Patty hesaidwhatks

Broken Lights

Aaron followed me into the dining room the other day. I wasn’t paying attention to him behind me as I worked on our Christmas village.

“Mom, look!” Aaron said.

I turned to see him staring intently at our little tree that is full of my Grandma Holly’s handmade ornaments, made with love so many years ago. This was a pre-lit tree, but as so often happens, those bulbs had long since burned out. I had replaced them with another strand of lights but left the unlit lights on the tree – hidden, so I thought, by the new lights.

“This light bulb doesn’t work!” Aaron exclaimed. And as his eyes roamed over the tree branches, he pointed out other broken small bulbs.

“Here’s another one!” he said. “And here…and here…and here,” he continued as he pointed to each one.

Aaron had gotten close enough to see the broken, while standing farther away, I could only see the soft lights of that new strand that worked.

I am studying through the book of Numbers. Now that book doesn’t exactly stir excitement in one’s blood, but I have learned that in Bible books we usually consider to be dull there are amazing truths from God…golden nuggets that shine brightly!

The setting of Numbers is the wilderness of Sinai where Israel wandered for 40 years on their way to the promised land. They should have gotten to the promised land much sooner than 40 years, but because of their sin God made them travel for 40 long years.

They were a broken nation full of broken families. Broken by sin…by their willful turning from God.

But look at the VERY first verse:

“Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai in the tent of meeting…”

God did NOT give up! God spoke to His people through Moses. Again and again, God reached down to those stubborn people and spoke.

“Now when Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with Him, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the testimony, from between the two cherubim, so He spoke to him.” (Numbers 7:89)

“Moses had so much to talk to God about and, as the long journey progressed, each new day brought its fresh load of pastoral concerns, unreasonable complaints, arrogant accusations. Yet, desperate as he was to talk about his problems, Moses was overwhelmed with a priority greater than speaking. The Tent of Meeting became the place of attentive listening. Moses heard the voice…And He spoke with him.” (Raymond Brown, The Message of Numbers)

The place where God spoke was the mercy seat, the place of forgiveness of sin. Sin blocks our communication with God, but at the place of forgiveness we are once again receptive to the voice of God.

Oh, how broken we are today!

A broken nation…broken families…broken people.

No election, no Supreme Court, no political party can ever fix this mess we are in at this point in history.

Sin, national and personal, has blocked our ability to hear God speak.

But at this time of year, this Christmas season, we see hope for each of us.

Hope came in the form of a baby…God’s only Son…given to this old dark world to be the Light of the world!

“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

The word “dwelt” means to pitch a tent. God sent Jesus to live among the people…to pitch His tent much as the tent in the wilderness.

This is how much God loves us and how much He wants to fix our broken. We meet Him at the place of forgiveness where we confess our sin and trust His Son to be our Savior.

Like Aaron, when we look closely we see all the brokenness of this world. We see lights that don’t work.

But when we allow Jesus to forgive and to redeem, we step back and see that He is indeed the light of the world.

THIS is the message of Christmas!

Jesus is our only hope today.

He alone can fix our broken mess. Please come to know Him today and listen to His voice in the place of forgiveness.

The Nail Trim

Dad showed me such love in the simple deed of trimming my nails when I was young. Now it was my turn to show him the same love in the simple deed of doing the same for him in his weakened state.

He Said What?!

I remember climbing on my Daddy’s lap when I was a little girl. He was sitting in his chair near the fireplace, with his shelves of books on one side and his end table on the other. His newspaper was on the end table where he could eventually read it at the end of a busy, tiring day on the railroad. His Bible was also laying there within easy reach. He read his Bible often as he sat in his chair. He was always ready and willing to listen to my questions about what the Bible said about this and that, especially as I got older.

But when I was little and would climb on his lap, I remember the gentleness that he showed. In the early years he smelled of pipe tobacco and smoke…..that subtle odor that comforted me. I can still…

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Our Thanksgiving

I don’t know if I’ll ever catch up with my blogging. I’m so far behind that I haven’t even shared Aaron’s birthday pictures, and his birthday was nearly a month ago! Oh well. Life is busy and full, plus I just think I’m not as quick in many ways as I used to be.

Enough of that!

I last wrote about Aaron’s increased seizures, and our son’s COVID diagnosis. Thankfully, Aaron hasn’t had a single seizure that we’ve heard since that blog!

Andrew has recovered from COVID and is exploring job opportunities since his racing furlough.

Our trip to Texas for Thanksgiving went well. Not perfectly smooth, but then is that ever the case? God blessed us with safety and mostly good health and lots of sweet memories. I’ll share those memories with pictures galore, so here we go!

Kyle and Andrea’s house was so warmly decorated for Christmas!

Aaron did plenty of talking, as always!

And lots of laying on the floor petting these cuties.

He was pleased as punch to give Andrea the Thanksgiving picture he had colored for her.

And very surprised to receive a gift from Andrea’s boss at MD Anderson, who has taken a special and very kind interest in Aaron.

Our Thanksgiving Day was spent at the home of Kyle’s parents, Kent and Marie. What a beautiful home and hospitality!

Aaron was nervous and sometimes grouchy in these new surroundings but soon he found his comfort zone – adorable Jax and Jill!

We are thankful for time together with family and friends. Thankful, too, for all of God’s precious blessings, and for His comfort when we missed those not with us.

May each of you be especially blessed as we remember God’s goodness, especially His great love that we next celebrate at Christmas.

Thanksgiving!

I want to wish each of you a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving!

We made it to Houston!

I just wanted to share with you a picture of Aaron with his sister, Andrea. Aaron colored that picture in his day group and was very happy to give it to Andrea.

I wish you all a very blessed day in whatever form it takes.

May we all remember to count our blessings and keep our minds on the Giver of them all.

Sunrise…Sunset

I love early mornings at my desk in the room facing west on our upper level. I have taken scores of sky pictures from the windows in this room.

It is dark on the mornings I sit there with my Bible open. But always the sun eventually rises, later this time of year.

Yesterday the view outside those windows matched my heart.

Heavy.

The sky laden with clouds.

Aaron had a seizure a couple hours earlier. His seizures have been more frequent lately and I wonder why. Will this mean an increase in one of his seizure drugs and then all that goes along with that?

Our son 10 hours away tested positive for COVID this week. When it went to his chest, I wanted to be near him in the way that only a mother understands. Then he got the call that he was furloughed from his job.

And he can’t join us for Thanksgiving.

We plan to travel to our daughter’s for Thanksgiving. Should we go? The virus, you know.

Heavy.

Even the partial early Christmas decorating I’ve done this week doesn’t create the needed cheer in my heart.

But I read Psalm 24:1-2:

“The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains; the world and those who dwell in it. For He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.”

The sun DID rise, obscured by clouds though it was.

God has an order to this world He created. He’s promised that to us.

“While the earth remains,

Seedtime and harvest,

And cold and heat,

And summer and winter,

And day and night,

Shall not cease.” (Genesis 8:22)

God also has an order to my life.

I am not a pawn to random chance or karma, but I am under the steadfast and certain predictability of the God Who created this world, and all that is in it.

I prefer this sunrise:

And this sunset:

But I trust the God Who holds this world together (Colossians 1:17).

Whatever the news, national or personal, I am certain that God is in charge.

I don’t know or even understand His plan.

But I’m not to trust the plan.

I’m to trust the Planner.

So I will…through heavy clouds or blue skies.

Sunrise and sunset will not cease. And neither will the loving control and care of the God behind it all.

What A Mess!

Aaron and I were in the middle of watching an episode of The Waltons last night when he pushed the pause button and got up from his chair. He went to the kitchen and soon returned carrying a huge bag of popcorn. We’re talking huge in the sense of Sam’s huge. All I envisioned was Aaron putting his hand into our community bag of popcorn, grabbing a few pieces, and then putting his hand up to and partially into his mouth.

Germs!! My mind could see all those little, microscopic germs being transferred into our huge bag of popcorn. YUCK!

I stopped Aaron in his tracks, told him to pour some popcorn into a bowl, and over his grumbling he went back to the kitchen to do what I had said. It wasn’t long, though, before I heard this:

“Mom, can you come here? I need some help.”

Did he ever! When I walked into the kitchen, there on the floor was a big mess. Aaron had spilled lots of popcorn on the floor. Mom to the rescue! Aaron got the broom, and we were soon able to clean up the mess.

All around me today I see messes. So much upheaval is in our country and the world today. People are suffering and worried and angry. I wish the messes we see were as easy to clean up as Aaron’s popcorn on the floor, but we all know that’s not the case.

I read and studied Psalm 22 this morning. I agree with Dale Davis, who says that David is speaking of his own suffering in this Psalm and yet goes “beyond his suffering and into the suffering of Another.” David’s suffering also spoke of the suffering of Jesus still to come.

Certainly, the suffering of Christ for us is the greatest gift ever given. Yet it’s also in David’s earthly anguish that you and I as followers of Christ can find great comfort as we navigate this dangerous world in which we now live.

I, like David, can look behind me in my years of following the Lord and I can see His faithfulness to me. I have no reason to doubt that He will remain faithful in the days yet ahead.

I look around me and I feel the chilling wind of change…change that is not good for believers. I see how the world’s perception of Christians today has become warped…how we appear by liberal definition to be bigots and racists and haters. How if we don’t jump on board with radical agendas and unbiblical lifestyles then we are not welcome to live in their world.

The description that David gives of his persecutors sounds eerily similar to some of our accusers that I see on the news today. He pictures his haters as bulls who encircle him and open their mouths wide at him; as lions who are tearing and roaring; mad wild dogs who have closed in on him; evildoers who surround him.

Remember the looks on the faces of the rioters when they hurled insults at those who attended White House events this past summer? We’ve seen and heard that same spewed hatred over and over, aimed at pro-lifers and conservatives and Christians in various settings.

I never thought I’d see the day when moral values are demeaned and blatant ungodliness is held up as the national standard.

But it is here, and it is now.

What jumped off the page to me this morning as I read Psalm 22 is this:

“But You, O Lord, be not far off; O You, my help, hasten to my assistance. Deliver my soul from the sword, my only life from the power of the dog. Save me from the lion’s mouth; FROM THE HORNS OF THE WILD OXEN YOU ANSWER ME.” (Psalm 22:19-21)

David was already in the middle of great trouble. The picture is of him being actively mauled. But in the midst of being attacked, David asserted that God answered Him.

God doesn’t always remove my attackers, in whatever form they come, but He DOES hear me and answer me.

David learned that he may have felt forsaken but in reality, he was not. God was there in every scary moment.

And so He is with us and He WILL continue to be with us. He will surround us while we figure out how to function as the minority in our culture today. He will answer us from the horns of the wild oxen!

David knew that though he felt forsaken at times, God was there with him. And God is with us as well.

“For He has not despised and He has not detested the affliction of the afflicted, nor has He hidden His face from him, but when he cried to Him, He heard.” (Psalm 22:24)

God knows. God hears.

I will praise Him and I will share Him with others.

I will stand strong for truth.

And some day, in His timing, He will clean up all this mess.

Our Man Kid

A couple weeks ago I was talking to our daughter on the phone. Almost always, when she and I are on the phone, Aaron will come bounding up to me and without lowering his voice he will ask if that’s Andrea. I shake my head yes and so the hovering begins as he waits for HIS turn to talk to Andrea. I finally let him have his time, knowing that if I don’t he will most likely linger close by until I do.

“ANDREA!!” he begins. “Guess what game I’m playing now?!”

And he’s off, talking about everything under the sun that has to do with his world. He never asks about her life or how she’s doing. Never. But she understands that about her brother. She laughs with him and talks to him about all his games and movies and answers his unusual questions about unusual things as seriously as if she’s talking to a lab manager about the proper way to conduct a molecular test.

A couple weeks ago, she and I were talking about how Aaron is and how he must appear to others. His conversations, his approach to life, his characteristics that others observe when they first see Aaron or if they know Aaron well…everything that makes Aaron who Aaron is. Andrea said that he really is just a kid in a man’s body.

Then later that same evening, Aaron and I were talking to a neighbor and her young son out on our driveway. This little boy just looked up at Aaron as Aaron went on and on about whatever. Aaron was talking rather loudly, as usual, and all the time he talked he kept working his fingers together the way that he does.

Finally, our young friend was able to get a word in…a question, actually.

“Are you a man kid?” he asked Aaron.

That question went completely over Aaron’s head as he just barreled on with his topic of interest at that moment.

But it stopped me in my tracks.

“What a perfect way to describe him!” I quietly told his mother.

And how interesting that Andrea and I had said that same thing, yet not as precisely, just that afternoon.

A man kid.

There stands Aaron, looking every bit like a man…and he is. He has a man’s voice, a man’s physique, a man’s facial hair, and even a man’s balding head. 😊

But he acts so much like a kid! And to other kids I know it’s a process to try to figure Aaron out. We’re so used to him that we don’t often mentally step back and think of how it must be for children to understand Aaron.

Tomorrow is Aaron’s birthday. Our son, who is a man, turns 36 tomorrow!

Our son, who is a kid, is exuberantly excited about his birthday. He always is, every single year.

If you ask him how old he will be, he pauses as he tries to remember his new age. That number of “36” means nothing to him.

But oh, his birthday means everything to him. Just ask our neighbors, some from around our circle that we don’t really know. If Aaron is outside and he sees someone walking by, he briskly heads to the street.

“HEY!!” he yelled the other day to a couple of ladies. “It’s almost my birthday!!”

They laughed and congratulated him as they went on their way.

And our man kid stood there rubbing his hands together in delight, with his deep chuckle bubbling up, his sweater flapping in the breeze, and joy all over his face.

Remembering that Aaron is a man kid helps us enjoy him.

But more importantly, it helps us understand him…and understanding Aaron is crucial in how we live with him and deal with him.

Happy Birthday, Aaron!!

We love you, man kid!!

Lessons From the Rooted Redbud

He Said What?!

We have three Redbud trees out in our back yard, standing alone in a little row. Every spring they bloom beautifully and give us a lot of joy as we look at them from the house. However, we began to notice over the past couple years that they were struggling. They just weren’t as vibrant and full, especially the tree in the middle. Finally, last year, we had to cut down that middle tree. We felt it was just too far gone to have any hope of survival.

Weeks went by, and one day as I stood at our kitchen window, I noticed something between the two remaining Redbuds. It looked like a clump of some sort. Was it a pile of dead grass left from Gary’s mowing? I soon forgot about it, but once again several days later I noticed…

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Aaron’s Talking Points #11

Here are more of Aaron’s sayings, collected over the years. Have fun reading!

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Aaron and I finished our Skip-Bo game. I reached out to get some cards that he was handing me.

Aaron: Your hands are skinny……

And all I heard was the word “skinny.” Something on me was identified as skinny??!!

Aaron (continuing): …..like an alien.

Hmmmmm.

I’ll take it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While talking about his group this morning, Aaron said, “Mom, a girl there likes me. I would put it as she doesn’t love me but she likes me.”

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Aaron drinks water or other beverages like he’s in a contest to see who can down his drink the fastest. He turns it up, chug-a-lugs, and down it goes. He even drinks his coffee that way, once it cools, which is a total travesty. We’re always telling him to slow down…savor each sip…taste each swallow.

Today I fixed him some hot tea that he wanted. He came downstairs later, cup empty, and gave me this report:

“Mom! I was not drinking all of it. I was just drinking PARTS of it!”

In other words, he SIPPED his tea! But as usual, his description is far more interesting than ours. 😁🥃☕🥛

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Oh, silly people who call this little round thing a coaster. Aaron told me the correct name last night.

This is a drink plate.

Got it?

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Aaron was telling me all about the chicken in the deli at Dillon’s.

“They have fried chicken. They have that chicken with no bones. And they have pop-tart chicken!”

Um, that would be popcorn chicken, Aaron. But with pop-tart chicken you could have breakfast and lunch in one!

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Aaron and I were talking about how some people do bad things, and that the color of a person’s skin doesn’t make them bad or not bad. He thought a minute and then said, “So not a person’s skin or their species makes them bad?”

Species? Let’s start over.

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Yesterday Aaron and I were listening to Zac Brown.

Zac Brown: …and if you say that I’m too late, I’ll curl up and die in misery.

Aaron laughed and laughed.

Me: Why are you laughing at that?

Aaron: He said he would curl up by Miss Ugly!!

I’m afraid I let this life lesson pass right by as we both dissolved in laughter. 🤪😂😂

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Aaron had a seizure last night. Just one, but is he ever wired this morning! He was out of bed very early and has talked pretty well nonstop. He considered playing a game on his computer, but I reminded him that this is not a good idea after having a seizure.

Me: Aaron, you know that playing a game might get your brain too riled up.

Aaron: So a game might make me wild up?

I didn’t tell Aaron, but I actually think it’s too late to stop that! 🤪♥️♥️

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In Wal-Mart today, Aaron’s eyes latched on to a display of colorful, adorable, stuffed pigs. He instantly latched on to the brightest one there. He had me when he said, “Can I own him?” 😃

Aaron may be our adult son, but sometimes he’s just still so cute and dear. ❤️

And he now owns a very bright pig!

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I was frustrated with Aaron today when I picked him up from his day group because he told me he had given some of his money away to a friend. We work and work to make him stop giving away his money, but still he sometimes does this.

So, I gave him the lecture.

Then I gave a big sigh.

Aaron: Mom, don’t fight and don’t breathe!

Well, I guess if I quit breathing then I would also quit fighting. 😜🤔

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Since Gary and I got home from Houston, and after all of Aaron’s weekend seizures, he’s been telling us that his legs are weak. Finally, yesterday, he got it figured out.

“Mom, I think those six seizures stiffed my legs!!”

I want to show I’m sorry about his legs, but it sure is hard not to laugh at his wonderful way with words.

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Aaron and I got home from eating lunch out (at last!!), and then running several errands. He was very compliant with staying near me while we were out, using hand sanitizer at the air base before we could enter, and only walking one way up and down the store aisles. 🙄

Soon after we were home, he wanted a piece of cake that we made the other day, so I told him to wash his hands. He finally showed his frustration.

“Is that a government law??” he asked with disdain.

I assured him it was Mom’s law and he REALLY better obey that one!! 😂😂

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Andrea got me some beautiful roses and there are some ferns mixed in. Aaron saw pieces of the ferns that had fallen on the table and asked what they were. “Mom, I thought your hair was shredding on the table.” I hope not. I have enough hair problems without adding shredded hair to the list!

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Aaron: “So are you getting something special since it’s your Mother’s Day?”

I walked over to him, put my arm around him and said, “Well, a hug is special.”

Aaron: “I was talking about food!!”

Ah, if Mom gets special food then Aaron might get special food. Smart boy!

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Gary took Aaron out today, and when they came home, in walked Aaron with his arms full of candy and cookies and a really fun card for me.

Aaron: Here, Mom! These are for you.

Me: Wow, Aaron! Thank you so much!!

Then I decided to tease him a little.

Me: So, do I have to share these with you?

Aaron: No. I don’t like any of them.

And off he walked.

Never underestimate Aaron’s honesty and clarity. 😀😀

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‘Til next time! And trust me, there WILL be a next time! 🙂

Life is Like a Coupon Box

He Said What?!

I walked into the kitchen on a recent Sunday, after Aaron had completed his usual Sunday coupon clipping chore. There on the counter lay a Dillon’s coupon, one that I had put into my coupon box several days earlier. I knew right away what this lone coupon on the counter meant. It spoke volumes to me as it silently stared up at me…..volumes about our Aaron.

You see, this coupon…

WP_20171008_15_02_35_Pro

Does NOT belong among these coupons.

WP_20171008_15_03_30_Pro

The Dillon’s coupon is not a regular coupon to Aaron, and only regular Sunday coupons are to be placed…precisely…in the coupon box.

Silly mom for thinking otherwise.

Aaron’s life is like that coupon box.

Aaron wants most things in his world to be done in a certain order…..words said in a particular way…with order and sequence and expected results. But life doesn’t operate that way, no matter how much Aaron tries to…

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