KEY #P6: ALLIGATOR IN MY SINK

Thank you, Father God, for the alligator in my sink!  
. . . We interrupt this blog to share some good news!  WE HAVE A CONTEST WINNER!  Congratulations go to Rose Finstrom from North Dakota for her answer of "Talks."  If you remember, the contest was to take the first letters of each title word from my "Library Stack" series and rearrange them to spell out a word that could be another word for "Prayers." After all, even though the process of praying involves many components, it is basically  simple communication with our Heavenly Father by "talking" to Him. 
So Rose will receive her free Joshua Story book, which tells the true story of the miraculous birth of my youngest son.  
Next week I'll blog about one of my children using the Easter theme, and the following Wednesday a new series will begin!  Thanks, again, for being my "blog friends!"  I hope that these blogs are a source of encouragement as we journey together in the Land of Abundant Life!


And now we return to our final story from the "Library Stacks"series:  
Thank You, Father God, for the alligator in my sink.  
I'm in the midst of re-arranging and re-organizing the week after my oldest son, K, left for college.  How I miss him!
We switched the boys' bedrooms around to give J the largest one now since he is the only child left at home.  J, my just-turned-twelve-year-old, is happy about his new bedroom, but sad to have his older brother gone.
I'm packing boxes, throwing junk that's been hoarded for years . . . usually by me.  Once I had to take the same item, a treasured memory, out of K's wastebasket three times.  Talk about frustrating! He finally got the idea so now I am the one sorting through treasures and non-treasures.  :)
As I hurried past the bathroom I caught a glimpse of something green in the sink.  Peering closer, I recognized the shape of J's "pet" alligator.  K brought it back for him a couple of years earlier as a gift from a trip to Florida.
The toy alligator "grows" if it is soaked in water.  J evidently discovered it beneath a pile of stuff in his former bedroom and decided to revive it . . to set it free.
Oh, Lord, in my sorrow over the absence of one son, you chose this way to remind me that there is still a child in the house . . . soon to be a teen-ager . . . but one who still relies on his mom.
Like the alligator grows as he absorbs the water, immerse J in the water of life so he will grow in wisdom and compassion as he shoots upward in stature.
Help me be the kind of mother J needs.  Show me how to provide an environment of spiritual growth for him . . . the kind of stretching, yet secure, surroundings that he needs.



Thank You, Father, for once again showing me the work You have planned for me to accomplish during my time on this earth.  Focus me on the job yet to be accomplished!

KEY: #P1 PUZZLE PIECES

"Lord, help me get it all together while I can still use it!" is my heartfelt cry today as I begin the process of putting an assortment of puzzle pieces together to assemble a "life pattern."
Please join me!  We can help each other!
This spring will be a very busy time for me, so I've decided to park my little, personally designed lavender vehicle in the parking lot of the Living Library in the Land of Abundant Living. My intention was to request from the helpful librarian writings that I had started years ago, when my children were young, to use for my next blogs.  As I headed for the stacks to pick up the requested materials, I happened upon a large oak table with a bunch of puzzles pieces scattered all over it.  Intrigued, I turned the cover of the puzzle box over to see the picture of the resulting scene. To my surprise, I found that it was blank!  Inside the cover were these instructions:  "A collection of pieces uniquely designed for your personal life pattern.  Join them together to discover wisdom that will enhance the rest of your journey in the Abundant Land."
Well, I admit I got sidetracked; so here I sit, attempting to fit the various pieces together, with no success.  However, the librarian, who evidently noticed that I failed to show up at the stacks, just brought my original writings of long ago to me at the table.
"These may be of some assistance in completing your puzzle," she suggested and then left me alone to work.   Now I am even more excited as I open the folders and inspect my previous writings.   Yes, the first ones are clues to the puzzle which is beginning to fall neatly into place!
Hmmm, let's read the first writing . . .
When I was a little girl, I thought that Wisdom was a state you arrived at.  When a woman turned the magic age of, say 23 or 24, all of a sudden she would be wise.
Now that I am past 60, I know better!  I have discovered Wisdom is not a state of being, but a process.
God has provided me with little chunks of Wisdom here and there, sort of like bits and pieces of a puzzle I need to fit together to get the whole picture.
My 85-year-old grandmother, Nonnie, whom I regarded as very wise, used to say, "You learn something new every day."  She went home to her Savior still in a state of learning.
The Bible tells us to seek Wisdom:  "Acquire wisdom!  Acquire understanding!  do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth."  Proverbs 4:5 
If I spend my whole life gathering bits and pieces of Wisdom, yet never quite seeing the whole picture, it will still be my greatest achievement.
Here in the Abundant Land, it is my pleasure to share some of the puzzle pieces God has placed into my hands, pieces gleaned from the fields of my own experience.
Your life pattern is different from mine.  My prayer is that you can add my puzzle pieces to the unique collection that God is giving you to put your puzzle together a little faster.
Then, as God directs, we can use the expanding picture to inspire and encourage others.
Someday, those of us who belong to Jesus will be permitted to view the whole picture.
When I arrive at Heaven's gate, God will unfold His final masterpiece, where He links the lives of all His children to form His perfect eternal plan.  My personal viewing will reveal the complete and final explanation in vivid detail of all I have experienced in His testing ground on earth.
All the whys will be answered . . .
     All the tears will be justified . . .
          All the hurts will be erased.
"Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face."  1 Corinthians 13:12
Next Wednesday I'll begin to share puzzle pieces on the subject of Prayer that I've gathered from observing my own children.  I'll also offer a New Contest!  Please join me on our next exciting journey in the Land of Abundant Living!