries!
Trust God.
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Noble Nannies and Hero Hamsters

They moved into our home in May of 1977 – Emelda Quigley and her wee hamster, Herkimer. Herkimer was cinnamon colored with a white collar and tummy. Being nocturnal, he usually slept all day and ran on his squeaky treadmill at night, a trait we tolerated because of how quickly he endeared himself to us and our  four children.
One morning after breakfast, I heard Herkimer’s treadmill squeaking oddly in broad daylight.
Intrigued, I headed out of the kitchen to see why our nocturnal friend was awake, and was startled to see that the top of the TV was on fire!
My three older children were laying on their stomachs in front of the TV watching Sesame Street, oblivious to the danger they were in.
The fire was spreading to the curtains! I quickly grabbed the children and brought them outside to the front porch, went back in, unplugged the TV and called 911. Then I grabbed Herkimer’s cage and brought our tiny hero outside.
Herkimer had smelled the smoke and his squeaky treadmill had been our smoke alarm.
The firemen came and extinguished the flames and everyone was safe back inside the house. I was thankful for Herkimer’s once annoying but now appreciated squeaky treadmill, which saved our house from burning down and my children from serious injury or worse!
Emelda, Herkimer’s owner, had moved in three days earlier to be our live-in nanny. Her job was to watch our four young children while I taught piano and guitar lessons to 51 elementary school students who came, by turn, to our home after school and on Saturdays.
Kim Chang, my best friend and Emelda’s sister, loved singing in choir together with me at church. She had expressed concern about her sister, Emedla on occasion. You see, Emelda had left the Catholic religion that Kim and I were part of at the time, and had become a “Born again Christian”. Together, Kim and I hatched a plan to get Emelda back into the Catholic Church: I’d invite her to live with us and be our children’s’ nanny, and part of her job would be to attend church with our family.
Kim and I felt confident Emelda would quickly return to the faith as she mixed with the many active and friendly congregants and priests in our parish, but here is what actually happened…
Kim was my youngest son’s godmother, and at the christening reception, Emelda came as a guest of Kim. I asked Emelda if she’d like to come stay with us and be our children’s nanny. She looked me straight in the eye and said, “Thank you. I’ll pray about it and let you know”. (Which kind of freaked me out….)
Several days later, Emelda called to say, “Yes, she would come stay with us and help with the children”. Thinking Emelda was soon to be wooed back into the Catholic Church by me and my children, I felt confident God had sent her to us for that very reason. But something went terribly wrong with my plan.
Within three days, Emelda had showed me so many scriptures in my own Bible that I had never known about, that instead of convincing her to return to the Catholic Church, she persuaded me to accept Christ as my Savior and I’ve never looked back!
Romans 10:9-10 was the clincher: “If you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord and that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved – for it is by believing in his heart that a man becomes right with God and by confessing with his mouth that he confirms his own salvation.”
Finally, I knew for certain I was headed for heaven! In twenty-seven years of attending Catholic Church services, I’d never once heard how to be saved, or born again. Emelda’s words made sense, and she kept referring me back to my own Catholic bible for scriptural answers to my many questions.
Now, almost 35 years later, I am more convinced than ever that every jot and tittle of the Bible is true and all religions are false, other than what James 1:27 calls “true religion and undefiled…: to care for widows and orphans in their distress and to keep oneself unspotted by the world”.
Thanks to Herkimer and his squeaky treadmill, we were saved from a devastating house fire; and thanks to Emelda Quigley sharing her faith in God’s Word and in Jesus Christ, we were saved from the fires of hell! God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform! Thanks Lord, for noble nannies and hero hamsters. You always know best what we need.
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Fruits & Nuts – May 2011

I am writing this on my oldest son’s 40th birthday. This is a true story.
Dave LeMiuex, my oldest son, is an amazing person. For the nine months prior to his birth, I called him Thomas Christopher. He was the first grandson on both sides of the family, so I was planning to name him after my Dad’s father, whose name was Thomas. And I liked the name Christopher as a middle name. So that was the plan.
For nine months. Then, Dave was born. As they handed me the baby, God spoke to my heart and said: “Name him David, for he shall have the music mantel of King David. I quickly obeyed and named him David Anthony LeMiuex, to everybody’s astonishment, even my own!
My poor Grandpa had to wait for a namesake from some other member of the family.
When Dave was a baby boy, his favorite “toy” was a drum set he made out of my Tupperware bowls and wooden spoons. He had good rhythm and could tap along to any song, and seemed intrigued by music of all kinds. He never had a formal music lesson growing up, although I did teach piano and guitar lessons to other people’s children after school and on Saturdays.
My dad bought Dave an electronic keyboard for his highschool graduation gift, and Dave took to it immediately. He was already drumming weekly on a church worship team, and soon became adept at playing piano by ear.
He’d been very active in sports in highschool, with music just a hobby, so he surprised everybody when he decided to major in music in college.
There, he had his first formal music lesson. He became very involved in writing, composing and performing Jazz. After college, he got a job as music director at a big church in Colorado.
Dave branched out into the community and helped stage four major events a year in coordination with twelve other area churches.
His musical troupe evolved into a first rate professional Christian jazz band, called Dave LeMieux and the House of Soul. (www.DaveLeMieux.com)
Last summer, Dave’s band was asked to play at different American embassies around the world, including military bases and Russia!
Even if he wasn’t my son, I’d STILL love his music! It’s fresh and new, absolutely amazing.
A few years ago, Dave won the Integrity Music Songwriter of the Year Award, but a huge highlight was getting to see Dave’s band perform at my youngest son’s military base in California!
I don’t know what else God has planned for Dave LeMiuex, but I do know that he has the gift of music.
On Dave’s 21st birthday, he called me on the phone and said, “Mom, I just want to say thank you”.
“What for?” I asked.
“For everything!”, he said.
He was spending his 21st birthday song-writing at the beach. His all-inclusive “Thank you” was one of the nicest gifts I’ve ever received from any of our seven children.
If Dave were President, he’d be like Abraham Lincoln – true to the core!
Now married with two children, I can hardly believe that 40 years ago today I was have Dave in Nyack Hospital. He was a long, skinny, string bean of a kid with a huge smile. Now he’s 6’2” and song-writer of the year!
Wonder what would have happened if I’d have named him Thomas Christopher?
Paddy Burrow lives in Silverlake with her husband, Rick, and their kitty crew. She loves to hear from readers – eMail:
editor@valleybugler.com
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The truth about “charity cases”

By Paddy Burrow
A few days ago, one of my grown children called, and in the course of our conversation, startled me by asking: “So Mom, you are smart and talented and you had a really great education , right? So how did a person like you end up ‘on charity’ for the last two decades cause I don;t want to end up like that?” …. Silence.
I knew he was awaiting a response, but I was too busy processing my shock to reply… Instantly I began to take mental account of my doings for the past “two decades” to see if there was any truth to his statement.
Haven’t I “worked my butt off” at all kinds of projects and types of employment for as long as I can remember?
Check.
Haven’t I been involved in church and spreading the good news of Jesus’ love and salvation to everyone I know in as many ways as I know?
Check.
Haven’t I been a good wife, mother and friend to those God has placed in my life?
Check.
Bust AM I, in fact a “charity case”?
Folks, I had to admit that, indeed, I AM! I could not think of one single day of my life when I have not had to utterly depend upon the charity of others and especially in God’s grace and HIS charity, to survive the journey we call “life”!
So I said to my son: “But honey, what if that is our real condition? What if we are actually dependent upon the charity of others in one way or another? Is that so bad?”
A stimulating discussion followed that has kept me thinking about his question to this very moment. I mean, when I was in my thirties and forties (as all of our seven children are at present), I’m sure I felt the same way as my son feels.
I definitely didn’t aspire to end up on welfare some day! I didn’t want to be a “charity case”. I wanted to “pull my own weight” and to prosper enough to take care of those in my own household and beyond. for many years, I was obsessed with these kinds of goals and was a workaholic. No fun! My current husband had to actually teach me how to have fun, to relax, to rest. He is still trying to teach me those things, bless his heart.
Now I’m in my sixties. My husband is on social security and next year I shall draw my first social security check if the system is still in place and I am still alive.
We have been struggling financially for a very long time, but so has everyone else we know. That struggle seems to be part of the human condition. And yet, looking back over my entire life, I can ot think of even one day when my true needs went unmet.
My wants…now that’s another story!
But my needs….food, water, clothing, shelter – met by an unseen hand.
Love? I’ve never lacked for love. Even on days when one human was withdrawing love from my life for whatever reason, another was graciously giving me love if I remained open to receive it.
Comfort? Respect? Encouragement? These “necessities of life” always found me too.
And the “true riches of life” – joy, peace of mind, true love, friendship and grace – I have found these things in abundance in the life Christ offers me daily. I feel rich even when my checkbook balance says zero and my tank’s on “E”. I’ve learned those conditions are as temporary as having a lot of money and a full gas tank.
I have learned that “If it’s a need. God will provide it. If He doesn’t provide it, it isn’t a need!” I’ve learned that with or without my help, God will still take care of me. I’ve learned that all of life is a gift. There is not one thing we can actually say we deserve except the wages of sin, which is death! Ouch! But the Truth, none-the-less.
So…am I proud of the the fact that I’ve realized I am a “charity case”? No, but I’m amused at the irony of it. It’s the last thing I would have chosen to be. My choice would have definitely been to have been a multi-millionaire by now. But maybe that would have ruined me! God knows best what each of His children needs, His Word says: “These three things remain: faith, hope and charity, and the greatest of these is charity.”
As we look in the mirror each day and smile at the “charity case” looking back at us, we can rest assured that God really does know what He’s doing and we really are all dependent upon his greatest gift – charity – in the form of His Son, Jesus, every second of every day. Is that so bad?
Paddy Burrow lives in Silverlake with her darling husband and entourage of kitties. Comment online @ valleybugler.com or on facebook

Celebrating ten months of RAIN?

There is nothing I like better than an honest to goodness GOOD TIME! In recent months, my husband and I attended a community Christmas dinner hosted by Castle Rock Christian Church which featured a huge and delicious potluck, and an evening of live musical entertainment.
People were in a merry mood, the helpers, servers and musicians were gracious, cheerful and passionate.
Everybody enjoyed reconnecting with old friends, eating great food like tender ham, roast beef, turkey and all the trimmings, salads, side dishes and numerous desserts.
It was truly a “heavenly” experience – A welcome respite from the daily routine.
I am still smiling as I remember the excellence of that evening. I contributed two side dishes and a song at the piano but came away feeling like a blessed millionaire! Words cannot express how wonderful and affirming those types of experiences are.
Thank you to the Lefflers and CRCC church family for their amazing hospitality and outreach to the community.
Then there was the community Christmas dinner at Hattie’s Restaurant. Another great evening, same basic atmosphere! Everyone jovial and helpful. Thank you Terri Piper and family, and all the churches and individuals that helped make that annual event happen. It was thrilling to be a part of it!
And last Saturday, I got to play the piano for my friend, Ruby’s 90th birthday party! Ruby is an amazing lady! She celebrated her 80th birthday by sky-diving (tandem) at the Toledo Airport. I was privileged to witness that event first-hand and shall always be inspired by the recollection of her courage and determination to overcome her fears.
Do you remember reading about her in the Daily News ten years ago?
For her 90th birthday, she wanted “dancing in the streets”. She and her hubby danced last Saturday to waltzes, jitterbugs, swing songs and big band numbers from the thirties and forties – their high school years. The multi-purpose room was packed with visitors of all ages, a testimony to the timelessness of a woman who has lived her life in the service of others.
A wonderful potluck, coordinated by Karen Wheeler from the VFW Ladies’ Auxilliary, was another part of that enjoyable event.
Life definitely has its rainbow moments, and that was one of them!
But what about the times between celebrations? How can we stay happy even when we’re facing the hum drum day-in/day-out stuff that we all have to deal with? How can we celebrate even the rainy days between life’s precious sunbreaks?
We must teach ourselves to appreciate even the rain! Let’s see what’s GOOD about the rain: the obvious is that rain replenishes the water supply we all depend upon for everyday living.
But what about the more subtle benefits of rain?
The peace and quiet of a rainy day spent curled up by the fire with a good book; The fun and adventure of bundling up in waterproof garb to take my goofy dog, Gigi for her daily walk; The soothing comfort of the rain on our metal roof at night lulling me to sleep after a wild and crazy day “at the OK Corral” (our house when Rick’s having an “OK” day).
And best of all, dreaming of the profusion of spring flowers and garden delights that will soon pop up all over because of the abundance of rain the Lord has graciously sent.
One of the songs from Ruby’s part says “Look for the silver lining when e’er a cloud appears in the blue. Remember somewhere the sun is shining, and when it’s shining, it shines its light for me and you”.
So let’s focus on all the blessings we have and FIND reasons to celebrate each and every (even rainy) day while patiently waiting for the Son!

Permanent, Perfect, Precious & Practical LOVE!

I married my college sweetheart “back in the day” and since I didn’t believe in divorce, at least not as a good solution for marital problems, I never anticipated that we would end up divorced, but after ten years of marriage and four children, we did!
After the shock of that event wore off, I learned some valuable lessons! For one thing, no matter how much you love another person, you cannot make them love you back. True love can never be forced. True love is always a decision.
Secondly, “love” that is not founded upon something more permanent and durable than feelings is most likely not love at all, but “lust” or some facsimile thereof.
Thirdly, if someone truly cannot love you unconditionally, even after they’ve given it their best shot for ten years, and co-parented four children with you, sometimes the kindest gift they can give you is their absence and your freedom back – and that is exactly what my first husband did! It just took many years for me to realize that and appreciate it!
Thankfully, as that drama was unfolding in my life, something precious and wonderful was happening simultaneously. God, always ready to fill the void in our hearts created by a painful loss, was waiting patiently for me to call upon Him with all my heart, which I finally did during those painful days in 1977. As my human husband distanced himself from me and the children, God responded to our earnest invitation and moved into our lives and proved His presence over and over in practical, precious and perfect ways! Each of my children accepted the Lord as their personal Savior shortly after their Daddy moved out, and God met their needs, as well as my own, beautifully, day after day.
Our pantry cupboards stayed miraculously filled in ways too mysterious to understand or explain. Lacking health insurance, the children and I were witnesses to many miraculous healings in our own lives and the lives of others dear to us. God even healed me of cancer during those years, as well as delivering me from the fear of its return. A family member left me an inheritance that enabled me to care for my children’s basic needs despite their Daddy’s inability to pay court-ordered child support. I was able to stay home most of the time and work only part-time outside of the home, which was a blessing because the four children were young and needed much supervision. All in all, we learned first-hand that our lives don’t go unnoticed by God and no need is too big to prevent Him from meeting it nor too small to be considered insignificant to by Him if it pertained to our mental, physical, spiritual or emotional well being.
In short, we experienced Hebrews 13:5, which says: “ I will never leave you nor forsake you.” And He never has.
It was a hard way to learn that lesson, but what comfort to have finally discovered the permanence of God’s Presence and the durability of His love for each of us, His dear children. What a dependable and loving God is our Heavenly Father!
After two years as a single mom with four children under ten, I met and married my current husband, Rick, who loves the Lord, me, the children, and our 12 grandchildren unconditionally – a miracle I shall never take for granted! In November 2012, we’ll celebrate our 30th anniversary. God has truly “restored the years the locusts have eaten!”
I hope you, too, have discovered the absolute faithfulness of our God. And I hope you never have to experience the pain of a divorce or any other hurtful loss, but if you ever do, be quick to turn to the only One who can fill the void and comfort your heart. Only He can make good on His promise to never leave you nor forsake you. It may take time, but if you give Him a chance, He will turn your mourning into dancing, too, just like His Word says.
Paddy Burrows lives in Silverlake, Washington with her husband, Rick and their fine, furry friends: Pumpkin, Patches and Gigi. Paddy welcomes reader comments and can be reached online @ valleybugler.com or by calling 360-274-5231

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