You know the feeling.
You come to the end of a book.
You have invested time and emotion into the story.
You have reached the last page.

It is a bittersweet moment.
The characters become a part of you.
You savor every nuance of the story.
Turning the last page is the end of something and the beginning of something else.

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It was the day of the women’s retreat at my church.
The women were really looking forward to a day of being together.
Usually, the retreat is held at retreat center for an entire weekend.
Every few years, the retreat is held at our church and is a day long event.

There is something about women’s fellowship that is so precious.
There is something about getting away for an entire day to refresh our spirits.
We all see each other in church, but with two services, we do not see everyone all the time.
This day, we were all together and it was truly sweet.

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We all know the anatomy of a heart.
We can name or point to major arteries and valves on a diagram.
However, every once in a while a part of the heart that is not on a diagram is seen.
That part, which is never labeled on a diagram is your heart strings.

We forget we have heart strings until something tugs at them.
We forget that they are an important part of our heart until we feel the warmth they exude.
Our heart strings are there and may even lay dormant until that one day.
One day, you will feel them as never before.

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Usually I walk by myself each morning.
It is my time to pray.
It is my time to think.
It is often my time to reflect.

There is always the morning wave to various neighbors as they go to work.
Sometimes, one may even stop and talk for a few minutes.
Our conversation is cut short if a school bus needs to pass by.
Once in a while another neighbor may be out walking.

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Our church built a new sanctuary.
The former sanctuary is still there.
It is now being used for the youth.
It is a blessing to be able to use two wonderful places for God.

We moved into the new sanctuary right before Christmas last year.
Instead of having two services, the congregation met all together for a few weeks.
It is such a blessing to have watched this project go from groundbreaking to completion.
It stands as a testimony to God’s goodness and faithfulness.

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Our son and his wife got a puppy.
They already had a cat.
Both their cat and their dog seem to be friends.
The animals are well loved.

They chose a Springer Spaniel or rather, she chose us, as my son like to say.
My son told me the story about the day they went to get their dog.
All the other puppies were indifferent to us, he told me.
But this little one stretched up towards us and when we saw her eyes, we knew.

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I really don’t know how our upstairs hallway became a portrait gallery.
I did not envision the hallway looking like it does now.
It just happened over time.
It happened because of all the school pictures that were taken through the years.

It has already been determined that I keep a Mom Box for each of my children.
Each year when their school pictures came home, I would display them in a frame.
When the next year’s pictures came home, the previous year’s picture went in the Mom Box.
Whenever I would add their report card, an award, or a special card they made me, I saw it.

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The yardstick was always in the closet at the bottom of the stairs.
I remember it had the name of a hardware store on the front.
It had its own special corner of the closet where it rested against the wall.
It was used for measuring and nothing more.

I knew that some children were disciplined with a yardstick.
The yardstick in my house growing up was simply to measure my height.
Since a 36 inch yardstick was too large to keep in a drawer, the closet would have to do.
The yardstick came in handy for longer measurements.

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I am still hearing stories about my daughter’s summer internship.
Being away for twelve weeks, there are many stories to hear.
God taught her many things about Himself.
God taught her many things about herself.

My daughter served as a Mercy Ministry intern for The Philadelphia Project. (TPP)
It is an organization that my husband and I have supported for years for the work they do.
It is an organization that is close to the heart of my oldest daughter as well.
The director and his wife are good friends of hers.

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The plans were made months before.
The plans were set for the weekend after my birthday.
Everyone was coming home.
Everyone was excited to be together.

Five children and two of their spouses had the weekend free.
Getting something on the calendar a bit in advance always helps.
The idea was good one.
There was only one problem: there are nine of us and only eight could participate.

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