Prayers are Being Answered

Yesterday, Kim brought a kitten to me to give to Daddy. She is a Cabby - calico and tabby mix. She has long hind legs and a short tail. When she runs, Kim said she looks like a bunny. I took her to Daddy and he was so excited to get her. He said "Tell Kim that I will take good care of her."

When I got back to the office and had worked for awhile, my Aunt Margurete called and said that she had taken Mama to the doctor and that he was admitting her to the hospital. She was dehydrated and hadn't been eating and said her throat felt like it was closing up. She wanted to go home and call the ambulance so that she wouldn't have to wait in the ER for attention. Mama hadn't said anything to any of us that she didn't feel good. Margurete also said that Mama didn't want any of us to get off work and go to the hospital. I immediately called Mama's house and a fireman with Fire and Rescue answered the phone. I told him I was her daughter and he relayed the message and Mama yelled out "Don't come to the hospital. Stay at work!" I told him to tell her I'd come after my doctor's appointment.

I went to my doctor's appointment. He took over when my surgeon left Florida. Because I've had breast tumors, I have had to see a surgeon to be checked. Well, he told me my mammogram was fine and asked who my gynecologist was. I told him and he said "I would not turn you over to anybody that I didn't trust, but I trust her to watch over you and take care of you. So, if you are willing, I will turn you over to her to examine you every year. If you have any problems, don't hesitate to call me. I'll be right here for you. And you don't need to have another mammogram for a year." I have been getting one every six months, so that's nice to know. We shook hands and I left. But, if I ever need surgery, I will definitely call on him. I really like him and trust him.

Went to the hospital to check on Mama. She was complaining that they were only giving her soup to eat. I told her she couldn't eat solid food if she was going to have an endoscopy, but she kept complaining. Something rose up inside of me and I reminded her how she used to treat me if I didn't eat what was put before me. We didn't get to choose the foods we ate. We had to eat whatever was put on the table. I reminded her of the time that I was in the 6th grade and we had roast for Sunday dinner. Daddy always put Worstershire Sauce on his meat, so I decided to try it. If you have ever used it, you know that there is a slit in the top. If you pour it one way, only a drop comes out. If you pour it the other way, a whole stream comes out. Well, I poured the whole stream all over my piece of roast. And I tasted it and hated it. I tried to wipe it off, but Mama made me eat it. She took away my drink. I would try to eat it, but it tasted awful. I sat there taking small bites for over an hour until I finally choked it all down. When I finished, she gave me a spanking, sent me to my room and put me on restriction for two weeks. So, that memory came back and I told her "I don't care if you don't like it. You are going to eat it anyway. You have to regain your strength and this is all you are going to get to eat. Now eat!" I could not believe I was saying that to her, but she picked up her soup and ate it - still complaining, but she ate it. By this time, Penny, Chip and Angie had come in. They stood behind me and told her to eat. Mama was talking about how her throat felt like it was closing up. Well, Penny, Chip and I are having the same symptoms. While I was talking to them, I totally lost my voice. It has been raspy for about about a week. Chip said his feels like it is closing up on him. Penny, too.

I stayed until 5:45, then headed to church. They stayed until the doctor came in. Said Mama was sitting up in the bed doing great. Her breathing was better. That's because she's not inside a smoke-filled house.

Church was awesome. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to sing, but God showed up and showed off. I think I sounded better than I ever have. I was hitting notes I never thought I could hit. When the anointing is there, you don't have to do anything but let the Lord take over. I never felt like my throat was closing up, my voice was not raspy and I never coughed once. Praise the Lord!!! He is so awesome. Pastor Sammy preached an awesome sermon. We had visitors that were speaking up and saying "Preach it, Pastor!" One of them was the lady who had given the kitten to Kim to give to Daddy. I think she will be back. For a Wednesday night, we had a lot of people. Pastor told Tabitha that her problem was going to come out (the stones). I believe she is going to pass them and not have to have lithotripsy or surgery.

After service, we celebrated Mrs. Helen's 80th birthday. She is Pastor Sammy's mother. Had cake and ice cream. Hope kept going back for more ice cream. She was so cute. I don't think Trent even ate any. Since he has been off his medicine for ADHD, he has been the sweetest child. Tabitha said there was no way she was putting him back on it. He's not out of control anymore; he's not mean. Since she won't be going to college this year, she will be able to help him with his school work. We are praying that God will put him in a class with a teacher who will understand him and be willing to help him. I think if he gets the right teacher, it will make all the difference in the world.

Today was a bad day/good day at work. I started out having my mid-year review and my boss gave me an excellent review. He is the only boss I've ever had who took the time to sit with me and see what I actually do, so when he gave me rave reviews, I was very pleased. At the end of the review, I told him "Thank you very much, but I'm afraid I'm failing in one area." He looked puzzled and said "What do you mean?" I told him that I had not been able to keep up with the rubber gloves since I took over the Chipley timesheets. They were just piling up in a room and I couldn't get time to box them up and send them back to Pensacola. He said "Let's go take a look." I carried him to the room and showed him the mess it was in - gloves all over the place, in boxes and thrown on the floor. He asked questions about them and said "Don't you worry about this. I will personally box them up and we will get them organized. If I have to do it every month, I'll be happy to help you out. And, we can always get one of the apprentices or linemen to do it on a rain day. You just take care of the timesheets and I'll take care of this." Well, to say the least, I was overwhelmed with graditude. I have always been one to not ever ask for help. I didn't want him to look at the mess and see me as a failure. He didn't. He saw a need and is going to take care of it. It was a humbling experience. I had been praying that God would send somebody to help me with those gloves and He sent the boss! How good is our God?! That was the good part of my day.

I had a lot of timesheets to get done, so I worked through lunch. I work in an office with two men who work outside in the warehouse a lot of the day. They get hot and Randy has decided that he wants the office to be ice cold when he comes back in. I sit in the office all day long typing. We have been having a battle over the thermostat. I walk out and he turns it down to 66-68. Then he goes outside. I sit there and get so cold that my hands and arms get numb, so I turn it up between 70-72. I go to the bathroom and he turns it down. Today, I got tired of fighting with him and I put on a heavy sweatshirt jacket. Do you think he got the hint? If he did, he didn't care. I want my own office so bad. I told Jeff "Just give me a laptop and I'll work in the bathroom. Put me in a closet somewhere, just get me out of the warehouse." The room where the gloves are used to be a supervisor's office, but the tile on the floor has buckled up and the A/C doesn't work. I said I would be satisfied if it was just cleaned up and another A/C put in. I don't care about the floor. I don't need a pretty office, just get me away from the bickering in the office I'm in. It wears me out! It's hard to keep a Christian attitude when everybody around you is arguing. I told Walter "If I was drinking person, I'd drink on the job." Thank God, I don't have that problem.

Daddy called and wanted me to go to the grocery store. I told him I would have to wait until tomorrow, cause Mama was in the hospital and I needed to go see her. He said "You know, I've never stopped loving your mother. But, she will never forgive me for all that I did. I care about her and hope she gets okay. And you can tell her that if you want to." Well, I forgot when I called her.

Angie went to the hospital to be with Mama when she had the endoscopy. I'm so thankful for that. They said they didn't find anything wrong other than the esophagus needed to be stretched. They did that and will keep her overnight and put her on soft food in the morning. I called Mama at 5:30 when I was leaving work. She told me not to come up there, because she wasn't supposed to talk and she would talk if we were up there. She told me to go home and get some rest. I came home and Vance could tell I was tired. Tired yes, sleepy no. Here it is almost 11:00 and I'm still up.

Vance grilled us a steak. It was so good. He's concerned about me working so much. He's a good husband. And, now, I need to do what he said and get to bed. He told me not to stay up till midnight, so I'm going to go to bed now.

Goodnight and God bless...............