A lot has happened since October 15, 2024. That’s when I started an unexpected hiatus from blogging. Come to think of it, a lot had happened before that too. I thought you might like to hear a bit of it.

Here’s a rundown of my last year. Buckle up!

Our great nephew, Matthew, was marrying Maggie in Pennsylvania on May 25 last year. Of course we wanted to attend.

We’d been looking for a new car for nearly a year, to no avail. We went looking again. No success.

We talked about flying to PA, but we didn’t buy tickets.

Then one day in March we said, “This would be a good day to buy a car!” And so it turned out to be! We drove home with a year-old SUV. That night we began planning our roadtrip.

As we traveled to and from Pennsylvania I was busy shooting pictures from the passenger window. That kept me so busy that I never had time to post one blog.

Totally random roadtrip photos

Notes on the Photos (L to R by row) — Me with my always happy great-nephew Knox; Somewhere in the West; Dancing with my nieces at the wedding (mother of the groom on the right); Great view of the Rockies as we approach them on the homeward journey; Tom with a cut-out of a Clifford Thompson, a very tall man; Lighthouse on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula; A tasty morsel for the road; Upper Peninsula; Buttermilk Falls in PA

Notes on the Photos (L to R by row) — Our trusty traveling companion; Canola growing in eastern WA; One of many amazing rest stops in our country featuring artwork, local attractions, history, and other amenities; Glacier Park; Amish girls walking to school; So many interesting trees (I’m really drawn to trees); We drove home on Highway 2, starting on the Northern Peninsula of MI and getting to the end of the road, about 20 miles from home; another view of Glacier Park; The sun breaking through the clouds on Mackinac Island. MI

A significant disturbance in my life

We’d been home from the trip for about a month when I had a disturbance in my right eye. It was as if a screen was pulled across my eye, from right to left. I saw black zigzags and diagonal stripes fill my entire right eye. Then the eye began to clear, from left to right, until it was once again normal. The whole event took about five minutes.

It was fascinating to watch, but clearly something was amiss. It seemed to me that there was chaos in my body and I needed to tend to it. I went straight to the walk-in clinic.

What’s going on?

The eye disturbance suggested to the doctors that I might have been having a stroke. After weeks of tests and doctor appointments, I learned that at some time in the past, I had had a stroke. But that was not the cause of the eye disturbance.

My issue was with my heart. I needed heart surgery.

I had an aortic root aneurism and an aortic valve insufficiency. (Translation—my aortic root was enlarged and the aortic valve was not able to fully cover the enlarged blood vessel, causing some blood to remain in  the left ventricle of my heart. I also had Afib (an irregular heart beat) which would need to be addressed as well.

On December 19, 2024 I had open heart surgery. Four months post surgery I am making good progress in my recovery. There are occasional hiccups along the road but I am doing well.

Anything else?

During the same time I have come to realize that I have been dealing with ADHD all my life. I hadn’t even considered that until I was 73 years old!

For several months now I have pondered this discovery. It seems I have two choices. I can live my life as always—feeling frustrated with myself most of the time. Or I can take steps to help me manage those issues that impact me the most. I’m going with option #2. I have a trusted friend/coach who is helping me sort out the steps I can take to deal with the areas that cause me the most frustration.

Fresh grace

In the last year I have seen the overwhelming grace of God in my life. For reasons I don’t understand, He has chosen this time to do new things in me. For example, He is answering prayers I’ve prayed over the past few years. The concerns mattered to me, but the Lord didn’t answer them. Not then, anyway. But He certainly is now!

I am discovering the presence of God in my life on a deeper level. I can rest in Him, confident that He is present and I have nothing to fear.

I have much I want to tell you. But it will unfold in future posts.

You are on my heart

I don’t know what your life is like just now. Maybe you are on a wonderful adventure. Perhaps it’s a roadtrip—going to new places, seeing long-time friends. You may have recently discovered a disturbance in your own life, revealing some chaos that needs to be addressed. Or you might be on a path that has taken you through darkness. sorrow, loss, or trauma. You may be crying out to the Lord for help. Or you may be shaking your fist in His face for the unfairness of it all.

I believe the Lord has fresh grace for you, too, wherever you find yourself right now. He has been with you and He still is! He will even lead you through the struggles you are encountering these days, whether you are facing a dry dessert, steep and rocky mountains, or days of incapacity.

There is grace beyond measure in Christ Jesus.

Resurrection power

Did you know that the power that raised Jesus from the dead is the power God makes available to His followers?

And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of[ his Spirit who lives in you (Romans 8:11).

Imagine that! The resurrection power of Jesus—in us! Be encouraged today. His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness (2 Peter 1:3).

Receive God’s grace for all your needs. Trust that the Lord is with you. Hold fast to His promises. And go in the resurrection power of God.

Your sister in Christ,
Ginger