Do you know the legend of the Cherokee Indian
youth's rite of passage?

His father takes him into the forest,
blindfolds him and leaves him alone.

He is required to sit on a stump the whole
night and not remove the blindfold until the
rays of the morning sun shine through it.
He cannot cry out for help to anyone.
Once he survives the night, he is a MAN.
He cannot tell the other boys of this
experience because each lad must come
into manhood on his own.
The boy is naturally terrified. He can hear
all kinds of noises. Wild beasts must surely
be all around him. Maybe even some human
might do him harm. The wind blew the grass
and earth, and shook his stump, but he sat
stoically, never removing the blindfold.
It would be the only way he
could become a man!

Finally, after a horrific night, the sun
appeared and he removed his blindfold.
It was then that he discovered his
father sitting on the stump next to him.
He had been at watch the entire night,
protecting his son from harm.
We, too, are never alone.
Even when we don't know it,
our Heavenly Father is watching over us,
sitting on the stump beside us.

When trouble comes, all we have
to do is reach out to Him.

Moral of the Story:
Just because you can't see God,
doesn't mean He is not there.

Saving one animal won't change the world, but it will change the world for that one animal.

Terri~

What a gift of love you have given McKenna, as a really doting Mema of Aidan, I truly realize the profound gift... words cannot describe. I am thankful for you for the opportunity you have of sharing her life. It really does give you both, & her mom, such a blessing.

Shelley had planned an open adoption, but after a fiasco where the girl changed her mind (evidently had been with a couple of guys & ended up finding out the baby was the white guy's, which I think was her plan all along, to keep it)... well, to say the least it was an awful, emotional experience, the girl even used their name, so they truly felt like they had miscarried... couldn't even use that name. Made me really sad, as it was my mother's maiden name, Garrett, & Christopher, which was my grandfather's name. So she ended up going the opposite.

At any rate, I am so very thankful for the decision Aidan's birthmom made, & we are determined our baby will have the best life we can provide... not the most affluent, but rich in love & experiences shared. We (I was there when the call came!) got the call about Aidan 12 days after his birth Aug. 19, '03 (just celebrated his 4th!), so it was Aug. 29... she picked him up Aug. 31st! Life has NEVER been the same! Shelley & I both discuss how much that selfless decision made by birthmothers like you means, & I want you to know this... to hear this from my heart.

Virginia

The Invisible Woman



I would walk into a room and no one would notice. I would say something
to my family - like 'Turn the TV down, please' - and nothing would
happen. Nobody would get up, or even make a move for the remote. I
would stand there for a minute, and then I would say again, a little
louder, 'Would someone turn the TV down?' Nothing.



Just the other night my husband and I were out at a party. We'd been
there for about three hours and I was ready to leave. I noticed he was
talking to a friend from work. So I walked over, and when there was a
break in the conversation, I whispered, 'I'm ready to go when you are.'
He just kept right on talking. That's when I started to put all the
pieces together. I don't think he can see me. I don't think anyone can
see me.



I'm invisible.



It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the
way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and
ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm
on
the phone?' Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or
cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the
corner, because no one can see me at all.



I'm invisible.



Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this?
Can
you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands;
I'm
not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a
satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a
car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.' I was certain that these
were
the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and
the
mind that graduated summa cum laude - but now they had disappeared into
the peanut butter, never to be seen again.





She's going she's going she's gone!





One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of
a
friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip,
and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was
sitting
there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was
hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my
out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean.
My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I
could
actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when
Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I
brought you this.'



It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly
sure
why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'To Charlotte,
with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one
sees.'



In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would
discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after
which I could pattern my work:



* No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no
record of their names.

* These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would
never see finished.

* They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.

* The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that
the
eyes of God saw everything.



A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the
cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny
bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why
are
you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be
covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied,
'Because God sees.'



I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was
almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see
the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No
act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake
you've
baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a
great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'



At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a
disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my
own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.



I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As
one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see
finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The
writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever
be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to
sacrifice to that degree.



As mothers and teachers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be
seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the
world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty
that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible
women...



We are separated from our Creator if we allow our actions to separate
us
from each another.

"It is better to look ahead and prepare than to look back and regret."
~ Jackie Joyner-Kersee

Remember the 3 Cs:
You didn't cause it.
You can't control it.
You can't cure it.

WORDS OF SUCCESS
To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming,
is the only end in life.

--Baruch Spinoza

The first sentence is pretty powerful.
>
>God determines who walks into your life....it's up to you to decide
>who you let walk away, who you let stay, and who you refuse to let
>go.
>
>I need this back.
>
>If you'll do this for me, I'll do it for you....
>Father, God bless all my friends in whatever it is that You know
>they may be needing this day! And may their life be full of your
>peace, prosperity and power as they seek to have a closer
>relationship with you. Amen.
>
>Now send it on to five other people, including the one who sent it
>to you. Within hours you caused a multitude of people to pray for
>other people. Then sit back and watch the power of God work in your
>life. P S. Five is good, but more is better, who else do you know
>that needs prayer.
>
>Glenda

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit."
~ Aristotle

“Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.”