I Was There For Different Purpose

You might first want to read my previous post about being excused from jury duty today.

Then I will tell you that I really wasn't there for the purpose of being named a juror. No, God had other plans for me.

We fifty prospective jurors spent much time in the lobby, waiting. Some of us sat. Most of us stood or wandered around, for there were only a dozen or so seats. Many faces were familiar to me and I knew a handful of names.

But during the time that we stood visiting, wandering from one person to another, saying helloes, asking names, still waiting...during that time I met Dorothy from the little town up the road a ways. I graduated from high school in her little town. She noticed my very short hair and we struck up a conversation. (Funnily thing, one of the ladies that I knew thought I had simply cut my hair in a very short "do". Either that or she was not wanting to ask personal questions.) But this lady recognized the "post-chemo look". Come to find out she had ovarian cancer some thirteen years ago and continues to do well. Hers was a different cancer in that hers was encapsulated in a large tumor which they were able to completely remove with surgery. Mine was spread throughout the abdominal cavity. Still...it did my heart good to meet up with someone who had walked the OvCa road and is still doing well thirteen years later.

And That's the best reason I was at the courthouse this morning....to be encouraged.

God does have His ways.

I Wanna But I Don't Wanna Be a Juror

I had to appear at the courthouse this morning as a prospective juror on a civil case. It took only three hours (roll my eyes) into the process before I could convey to judge and the attorneys that I have medical treatment every third Wednesday and would not be able to serve those days. Even though the current schedule for the trial precludes those days, they still excused me from serving.

On one hand I'm happy to be excused since it means I won't have to be shuffling my calendar and I'll be able to make a visit to our granddaughter's home (out of state) as planned.

But on the other hand, I've never served on a jury before and I would have found it extremely interesting. Even the jury selection process itself was interesting. There were approximately 50 of my fellow citizens who appeared at the courthouse this morning. It amazed me that 50 people could wake up, look at their calendar, and remember, "Aha! I have to be at the courthouse today!".

Two of us asked the clerk what happens if someone fails to show up. Her answer? They would be subject to fine and a "contempt of court". And if processed of jury selection left the court with only 7 instead of 8 jurors, the sheriff would be dispatched to the missing person's home to bring them to court to serve. But what was really surprising to me was that if they still lacked the required number of jurors, the sheriff could actually bring in someone off the street to serve on the jury.

I said, "The moral to that is to not linger near the courthouse!" And everyone laughed.

Since our county is small in terms of population, most trials here are completed in a few days time. It's not as if a jury would be sequestered for well over a year as in that infamous murder trial in California some years ago that was on TV night after night. No, this trial will be short and sweet. And I really would have enjoyed serving.

There's something reassuring about observing the rule of law as it is played out. The plaintiff has a fair day in court to explain his reason for bringing his case to a jury. The defendant has equal access to fairness in terms of producing evidence on his own behalf. Guidelines are in place. The law is clear. All parties are instructed as to how the case will proceed and under what parameters in terms of evidence, testimony, time frame, etc. The case will be decided by eight jurors who live and work here, who may indeed know one or both parties to the case, and who are members of a community that desires fairness for all. The system sets in place guidelines to ensure that all jurors are fair, unbiased, and able.

It would have been interesting to not only observe, but to also be a participant in the process that we call justice. There's something reassuring about justice. And in a courtroom scene, it is judgment that pronounces justice.

All that reminds me of John 5:24 wherein Jesus states, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.

Justice will be served. But in this case, the justice was served at the cross for all who belong to God. And since justice was served and since we are justified already by Christ's work at the cross, we do not come into judgment. We have passed out of death. We have moved into the kingdom of light. And we have life.

There is therefore no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8:1.

There Is A Certainty About His Work

Reading these verses today and savoring them.

John 6:37-40 (Jesus speaking)
37 All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and whoever comes to Me I will never cast out.
38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will but the will of Him who sent Me.
39 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I should lose nothing of all that He has given Me, but raise it up on the last day.
40 For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

Part of what I like about these verses is the certainty expressed in the words. Those whom the Father gives to the Son WILL come to the Son. And the Son will never lose them. They belong to the Son because THE FATHER HAS GIVEN them to Him. And everyone that the Father gives to the Son WILL HAVE eternal life. There is a certainty expressed here that cannot be overlooked. And the certainty is this....the work is of the Father and of the Son and NOT of ourselves! Those who come to the Son do so because the Father has ordained that they do so. And they come because God draws them (John 6:44,45) and they love the Father and the Son because of such a good and great gift...eternal life through Christ Jesus.

This Is Not a Metallic Centipede!!!

This may look like a metallic centipede, but never fear, it's harmless. (Eeewww, centipedes. Makes me shudder!)

I brought this Timex watch home from a yard sale. I knew it needed a battery...no problem... easy fix.

It was the expandable band that I liked. So I took this $1 purchase home.

I decided to clean the band before replacing the battery. The pins holding the band in place are spring loaded. Think of a toilet paper holder. Same principle. Only instead of a finger, you use something tiny, such as a small knife blade to pull the pin back and remove the band from the watch.

I mixed up my usual "jewelry cleaner" (half a cup of water plus a tablespoon of ammonia). Do not use this on pearls or opals. And don't shoot me if you dip in some $100,000 piece of jewelry and find that this solution damages your investment. I use it on my wedding ring (gold/diamond). And sometimes an expandable watch band. And I don't clean pearls or opals. If you need advice beyond that, ask your jeweler.

After a good soak look at the filth! After I had stretched the band (four hands work better here, so ask your hubby) I used a small artists brush to clean the inner pieces. The water became even more filthy. The amount of dirt was incredible! (The lady I bought it from is a happy gardener and all I can think is that she wore this watch while digging in the dirt. And bulldozing her driveway. And digging a basement. And traveling 60 miles afoot in a dust storm. What else could it be?)

To replace the battery I had to remove the back. I used a magnifying glass to find the small notch where a thin knife blade could be used to pry. Popped right off. Replaced the battery. Couldn't get the back on again. Tried numerous times. Pliers. Two pair of pliers. Getting ready to use the hammer. Getting ready to smash my investment (which had grown to $3 with the purchase of the battery) to smithereens.

Decided to google. I found that I needed to place the back in a level position and not with one edge set in while trying to pop in the opposite edge. The entire back has to be popped in from a level position.

So....laid the watch upside down on a wood cutting board. Then used a small piece of wood and (you guessed it) the hammer. With everything in position, a light tap on the top piece of wood popped that back right in place.

I still can't believe the amount of dirt that was inside the band. Hmmmm! Maybe it really was a centipede after all...don't they live in the dirt under rocks and bricks? Ughhhh! Makes me shiver!

Summer and Winter and Springtime and Harvest

This past spring a friend in Illinois sent me seeds to an heirloom Potimarron squash. Our backyard is very small so I planted them amongst the daylilies east of the garage. Now and then I herded the prolific vine back into the flower bed and off the neighbor's lawn.

Here is our harvest. We've already eaten two so our total harvest was a dozen gorgeously beautiful squash. Aren't they pretty.

As I was editing the photos, I thought of the words to the hymn "Great Is Thy Faithfulness".

And I thought of this verse in particular:

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
to Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

And then I had to enjoy the chorus as well:

Great is Thy faithfulness, oh God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever wilt be.

Here we are. In September. With golden harvest. God is good, faithful, compassionate and eternal. The world is a crazy and dangerous place. But God is good.
.

Two Steps Backward - or - Please Stay Home

Scenario: Two days ago...in my hometown thrift shop...a place that is run by the hospital auxiliary which uses their profits to fund many things at our rural small-town hospital which has been a Godsend to me this past year.

I walk into the shop. Several ladies are near the cash register. One asks Ms. M the usual "How ya doin'?"

It's a polite greeting...similar to a "Howdy!" except nobody around here says "Howdy!"

Ms. M replies, "I've got the creeping crud."

At this point I want to remind you that this past winter, while doing chemo, my personal immunity to illness was at a personal all-time historical low. Bottles of alcohol (the hand cleaning kind) were my friend. If someone sneezed, even in the far back of the grocery store, I fled the scene leaving my shopping cart and contents behind. (I exaggerate only slightly.)

Anyway, Ms. M says she has the creeping crud. Every woman in the place took two steps backward. And stopped inhaling.

Ms. M added this reassuring note, "I hope it's not contagious!"

Two more steps backward.

Then Ms. M adds this very reassuring comment..."I'll be over it in two weeks. That's how long it lasted last time."

We flee the scene. Holding our breath. Scrubbing our hands with alcohol once we get in the car.

Ms. M wonders where everyone went.

The thrift shop loses sales for the next three weeks and goes into bankruptcy. The hospital itself, bereft of the assistance of the auxiliary funds, struggles to remain afloat.

I'm not going any further on this. It's ridiculous enough.

However...IF YOU ARE SICK, PLEASE STAY HOME, Ms. M!!!!!!

Is This Vacation? If So, When Does It End?

If you've noticed, I haven't posted much this past week. You might think it was because we spent the weekend visiting our daughter and grandson up north. Where we had a good time. We had Friday night dinner at a Greek restaurant. We yard saled. (Did you know "saled" is not in the dictionary?) We put together jigsaw puzzles. (Never buy a black and white jigsaw puzzle made from a very fuzzy black and white photo. Black and white fuzzies do not a good puzzle make.) We just generally relaxed.

We headed back to Iowa on Sunday. When road traffic should have been light. With sensible drivers. But, no, we met a number of crazy idiots out there. Which kept us on our toes. Except for the time I napped. I don't nap well on my toes. Nope. Had to recline the seat for my nap. So while I was napping, hubby stayed on his toes. Because there were idiot drivers out to get us. One almost did.

No, my slackness in not writing is not due to a short trip to the State of Minnesoda. (I'm part Swedish so I can pronounce and spell Minnesoda any way I want. If you're Irish or Polish or perhaps Italian or anything non-Scandinavian, you must pronounce and spell appropriately without the Swedish accent.)

I must confess my slackness is because I simply can't think of anything to write. Except that I finally have eyebrows and lashes again. But that may not sound all that enlightening, or exciting, or inspirational, or worthy of blogland. But there it is. I no longer have to worry about drawing matching eyebrows. Several times I had to erase and start over because one brow was higher than the other which sorta gave me a "raised eye-brow" look. You know what I mean? You may not think that is any big deal but I'm telling you that without a dotted line to follow, drawing eyebrows is a tricky task.

Thankfully, brows and lashes are back.

So in regards to writing, please be patient. I'll be back shortly.