This Is What Love Looks Like (18 Years Later)

He drove me to the market yesterday. Just him and me. It was special getting out of the house, even if just to go purchase enough fruits, vegetables, and meat to get us through the next couple of weeks. I paid the lady at the fruit stand, and, while waiting for my change, I looked over at him. So handsome in his blue shirt. I see salt 'n' pepper in his hair already. So incredibly attractive.

I didn't say anything. Just lost in my own thoughts. He was oblivious to what I was thinking.

Just then, the lady handed me my change.

He helped carry my big crate holding potatoes, tomatoes, onions, carrots, chayote, mangos,  papaya, ginger, cilantro, oranges, and meat.

He had to drive around the block while I ran into the fabric store since there was no place to park. I was so thankful he had offered to drive me down to the market. I really don't enjoy driving through the market streets. There are always so many people, and yesterday was no exception.

On the way home, I was chattering, as always. I glanced over at him, and he was just staring at me. He got a sweet grin on his face. "You're so pretty, 'Mamita,'" he said, using his term of endearment. Made my heart go pitter-patter.

Back at the house, while I washed and soaked the fruits and veggies, divided the meat into baggies and placed them into the freezer, then started dinner, I remembered the look on his face as he looked at me in the car.

"Wow," I thought. "We're at the 18-year mark, and still madly in love."

I'm so very honored to belong to him. My Mr. Steady. The king in our home. Under God, he's the head of our family. Ever so patiently and steadily he leads us.

Only by God's sweet, amazing, sustaining grace. I've seen him bow under pressure, but never break. I've seen him weep over disappointments, but he never stays down. 

The perfect balance between stern and gentle. I have watched as he sits across the table from our teenagers, reprimanding them, their faces so serious; but before the "session" is over, they're laughing together and the air is cleared. He stays with them until he is sure the air is clear. No lingering fog or cloudiness between them.

God is his refuge, his shelter, his guide. In calm or in storm, in Him he abides. When the enemy strikes, 'neath the Rock he does hide. And let me tell you, this year has been one of clinging to His unseen hand. How grateful I am for God in our marriage, in our lives!

How do I end this little homage to the celebration of sweet love between this man and woman? Only to say that we continue to trust in God's protection, His faithfulness, His provision for our marriage, our home, one another. May He give us another 18, 36, 52 + more years together.

Now and forever. Andy 'n' Anna.

Come Now, Let Us Reason Together, Saith the Lord

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."  Isaiah 1:18

When I was 13 years old, I had to have a root canal on one of my molars. I remember asking the dentist if he could just pull it. "Oh, no!" he declared. "We need to save this tooth!" I knew it would mean several days of going back to the dentist, which it was; and I knew it would cost my dad more money than just an extraction (which it did).

So, trusting our dentist, we set up the appointments to get the root canal done.

When I went in for my first appointment, much to our surprise, his son, then an apprentice of his dad, is the one who worked on me. Although the senior dentist was present for most of the work, the junior dentist is the one who did the whole procedure.

It was all over after about a week, which to me seemed like a year. I was SO glad to have gotten that taken care of, and to have that behind me.

Fast-forward to my days in college (about 4 years later). We had to take a whole day, and a trip of nearly two hours, to visit our dentist in Oklahoma so he could do some more work on it.  I don't remember what he did, but I remember it involved a shot and a swollen jaw.

A few years later, the cap on that tooth fell off, so we visited our kind dentist in Mexico (a different one than the one that did the root canal); he quickly cleaned it and capped it. No pain, and I was out of the office in less than 30 minutes.

This tooth, though, gave me trouble of one sort or another from the time I was 13 years old.

Two years ago, as I was preparing for a trip to the United States, it began hurting so badly and giving me terrible headaches. We went to a local (new-to-us) dentist, who took an x-ray of the tooth and told us: "Whoever did this root canal didn't do a thorough job. Part of the roots are still there, and there is an infection in this tooth." He gave me an antibiotic and told me to come back after my trip to the States.

Well, by the time I got back from the States, two months had passed, and the tooth had not given me a bit of trouble. So, not wanting to go back to the dentist, I purposefully neglected to talk to my husband about making an appointment, and life went on. Although during the past two years, there had been nagging bits of slight pain, I'd take a pain pill and go on with my day.

Until one evening in December, I was getting ready to go to a Christmas party with my husband. I was giving last-minute instructions to our children, when I bit down on a chip of something hard in my mouth.

Huh. What was that?

We were late, so I just spit it in the trash (whatever THAT was!) and went on to the party with my husband.

Two evenings later, at another Christmas party, I bit into the deliciously baked turkey, and the cap fell off of that tooth. Oh, no! I quietly wrapped the cap into a napkin and stuck it in my purse. I didn't say anything to my husband. He wouldn't need to know. I half-way enjoyed the rest of the meal.

We went to bed that night. I reluctantly told my husband, "Ummm....the cap fell off of my tooth tonight. I need to go get the cap put back on."  He told me he'd make an appointment for the next day. (We were to sing at a wedding that weekend, and I needed my tooth to be fixed before we left.)

But the next morning, I got up really early, and while I was brushing my teeth, the inevitable happened. A part of that tooth broke off. Augh. Oh, no!! Now, what?!

Being the terrible coward that I am when it comes to dentists, I put off going to the dentist. We spent a wonderful weekend at the wedding and with family members. Not a word was said about my tooth. Not one single person, except for my husband, knew about my tooth.

We spent 14 glorious days with my mother in our home for the Christmas holidays. My tooth gave me not one single problem. No pain, no discomfort. I pushed my dental appointment to the back of my mind.

And yet, I knew I'd have to deal with it sooner or later. And sooner came quicker than later.

The day after we returned home from taking my mother to her home, the pain started. I began having to take a pain killer every 7 hours. The problem with my tooth loomed in front of me and I could no longer push it to the back of my mind.

My horrors and nightmares were coming true. I was ABSOLUTELY going to have to go to the dentist. There was just no way around it.

Fast-forward to this past Thursday morning. I made the dreaded phone call. I made an appointment for the earliest time available on Friday morning. After confirming the appointment, fear and dread filled my heart. There was something in the pit of my stomach.

Finally, it was Friday morning. I prepared to go to my appointment. My son, Andrew, went with me. On the drive there, I told him, "By 12:00, it will all be over. I am going to put myself in the hands of the expert and just get it over with."

After the dentist checked me, he said, "It needs to be pulled."

I knew it. I didn't argue. I didn't ask for other suggestions. I was ready to be FREE from this burden. I'd been dealing with this problem for 30 years.

I surrendered my will to the dentist's will. Whatever it took, whatever it cost, I was ready and I was willing!

I won't give you the gruel-some details, but the dentist, ever so gently and lovingly as possible, extracted what had been giving me so much pain and worry, and what had burdened me for so many years. After he gave me my shots, it took exactly FOUR MINUTES for him to pull it.

4 MINUTES! That was all!

Is this what we call "Swanky-Jawed"?

Was it painful? Yes. You bet. I am now on my third day into recovery, and it hasn't been fun.

Am I glad I did it? Indeed! I only wish I had taken care of this sooner.

And all the while, my Lord brought the following thoughts to my mind:
This is exactly how sin is in our lives. Actions of sinfulness and activities of displeasure to our Lord creep into our lives, and slowly begin taking root. We know it's there. We know it's growing. But we choose to hide it, to stay quiet about it, hoping it will go away, yet knowing all the while that it WILL need to be dealt with one day.

"Come now, let us reason together, saith the Lord."
We know He extends to us the invitation to let go of that sin. Release it to the One who died to take away our sins, He who knows exactly how to deal with that in your life.

Aren't you tired of your sin? Aren't you tired of carrying the burden and the consequences of that sin? Give it up! Confess it! Get it out in the open! Tell it to Jesus! Repent, be cleansed, and get on with your life!

Jesus came to give us life, and to give us life more abundantly. You CANNOT live an abundant life in Christ while carrying weights that bog you down.

Be free today! 
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  I John 1:9

It's The Little Things

I am so excited!

The sun is shining, and I am getting a lot of laundry done this morning!

I woke up before daylight and prayed, "Lord, you know I have a pile of laundry to do today. Please let the sun shine today!"

For the past three days, our little town has seen very little sunshine and a whole lot of rain. Needless to say, our family has accumulated lots of dirty clothes. After a weekend, and a combination of soccer practice and mud...that makes for a whole lot of laundry!

And we only get water every third day. For two days, we don't get water, and on the third day, we get water for about 23 hours. So on the days we don't get water, I cannot wash. Even if the sun is shining, if I don't have water, I can't wash.

But today I am rejoicing over answered prayer. Water is coming in. And God gave us sunshine.

My washing machine is humming away. What a happy sound!

Don't forget to notice the small things...it'll shed a new light on what you have, and it will make you see life from a fresh viewpoint!

Have a beautiful day!

New Year, New Goals

Why did I neglect to write in my blog for so long?

This question hit me a few weeks ago. As we neared the end of 2019, and as thoughts of renewed goals entered my mind, my blog came to my mind. I revisit my blog now and then, and a feeling of nostalgia sweeps over me as I look at the old pictures posted on my blog several years ago.

So much has changed since the last blog entry in 2017. Many things are different now. God has taken some things away, removed objects that brought a sense of security and self-satisfaction; and He has replaced them with the knowledge that truly, only God brings true security and satisfaction.

But many things also remain the same.

I remain madly in love with the man whom I married nearly 18 years ago. I still love waking every morning knowing that he is next to me, and that when the day's rush is over, we will to sit together at our table and enjoy a cup of coffee in each other's company. 

I am still the mother of three precious children, although I can scarcely believe they are the same children I see in photographs taken only three years ago. Though just as sweet, our relationship changes as they mature into lovely young people.

And our Tommy Greg is still our baby, as I suspect he will be all his life.

Most importantly, the fact remains true that I so desire to please my Lord, and that my deepest desire is that everything I do would bring glory to Him. And so, in my plans to persist in the continuation of this blog's entries, may all I say and do be to honor my Lord, and to edify the readers, encouraging each one to follow in the steps of Jesus.

Somewhere in the World Today

“But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.”  John 11:10

SOMEWHERE IN THE WORLD TODAY:

Someone needs a light to dispel their darkness.   

There is a plea for someone to bring the truth.

Someone prays for peace.

Someone is in spiritual bondage, and is asking God for freedom.

SOMEWHERE IN THE WORLD TODAY

God is answering that plea; God is sending the light; God is preparing the way for light to reach into the darkness. 

“…Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial before God.”  Acts 10:4

SOMEWHERE IN THE WORLD TODAY

A man is answering God’s call.  A man is leaving all.

A lady is parting with her dearest material possessions; she is saying goodbye to mother, and to all things that are familiar.

A boy is saying goodbye to his dog.

A little girl kisses her favorite dolly goodbye.

A dear old lady hugs her pastor and says goodbye.

A new convert sheds tears at saying goodbye to his pastor.

A bus kid hugs his Sunday School teacher goodbye.

A family drives away from a life of comfort.

For the cause of Christ.

And God is answering the cries of someone in spiritual darkness.

“And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel’s,  But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.”  Mark 10:29, 30

Please pray the Martínez Family

A Poem for her Son-in-law

My mother writes the sweetest poems for each of her children and their spouses, 

and for each of her grandchildren on their birthdays.  

The one she wrote today for my husband's birthday was especially sweet...indeed, it made me cry.

This one she wrote in Spanish.  I'm going to share it exactly as she wrote it.

ANDRÉS

Había una vez un niño

Que nació lejos de aquí

Pero Dios en Su providencia,

Quiso traerlo junto a mí.

Ese niño crecía y crecía,

Y quería estudiar.

Dios lo trajo a San Cristóbal

Para que se pudiera preparar.

Su cubeta de agua caliente

Nunca le faltaba cada día

Para mí no era una carga

Porque la responsabilidad era mía.

Era un privilegio para mí cuidarlo

En la ausencia de su Madre

Y el Doctor Tomás

Lo disciplinaba como si fuera su padre.

¿Fue el destino lo que trajo ese joven

Un domingo en la tarde?

Tal vez sí, pero creo que fue Dios

Quien quiso que yo tuviera una parte.

En la vida de Andrés

Su suegra llegúe a ser.

Cada mañana oro por él,

"Señor, cuídalo por doquier."

Espero que el siguiente año

sea el mejor que has tenido.

Que el Señor te guarde y te cuide,

Mientras celebramos otro año cumplido.

For a more detailed description of my mother's role in my husband's life, please click here (written last year on my husband's birthday).

Happy Birthday, My Love.  May we spend many more happy days together.

By My Side

I grew up with you in the home.  I watched you keep a clean house.  I watched you prepare delicious and nutritious meals.  I watched you handle wisely the money Dad gave to you, and watched you organize your shopping so we always had plenty.  I watched you do the mending in the afternoons...sitting in the rocking chair next to the window in your room.

You were there when the little neighbor boy was mean to me.  You were there to read to us after we were all in our pajamas.  You were there to brush our hair into little pig-tails every morning.  You were there to play the piano and sing with us.  You were there when neighbors popped in for a visit, and you were such a gracious hostess.  You were there to teach us hospitality.

You were there to faithfully teach us the Scriptures...around the breakfast table every morning you taught us Bible memory...you helped us memorize hundreds of Scriptures and dozens of passages. How thankful I am that you were there...you took time for the important things in our lives.

I watched you every morning through sleepy little eyes, sitting at the dining room table, faithfully reading your Bible.  Through little eyes, I watched you as you served the Indian preachers who came to Daddy for counselling.   I watched you bravely walk down the banks of the rivers with your accordion to play for the many baptisms in our missions. I watched you prepare meals and clean up after us with little or no water.  I watched you at night as you strained water through a cheese cloth so we would have enough drinking water the next day. And I watched you clean beans and rice...sometimes killing little bugs in them.... You made the best beans and rice!

I watched you get us ready for bed in Ixtapa with the light of a karosene lamp.  All eight of us had a clean bed and clean pajamas.  What a comfort it was to me to look across the room and see you there, just before I closed my eyes to sleep!

I watched you serve sandwiches and lemonade to the homeless bum whom Daddy cared so much for. He sat at our table many times and you served him as if he were a very important guest.

I watched you nurse Daddy back to health during dengue fever. I watched you clean up after sick babies...change diapers for my siblings...and wash out cloth diapers for my baby sister.

I watched you be the nurse when Dad's patients came for a diagnosis.  I watched you serve cold lemonade to unsaved neighbors while Daddy talked to them about salvation.

I watched you home school eight children.  Patiently.  Thoroughly.  Organized.  Stedfastly.

Stedfastly, You have lived your life as a missionary's wife, and now as his widow.  Faithfully.  You never quit, never ran away, never gave up, and never got bitter. Even when so many turned their backs on you...you never left. You were by our side every day. You were always there.

You were there to encourage us to reach our full potential for God's glory.

And you're still here.  Just as stedfastly and faithfully.

By our side.

I am so privileged to be by your side today.  Celebrating your life as a mother.  You've done it so well. I can honestly say there is no better mother than you.  You have loved us, in spite of all we have put you through.  You didn't let your hurt be more than your love.  Only a mother can love the way you love.  Purely. Lastingly.  Un-grudgingly.

You are worthy of honor on this day.  I praise you for your works.

I Love You.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY.