Tea Cups and Tears.........

 

This Is The Stuff

Francesca Battistelli

Well, Blogger just is not cooperating with me!  Frustrated doesn't even begin to describe what I feel right now!  Then I hear this song and I'm reminded that frustration is part of life.  I can surrender to it or I can rise above it.  I chose to rise above it.  Then, with nothing done any differently than the other 12 times, the picture loaded, no problem!

This arrived with the sock from Connie Hopkins!

A wonderful packet of Ghirardelli hot cocoa mix in peppermint!

And, one of my now most treasured possessions.....

one of Connie's beautiful pink depression glass tea cups and saucer!

 

 



You know, I've found folks that just don't understand this sisterhood. They cannot understand how a group of women from across the globe can be so close to each other.  I always say that number one is the fact that our hearts are knit together with the love of, and for, Jesus Christ, who dwells in each of our hearts.  After that, I always tell them about how we pray powerful, mountain moving prayers for each other.  Then, I tell them about the joy that comes just to open up my laptop and go to one of a few places and there the faces are, looking at me with pure love written in their eyes. 

They say I don't really know all of you.  I say, tell me who you do really know.  All we have is appearances unless our spirits speak to one another in that quiet place in our hearts where the Holy Spirit bears witness to us that the other is His. We can trust that woman with our deepest, darkest secrets; our most painful hurts; our completely broken hearts and spirits when we're suffering together for a sister who is facing life's worst.

They say, they'll let you down. I say, so?  I've known people all my life who have let me down.  That doesn't mean they're bad people, just that they're human.  I'm human; I let people down sometimes.  I'll bet you do to.  Yet, when our hearts are woven in that beautiful tapestry of love and forgiveness, of loyalty and self sacrifice, then we walk forward knowing that we can depend on each other.  And, if we ever do fail, forgiveness is so instant, it is almost automatic.



 The Traveling Socks

 

 



The socks ( and the wearer of the socks) are tired tonight.  We had a busy day and the tootsies are aching.  Our journey on this day was not adventurous, nor was it super-exciting.  It was quiet, restful, peaceful, tranquil, still, subdued........we took a midnight walk down my country road.  It was misting rain and the wind was blowing just enough to ruffle your hair.  Houses were dark, animals were bedded down in the pastures and/or barns.  There was no traffic.  Skies were overcast with no stars or moon viable. 

My trusty flashlight was my companion.  Shining bright out ahead of me was a beam of light that made every pothole visible, every dip in the road apparent.  Suddenly, a bright moon peaked through the clouds.  The wet grass was alive with light bouncing from first one droplet to the other.  A dog barked off in the distance.  I heard the cows begin to moo and I heard a new colt running across the pasture, full of youth and vigor.

Just as suddenly as the moon appeared, it returned to it's hiding place.  Again, darkness prevailed and within seconds the world surrounding me was quiet.  The misty rain grew a bit heavier.  I raised my face to heaven as the rain washed over my head, running down my face cool and exhilarating.  My senses were at a fever pitch, waiting to feel every wet drop, hear every distant sound, see the light ahead reflected off the rain as it fell, taste the rain running over my face and lips. 

Again I raised my face to heaven with the most awesome sense of wonder at God and His creation.  The power of God's love permeated every pore of my body.  That's what this Sisterhood means to me...I can feel their prayers even though they are scattered around the globe.  I hear the sounds of their laughter and the trembling of their voices as we praise the Lord together.  I feel the touch of their arms extended around me, hugging me at that one time a year that we are blessed to be physically in each other's presence.

Some may not understand our bond, others may question the authenticity of our caring for each other.  It matters not to me for I am the recipient of that great love that comes as a natural consequence of women who love Jesus loving each other.  We have walked beside sisters through all kinds of loss and grief and we are made stronger with every trial we face.  Our voice becomes more united, our urgency more determined, our love purified through the fires of life.

My Sisters..........these women own my heart.  Wherever they go, whatever they do, whomever they're with, my heart is with them because I chose to give it to them, just as they chose to give pieces of themselves to each one of us.  We are on a mission.  First, to love our Lord, afterwards loving our families, and then reaching out to each one we meet who doesn't know the love of God.  We aren't just a group of cackling hens, we are a group of women of faith who have an urgent desire to introduce Jesus to those who do not know Him.

We've had our traveling scarf, our traveling apron, our traveling Bible and now our traveling socks.  Those around us have been touched by our adventures and they have been introduced to a perfect picture of what the love of Jesus can do for you, of what it means to love God unashamedly and without limits.  We are prayer warriors; the enemy trembles when the Sisters pray.  That didn't just happen, it took women making personal sacrifices to devote time to prayer, to the study of the Word, and to the world they inhabit. 

We pray; we praise; but more than anything else...........we love.........God, our family, those whom God places in our lives............we love them to Jesus.  We may not see the results of all our efforts, but the results will be there and they will be written in eternity. 

My Sisters.........our hearts will forever know each other, eternity will be so much sweeter because all of you will be there with me!

Dear friends,

since God loved us this much,

No one has ever seen God.

But if we love each other,

God lives in us,

and his love is truly in our hearts.

1 John 4: 11-12   (CEV)