The Pedestal and Stuff..

August 8, 2018

Dear Readers,

Welcome to my world. Grab yourself a cup of coffee, a glass of wine, a soft drink, water, or whatever suits your fancy and let's chat a bit. Checked my stats a bit ago and see that I'm making some new friends in Russia and China. How cool is that to be able to share some of Texas and my love of the Lord with all of y'all! I do tend to ramble from subject to subject so hang on and bear with me...

Despite the continued brutal heat wave of Summer 2018, it's been a great day to have a great day.  I have my water sprinkler going and almost wish I was 5 again to run through the waves of water crisscrossing my gardens. Sadly, I have many shrubs that have succumbed to the heat and my gardens will definitely take on a new appearance come Autumn and into the Winter. 

Last Monday, I attended a conference on the book of Revelation. I've been to several in year's past and found this one equally as informative if not more. It certainly got the wheels churning in my brain and I was convicted that I needed to be less concerned about being politically correct and more vocal about what the Bible says about the past, present, and future.

I was standing at the sink in my bathroom brushing my teeth and all of a sudden, this little voice within said, "Pedestal, write about pedestal and stuff." For those of you who have followed my blog journey over the past 10 years know that when the little voice inside me prompts, I obey! I place my fingers on the keyboard and away we go...

What is a pedestal? Simply put, it's a base on which something is placed. As a teenager, I wrote to movie stars asking for autographed photographs. I would pin them up on my walls and ooh and aah over how handsome and beautiful they were. As I grew older, I was enamored by writers, professors, and men and women of stature. There were people I put on pedestals thinking they were perfect. I'm not sure I would say I worshiped them; however, I sure did think they were right next to God almighty. My parents never questioned doctors, lawyers, or the local pastor and it was years before I dared speak up when I had questions of those on pedestals. The good news was that a youngster, I learned to have respect for those in authority ~ the bad news was that even people in authority can mess up and if I have my eyes on them instead of my God, I can get quite depressed over their fall from perceived greatness.

The Summer I graduated from high school, I spent many a day on the beach and met a young man who was a professor at the University of Minnesota and studying to be a Lutheran minister.  He saw so much in me that, at the time, seemed so, well, crazy. He saw me as a writer, a philosopher, a woman of great grace. Uh-huh... It wasn't until years later that I began to emerge from my shell, start thinking for myself, AND challenging those who were on pedestals. I learned that I could hold my own with the richest of the rich and come alongside the poorest of the poor. I worked in Corporate America, started my own companies, and started picking the brains of those I admired. There were no more pedestals; however, I did learn from the best.

About 17 years ago, my life changed dramatically. I lost a company I had worked so hard to build, went through a horrible divorce, spent some time in the Women's Shelter I helped to establish, and my feet and spine began to deteriorate. Instead of bringing in a pretty hefty paycheck, I was laying on the sofa writhing in pain. One more time, I took jobs just to pay bills; AND, for the first time, I experienced bullying by other women in the workplace due to my (gulp) age. My body, mind, and spirit shut down and I retired. 

One thing about hitting bottom is that with that bottom came choices. I could either wallow in the mud OR pick myself up and redefine myself. The tough part was realizing that what God was calling me to do wasn't going to earn me a fat paycheck. He was calling me to wrap my arms around the entire world and start blogging. In October 2010, I posted my first blog entitled Don't Quit. The rest is history.

I am on the last leg of my life yet still pushing forward learning, growing, and doing what God created me to do. I have lost most of my savings. Gone is my company, big house, and fancy car. My body is held together by pins and screws. I live in a tiny cottage with 5 furry kids. Am I a failure? I guess by today's standards I am. By God's standards, I am a General on the front lines of His army. I hold out my hand to fellow travelers and I give all that I have ~ my time, my talents, my treasures.

Who are you putting on a pedestal. A politician? A sports figure? Your pastor? Maybe a parent or child? Please remember that the Lord God is the only perfect person to walk this earth and it is He that we need to look up to and worship. Be the best you that you can be. Hold your head high. Admit your flops and failures, make your amends, and keep on truckin'. 

Tonight, the sky is so very dark. Mr Owl sits high in the tree hooting and the scent permeating the night air warns me that a skunk has meandered through my gardens. It's time to call it a day, kneel beside my bed, and start my ritual of "Now I lay me down to sleep..." Silly? I don't think so.

May God bless and keep you safe. Until we chat again...

Miss Dottie

PS We pass through so many seasons, our lives in tune with what we must do to survive and thrive. In the end, we all end up in a dark hole leaving behind our legacies. My only wish is to have my Father say, "Well done my good and faithful servant..."