Saturday, February 8, 2020

Saturday's Scribbles


Good Saturday to you from our corner of Iowa where we woke up today to a chilly -5 degrees.  The sun is shining and all appears well, but it is the calm before the storm ~ the next winter storm which should dump somewhere around 6-8 inches of the white stuff on us before Monday.  Temperatures will rise, winds will pick up. and snow will fall.  February in Iowa!

Speaking of February in northern Iowa, can I confess that I envy those who are enjoying Arizona or Florida weather right now.  Sigh.....I would loved to be somewhere, anywhere rather than here where I am still recovering from radiation and have spent two days visiting doctors again this past week, my oncologist here in town, and my regular eye doctor for an exam for the glaucoma (and MD).  The first appointment resulted in a scheduled procedure next Wed. for the removal of the port that is still in my upper chest.  The second appointment resulted in a laser surgery on my right eye due to scarring that they felt was affecting my vision.  It only took a few minutes and you feel nothing, but my body knew something had gone on.  Again.  My vision was not good for the first time in a year, so it will be rechecked this next Tues. when I go in for an eye injection.  Can I just say loudly here, "I am so sick of going to doctors!!!!!! Still, God is good.  Circumstances don't take that away.

Speaking of things I am sick of, I am sick of all the political drama in Washington.  This past week was especially challenging with the impeachment vote, continual spotlight speeches, and our state of Iowa in the limelight ~ and not in a good way!  I find that for me there is a sense of craziness that wants to pull me in, coaxing me into the drama and urging me to join in the deep and wide division that is separating America.  I'm thinking a fast from it all would be the best way to go.

And that brings up the Super Bowl halftime show.  It was disgusting.  Two talented women dressing and acting like they were  I would guess, at a strip club in Vegas.  What confusing messages we send to our young girls in America.  It saddens me that even family entertainment has to be censored by parents in their living rooms. The football game itself. though, was a good one to watch.

Yesterday our son Matt came for a visit, bringing with him a Christmas gift for his dad ~ a very unique, engraved cribbage board.  It says "The Dahlen Family" and has two scriptures referenced.  At our family gatherings cribbage boards come out and just about everyone gets into a game or two.  From the youngest to the oldest, cribbage is the game of choice. We had a nice visit with Matt, shared our thoughts, hugs, and a meal together and Joel and Matt got in a couple games of cribbage.  It was a good day.

I find myself often reflecting on our time at Hope Lodge, on the people we met, the challenges they faced, the strength they displayed, the hope that at times seemed palpable.  I have the orgami heart art project I created at a Mayo class on my coffee table and the quote on it says, "Be brave with your life."  That is what I saw in the people there~ a bravery displayed.  That does not mean they were fearless, who would be?!  But they were/are being brave with their lives, they had "pitched their tents in the land of hope".
Acts 2:26 (The Message)


I hope your weekend is a good one!  Pitch your tent in the land of hope and it will be!!

No comments: