Strong As An OX!

My granddaughter Ashland sent me a card a while back and she said, “Maw Maw when I think of you, I think of an ox!!! I’ve always heard the saying “strong as an ox” and I think of you as being very strong, but you are a “cute” ox, one with cute little pink ears!!!” I laughed aloud of course because that’s how she sees me as a cute ox, but the part I didn’t laugh about was that she sees me as “strong”. Google says, “This expression highlights the similarities between the strength of an ox in pulling a plough, or some other piece of machinery, and the strength of an individual person.”

I have had a lot of people to tell me the same thing since I received the SMZL diagnosis along with several other diagnoses that I do not like. You are strong! I know I am strong in a lot of ways, but when you’re in the fire of physical issues that keep pressing on you, that strength diminishes somewhat. Notice I said somewhat! I may wallow around in weakness for a little while, but God is always faithful to either prompt me to read the Word or he will send someone my way to put an end to the wallowing. I then have to back up and regroup…find that strength again. I think part of that strength may be because I have so much German in my ancestry💪😆! But I definitely know in my "knower" where my strength comes from, my strength comes from the Lord, maker of heaven and earth. This post is mostly about another strong woman in my family. A woman who I learned very young in life about strength was my Aunt Kathryn. I think that any of my family who reads this blog post would say the same thing. She was a strong tower in our lives!

January 18, 2018, is a date I will never forget as my Aunt Kathryn went to be with Jesus. She was 100 years old, almost 101. It’s hard to imagine living that long, but she was a strong woman in so many ways. As long as I’ve been old enough to remember, she has been my strong tower. Anytime there was a crisis in my life, she would always have a sense of calm about her. She would say, now Kaye this will work out or don’t worry about this or that…things always have a way of working out. She was a tall, beautiful, stately lady. When I was probably 7 or 8 years old, I would stay with my Grandma Hauser and she lived right down the hill from Grandma, so I stayed with her most all day until she went to work at R J Reynolds that afternoon. They had a black 55 Chevrolet car at this particular time. I would get in the back seat to ride to Grandma’s and she would be in the front. I always remember her pulling down the sun visor and putting her lipstick on, then take her little finger and rub across her lips and rub on her cheeks for her rougeJ!  We all have certain people in our lives which stand out more than others. My Daddy had two sisters who have been very strong influences in my life. They had a strength and resolve about them that they modeled for our family. Aunt Kathryn was such a strong influence, not only to me, but to my daughter and son, along with my grandchildren. When you met her, you never forgot her! She had the most beautiful penmanship of anyone I’ve ever seen. She sent cards to people for birthdays, sympathy, get well, graduation or just to say “hello”… I always will remember her mailing cards. She probably helped keep Hallmark in business!!! I stayed at her house almost as much as I stayed at home. Almost every Saturday night, I was at her or Aunt Dot’s house.  She loved Southern Gospel Music. We would go to singings at Reynolds Auditorium and I remember she would raise her hand in praise to God during the songs. She also loved strong coffee, had a strong alto voice, was a strong Democrat…oh so strongJ!!! We take so much for granted in this life. We take our family and friends for granted sometimes, but then again I guess we all have our own lives to live and it is what it is, but I do hope to change that in 2018 in my own life.

If I ever thought of anyone being strong as an ox, it would have been Aunt Kathryn, in  many ways. We live our lives not really thinking of death or that we may not live a long life on earth…sort of taking life for granted. I think living to be 100 years old would take a strong individual. Each day I wake up, especially since being diagnosed with Splenic Marginal Zone Lymphoma, I try to never miss thanking Abba for another day to be able to be of help to someone, I asked him to give me someone to share with….I get very discouraged sometimes sitting at home alone so much, but then it seems he brings someone over the phone that needs some encouragement, so I always want to be thankful, not for Lymphoma but for the opportunity to minister to friends or sometimes a customer service person on the phone…this past weekend it was a customer service rep from Belk, one weekend it was an Apple rep, so you just never know how he might use you…if you ask him…and I do every morning. 

Try to show kindness, compassion, love, hope, encouragement, patience mercy or grace to someone today…or next week.

I loved her so and I am so thankful to God that he shared her with me for 70 years of my life.  I hope all of you had an “Aunt Kathryn” in your life as well. And by the way, it's spelled Kathryn...with a "K" as she would surely remind you😉!!!

The picture on this blog post is another story of God’s provision. My friend Nelda who lives in Mississippi sent me a monetary gift for my birthday last August and told me to buy something for myself with it. So I wanted something special to remember her by. Ashland sent the card about the ox about that time and I was in a store which sells Giving Keys. These keys are old keys they have put on a chain and engraved a particular word on them. I was in a store and saw the rack of keys and thought let me see if I can find a word that would fit me…and there it was…a key with the word STRENGTH on it!!! Then last week I was in a store and I was looking at a rack of beautiful mugs. They had words on them and of course I was drawn to the pink ones, but they all said PEACE on them. I said aloud, “Lord, I would love to have one that said STRENGTH on it.” The next mug I picked up on the bottom of the rack was turned so I couldn’t see the word, but when I turned it around…you got it…it said STRENGTH!!! I don’t know your beliefs about God, I only know mine and I have seen him do so many special things in my life and I love to share them😀. If he cares for the little sparrows, how much more does he care for ME and YOU!?

Thank you for reading this post as it isn’t the norm…not about the Tea or about the Lymphoma so much, but I will say this! I am having a strong cup of hazelnut coffee in memory of Aunt Kathryn as I type this morning!!!