REFLECTIONS OF 50 YEARS OF mARRIAGE ~

~ Filled with Blessings and Challenges ~ Part II

Poppa God continued to show up and show out in our lives. Sometimes in the moment you may not realize it but reflecting sure opens ones eyes.
¤ placing people in our lives at different times to help in the perfect way
∞ Don Speer needed a building helper
∞ Getting a job at a packing plant and reaping the benefits of lots of fresh fruit
∞ Christian teachers & friends to love and support our family during difficult times
¤ numerous Christian counselors to help me work through abuse issues from my child and teen years which caused a lot of my own abuse issues with our boys
¤ physicians who were willing to try different medications to find the right combo for my PMS issues
¤ friends & family who stepped in and went above and beyond to help us keep our boys safe during some of my hardest struggles dealing with multiple facets of mental illness
¤ providing work for Ron when needed
¤ making a way for both of us to have time with each of our parents as they dealt with health issues/death.
∞the day Ron’s dad passed away, coordinating an emergency trip to Blaine, getting Jamie to a friends to be taken care of so we could be with Ron’s parents, and Poppa God answering my specific prayer of being able to be with Pete when he passed. Ron was driving pretty erratically to Blaine, us stopping at a rest area at the right time, my driving the rest of the way to Blaine, uttering to Poppa God “please let Pete die at least 15 minutes before we got there or after we arrived – my fear was that my driving would cause Ron not to be there with his Dad. We arrived at Pete & Anne’s, Ron was able to talk with his Dad, hold his hand and be with him when he took his last breath – 15 minutes after we arrived!
∞ having the money and time to make the trip to California multiple times to see my Dad before he passed in 2001
∞ being able to make multiple trips to California during July to September 2005 as my Mom dealt with lung cancer
∞ having the money and time to go to Nevada when my older sister passed away unexpectedly in 2008
¤ took a difficult situation ~ our motor home having major issues and us not being able to go to Idaho right after Christopher was born YET Brandon & Danalyn, Max & Christopher made the trip to Washington and Ron’s mom, Anne being able to meet the three newest members of our family before she passed.
¤ blessing us with a granddaughter who began life weighing less than 2 lbs. who has thrived and is now almost 18 years old.
¤ providing the best scenario possible when Ron was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018 ~ Brandon & Danalyn were in Texas the day Ron met w/the surgeon, we had a job that allowed Ron to return to work three days after major surgery and had time to recover and heal.
¤ as mentioned during our “Many Places we have Called Home” over and over again, Poppa God provided us with employment when it was needed, when we felt desperate and questioning were we really doing what the Lord wanted us to do.
¤ recently we saw Poppa God’s hand in our living situation…our Little Home on Wheels that we lived in, traveled with and saw many places of this great country developed black mold…within 45 days of finding the black mold we were able to find and purchase a new Home on Wheels. Even though we had to jump through many hoops to prove where we are living and working, even though we don’t own a sticks n bricks home and our address is in a campground along with dealing with the stress of trying to prove the things the lender wanted we were able to see how Poppa God brought it all together and all in His time.
¤ Poppa God’s continued protection of Ron’s health -~ being a breast cancer survivor and the ever-present niggling thought “is the cancer going to Met’s somewhere else in Ron’s body, finding out that Ron has had lots of “skin cancer” spots and wondering what was going to happen – SO FAR, the surgeon has been able to get all the skin cancer removed from the multiple places it reared: in & on Ron’s ear, multiple places on his bald head along with providing a great dermatologist who is thorough and diligent.

I think we could go on and on of how, when, and where Poppa God has walked right alongside of us on this journey of married life.

We have a couple of sayings shared with us over the years:

“God hasn’t failed us yet so what makes me think He will start now?”
“God’s mercies are new every morning.”

Claiming

Remembering what Pastor Charles told us that long ago day when we first drove away in our motor home
“Serve the Lord wherever he plants you.” on our way to join the carnival!