Frank Responses to Life Circumstances

This week's Hodgepodge questions stirred up some observations on life from my perspective as a senior citizen. 

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1. What's one piece of advice you would give a recent or soon-to-be graduate? 

Every choice or decision we make in life has the potential of life-altering and life-long consequences, so choose wisely and don't be in too big of a hurry. 

2. May 15th marks the birth date of L. Frank Baum, author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. At this point in time are you more in need of brains, courage, heart, or a trip back home? Explain. (responding to all 4 options)

Brains: I could always use more brains!! 🤔 

Courage: In the past 5+ years, I have been challenged like never before. Although I've had a relationship with Jesus Christ since I was a little girl, the biggest lesson I've learned in recent years is that God wants me to trust His character. No matter what I'm facing, I can be confident that God is in control.

Heart (which I'm translating to "love"): the older I get, the more I am profoundly impressed with God's love for me when I mess up. 

Therefore, there is now no condemnation 

for those who are in 

Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:1 NIV

A trip back home: Where is home for me? Both my father's career and that of my first husband moved our family many times across the USA. Currently in my grief journey, I have no desire to go back to previous residences.  Social media does a good job of keeping me in touch with family and friends where I used to live. 

Where is my home? Heaven, of course, as the old song says, "This world is not my home. I'm just a-passin' through." 

downtown where I currently live
(Internet photo)

3.  "There's no place like home" is an oft repeated line from Baum's book. When was the last time you felt the truth of that statement? 

😅 Traffic where I live in Florida has increased greatly in recent years, as well as the number of crazies behind the wheel. My county was the fastest-growing metro area in the USA in 2025. Many times, as we pull into the garage, I sing aloud to Gary, "Hey, it's good to be back home again!" (from John Denver's song titled, "Back Home Again.")

4. May is National BBQ Month...do you own a grill? Who does the grilling at your house? What's your favorite thing to throw on the grill? What's the last thing you grilled? 

The gas grill sat in our lanai for a long time. It was a lot of bother to wheel it out onto the patio, so eventually I convinced Gary to get rid of it. He has a counter-top electric grill that is the perfect size for our meals. But truth be told, we use the hot air fryer for things we used to grill and that's even easier to clean!

As I've said many times before, Gary is the primary cook in this household (I bake and make salads). 

My favorite things that he grills are salmon fillets and steak. Salmon was the last thing he grilled.

5. What's a memory you replay in your head when you need a little joy? 

Can you handle a real honest answer to this? It's the first time Gary kissed me.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

As a tag-on to the previous question, our anniversary is this week! 

We had a short courtship, but when you're as old as we are, there is no time to waste! 😆

Until I arrived at these recent chapters in my life story,  I had not given thought to widowhood or second marriages, blended families and so forth. Such life conditions ushered in (irreverently at times) a newborn sensitivity to experiences that were previously distant from me. 

From the outset Gary and I shared with each other who we are, where we've been,  how we got to where we are and how we felt about all of that. Something he said really sunk into my head: "If you've not walked in my shoes, don't judge me." 

I was also very impressed with how the lessons of life molded him into the man he is now. I said at the beginning and I still say it often, "You know stuff!" He replies that you don't get to his age without learning things. My response to that is always the same, "I love a mature man!" (and it's true)

the day we met with our mutual friend (white sweater)
who very purposely introduced us to each other.

"Walking in my shoes..." that statement came alive for me as I faced the dilemmas of my circumstances, and sometimes found no easy answers. After my late husband's fairly sudden death, a lot of things clamored for my attention. As I learned, often we really don't know what we would do until confronted with issues.. Sometimes what we do is different from what we might have assumed before it all came about.

But here we are, four years later and more happy with each passing day. He still makes me laugh, and holds stronger than ever to his commitment to me. I marvel that the Lord has given us this opportunity for such happiness after the deep sorrows we experienced before our introduction to each other.

I think of the verse in Matthew 7:1 that says, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged." This is instruction, of course, to not be a harsh critic of others or we may find ourselves acting out the same behavior of those we are criticizing. 

But I now I look at it from another perspective: "If you are faced with similar circumstances, you may be surprised what your response will be. Don't be real hard over." One pastor has said, "I've had to eat crow boiled, baked, fried, and steamed. None of it tastes good!"

We had a brief courtship, a private ceremony, and later, a small gathering of neighbors to help us celebrate with cake and champagne. 

We are grateful how things have turned out. The Lord has allowed us to enjoy this season of our lives together. 

"And so together they built
a life they loved" 

Until next time, grace and peace.

Barbara