The Real Diana

As we celebrate the life and death of Princess Diana in July and August, I wish to share this sentiment. I think of the legacy she left us as seen displayed in the lives of her sons, carrying on, so brave and strong, just like their mother taught them. That, in adversity, true fulfillment comes through serving others. And sometimes, sweet remembrances come from strangers, and are given to us as gifts to carry us through. It seems that this happened on the night of the tragic Paris car crash which took her life, when a complete stranger, a physician, was called to the scene. As seen in a television interview years later, this renowned physician, who was one of the last person's to be the princess, used the few moments he had to leave the world such a gift. I remember his words, as if he just spoke them, still resonating in my mind. Truly this man has wisdom. He said that as he cradled the princess in his arms, she had the most peaceful countenance. What a beautiful image to remember her by and I think of her faith and of angels and then I think of heaven. For those of us who observed her life from a distance, and never knew her on a personal level, she touched our hearts and her life was not in vain.
Heartstrings Two, Copyright © 2008 by Library of Congress

Dear Baby Richard

The day they took you away
from the only mother and father you knew
I wept deep down inside my soul for you
May my tears help make you whole again
For I'm a mother and cannot comprehend
Why your life with your adoptive parents has to come to an end
And why a man you don't even know, took you away
From the only home you've ever known to this day
Baby Richard please find comfort in knowing God will have the last say
When you join him and the angels on that glorious day.
(Written in 1995, after viewing a Documentary on Baby Richard, then, age 4)
Heartstrings, Copyright © 2002 by Library of Congress

Song of my life

Well, I grew up in Kittery,
Fishing town down by the sea,
Babysitter took me to Sunday School,
Where I learned about God's rules,

My teacher's wished I'd raise my hand,
Shy I was I didn't want to stand,
Daddy went off to Scotland town,
On a submarine and I was down,

Missed him so I cried at night,
Little girls need their daddies all right
Mom was there she had us four,
No help at home, that's for sure

I was the oldest girl of daughter's three
I had too much responsibility,
By eighth grade I could really spell,
Won a state contest, sure was swell,

In high school was asked to a dance,
Played softball and by chance,
Shy girl became a star athlete,
Hit a home run, I was fast on my feet

Loved to stand in English class
Recite poetry, prose, now that’s a fact
The day that graduation came
To my surprise they called my name

The shyest girl of eighteen years
Stood up proud holding back her tears
Then got in my car and moved away
To the Bible belt where people pray

Found my Jesus from my church pew
I am one of his chosen few
I serve the Lord most diligently
My heart’s passion’s to help set captives free

Got married had a baby girl
Dressed her up, and she did twirl
At age four she went to church pre-school
Where she learned about God’s rules

Then I became a single mom
Life was hard, not much fun
Did my best to raise her well
God knows my heart, I pray tell

Went to college got an English degree
Wrote an essay and they published me
The very best job that I ever had
Was being a mom, for that I am glad

I use my gift of poetry and prose
Write about things, as I try to help those
Who are oppressed, no fault of their own
I am God’s servant and he’s on his throne

So when my day is all done here
And he calls me home, I’ll not fear
Cause I loved serving him each day
I’ll bow my head one last time and pray
Heartstrings Two, Copyright © 2008 by Library of Congress

My dove, my perfect one

He sits atop the light pole
And coos all he day long
And when I lay on my bed sick
He sings even louder
I feed him bread each day
And he returns to his home here
Going only from treetop to treetop
And a few circles in the air
He dances by flapping his wings
Rapidly and ascending upward
Then glides through the air and
Back to the light pole
His friend is the mockingbird
Who lives here too
They share the space on the pole
Sometimes, I will look out and
See him sitting beside another dove
And they preen each other’s feathers
If only I was a dove, so sweet
Heartstrings Two, Copyright © 2008 by Library of Congress

911 Story

On September 11 th my day began as usual, up around 6:15 am to see my daughter off to school and then to sit down with my Bible and a cup of coffee. As I lingered over my reading in Psalms I couldn't seem to shake a "profound sense of sadness" and began to weep. I decided to pause and call a friend in Maine, we help each other, both divorced single moms with one daughter. I placed a call at 655 am to her work place and we chatted. I then decided to go for my morning jog. As I went outside to my patio I noticed two Chicago peace roses were perfect to be cut, they weren't ready the day before. This bush was put in the ground many years ago, so it's a rare sight to get beautiful roses still and they were side-by-side and identical. I walked outside to start my jog and looked up and saw a beautiful rainbow. I remember thinking to myself by not coming out when I did I might have missed this! As I was jogging I ran by my neighbor who also grows roses and I told him about my two that were beautiful. Upon returning home, as I was walking up my sidewalk I almost couldn't believe it; in my butterfly garden I saw three unique species of butterflies, a rare sight. Once in awhile I might see one but this is what I'd hoped for someday. They were so pretty and I watched them for a few moments thinking, my patience had paid off, they'd found my garden! As I went inside the patio I decided to cut the roses before they opened anymore and then I noticed my very first flower on my bleeding heart vine. I was once again amazed at all the blessings of they day! A bleeding heart flower is white and has two red flowers in the center of the white. So I thought I would let my friend know with a quick call back that I was feeling better now. That call was placed at 8:33 am. It was through a phone call I learned of the tragic events of the day and had to turn on the television to see what I, like many others couldn't believe. It wasn't until days later I learned that my parents always flew Flight #11 American Airlines from Boston to Los Angeles every September to see his sister who lives in Palm Springs. He had said it was too expensive to go this year. Also, in 1982 I had dined in the WorldTradeCenter at "Windows of the World." Before the attack I had told my minister I was sad with the way the world was going. I'm happy that we've drawn together. To me the good far outweighs the bad, not to minimize everyone's losses. My sister's death in 1983 affected me in a profound way and I truly believe I became a better person because of it. I'd like to close in saying this, in a symbolic way as when they rolled the stone and Jesus was not there, I'd like to think in the same way that the people that haven't been found in the World Trade Center have risen and become angels. It's a nice thought, isn't it? If anything I've said can help someone in their grief, I'd be honored by that, but more importantly give God the glory. God Bless you.
Note: my rose bush died after the last two rose bloomed
Heartstrings, Copyright © 2002 by Library of Congress

One Nation Under God

Declare his glory among the heathen, his wonders among all people. For the LORD [is] great, and greatly to be praised: he [is] to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations [are] idols: but the LORD made the heavens (Ps 96:3-5).
In Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, there is a line that reads "that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." We were a nation under God then, in 1863 and we are now, in 2008, despite those who desire to change the course and direction of this country, one that was founded on Christian principles.
Everything on this earth began with God, yet there are those who are trying to take God out of the picture altogether, which would render a society without a solid foundation, a society that offers no hope for a fallen world, one that excludes the light of the Lord. A society without God is one built on sinking sand, to be washed away with the tide, to leave behind no trace of its existence. One of the signs of this movement is that The Pledge of Allegiance is no longer being recited by students in secular classrooms, in the United States of America. The most pressing issue our country faces is the attempt by persons to make this nation anything other than "One Nation Under God."
God has always been present "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" (Gen 1:1). However, the religious freedom of standing in a secular classroom and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance has been taken away, and sadly so. So much for the "land of the free." Or could it be, the "land of the secular humanism viewpoint," that is against God and Christian principles, what this nation was founded on, which goes against the freedom for which servicemen laid down their lives. We as Americans sing "America, America, God shed his grace on thee and crowned thy good with brotherhood from sea to shining sea," but do we realize the ultimate sacrifice that God made when he came to earth, in the form of a man, Jesus, who died on a lonely wooden cross, for our sins?
To begin to address this issue, I look back to earlier days in New England, and remember when I was a little girl at Shapleigh Elementary School in Kittery, Maine. The teacher would say, "Children, it is now time to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance." We all stood in succession and placed our right hands over our hearts. When you're a little kid, sometimes you get the hand wrong, but your heart is always right. And so we began, "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, 'One Nation Under God,' indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." We were children, but we knew the words and we spoke with pride for our country. Now, I am older and see the flag and I remember what I was taught as a little girl in school, to always respect the flag and what it stands for.
"One nation Under God" means accountability to a higher authority, a holy God with a divine law to live by, the Ten Commandments. To remove God from our country would imply that there is no real standard to live by; one makes their own rules, serves their own "god." If one's standard does not include the commandments of God, then one would be able to do whatever prompts them to, without any self-justification, a society without any moral constitution, a society where there is no right and no wrong, where people make their own rules and have to be accountable to no one. A sign of the times is the movement to remove "In God We Trust" from the U.S. currency, much to the disgrace of our founding forefathers whose faces are engraved on it, some who were Presidents of the United States.
I propose The Pledge of Allegiance be restored to honor God and Christianity and I dream... "And the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there...oh say does that Star Spangled Banner yet wave, o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave."
Heartstrings Two, Copyright © 2008 by Library of Congress
(Finalist in FAU Speaks Out! Essay Contest 2008)