By Debra Basham, on May 6, 2026 My stomach’s rumbling reminded me it was almost dinner when I noticed a woman moving swiftly from door-to-door across the street from our home here in Glenaire. It caught my attention firstly because neither of the two houses are currently occupied. Directly across, friends are navigating health challenges that have prevented them thus far returning from their snow-bird location. And a new-build adjacent is yet to be purchased.
I could see a vehicle parked in front of our house and a man came onto our porch but then quickly dashed away. Opening the door, I saw a handbill had been taped onto the glass. “There is no solicitation in the park,” I called out to him.
“It is not a solicitation, it is a courtesy,” he called back.
There was the logo of a roofing company, announcing they would be putting on a roof two doors down, apologizing for noise, saying it would be done in one day. The phone number of the company was at the bottom. “It looks a lot like solicitation to me,” I said while I went down the steps to return the paper. He muttered something about it looking however, and saying I could refuse the courtesy if I wanted to as he started walking quickly in the opposite direction.
It was not a pleasant interaction so I decided to grab my phone and get the license plate. The woman had crossed the street by this time and she started hustling back my way calling loudly, “Karen!” I asked if she had gotten permission from the management, and when she called me Karen again, I asked why she kept calling me something other than my name. “Look it up, Karen!” she yelled, adding, “Don’t bother calling the manager, I am going there myself.”
An internet search informed me “Karen” is a pejorative slang term used to describe a person—typically a middle-aged white woman—perceived as entitled, demanding, and overly indignant. The term is used to call out behavior that abuses privilege, such as demanding to “speak to the manager,” making racist or discriminatory remarks, or harassing others in public.
Hmmm…. her behavior was certainly not very professional! I did call the park manager, and she had gotten to the office before my call. I clarified that her notifying the office of their “courtesy” only took place after my exchange with them. I asked him if he would have given them permission had they stopped before. He said he would have told them there was no solicitation allowed but he would notify the neighbors himself.
I was shocked how dis-regulated my central nervous system was by the exchange. But the painful and the pleasant can be a dance duo.
This morning, sharing text with my niece about the anniversary of my father’s (her grandfather’s) passing on May 7, 1992, we spoke our gratitude of his having found sobriety before my sisters and I had children. The grandchildren were spared. She wrote, “Mom and I both benefited from Neil T. Anderson’s work. One of the ways he summarized the Biblical principle of forgiveness/unforgiveness is how when we forgive, it lets that person off our hook (no more control or connection) but it doesn’t let them off the Lord’s hook (whatever unrepentant sin they have in their lives, they will be accountable for).” This shows up clearly in the teachings about karma. My dad’s active alcoholism was very unpleasant. His decades of sobriety before his death was very pleasant.
A few days ago welcome warm air waffled into the house through the open windows as flies were also getting in. The pleasant and the unpleasant dance as a duo. After catching and releasing 4 flies (also seeing John kill one with the flyswatter) I looked up the spiritual meaning and read:
The spiritual meaning of a fly combines contrasting themes of relentless persistence and survival with messages of decay, negativity, and spiritual impurity. It symbolizes the need to adapt, overcome obstacles, and examine one’s life for negativity.
As my eyes and heart took the unpleasant and the pleasant in, what was revealed was grace and forgiveness. I recalled a time in my life when financial fears and genuine desire to help hurting people resulted in my seeing clients by circumventing the health insurance system. My actions, like this roofing company’s, were in a while-not-quite-illegal-definitely-not-fully-ethical manner.
That neighbor’s new roof went on yesterday. How am I like this too? Awareness with non-judgment is healing….
By Debra Basham, on April 25, 2026 Grateful, Friday was an extraordinary day of shifts in perspective….
I had been being drawn down a dim alley when our grand-daughter-in-love-to-be had not responded to text or email about their upcoming wedding ceremony. Thursday evening she and I had opportunity for a call that answered a lot of questions. As I rode my bike early the next morning, I was feeling a tremendous amount of love along with relief and gratitude for clearer understanding.
Returning home from my ride, Barbara Brodsky’s email response to my request to share her recent journal post touched me in that soft spot as I read, “Thank you for loving the journal, Debra. Of course you may share it… anywhere…. I’m honored.”
April Journal #7
I sat in my hot tub at dawn looking with wonder at the tiny new maple leaves just emerging, that precious, vibrant pale green of spring; seeing the red buds on the crab apple tree; the lawn sprinkled with dandelions; garden filled with daffodils and tulips; tiny pale green cones emerging on the giant spruce tops, awed by the deep blue sky. Here is the wonder of life emerging into a new spring, a new season.
I’m aware that I’ve been in internal winter, dormant and frozen. It’s time to emerge.
Asking what has led to closure is a necessary step: it’s painful to become aware of body discomfort, anger and sadness, old habitual ways of dealing with physical and emotional pain. This is partially just the mammalian “fight, flight, freeze” reflex. For me one important step is just awareness that I’ve turned to “automatic,” and to remember my intention to be present and awake. I choose not to become a Tesla! I am driving this vehicle! That connects me to intentions: do no harm and I DO harm others by withdrawing. And harm myself. The flowers need the nourishment of rich soil, water and warm sunshine to flourish. Armoring myself, the sun cannot reach me.
Aaron asks me gently, what do I fear? Aging, increasing personal feelings of diminishment and lack of any control in a world gone crazy! Sadness, really grief, that we are destroying ourselves, each other and the earth and I cannot do anything about it. I’m feeling the full weight of my years, running out of time to do anything positive. I see grief is predominant. The anger is an expression of the grief, and grief of the anger.
Aaron: And what helps to resolve the causes for grief?
Barbara: Joy, but how do I get to joy?
A: Joy is inherent in you and will be experienced when the blockage releases.
B: Are you saying I’m holding on to the blockage?
A: Not consciously, with intention, but if you touch each of those places of pain within with gentle love and light, as a parent holds a frightened child, you will feel gradual opening. Then you will see the base for blockage. There must be intention for release to happen, and consciousness of the pain of continued closure.
We leave off conversation here as I begin to meditate. “Breathing in, I touch my heart with love; breathing out, I choose to let go of old pain.”
I see it like October leaves releasing from a tree.… no force, just releasing whatever chooses to go, and again… after a few minutes, mind settles into presence, with body, mind, breath, nothing sticking, opening into more spacious presence.
Barbara closed her post with this precious photo of her youngest granddaughter swinging from the flowering crab apple tree planted from a seedling in 1974.
My emotional load was certainly lighter as I headed to my sister’s to assist with some spring cleaning. We ended up doing her kitchen.
As I began, she was sharing frustration with the messes made by her husband. I had already shared Barbara’s Journal #7 with her, and I had been sharing my insight and relief after the previous night’s call about the wedding. I stopped in the middle of cleaning and said, “It is frustrating to have the same messes over and over, but if you got a call saying he had died your heart would be broken and you would pray to be able to clean up after him again…. We are learning to hold all sides of our emotions.”
We shared some tears and a hug as I whispered, “We live in a world of our own making giving our experiences their meaning.”
As we worked our way around her entire kitchen she shared, “It feels so good in here now.”
We both knew mammalian messes of our own made were also being deep cleaned as she and I worked side by side….
By Debra Basham, on April 16, 2026 Grateful John and I had an uneventful trip North. We sauntered along Georgia’s secondary roads to avoid Atlanta and stayed the night in Alabama before arriving in Smyrna on Thursday, March 26. We had a busy week of fun family time and an easy drive to Michigan on Monday, April 6. No one feels sorry for snowbirds who speak of the work of moving twice per year, and we get that, but it does take more energy every year.
We loved our time on Lazy Lane and the fragrance of friendships forged still linger in our hearts. It is interesting to feel at home in so many places.
There certainly are changes here. The neighbor whose porch light is left on. That person, and others, now “gone.” Another neighbor is now in assisted living. The evidence of impermanence is everywhere.
Everything is presenting as precious and passing….
A couple days ago the Daily Reflection Quote from Deep Spring seemed to have said it all: There are two ways in which one may experience God, the God without and that within. To experience the God without is to experience an expression of God. To experience the God within is to experience God directly. There is nothing in the drop of water that is not of the essence of the sea. There is nothing lacking for it to know the whole essence of the sea. When we enter into that divine-most essence of our being, it is a direct experience of God.
I have stripped the bed and linens are in the dryer. My niece, Jen Marie, is bringing her mom’s cremains today and we will be meeting at the cemetery to determine if that will be their “final resting place.” Of course, we are not our cremains and the neighbors passed are still present in our hearts. What lasts? A very common question with not-so-common realizations.
We are finally caught up with The Voice and as John and I were watching the final nine episode last night many times I had a catch in my throat. I love seeing those with so much passion receive recognition for what they do. And although the judges are competing against other judges and the contestants are competing against other contestants, genuine appreciation, admiration, and awe for all is palpable. That touches my heart.
Last year when we came home from Florida, the haunting song I had heard at jams was “The Whole World” by Vince Gill.
This year I come home with Dale Ann Bradley’s “In the End” resonating. This song was brought to us by our dear music friend, Kevin Mabry, and I previously posted those lyrics here on the Yellow Brick Road.
What matters in the end? The whole world. There is nothing in the drop of water that is not of the essence of the sea.
By Debra Basham, on March 18, 2026 We were blessed to enjoy a visit with our granddaughter, Courtney. She is mom of our great grandson, Jackson, and it is tax season at work for Jackson’s G-ma, Stacey. It took a lot to get Courtney here, and we loved being able to spoil her while she was here.
Our central theme was karaoke! She sang at the American Legion out on Pine Island, then here at Lazy Days in North Fort Myers, and finished her run with her favorite Karaoke DJ, Bobby Mann, at the VFW back out on Pine Island.
She played shuffleboard with her Gampie and puzzled with me. Whether here at the house or out-on-the-town we fed her a few of her favorite things. We enjoyed watching 25 Words or Less, finished the current season of Virgin River on Netflix, and were all thankful she had time to read and nap. She and I often found ourselves in deep conversations about the most mundane subjects.
Her flight home was delayed and delayed, stranding her at the airport from 4 to 9 pm, until she finally got home safely sometime after midnight!
It had been exactly 7 years since she was here for a winter visit with us, and so much has changed. Her previous visit was pre-Covid for our world, pre-Quadruple Bypass Surgery for Gampie, and pre-Jackson for all of us. But life is about change. In fact, it is said that change is the only constant.
It has certainly been an unusual season for John and me: (1) Not co-housing with or being within easy walking distance to Linda and Larry (2) Colder than ever for longer than ever temps (3) Learning curve with a new residence and area (4) Meeting and loving new people where we are.
Gene, one of our new neighbors and friends, underwent open heart surgery while we were here. Jim and Mary, homeowners of our beloved Blue House we shared in Punta Gorda have listed their home with the hope of moving to the northeast coast of Florida. We did not get to see several of our Pine Island friends. Davey and Eli are in Canada navigating her health situation. We are grateful for and already missing our new homeowners, Jimmy and Renee. We have loved our time spent with Florida music friends! And the relationship with Travis and Brenda has been such a shared journey.
We are grateful for all the friends we were able to spend time with! Now, packing has begun in earnest, with some loading already happening. We are leaving things here with the intention of being back in this space next season. With every passing day, this beloved home is feeling and looking less and less like our home and we are now earnest about eating our way out of the freezer and back to other people and spaces we love.
This morning’s “Daily Reflection Quote” from Deep Spring speaks to the truth of the heart with life’s constant comings and goings and shines a light onto what is truth beyond thought and belief. Yes, there is truth that exists even beyond our own perceived experience!
“You’re on a boat,” he said. “The boat is riding too low on the water and there are waves. You’ve got to toss one person out. In the boat are a loved one, a person about whom you feel neutral, a person who is a difficult person, and yourself. You’re the one to decide: which one are you going to cast into the water?”
She thought about it a while and said, “There are no grounds for decision.” He just smiled and bowed and indicated that the interview was over.
“Did I get it right?” she wondered.
But of course, when you get to that place where you understand your interrelationship with all beings, there are no grounds for decision. You cannot cast yourself into the shark-infested sea to save others, nor can you throw others in to save yourself.
~Aaron
John’s brother, Jack, is back in the hospital again with Cindy’s heroic plans in place to get him safely home to Michigan from Florida early next week. Asking for prayers for them and for everyone and everything in the way your heart earnestly prays.
“May all be at peace” is a universal, compassionate wish often associated with the Buddhist Metta Sutta (Loving-Kindness prayer), aiming for all beings to be free from suffering, happy, and safe. It is a mindfulness practice used to cultivate, promote inner peace, and foster well-being across the world, including, and without, exception.
May all be at peace. Here, we are wrapping up winter….
By Debra Basham, on March 11, 2026 John had just left for his bike ride this morning and I was heading to the keyboard with the intention of writing a blog post about the song “In the End” by Dale Ann Bradley that we heard a Florida music friend sing at church a couple of weeks ago.
In the End
by Dale Ann Bradley
It won’t matter about your political views
It won’t matter where you sat on the pew
Won’t make a difference how much you knew
When it comes down to the end
And it won’t matter what kind of car you drove
And it won’t matter where you lived on the road
Did you do your best? Did you love your most?
That’s what matters in the end
Cuz in the end, there’s no rewind
There’s no turning back the time
When you leave this world behind
Will they say you were their friend?
That’s what matters in the end
It won’t matter how many candles lit your cake
And it won’t matter how many times you slept in late
But if your love didn’t overcome your hate
Well, that’s what matters in the end
Cuz in the end, there’s no rewind
There’s no turning back the time
When you leave this world behind
Will they say you were their friend?
That’s what matters in the end
Cuz in the end, there’s no rewind
There’s no turning back the time
When you leave this world behind
Will they say you were their friend?
That’s what matters in the end
John opened the kitchen door asking me, “Can you come out and see if you can make any sense of something out here?” I had no clue what I would find, but his lumbar belt had come unfastened and fell off and was tangled in between the brake pad and the wheel rim!
It took some doing but I was finally able to get it free.
When that happened, John made a grumbling sort of sound. His reaction sound was obviously not relief or appreciation — it sounded like disgust or annoyance or frustration. Perhaps there was also some shame or guilt as well. I am not sure about that.
Earlier this morning as I had been looking on his phone for a photo of another song so I could send it to a couple we have met at jams this season when I saw political photos. You know the energy those sorts of things hold.
I was surprised and I felt sad.
I told him about having seen all of the political photos while I had been looking for the photo of the song, and the feelings I experienced. Then I shared how important it is right now to not give attention to anything negative. It was my intention to clarify that one can be caught by a sentiment and send something in that moment, and how different that is from choosing to save a photo.
“I would only save something I wanted to make permanent,” I offered before adding, “I am wondering if it might not be wise for you to ride right now?”
“I had that same thought. I am going to put new strings on my guitar,” he mused heading into the house. Coming out of the bedroom with a big towel, ready to begin, Alexa spontaneously played another song sung by a different music friend, “Me and John and Paul.” This music friend died soon after John and I left Michigan last fall. Soon after Michael passed I told John I would like him to add this song to his repertoire as a tribute song. Tears filled my eyes.
Michael was angry and frustrated and disgruntled by sooooo much of life. People were “stupid” or “idiots.” Things were “not fair.” It was as though our beloved friend was at that very moment reaching across the veil confirming the importance of living an affirmative life in which your love overcomes your hate.
I am now at the end of this post. John is now playing his newly-strung guitar.
As the song says, that’s what matters in the end….
By Debra Basham, on March 2, 2026 A friend forwarded a message this morning from Pax Christi USA, a movement founded in Europe at the end of World War II by Catholics who had suffered the terror and trauma of war. Quoting from the email content:
Pax Christi has opposed war and all preparations for war. We do not endorse warmaking as a solution for any political or social dispute, but we demand that Congress exercise its responsibility and pass a War Powers Act immediately in order to block this immoral and unconstitutional action.
I noticed the placement of the word “but” right away. In NLP and conscious communication the word “but” acts as a deletion or negation mechanism, often invalidating, erasing, or devaluing the clause that precedes it. It shifts the focus entirely to the information that follows the word “but,” making that information the final, most important impression. It seems highly unlikely that those sending out this message understood consciously that the word “but” is considered a “killer” word because it often negates previous positive statements.
This paragraph was also included in the email message:
We pray for an end to the violence, a cessation of the bombing, and for an embrace of nonviolent solutions that affirm the autonomy and human rights of the people of Iran and the Middle East.
I might suggest an edit so that last line simply says, “affirm the autonomy and human rights of all people.”
I am navigating a pain flare in my right hip. While this is not new, it has been many years since I have experienced this level of discomfort. Likely the current uncomfortable sensations in my body are not unconnected to the conditions in our world.
I looked up the quotation “Hatred never ceases by hatred, but by love alone is healed” while the message from Pax Christi USA remained open on my screen. “That hatred never ceases hatred is an ancient, fundamental truth, most famously attributed to the Buddha in the Dhammapada (Verse 5). It teaches that returning hate for hate only perpetuates a cycle of violence and suffering, whereas loving-kindness and compassion are the only means to resolve hatred.”
Loving-kindness and compassion…. Only and always, loving-kindness and compassion….
By Debra Basham, on February 18, 2026 I was awakened early this morning by the post of a friend on FaceBook and I chose to notice I was well enough rested to get up before daybreak so my fingers would have time to linger over the keyboard before the day officially begins.
Yesterday’s Ring of Fire Solar Eclipse ignited, arriving precisely as we enter the Year of the Fire Horse. As one source wrote, this is not subtle energy, this is destiny ignition.
Meg Benedicte, of NewEarthCentral.com, wrote:
The question is not whether the energy will move — it already is. The question is whether you will move with it consciously.
Will you allow the Horse to bolt wildly, scattering your energy in every direction? Or will you step into the saddle and guide that power toward your Soul’s purpose?
This Eclipse marks a profound turning point, both personally and collectively. Power dynamics may shift. Leadership structures may wobble. What appears chaotic may actually be destiny reorganizing itself. What feels destabilizing may be the necessary release of what cannot travel forward into the next chapter.
And today is Pat’s Celebration of Life service. My beloved friend and colleague, Pat, was a Nurse Practitioner Extraordinaire. She was a hand-holder and a way-shower. As her body failed to support the life she loved to live and the service she lived to give, her legacy began to exude in subtle ways.
This Yellow Brick Road post and the following Nightingale Tribute Reading is dedicated to Pat.
The Nightingale Tribute Reading
Nursing is a calling, a lifestyle, a way of living. Nurses here today honor _______________ and his/her life as a nurse. _______________ is not remembered by his/her _____ years as a nurse, but by the difference he/she made during those years by stepping into people’s lives . . . . by special moments:
She Was There
When a calming, quiet presence was all that was needed, She was there.
In the excitement and miracle of birth or in the mystery and loss of life, She was there.
When a silent glance could uplift a patient, family member or friend, She was there.
At those times when the unexplainable needed to be explained, She was there.
When the situation demanded a swift foot and sharp mind, She was there.
When a gentle touch, a firm push, or an encouraging word was needed, She was there.
In choosing the best one from a family’s “Thank You” box of chocolates, She was there.
To witness humanities beauty, in good times and bad, without judgment, She was there.
To embrace the woes of the world, willingly, and offer hope, She was there.
And now, that it is time to be at the Greater One’s side, She is there.
I also found a beautiful reading about when a nurse dies and shared it with Pat’s daughter and Pat’s husband encouraging them to realize that her loving presence will likely become stronger and more palpable in the coming days as her essence is no longer burdened by Alzheimer’s disease:
When a nurse dies
it is not the end of her shift
it is the rising of her legacy.
In every pulse she steadied,
in every tear she caught,
in every “you’re not alone” she offered,
her spirit lives on.
So let us not mourn her in sorrow,
but in sacred awe.
Let us tell the world:
A light has gone out,
but its warmth remains.
Let us never mourn her in sorrow. Let us always mourn her in sacred awe. Let us in every moment feel in our hearts how truly each souls’ warmth remains….
By Debra Basham, on February 10, 2026 Today was yet another conversation that demonstrated what has sometimes been called my OCD. The sharing was with an online group — all of us well beyond our youth! Candid talk about having documents in place, plans well articulated, and persons in place as we face what are called The Five Remembrances in Buddhism morphed into acknowledgment of our universal vulnerability.
The Five Remembrances
I am of the nature to grow old; I cannot escape aging.
I am of the nature to have ill health; I cannot escape sickness.
I am of the nature to die; I cannot escape death.
All that is dear to me and everyone I love are of the nature to change; I cannot escape being separated from them.
My actions are my only true belongings; I cannot escape the consequences of my actions; My actions are the ground upon which I stand.
As two of us lingered online I confessed that I cannot put something into a closet without awareness that I may be leaving something for someone else to take care of. The upgrade for OCD (obsessive compulsive behavior) that has come to my heart is OCD:Only compassionate doing.
Several of us had experiences with others who did or did not take good care of those who would end up taking care of what we did not.
This is a short post with a long list of ways we can be more loving to those who are responsible for loving us.
One piece of new information for me is the need for a VPN. I had to look it up to even know what that means.
What is a VPN?
A beginner’s guide: A VPN, or virtual private network, is a service that routes your internet traffic through a remote server. It encrypts your internet traffic and masks your IP (Internet Protocol) address.
This process secures your connection to the internet and protects your privacy while browsing online. It also hides your online activities from third parties trying to collect your data or intercept your connection.
Well, now I know something I did not know and VPN will be an area my OCD will look into and put into place.
This morning I also received a text message from a neighbor here in Lazy Days who just had open heart surgery on Friday. I was able to send him this photo of John playing his guitar at day 11 post surgery in 2022.
And now he is riding bicycle with me 10 miles a day!
OCD, VPN, and NOW…
By Debra Basham, on January 22, 2026 Today is my birthday. If you are willing, you may wish to reflect on my birthday post from 2018 about “Corpse Prayer” at https://scs-matters.com/YellowBrickRoad/corpse-prayer/ My birthday posts are not always maudlin, but today I post with a warning: Not For the Faint of Heart.
After having become vigilant about weight back in the Twiggy super thin model days, I maintained 137 pounds for decades. Then after getting up to 147 the winter of 2023 I was able to be stable at 130. This past summer my weight started going down. I had my doctor do some tests along with my annual exam, but nothing showed up and I left for Florida at 125. Still wondering what my birthday ritual would be, yesterday morning early when I weighed myself I tipped the scales below 120, and anxiety set in.
I used a drawing/coloring/writing tool a colleague taught me a few years back and wrote:
Weight/Wait
All these years, wanting to be thin. Now nervous as the scales show just below 120 pounds. Is something wrong? Am I sick? Will I die?
Of course, we all do. But what am I waiting for? Is it possible to go before your time? Can the mystery be seen by the heart?
The story began long, long ago in 1992 shortly after my dad died. I have a published version of it called Where Moon Go? available for 99 cents, but the gist is that I asked God if my dad was okay where he was. I meant was he in heaven or hell, but I said, “I don’t want you to tell me what you think I want to know, I want to know what’s real.”
Things started happening. As I was driving, the moon would be hidden behind a cloud or a building and I would hear, “It looks like I’m gone, but I am still here.” When I realized this was the answer to my question about my dad, my world view shifted! You don’t have to agree with my experience — always ask your own questions to get to what is real. And that is part of this year’s birthday ritual which began with a text chain that led to my reading Jeremiah 33:3 with my sister and daughter and niece (published in Sacred Stories ).
I did an AI search asking the question, “Do the worlds’ religions think time of death is preordained?” Some interesting stuff there!
As I read through answers from Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism, I begin to pray, “I want to know what’s real about human death, and I don’t want you to tell me what you think I want to know. I want to know what’s real.”
One of my persistent thoughts about a rise in human consciousness and a shift from 3rd density to 5th density is, “What could/would/will human life be like on earth with no fear of death?”
The one-year anniversary of the death of our older sister, Johnnie Sue, is coming up on January 31. That was some of the text chain that led to all of this. She died with no fear of death. So did my friend, Linda Higbee. Both of them lived with a lot of need to control and anxiety, but both of them passed with peace, praise God!
For those who did not go back and read the 2018 birthday blog, here is the “Corpse Prayer” again.
Corpse Prayer
Be not afraid.
I give thanks to god who created all things good.
In christ, all things hold together.
I am not entitled to life without death.
I embrace sacred life.
I embrace sacred death.
I embrace the growing and crumbling in between.
Smile at yourself in the silence…
~ Jarem Sawatsky
I wrote into my journal, “I want to know what’s real about human life on earth without fear of death….”
That afternoon, through myriad emotions, I shared all of this with my sister, Janis, telling her I realize the way to know is to LIVE life without fear of death.
By Debra Basham, on January 18, 2026 The truth about living in Lazy Days is that there is not enough time…. Of course, that is not true but it is how it feels.
The days start early. What fills the moments? Thoughts of all those we love. Thoughts of you. Family in Tennessee. Family and friends in Michigan. Family and friends in Florida. Family and friends in Texas…. you get the point.
One of the great joys of this Lazy Days season is that John is riding bike with me!!! His longest distance to date is 15 miles, and almost every day 10 miles. At his appointment Friday in Naples, the young cardiologist who diagnosed the need for a quadruple by-pass surgery 4 years ago here in Fort Myers said that is the best stress test he could have!
Many moments are filled with memories of what has been and thoughts of what is to come. I cook and clean and shop and puzzle, although the one I am working on now has been way to slow for my taste. It reminded me of the all-H (if you are a puzzler you know what that means) of Mount Rushmore with almost no shade or shape variation Linda Higbee did. A VERY good puzzler, she persevered to completion counting it a good day if she got three pieces in.
Yesterday, on the birthday of my sister (Janis) and my Florida meditation teacher (Sheilana) a precious and unusual friend completed his transition in Michigan. Ron was one of the most unique individuals in my life. Ron was a healer. He (and I) believe he (and the Lord) spared my life more than once. A genetic disorder left him blind and for the last six months a heart condition had him bed-bound under hospice care. Grateful beyond words that his wish to stay in his own home was granted, he spent most of his time alone, with caregiving for just a few hours each day.
Ron was filled with faith and conversations with him (sometimes MANY conversations each day or night) often began with him singing in spirit. We called it the HARP.
Then he would pray for anyone I was praying for.
He would often ask me to pray for folks he was praying for.
And, including during our last conversation on Wednesday, he would ask me if I thought his wish to get stronger and be able to get out of bed so he could do the Lord’s work would be granted. Over these past few weeks the way I was guided to answer was to tell him the truth – he was doing the Lord’s work. He was loving and praying for people faithfully whether he was in bed or not.
Today my heart is full as I follow Ron’s lead and pray for so many.
As my eyes are leaking….
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