clay and rags

Isaiah 64 6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. 7 And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities. 8 But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand. Last fall I was really down, to be honest, in about all ways one could be. I was discouraged, I needed something that I could do. I needed a joyful purpose. Do not get me wrong, I love my husband and love the kids and so, so excited about being a grammie and please do not think for a second I don't, but most of my days are spent not being able to drive. To be really honest when you hurt all the time you hurt worse when your in a quiet house. Most people with Fibro are overachievers. I worked two jobs when I got sick, taught Sunday School, had Jared still at home, and did ladies ministry. Then I got sick and here I am in a empty quiet house. So I prayed for God to give me something I could do and bless others with. I never thought of myself as crafty or artistic. So that had never even entered my mind. One day while going through the Goodwill store I see a bag that a comforter went in but it was filled with rags. The tag on it said quilt rags. I thought I will make a quilt for our bed. I will redo our bedroom. Well I am still working on that, but basically I have taught myself to sew or teaching myself. At first by hand but then I drug my sewing machine out and found it on you tube and taught myself how to thread it. Sewing and any kind of crafts have become my joyful purpose I asked for. I love sewing little things and seeing people smile. Yesterday I was trying to make a piece of jewelry out of lace. That did not work the lace was too wide. When I looked at it though I thought I could do some thing with it. I have some old clay pots and my quilt rags and I put them together and made something beautiful. I was looking at it when God spoke to me and said, I have done the same for you. I heard your cry and I have answered thee. I have molded you from a piece of clay and some old dirty rags and I have come to live inside of you. I think you're beautiful. Some times we need word pictures, and yesterday God gave me one I will cherish.

Thirty years ago today

  I remember when we first met.  He had on a vest with pins and buttons all over it, red permed hair, leather arm bands  with spikes and a earring clip dangling  was with his mom and they came through my line at K-mart.  He worked there too.  He asked me if I wanted to go to a Haunted House with him.  I had not  ever been to a haunted house and I have not still to this day. I wasn't' sure though I wanted to go anywhere with him.  People laugh when I say this but I was kind of afraid of him.  Some people from work decided to try and talk me into going with him.  They decided to go as a group and several promised they would take care of me.  .   So we went to eat and then instead of the haunted house we went bowling.  That gave him reason to laugh with me for the next 30 years cause I lost the ball, it flew backwards off my hand.

We were young and dumb and for the next six months broke up with each other I don't know how many times.  Mainly because we got our dating advice from the employees of K-mart, not from God.  This was not a blue light special it was important it should have been nurtured and guided through prayer but like I said, we were young and dumb.

Thirty years ago today he asked me to marry him.  It was an Easter Sunday and of all places we were at Po' Folks restaurant. Do you remember those?  His family where all there for it was Easter and they where having family dinner.  Maybe not the most romantic of proposals but it worked.  Our parents said we would never make it.   There is a Stangenberg curse I was told no man in the Stangenberg family ever stayed married to one woman.  Instead of making me run it made me more determined to prove them wrong.

Thirty years later we almost have things right, we spend more time on our knees then we did then.  God comes first not his guitar, and his family we are a close second.  He has been there with me through 20 plus surgeries and I have been there for him during the hardest seasons of his life.
He is my best friend and I am honored to be his wife.  We have both made mistakes and we have hurt each other and their have been times neither of us where sure we were going to make it.  We did and we will.  For I am convince with out a shadow of a doubt that God put us together.  What God has put together no man can put under.

God has blessed us with a wonderful son, who some how turned in to a wonderful Christian man despite of our failures as parents. Some times I say we taught him more on how not to do something then we did the right way.  We have a beautiful daughter in law that God gave us.  We are certainly blessed. We are members of a wonderful Church, that still teaches and preaches marriage, morals, manners, and family among other important things.
   I love you Honey.  Thanks for being my friend, my protector, and the Lord of our home.  I am glad we have grown up together and we will grow old together even though some times we still reap from being young and dumb.  God has never left us or forsaken us even the seasons we left Him.