Where is the Love?

By this all men will know
that you are My disciples, 
if you have love for one another.

John 13:35

 

One commandment.  God's greatest commandment.  Love one another.  So simple. 

The gospel teaches us to love everyone. Everyone includes those whose opinions differ from ours.  It includes the saints and the sinners equally. We are to love those who wish us harm just as much as those who love us in return. 

Jesus shows us what true love is by example throughout the bible. Over and over again He reveals his most perfect love...agape love...selfless, sacrificial, and unconditional.

I have thought about this a lot over the past few days as I have watched the social media explode over the topic of marriage equality for everyone. Facebook has become a hotbed of bickering as people speak out strongly for their beliefs.   

Everyone certainly has a right to defend their beliefs and to define for themselves what is right and what is wrong, but all I can seem to focus on is the harsh words, from both sides, within the messages that condemn and accuse. 

It is confusing to see such hatred and venom spewed all in the name of love.  Even more confusing are the words that are filled with bitterness and loathing that are being uttered in Jesus's name.

It is extremely disconcerting that during this most holy week of the year our focus has been diverted from the cross and the joy of the resurrection that unites us all.

I struggle to love as Jesus loved and I am as guilty as everyone else of the sin of hatred. However, I need only to look towards the cross as a reminder that Jesus died for my sins in a perfect offering of selfless, sacrificial, and unconditional love.   

In my struggle I also need to look no further than my son.  I believe with all my heart that God sent us this angel for a very specific purpose.  Scotty has been assigned a very special mission here on earth. 

He is here to teach us all how to love.  He is here to show us how to love purely and to love simply...no conditions attached. This boy of ours who has been given a small handful of words expresses his love better than those of us who can read and write and speak...

...And he doesn't even have to try.

In his silence Scotty's message is clear.

"I love you"

And it is perfect.

 And walk in love,

as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us,

a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Ephesians 5:2

Pope Francis invited us all to follow in the footsteps of Jesus

and bring the light of his love to everyone you meet.
Let us join him and show that we are all disciples of Christ.

May you all have a
Blessed Easter

Last year before Easter I focused my blog post on Simon of Cyrene who carried the cross for Jesus on the road to Calvary.  I identify greatly with Simon who was on his way to do something else when he was called upon to bear the burden of the cross for Jesus.
It is by far my favorite post and one I actually wrote several years ago before I joined the blogosphere.

If you would like to reread it CLICK HERE 



Random Moments and Everyday Miracles

Miracle:

A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is considered to be divine. A highly improbable or extraordinary event, development, or accomplishment.

 



Wayne Dyer said, "Miracles come in moments. Be ready and willing."  For us miracles happen every single day.  I know this because at 26 our Scotty, who has defied so many odds, is still learning, still growing and still maturing.  He is by definition a miracle.

Random moments that to the ordinary person are just that...ordinary, but to us they are occurrences that are surprising, inexplicable, highly improbable and extraordinary.  I have compiled some random moments from the last few weeks...small flashes in time that are absolute proof that miracles happen.

 

 

There are two ways to live your life.

One is as though nothing is a miracle. 

The other is as though everything

is a miracle.

Albert Einstein

 

 

1.  Scotty's has taken to "reading" the paper while eating his cereal.  So cute!  And yes it is still very dark out...a much too early morning.  You know it is bad when you have had two cups of coffee by 6am.

 

 

2.  As we sat watching  morning mass together on EWTN he held up his bowl of cereal as an offering when the Priest held up the sacred host.  Together we watched the first televised  appearance of our new Pope, and at Scotty's urging we stood united with Catholics around the world, hands clasped and joined Pope Francis in praying the Our Father, Hail Mary and Glory Be.  Priceless...priceless...priceless.

 

3.  I truly believe our little Houdini has some heavenly assistance with breaking into all the locked doors.  He is still getting in...but when we check the doors they are still locked?  Grandma and Grandpas...not funny!

 

 

4. A few months ago Scotty was a holy terror and made it his mission on a daily basis to dump, destroy, and terrorize the villagers.

 

Exhausted from the ransacking!

 

 

 

 

 This was yesterday, but it was from playing...

 PLAYING with his toys and he cleaned up every single thing!

 

 

 5. Every single time he gets a boo boo or thinks he has a boo boo (which is daily for our little hypochondriac)  he hands us the phone to call the doctor.

 

6. During a little tantrum he picked up the remote control and instead of winging at my head he gently tossed it on the bed and walked away :)

 

7.  Last night at dinner he picked up his dishes and took them to the sink without us reminding him, but the astounding part was he came back and got mine!!!!!!  That has NEVER happened before.

 

 

 

 

8.  Each morning we have to clear all the "snakes" from the bathroom before he can get a shower.  He does this all during the day too.  He comes and lets me know that there is something scary under the fridge or in the bathroom.  Lucky for us our finger guns are always at the ready.  Such an imagination!

 



 9.  For the past few weeks he has been taking a shower and dressing himself without tantrums...a little whining...but no full blown nuclear explosions.  He is capable, but usually unwilling to participate. This is from today.

 

 

 

 

10.  His ability to multi-task seems to increase every single day.  Amazing focus in his otherwise very unfocused world.

 

 











 So many miracles for one little guy.  One of the sweetest things he does is run to the picture wall in the living room whenever something wonderful or exciting happens and puts his little hand up to his mouth, and babbles the bit of news to his sisters and it is so sweet.  It makes me cry every single time, because he misses them just as much as I do♥

 

 

Lastly, Scotty's friend Abby was leaving, after giving us some much needed respite, and he stopped her and gave her the "wait a minute" sign.  He very slowly and patiently searched his Ipad for his TapToTalk program for what he wanted to tell her.

 

The important thing he wanted to tell her was "I love you."

He left us all speechless and needless to

say there was not a dry eye in the house♥

 

 

Sometimes we will never know

the true value of a moment

until it becomes a memory.

~Unknown~

 

 

 

So funny, so cute and so sweet!

 





"I'll love you forever...

I'll like you for always,

As long as I'm living

my baby you'll be." 

Love You Forever

by Robert Munsch and Sheila McCraw 

It is hard to believe that this little guy is now 26♥  It is so hard to believe because in my mind I am still 26!  Of course it is only in my mind because the gal in the mirror sure doesn't look it and the "rheumatiz" that is rapidly taking over my once bendy joints reminds me daily that I am so very much more than 26.

These birthday milestones of his have the potential of leading me into "the bad place". It is a place where I cram all my worries and fears for Scotty and for what his life will be like without us in it.  It is a wretched, terrifying place and it is dark, so very dark, and void of all rational thought.

Just beyond the darkness  a projector runs on a loop relentlessly playing all the worst case scenarios I can envision for him.  In this dark, dark place there is no light because it is so crammed full of anxiety and apprehension that there is no room for the light and no room for God.

"What are you afraid of?

Have you no faith?"

Mark 4:40



Of course I have faith...I have lots of faith...I survive on faith.  I pray, I count my blessings, I believe in miracles and I see God in my living room every single day. But it seems that no matter how strong I am the pull of "the bad place" is stronger and sometimes in a weak moment it gets the best of me.  At times it sucks me in completely and sometimes, like this year, I just dip my toe in to test the waters and see if the dark place is still there. Unfortunately it is...and I have recently been able to cram in one more worst case scenario into the already overflowing space.

As my college girl begins the process of finding her place in the world outside of school and outside our home, there is a real chance that now both of Scotty's sisters will live very far away.  It is as it should be.  They deserve to go out in the world and find their happiness and make a life for themselves, but I can't help the overwhelming feeling of sadness I have for Scotty.

Who then will watch over him?  Who will hug him and make him laugh?   Who will take him to the parade or the Stock Show or the circus?  Who will know that he likes his pizza cut into pieces or that he likes to eat his cookies in a measuring cup?  Who will buy him donuts? Who will lay down with him in the middle of the night and rub his back when he can't sleep?  Who will make sure the world is kind to him?  Who?

Bottom line: There is absolutely nothing good that can come from a visit to the bad place.

"Positive thinking just doesn't happen.

It's something you have to do on purpose."

Joyce Meyer

 

 

Perfect words, delivered at just the right moment from God through Joyce, just before I dove head first into "the bad place."  The reality is that both of our daughters will move heaven and earth to make sure he is okay no matter how far away this life may take them.  And I know that God will provide.  He always has.

 

All I really need to do is to look at the world more like this sweet boy of ours does and always believe that everyday is a good day for a party...on purpose!

 



Scotty "saying" PARTY!

Thankfully, in Scotty's worry-free, carefree world

it is always birthday business as usual. 

There is a formula that we must not deviate from....EVER!

It must always include worms in our food,

 

 

 

a little silliness,

 

 snakes,

and of course it wouldn't be a gathering at

the Bastons without a wee bit of 

Scotty shenanigans.

♥Happy Birthday Scotty Boy♥

♥We Love you to the moon and back♥

"Whoever receives this child in 
My name receives Me, 

and whoever receives Me receives
 Him who sent Me; 

 for whoever is the least 
among you is the greatest."

Luke 9:48

 

 This is his new(ish) desk we gave him for
his birthday.  It is amazing how
long he will sit and how focused 
he is as he"writes" 
these important missives.
If only our limited human 
understanding could help us to 
decipher what I am sure
are heavenly messages.

♫ Hey Sister Sew Sister ♫

I realized very early on just how important it is to have girlfriends. Since my daughters were very small I have drilled into their heads how important it is to surround themselves with an incredible group of girlfriends.  

The real...forever kind of girlfriends that last for decades.  They are safe places to keep my secrets and they are shelter when a storm is passing through.  They share in my happiness as if it were their own and they are always there with a shoulder to lean on. 

"Friendship doubles our joys and

halves our sorrows."

In the midst of this erratic, chaotic and unusual life I am living  I realize how blessed I have always been.  My greatest gifts have always come from God and my family, but the one thing that keeps me from jumping off the roof are my cherished friends who complete my  trinity.

My girlfriends are a vital part of my group of three that support and sustain me and help me keep my very shaky teeter- totter of a life in balance.  The threads of these friendships are woven tightly into the fabric of our life, and I can't imagine surviving without them.   
 I have recently joined a few of my girlfriends and become and official quilter.  We are girls who love to sew and there is nothing more treasured to a quilter than a good old fashioned quilt retreat.  Hmmmm...I can hear everyone saying...What...Seriously???  Trust me it is awesome!  Four whole days of marathon sewing, all day and all night and preferably in pajamas. 

We eat homemade apple pies, anything covered in chocolate and consume embarrassing amounts of wine.   We drink endless pots of coffee, play scrabble,  laugh until we cry, tell our secrets, and talk about our husbands... we don't actually do that, but they think we do...ha!  Who has the time with all the sewing and drinking? 

We have discovered squirrels in the kitchen, spiders the size of our hands in the bathroom, and snakes in our bed. We stay up late talking and giggling  in the Little Women style bedroom we all share and read stories aloud from the guest book about possible ghost sightings at the Inn. It's like summer camp with wine...and chocolate...and pie.

Four whole days of girls...best friends...Sew Sisters...making unforgettable, lasting memories....and quilts...lots and lots of quilts!  

I am without a doubt a precision quilters.  I am not  satisfied with anything less than straight lines and perfect corners and spend way too much time ripping out seams and resewing. 

The Amish have something called a humble square which is an intentionally flawed square on a quilt.  They believe that a "perfect quilt" would be an affront to God for only He can make perfect things and the flawed square would teach the quilter humility. I love this idea, but I am still unable to control myself. 

In reality all quilts crooked or straight are works of art.  They are so much more than just  patterns and fabrics. They are patiently pieced together with love and  woven into each stitch I'm sure you will also find a prayer.  Quilting is a way to sew the past to the future and the memories that are woven into the fabric of a quilt are stored there for generations to come.  

To me quilts are a symbol of love and comfort and home. When my daughter Stevi moved to Chicago I made her a ridiculous number of quilts...somehow knowing she was warm so far from home gave me great comfort.  When Sarah Rose went off to college you can bet a "mommy loves you" quilt covered her first bed away from home. 

I have made quilts for my family, for friends, for new babies, and for sick friends.  I have saved pieces of fabric from all the quilts I have ever made and someday I will stitch them all together into one very large quilt...a quilt that will wrap me up in  warm memories of the past and of all the people I love.

"Memories are ways of holding 

on to the things you love,

the things you are,

and the things you never want to let go."
(Thank you Sarah Rosie for this quote)

The friendships I have, like the quilts I make, have only gotten better with age.  Friendships that have lasted for twenty years and have softened with age. They may be fraying a bit around the edges and mended in places, but they are "bits and pieces of our lives stitched together with all our sorrows and with all our joys."  Friendships that never fail to provide warmth and comfort whenever it is needed.

Girlfriends who take really good care of me

and more importantly they take care of Scotty.

Girlfriends who love this boy unconditionally 

despite all his shenanigans.

Girlfriends who will...and have...move heaven 

and earth to protect him and to make him happy.  

So daughters of mine heed my wise advice...surround yourselves with an incredible group of women...who value God...who value family...who value friendship.  Someday, I hope you will learn to quilt because if there is one thing I have learned it is that when life throws you a bunch of unexpected, inconvenient, unasked for, mismatched          
(s)crap(s) just do the only thing you can and gather them all together and make a quilt.  I pray you find your girlfriends...give yourselves a silly name...learn to quilt...and sew baby girls sew♥

And to my "Sew Sisters" your friendships, like the quilts we make, are precious treasures filled with warm memories. 

May your bobbins always be full 

and your stash overflow your bins,

But remember the one at the end

with the most fabric WINS!
~borrowed~

A time to tear and a time to mend, 

a time to be silent and a time to speak.

Ecclesiastes 3:7

My little monkey under his banana quilt,
listening to his church music,

asleep on the couch

at 9:30 in the morning

because he thought 4:30 

was an acceptable time to get up today.