{Memory...}

Soft breeze blows,

the scratchy bench beneath my legs. 

Strong, silent, pauses. 

The flood gates open, he begins to cry.

Deep, racking, sobs.

I grab his hand of years lived and lives touched.

A moment, a piece of time where peace comes.

A talk cherished forever.

Fast Forward...

New Earth, dirt blows.

I kneel, touch the cold stone sunk into the earth. 

A memory of that moment of peace comes to mind and I am reminded...

It Is Well With My Soul.

Grandpa.

Strong, 

true, 

loved,

missed.

A memory forever in my heart.

And then...

The soft, breeze blows.

{Remembering my Grandpa and all those who have served.}

This post was written during Relevant. 

Where pen met paper and God met hearts.

And I am thankful.

By His Grace,

Cole

An unexpected detour...

Today was supposed to be glorious...

...get out of work at 12:30 for the semester.

...get started right away on writing and crafting.

Then, I decided to take a trip to one of my favorite coffee shops.

{detour #1}

Along the way, driving, singing to Jeremy Camp and Chris Tomlin,

God started to knock on my heart.

It was an uncomfortable sort of knock.

Me not quite grasping what He wanted.

source

And before I knew it,

{detour #2}.

I was at the final resting place here on earth for my grandpa and grandma.

Not what I had planned.

And, at this moment, honestly, not what I would have chosen.

Because you see...

I thought...

"I don't need to go."
"I'm fine."

There I was sitting in my car at the site.

Wondering, "Do I get out?" "Can't I just stay right here?"

And, a gentle, "No," whispered in my heart.

I stepped out of my car, 

the cold, crisp, Kansas wind whipping at my neck.

I pulled the zipper of my coat as high as it would go and set across the yard.

It took a few minutes to find the spot.

But, there it was, dirt still fresh of that day barely 5 months ago.

I sat down...

Nothing...

Then...

Questions.

Questions about e.v.e.r.y. t.h.i.n.g...

Tears flowed,

my heart cried out to God.

Broken but not destroyed.

In the moment of searching what God wanted of me, 

he answered.

Not in a way you would guess...

not at all.

source

I look over my shoulder and every so quietly,

ever so respectfully is the maintenance crew

getting ready to prepare new earth.

I never even heard them.

First shock...

stunned actually, 

But, then came a voice, so certain, so clear,

saying...

"Life is too short."

Life is too short to hold on to the things/people that tear us down.

Life is too short to hold on to the chains that bind us.

Life is to short to live in my own will.

Life is to short to let those you love not know you love them.

And, it is then, this verse came to mind.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Joshua 1:9

To:

Live fully in His will.

Pursue with abandon the dreams He has placed on my heart.

Live in the Hope He has called me to. {Jeremiah 29:11}

Is life taking you on any detours lately? If so, what is God teaching/showing you?

 Have a Lovely Day!

Blessings,

Cole

More than words...

Thank You...

In more than words can express...

in memory of loved ones lost...

in gratitude of those who have and are serving now.

Thank You for your Service.

 

We Love You Grandpa!

 WWII service in the U.S. Army with the 35th Infantry Europe ETO

A Hero

I love to write...

I've learned that I express my thoughts best through the written word...

That's why when it comes to expressing thanks, gratitude, or my thoughts...

I put pen to paper

or fingers to keyboard...

I've had these thoughts floating through my mind lately...

Thoughts of my Grandpa's hands and the lives he touched...

and the lives he continues to touch through the memories, love, and lessons, he shared with us.

Here is a poem I wrote...

for one of the Hero's in my life...

My Grandpa.

Grandpa’s Hands

By Nicole 

The hands of a Man, working hard each day...

Building, Crafting, Gardening, his way…

The hands of a Husband providing for his wife…

Telling her he loves her on her last night…

The hands of a Father, so strong, so true…

Protecting and loving his children the best way he knew…

The hands of a Grandpa, so dear and so close…

Teaching his grandchildren to “see,” the things that matter most…

The hands of Grandpa who did the Polka with all he knew…

In and out of his kitchen, He loved to dance, this is true…

 His hands touched many lives…

More than we will ever know…

It is Grandpa’s Hands that taught love to grow.

Who is a Hero in your life??

Have a Lovely Day,

Cole

It is well...

It is well...

weheartit

With My Soul...

Today, I want to share with you my heart. Not to say "look at me," but rather...to be open, honest, to share the Hope that God can and does give. After all...this blog {community} is a journey of creations, life, and the Hope of God.

Last Monday, my grandpa, Henry, went to be with Jesus. He had been living with a large aneurysm in his stomach for about two weeks, but it is a heart attack that eventually took him home. We are blessed to have four sweet hours with him after the attack. Time to hold his hand and tell him we love him. Time with his entire family around him and those that could not make it, over the phone. Time of many prayers, tears, memories, talking to grandpa {even when he couldn't speak back}.

The pain was/is still hard, but through it God spoke louder than ever before. Through the pain and praying fervently for peace, God spoke. "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give unto you." I clung like crazy to that verse, from the very beginning.

Holding grandpa's hand there in the ICU, telling him how much I loved him, squeezing his hand and him squeezing back, verses to a hymn came and spoke to my heart. Verses that remained throughout those four hours of watching the numbers on his monitor go down. Verses that were there as he stepped into Glory forever with Jesus.

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul. 

It has been a couple days since his service, the pain is still there, sometimes hidden and sometimes spilling out when I least expect it. Amidst this pain, is a peace that I can not explain. A peace that began two weeks ago when grandpa first went to the hospital and continues now, even in the tears of a missed grandpa.

What-ever your lot is, what ever it is that is causing sorrow like sea billows roll, God is there. He is the God of all comfort. He is the God of peace that surpasses all understanding. He will never leave you. When it doesn't make since, when it hurts like crazy, when you don't understand "why," he is there.

In a tunnel...

Right now...

I feel as I'm in a tunnel...

Can't concentrate,

Can't stay focused,

Gotta stay busy.

Last night my Grandpa went to be with Jesus.

The entire family was with him as he took that walk.

It was hard.

It is hard.

But, I know he is dancing the polka with Grandma in heaven.

I am so thankful and grateful for those moments with him last night.

Thank you for your prayers...

Your support...

Especially, when life is re-arranged.

The service is this week.

It will be a little bit before I get back to the regular posts.

Thank you for understanding.

Even though I feel I am in this tunnel...

I know...

that God is here.

He is with our family.

He is speaking to my heart...

through verses...

through hymns...

through the prayers and encouragement of you.

Love,

Cole

Walking...

I wanted to give all of you an update on an amazing man...

my grandpa.

This past weekend...

he was up walking and enjoying his backyard on "his" bench.

It was so beautiful to see a picture of it sent by phone from my uncle.

Thank you all of you who prayed during that scary time and...

thank you for those who are continuing to pray...

for him, 

for us.

Before life changed for him and us, I had the opportunity to spend some time with some dear friends.

At a concert...

an outdoor movie...

and a flower/butterfly garden.

Here are some pictures of those times.

Barlow Girl Concert

 

A John Wayne movie in the park...

A cute monkey sticker on road trip caramel latte.

A fun photo op.

A fun fountain in the flower garden.

Lots of flowers...

and butterflies.

My traveling friend.

Have a lovely day!

Cole

Photos are property of Simply Created by Cole

Pain and a rainbow...{decision made}

Thank you again for your prayers...

words really do not express how thankful we are for them.

Yesterday we were given a blessing...

we got to sit next to our Grandpa/dad...

to hug him...

to say, "I love you."...

to share conversations with him that only we would understand and...

that are so precious, so dear.

Grandpa is home, back at his home...

He would not survive the surgery, if done, to repair the aneurysm...

He choose to be home...

with his family...

in his town...

in his house...

living each day to the full with a tennis- sized ball aneurysm.
And we love him and support him.

To be honest I hate typing that word, aneurysm.

But, I have to, I need to...

It is fact.

It is an ugly, ugly, fact...truth be told.

There are so many mixed emotions...

thankfulness,

hurt,

raw, deep pain,

blah-ness and muddle of thoughts...

a grateful heart,

exhaustion.

Leaving his home...

there was a rainbow.

Just bright enough to bring some hope.

And, to that hope I will cling.

To a God who is bigger than this.

To a God that gives peace that surpasses understanding.

To a God that knew I desperately needed to hug my Grandpa.

Photo property of the fabulous SH Photography

{my rockin' sister}

And with that rainbow...I am going to

cherish each and every moment with my Grandpa...
even when life as we know it is re-arranged.
That is what I am thankful for.

{Thank you all so much for prayers, thoughts, encouraging words...sticking here at Simply Created by Cole as my family and I learn a new way...of cherishing each day w/ our family...of walking through this new-ness of everything being arranged. I've not forgotten about you...I still have great things planned for you.}

Love, Cole

P.S. I'm linking up with The Outdoor Wife this week on her Thankful on a Thursday. I love her blog and I know you will too. 

Thank You

Thank you...

in more than words can express...

for your prayers and support.

Photo courtesy of Simply Created by Cole

in the Waiting...

Waiting room...

mindless show on TV...

annoying fly buzzing around the room...

Doing what it takes to stay busy.

Reading (really just flipping through the pages of the magazine)...

waiting...

writing (in a journal I carry every where)...

waiting...

calling...

waiting...

talking to the nurse...

waiting.

It is has been a long couple of days of waiting, for our entire family.

Waiting...

Praying...

Decisions...

Prayers are still needed.

Still asked for my grandpa.

Waiting for that "11th hour"...

when God reveals Himself...

gives the answer...

points the way.

Praying for the Peace...

Comfort...

Grace...

and 

Love...

that can only come from God.

My heart hurts...

it is heavy...

I love my grandpa...

love him so much.

He is the man that taught me to Polka...

he is the man who says, "Don't drive too fast, but don't let anyone pass ya either."

He is where I get my determination.

Will you please join us in prayer?

Re-arranged {an urgent prayer request}

A call...

just one call can re-arrange everything...

Today, dear blog readers, I am asking for prayer...

being very open and honest.

Tonight my grandpa was taken to the ER ...

He was diagnosed with a large aneurysm in his stomach...

He is 90 and listed as critical.

They just flew him to a larger hospital where he will have emergency surgery.

Please keep him, his name is Henry, in your prayers.

Please keep our family in your prayers

At this time we are waiting...

trusting in the peace...

leaning on the peace...

that can only come from God.

Plans re-arranged, life re-arranged...

I will post when I can and when I know more...

I hope for your patience in that blog posts for a while may be re-arranged.

Praying for a peace that surpasses all understanding, a peace that only God can give when...

life is re-arranged.