Crying Out to God
We want to keep "Work" and "Vacation" in separate boxes. But sometimes, God breaks down those walls; so that what we thought was going to be work turns out to be the perfect vacation.
What makes the perfect vacation? Is it the place (beach, mountains, cruise), the people (family, friends, church group), the activities (backpacking, snorkeling, gallery hopping, shopping, fishing, golf, etc.)?
I would suggest it is whatever is most different from what you usually do. For me, it was painting the outside of my mom's house. That's right: painting my mom's house. Since I work at a computer all day, the best vacation for me is one that is physically exhausting, outdoors (preferably in a natural setting), that involves low-level problem-solving skills, with some meaningful personal and social interaction interspersed. Painting her house fit that bill.
But that's not why I chose that particular "vacation spot." The truth is, I needed money and she was willing to pay me. But God used that to create for me the perfect vacation. If your reaction is, "You've got to be kidding me," I understand. But after I tell you what happened, I think you will agree that this "vacation" was indeed perfect.
The Death of Nannie
This is a detail of a drawing I did of Nannie back in 1983. You can see from her face that she was full of life - so much so, that it took 109 years for her to let go of it. Her body just wore out.
This is the full drawing. Nannie loved roses, so I overdid them in my drawing. They look more like one of her bouquets than roses growing on a bush. The cat sitting at her feet was typical. She loved cats - she had 20! - but this was her favorite - Missy.
My grandmother of 109 years of age died on Easter Sunday morning, 2011. We buried her on the Saturday before Mother's Day, two weeks later. It was appropriate. She was the end of an era.
I know that phrase has been over-used to describe a variety of different national and international figures; but my grandmother really was the end of an era; not only because her life spanned five generations, but also because she saw the introduction of nearly every major invention and discovery since the gasoline-powered automobile:
radio (1901,1916), air conditioning (1902), airplane (1903), plastic (1907), color photography (1907), Model T (1908), talking motion pictures (1910,1912), insulin (1922), 3-D movies (1922), television (1923,1925,1927), liquid-fuel rocket (1926), color motion pictures (1927), penicillin (1928), jet engine (1930,1937), ballpoint pen (1938), helicopter (1939), color television (1940), electronic digital computer (1942), atomic bomb (1945), microwave oven (1946), hydrogen bomb (1952), laser (1958), microchip (1959), first manned spacecraft (1961), audio cassette (1962), compact disc (1965), first manned lunar landing (1969), video cassette (1971), cell phone (1979), personal computer (1981), Apple Macintosh (1984), Microsoft Windows (1985), HD TV (1989), World Wide Web (1990), DVD (1995), etc.
Because she was a voracious reader and a perennial student, I know she read about all these breakthroughs with interest. When my cousins and I visited her house growing up, we always found stacks and stacks of magazines - everything from National Geographic and Smithsonian, to Look and Life. Those magazines were a big part of our education, and Nannie was always a ready teacher to answer any questions we had.
In spite of her many interests - which included art, music, writing, cooking, gardening, teaching and church work - her greatest love was nature: she was a true naturalist. Everything else that she did centered on that love: so when she painted, it was flowers or landscapes; when she wrote poetry, it was about her garden or birds or her neighbor's yard; when she sang, it was about creation or the Creator. Always nature. That was what made her soul sing; and so she began each day with an eagerness to learn, an inspiration about life and beauty, and an expectation of what she would find in her garden.