Ninety years . . . And that's the truth!

I've been off social media for a while, partly to regain my sanity and partly to enjoy a Florida vacation with my family.  One of the events I was honored to attend was my mother in law's 90th birthday party.

My mother in law does not welcome people into her family.

She adopts them.

I am blessed to have a mother in law to whom mother in law jokes do not apply.  I first met her in 1991, along with her husband and one of her sons, and the first thing she did was give me a hug.  She later wrote me a letter telling me that I was a "wonderful girl".

During my visit last week, I noticed that it was the anniversary of when Apollo 11 went into orbit around the moon, preparing for the moon landing.  One of my sisters in law asked, what did we think was the defining moment of the 20th century?

Alice, my mother in law, responded with, the death of my father.

Alice lost her father when she was 15.  He had a heart condition that eventually killed him.  He left behind a wife and four children.  Alice was the oldest.

The death of a parent, no matter how old you are, alters your world forever.  I think in Alice's case, it spurred her to be self-sufficient and to take charge.

Later, she became a military wife.  She married a man who was career Air Force, part of the "greatest generation" who served in the Second World War.  When you're a military wife, you have to be organized and ready to go at a moment's notice, and you learn how to be flexible and work around military orders.

They had six kids.  I'm not sure, but I think each of them may have been born in a different part of the country.  I do know that my husband was born in Massachusetts, one of his brothers was born in South Dakota, and one of his sisters was born in Minnesota.  Among other places, they've lived in Massachusetts, the Philippines, South Dakota, Minnesota, Hawaii, and Montana.  When Alice's husband retired from the Air Force, they moved to Florida.

Alice went to work at a bank, eventually becoming a loan officer.

Currently, she makes coffee at her church, participates in a Bible study, and volunteers at the local hospital's HealthPlex.  Some years ago, she had a seizure and was put in the hospital (she had low magnesium levels) and when I talked to her on the phone, her main complaint was that it was an interruption in a busy week for her.  I am convinced that if she's ever forced to be inactive, that will be what kills her.

Last Sunday was her 90th birthday, and what she wanted was her family.  So she got her family.  She also got a celebration at her church which she called "90 years of God's blessings".

People got a chance to stand up and talk about Alice and what she meant to them.  She was honored as a servant of God and someone who was a good friend and faithful worker.  I told her in private that I was grateful for a mother in law like her.

But here's what I liked the most:

Everything people said about her was the truth.

You've heard the saying, live in such a way that the preacher won't have to lie at your funeral?  Well, I guess you can also say, live in such a way that you can have a 90th birthday and people will tell the truth about how you have lived your life.  

It is refreshing to hear tributes to someone that you know are honest tributes.

So, happy birthday, dear Alice; and I hope there will be many more.

Just my .04, adjusted for inflation.

Day 12 of prayer . . .

Dear God,

I Corinthians 13:4 also says that love is kind.

Donald Trump does not come across as a kind person.  Perhaps, as a businessman and later a politician, he has learned, or been taught, that kindness sets you up to be taken advantage of, exploited, and walked on.  Kindness perhaps is equal to weakness, and one cannot afford to be weak in the world he lives in.

God, change his mind and his heart.

Please send him people who will show him what true kindness is, that it is a mark of strength. 

Give him an example of how a president and politician can be kind both in public and private life, how he can be kind to those he interacts with in public--such as Congressmen and heads of state--and how he can be kind to his family in private; to Melania, to Barron, to his children and grandchildren.

I ask this in the name of Jesus.  Amen.

Just my .04, adjusted for inflation.

Day 11 of prayer

Dear God,

I Corinthians 13:4 tells us that "love is patient".

Donald Trump probably knows "love" as a way to manipulate and to be manipulated.  Please help him to know that true love only comes from you.

True love is patient.  True love knows the value of waiting, and waiting calmly, instead of demanding what they want, right now.  True love knows that people are not perfect, and that they will make mistakes.  True love does not demand that people live up to an image.

Please give Donald Trump the patience that only can come from you.  Please transform his hear with that patience.

I ask this in the name of Jesus.  Amen.

Day 10 of prayer

Dear God,

You say in Matthew 5:10 that those who are persecuted because of righteousness are blessed, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Donald Trump has claimed persecution because of his beliefs and his actions as President.  I don't know if he has ever been persecuted because of righteousness before.

Please help him to understand that those who disagree with his beliefs or his actions may not be guilty of persecution.

Please help him to understand and perceive what true persecution because of righteousness is.

Help him to find true righteousness.

If he is persecuted, may it be because of true righteousness.

Where he is persecuted due to true righteousness, please be his defender.

If he is simply being disagreed with, give him the wisdom to see that disagreement is not always persecution.

And please help him desire not the kingdom that is on earth, but the one that is in heaven, for those persecuted for the sake of righteousness will inherit it.

I ask this in the name of Jesus.  Amen.

Just my .04, adjusted for inflation.

Day 9 of prayer

Dear God,

Matthew 5:9 says, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God."

In Donald Trump's world, peace is a foreign concept.  Peace is usually achieved by getting the upper hand and using trickery to do so.

Please help Donald Trump to learn what a true peacemaker is.  Help him to learn that peace--true peace--is a fruit of your Holy Spirit.  Help him to search for you and your peace so that he can be a child of yours.

I ask this in the name of Jesus.  Amen.

Just my .04, adjusted for inflation.

Day 8 of prayer

Dear God,

Matthew 5:8 says that the pure in heart are blessed, for they will see God.

I don't know how "pure in heart" Donald Trump is.  He may not be pure in heart at all.  The world he grew up in and the circles he's been involved in over his life are not conducive to someone being pure in heart.  In fact, they are more conducive to being deceitful.  Deceit and trickery are much more common in his world and among his cohorts.

Help Donald Trump to desire purity of heart.  Bring people to him that will kindle in him a desire for a pure heart.  Show him that there is another way to live, a way that promises him that he will see you.

I ask this in the name of Jesus.  Amen.

Just my .04, adjusted for inflation.

Day 7 of prayer

Dear God,

Matthew 7:7 says that those who are merciful are blessed, because they will be shown mercy.

Please help Donald Trump learn what mercy is.
Please help him to learn to show that mercy to other people.
In the world he is from, and the world he now inhabits, mercy is seen as an act of weakness and of weak people, and it is meant to be exploited and used against people.
You, God, believe in showing mercy and ask us to be merciful.
Please help Donald Trump to do the same.

I ask this in the name of Jesus.  Amen.

Just my .04, adjusted for inflation.