Miracles and Such

A last post before 2015 rings in. Christmas is such a busy time of year for most of us, but I wanted to reflect with you on my Christmas experience this year. Many things did not go as planned and than can be a huge stressor for me. I was given a Christmas Tree that looked like it came out of a Charlie Brown comic strip (After I cried myself to sleep , I must confess), I made the decision to call it my “gratitude tree” and to reflect on the real meaning of Christmas instead of an ugly tree and burned pies.

Christmas movies are a big thing for me during the season. I love watching them because they usually involve some miracle or awesome thing that happens that’s against all odds. Like, what are the odds, that at the very last moment, a man dressed in a Santa Suit delivers a heart to a young boy who is dying to save his life, not to mention that he lands the plane on a city street lit by luminaries. I think that’s why I love them so much because they give me hope and help me re-focus on what is really important - which is the peace, love and & joy we have in the fellowship with our family, friends and fellow Granger's.

I also saw a grange in a bedroom community in our county that was destined to close, come alive with 10 new members and enthusiasm that superseded my own. I was told by many there was probably little chance to resurrect this grange. I believed it could happen and like the little girl in Miracle on 34th St., I just kept saying I believe, I believe and I hoped that my faith and belief in the value of the grange would spark an ember of hope and enthusiasm in the 3 remaining members. Of course a lot of hard work and hours went into to it as well. I believe in faith, but I also believe in hard work, hope and perseverance.

Relationships- part 1

The next couple of posts will be on relationships.  I attended my husband's stepfather's funeral the other day and there were several things that really spoke to me about relationships.  The Chaplain shared a poem, I hope to be able to share in part 2 of this blog on relationships but I am waiting for permission to use it so today, I'm going to lay a foundation.

I've always been very relational, I love to walk into a room and walk around and speak to each person and acknowledge their presence and shake hands or give a hug because I know how important that can be to someone.  I myself many times have walked into a meeting or event and wished just someone would greet me in that way, so I made it my mission to try to do that everywhere I go.

What I discovered in listening to the accolades and comments about my husband's father was that I did not really KNOW this man, oh I knew him, I had seen him on a number of occasions, but I realized when others began to speak that I didn't really know  him.  That made me sad.  I also realized that I know and love many of the grange members I see at grange meetings on a regular basis but again, I have discovered that I haven't taken my relationship with them to a deeper level in that I don't really know that much about their life outside of grange.  I'm an observer so I'm always observing behavior and personality but want to know more about how they think and what makes them "tick".  I find with all my grange duties that I sometimes rush in - do my job and go home.

Having traveled the country, I was fascinated by other cultures, their beliefs, customs etc...but somehow here at home - I seemed to have missed some of that.  I plan to rectify this and do a better job of learning from each of my grange family members and take in all of their wisdom and life experiences and may even publish a book later on about not just my grange life but many others.

So the  next grange meeting you go to, think about what you know about some of the folks you go to grange with and sit next to someone you don't know and find out what their core values are, what makes them take and what they did for a living if they are retired.  You might  just find out some really cool stuff - I know I plan to.

Thanks for checking out this blog and blessings to all of you and enjoy your relationships.  This month remember to be thankful for what you have and share some of the gifts you've been given, even it is the "gift to gab" as my mother called it.  Which equates to just talking to people.

Halo and I say by for now.

Hi, meet "Halo" my guardian angel bear who sits at my computer with me and keeps track of me all day long.  She will be helping me write my grange blog so I always remember my grange oath to "do not harm to another brother or sister".  I want this blog to be friendly, positive and helpful to those of you who might be interested in knowing more about the grange.  Many people when they think of Grange, remember only the dances, potlucks or card parties their parents or grandparents went to. We  still do some of those, but we are so much more.  Each week, I will pick a subject about my life, my grange life and hopefully give you some insight to what we really stand for and are still doing in our communities and our nation.

Currrently, I am assisting Adna Grange in Lewis County, Washington just outside of Chehalis a few miles to re-vitalize their grange.  They serve a great a potato bar once each month and have a square dance clinic and blue grass music at least monthly.  We need to get more people interested in attending the meetings so we can keep the grange going.  They have been very active in helping their community.  During the past flood when the river devastated the west end of our county, they served meals to workers and people whose homes were knee deep and higher in mud and water.  So come to our open forum meeting if you live in the area on November 15 at 4:30 pm and check us out.

For those of you who don't know, the Washington State Grange has a full-time staff member devoted to legislative issues in Olympia.  I will share more about some of those when we get closer to the legislative session.  Stay tunes to be surprised at how much the grange is really involved in.

For now, thanks for visiting and I welcome your comments.  Halo and I say bye for now.