Hi Friends! It’s another Fantastic Friday! And it’s May!

I am so thrilled to be back with you! I hope you have had a great week!

Below you see me holding up a 1 gallon water bottle I got this week.

I ordered it on Amazon, and I really like it! I picked this one because it has a pop top I can drink from rather than having to unscrew the cap. Can you imagine me drinking from something that big? Well I am doing it! It weighs over 8 lbs when you fill it with water. If you would like to see this water bottle, you can find it here. And you can just search on Amazon for 1 gallon water bottles, there are so many different varieties and colors available! This next picture was right after I finished it! You can see all the fun encouraging lines on there. It breaks it up by time of day you should be at each line on the bottle. This really helps me!

I’m doing well on my recovery. For those who don’t know, I broke my ankle on the ice back in February, had surgery and am recovering from it. I am now able to put partial weight on my injured foot. I had a minor setback this week trying to enter the front door of our house, I didn’t quite clear the step and ended up twisting my knee up on the bad leg. Fortunately, I have been going to physical therapy and they are helping me with icing it and good suggestions to continue to strengthen the leg. Honestly, my Sizzlers group above has been priceless in the encouragement to me throughout this entire ordeal. They really inspire me so much to “keep on keeping on”.

Well now I want to share with you a very special story about 3 candy bars that my grandmother told me many years ago.

My grandmother was one of the kindest women that ever walked this earth. I stop and wonder what all of Heaven was thinking when God created her! He put so much love into her that there was hardly room for anything else!

She was raising her family during the Depression, and she had 3 beautiful little girls (one was my mom). And while she was raising her girls, she also worked with the Family Court as a caregiver for babies, when needed. My grandma would have up to 3 baby bassinets in her home for babies that needed a temporary place to live. Well one time, the lady at the court called my Grandma and told her, “I know you usually take infants for us. But we have a young girl who is 12 years old who has had such a difficult time being placed. She has been in and out of 12 different foster homes. Would you be willing to take her? My grandmother said, “Yes of course!”

And so the young girl, Fern, came to live with my Grandma. Now imagine during the Depression, a young girl being moved through 12 homes, all of them “sending her back”. That would scar even the strongest of us! Fern moved in with her few belongings and began to understand what it is to be loved.

Times were tight, but on one occasion, my Grandma brought home a candy bar for each of the older girls. One for Fern, one for my mom, and one for her younger sister. The other children were too young, though I am sure she treated them too.

Fern saw the special candy bars, and she took all 3. Hers, and the ones that were to be for the other two older girls. And she hid them with her things. My grandmother found the candy bars and asked Fern about why she took them. Fern broke down trembling and crying and said, “I’ll start packing my bags.” Grandma said to her with tender love, “Fern, this is your home! I’m not sending you away because you took some candy bars. There is nothing you could ever do that would make me send you away! I love you! This is your home now!”

Can you just imagine how that dear little girl felt, who had been unwanted in so many other homes? She found love, acceptance, grace, understanding, compassion, and security in a tiny little bungalow during the Great Depression. She found the best gift of all! She stayed with my Grandma until she got married. Sometimes I think back to the woman who asked my Grandma if she would take Fern. Her wisdom in knowing this might be Fern’s only chance at a real life. All the things that had to line up just perfectly for that lost little girl to find the home of her dreams! It can only be a miracle!

And in the final years of my Grandma’s life, Fern would be one of her most faithful companions and visitors. Fern and her husband were always stopping by to help with any little thing that needed doing around the house. They helped my grandma plant beautiful roses and care for them year after year in her tiny little yard. They brought her delicious food, took her to dinner and on trips. Night after night they came to spend time with Grandma, and they would play games and their favorite was Zilch, A game with dice.

Fern almost slipped through the cracks of the universe but love reached out with warm hands and said, “No, Fern. You matter, you are precious and valuable,” and held her close for the first time in her lonely and lost life, never to let go.

I was blessed to know Fern. Because I lived for a few years with my grandma, I saw her frequently. Fern walked into my Grandma’s house and it was as though she bloomed right there in the basking warmth of unconditional love! Those beautiful eyes that once only showed fear and the hurt of rejection now danced and glowed because she had someone who believed in her and really truly loved her.

At the end of the day, I think there is nothing we could ever want or need more than unconditional love. Every human being is worthy of that kind of love and we get to be a part of the miracle when we are willing to shower someone else with that same love! I wish that love for you, my friend!

Have a fantastic weekend! I’ll be back Tuesday for another Tasty Tuesday!

Love Always,

Amy

“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, It does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs… It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”

1 Corinthians 13:4-8