On this Dreary Winter Day in Georgia...Aunt Betty is enjoying the SON!

On Friday, January 10, we got the news that Aunt Betty Smith had passed away.  We were all shocked and saddened at the unexpected news, as she was always so full of life, love, and sweet spirit.  When I think back on the life of Aunt Betty, four simple words come to the surface of my thoughts: strength, family, God, and glue.  Glue may seem like an unusual word to attribute to a person, but she was strong, and she held her family and loved ones close and she kept God even closer; and she was indeed like "glue" in the way she kept everything and everyone together so well.  She stuck with God through thick and thin; she was a true testament of faith in HIM and His love to her friends and family.  Unwavering, she stood for God in all that she did, such as the way she faithfully stood beside her husband, my Uncle Leavell, for many, many decades, until his death barely a year ago.  Amazing strength from within her beamed brightly during even the most painful times in life, and she loved nothing more than to smile and see the light in the eyes of her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, great-great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, friends, and everyone else she came into contact with.  She was blessed and she let that light shine, as she blessed so many day in and day out. Aunt Betty and Uncle Leavell have left one of the strongest, Godliest legacies of love for God and service to Him, love for Family, love for friends, and love for community that I, personally, have ever seen. This legacy is ever-so-evident in the ministerial callings and service of so many of their descendants, who are such an inspiration to all who know them, as well.  To me, Aunt Betty was also an iconic reminder of Patriotism to our country, as she, Uncle Leavell, their children, and grandchildren hosted the hoards of us on their infamous "Fourth of July Barbecues and Smith Family Reunions."  Never did Aunt Betty fail to have on a bright array of reds, whites, and blues against an American Flag Shirt or the "Family-Slogan" T-shirt, complete with the phrase, "I pigged out at Velle's."  She never hesitated to open her home and her heart to anyone who wanted in to the warmth of either, and she left anyone she met feeling more faith in God, love, and humanity.  I am saddened at her loss, but I can't help but smile, as I think of the love, hugs, and kisses going around in Heaven upon her arrival.  She is now in perfect peace, with both of her True Loves, and having lived faithfully resolved to shine her light as brightly as she possibly could here on Earth.  The glue with which she held her family close and her God closer remains here with us, reminding all of her loved ones to stick tightly together in love and to stay bound inseparably with God.  Aunt Betty will never experience another dreary day in Georgia, for where she is, the SON will forever shine ever-so-brightly.

As, the final earthly "goodbye" takes place today, my prayers are with her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great grandchildren, and all the friends and family who loved her so dearly!  She is not gone; she's just gone Home.

~It is in the hands we hold that we find the ties that bind.~  I love you all!

Bobbie

As Aunt Betty is enjoying the SON, I am reminded of the perfection we can feel when our Maker provides beautiful and peaceful scenery for us to enjoy here on Earth.  Let us feel God's Peace and Power surge through us through his Creations!  Below is a poem I wrote back in 1991 as a freshman in high school.  It came to mind, as I was remembering Aunt Betty.

The Beach

Bobbie Wright Grogan

Waves crashing against the shore,

Water that seems forever more,

Gentle breezes’ comforting sounds

Creeping across the sand-dune mounds.

These are just a worthy few

Descriptors of the ocean blue.

Walking along the beach, I see

Sea gulls, sailboats, and a single palm tree.

Walking along furthermore,

Small fish are scrambling along the shore.

Oh, so sad it would be

Not to be able to see the sea!

Breaking Free & Written in '93: A Poem About The Loss of a Loved One

My heart has been really heavy lately for many of my friends and family members who have lost loved ones recently.  Our community seems to have been hit so hard with death and bereavement over the past few weeks and months, and my prayers and thoughts are with each of you who are reeling from the loss of someone so near and dear to you.  This poem that I wrote 21 years ago came to mind.  I had revised it recently, during the loss of my Uncle Thomas a few months back.  It seems fitting to dedicate this to everyone who is missing a loved one or hurting with new loss at this time.  

I originally wrote the following poem three days before the death of my Grandmother (Granny Howard.)  I was sixteen years old at the time and heartbroken at the knowledge she only had a few days left to live.  She was fighting Melanoma Skin Cancer that had only been diagnosed about nine months before her death.  She was not "old" at all, and she was so very vivacious and just plain "cool" for a grandmother.  She spoiled us five grandchildren greatly, and as the youngest grandchild, I always felt extra tender-loving attention from her when the "older" cousins left me out of things, or so I thought.  :)  In April of 1992, she had a small bump come up on the skin around the hip/groin area.  She tried treating it herself for a while...after all, it was just a "bump," right?  When it showed its stubbornness and wouldn't go away, she went to the doctor about it.  After the biopsy came back, it was that dreaded word no one wants to hear: cancer.  And it was Melanoma, which was even more disturbing, because it is the most-aggressive and deadliest form of skin cancer.  But Granny was young and strong, and the spot was fairly small.  A surgery was scheduled to remove the small growth, and everyone felt the prognosis was pretty good.  After the biopsy results from the surgery came back, things went from bad to worse...detrimental would be a better word.  The cancerous "bump" was located directly above a lymph node in the groin area, and the cancer had invaded that lymph node.  Even more disturbing, the cancer had spread from that one small bump to the lymph node, and had gone on to invade her entire lymphatic system.  Although she felt fine at the time, the bump had created a much bigger problem, and the situation within was not fine.  It quickly took over her entire body, and just nine months after the bump was spotted, she was gone.  Just...gone.  

I remember the day like it was yesterday.  I knew what had happened when I saw my Mom leaving in the car, as I looked out my bedroom window just before getting ready for school one morning.  We had semester finals that day at school, and my Dad made me go on to school, so I wouldn't have to make up the exams later.  He knows how to be really tough on the inside and outwardly calm and composed in the most difficult of circumstances.  After all, he was in the Marine Recon Battalion in the height of the Vietnam War, and he is a church pastor,  so he has seen it all and he has seen it often.  He deals well with losses outwardly.  As a 16 year-old girl losing a grandmother, I did not.  I couldn't bear the thought of going to school after hearing that news, but those of you that know my Dad, know that he isn't much on negotiation when he has made up his mind about something, especially when we were children living under his roof.  I remember sitting in my 11th-grade Literature class trying to take that exam, and tears were pouring out so quickly that I couldn't prevent them from soaking the scan tron answer sheet.  To this day, I am not sure if the teacher ever actually got it to run through the scoring machine or not.  It was so hard for me to lose my Granny then, and, as of eight years ago, I have lost all of my grandparents to the grave.  Time has a way of healing, but the pain of their loss still hits hard sometimes, at the most unexpected of moments.  I pray God's Comfort and Peace upon those of you dealing with loss at this time.

Breaking Free

Bobbie Wright Grogan

(January 12, 1993 & 2013)

Breaking free from my grasp,

I'm left alone without reason -

Victimized by a cold and bitter treason.

I ask again

One last time

A spark of hope ignited.

I pray again

One last time,

And hope I have invited.

I pause to look

One last time...

A tear rolls down my cheek.

It is then I find,

That I can’t rewind

Only God’s peace I seek.

My Life; My Leaf; My Daughter's Feet

A Leaf in the Wind

By Bobbie Wright Grogan

(I wrote the first stanza of this poem in 1990 at age 14, and

 I wrote the second stanza in 2004, after the birth of my first child)

A leaf in the wind

Is always on the go.

Which way?

It doesn’t know.

That’s how I feel,

So confused.

I never know

Which choice to choose.

I’m a leaf in the wind

Always on the go

Who’ll ever know

Which way I’ll blow...

                                                                       *****

I no longer feel like

A leaf in the wind;

So much time

Has passed since then.

Life is now

Much more clear

Than I could see

In my teenage years.

Troubles have come,

And they have gone,

But the life of my child

Has made me whole.

As a leaf in the wind

I needed more,

Although I didn’t know

What to ask for.

My life is now

So complete;

My leaf has fallen

At my daughter’s feet.

Lyme Disease and Christ...Raindrops on Roses

I sometimes make personalized greeting cards with my (amateur) photography of beautiful things in Nature and personal messages and Bible Verses that have touched me or inspired me in some way.  The photo of the rose with the raindrops is on the front of one of my creations with the following text and Bible verse inside: "When we have weathered the storms in life, we emerge stronger and more beautiful than we were beforehand.  You must have endured a few trials in your past to be able to recognize the blessings God desires to bestow on your future.  *'And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap if we faint not.'  Galatians 6:9"

I know I have recently shared this with my Facebook friends, but it is such a powerful and pivotal point in my life and walk with Christ, that I felt I should share again.

During the height of my desperation of Lyme Disease, an inspirational man of God and medical doctor once asked me had I praised God, when I was discussing my poor state of health. I responded with, "Of course, I praise God all the time." He said, "No. I mean have you praised Him for the Lyme? He chose YOU to go through this. He chose you, His child, to endure this, and He has now given you a diagnosis and will HEAL YOU, according to His Will. One day, He'll choose YOU to help others overcome Lyme and other mysterious diseases through your testimony." He continued with, "Don't you see that He saw enough strength in you to be able to handle this, conquer this in His Name, and then change others' lives for Him?"

At his words, chills came over me, as I sat in the doctor's office, and I began to cry in shame for my inconsideration of God's WILL for my life. No, I had never thought to praise God for my sickness. I had praised Him at each improvement, I had praised Him for many other things, but when I began to praise Him in my VALLEY, that's when God's voice in my life became much more personal. And I saw that His reason for creating ME was much greater and too complex to be able to fully grasp with my inferior human mind. It took that VALLEY of desperation and poor health and other valleys in life for me to be able to fully experience the joy that comes when God allows us the blessing of making it to the "Top of the Mountain" in our lives.

In this life, we will ALWAYS have trials and struggles, but Our Heavenly Father wants us to look to Him, trust Him, and lean on Him for guidance, comfort, and love in the times of sadness, sorrow, anger, and despair! He doesn't promise an easy road, and when we try to live for God, we can be sure the Enemy will do everything in his power to bring us down, hurt our testimony, and try to blow out our light for Christ. He will put those people in our pathways and lives that will try to destroy us, our reputations, and portray us in a negative light, in order to discredit us and our testimony in the eyes of fellow man. I believe the more potential and desire we have to serve Christ and do His Will, the more trials and hardships will be cast upon us. But here is the thing, we have to KEEP ON keeping on for CHRIST and for those who NEED Him in their lives. Keep on through the pain, keep on through the sorrow, keep on through the gossip, and keep on through the financial, physical, emotional and spiritual setbacks. Our Jesus Christ WILL conquer the evil that plagues us here on this Earth...He WILL Prevail, and He will deliver His Children from the trials and tribulations we go through, in HIS time. His timing is not always what we would like it to be, but it IS always perfect. He is ALWAYS with us, HE knows ALL, and has a divine plan for us ALL that we cannot comprehend with our small minds.

Praise the Lord in ALL things, even when it's not easy! Today, I especially praise Him for the health I feel and for the family he has blessed me with. Ultimately, I praise Him for my salvation that came only because the of the unimaginable trial that Jesus endured for me and for you, so that we may all choose an eternal life of perfection and deliverance through Him, in Heaven!

Veteran's Day, November 11, 2013

Praise the Lord in ALL Things

What are you thankful for? Today, I am grateful for all the Men and Women who have served our country and sacrificed their safety for our Freedom. I am thankful for my Dad, Robert Wright, who served in 1st Recon Battalion in Vietnam, and for all the stories he has been able to share about his service over the years. I am thankful for my cousin, David, who served in the US Army in Korea and Iraq/Afghanistan, and I am thankful to my cousin, Matthew, who has dedicated himself and devoted his entire adult career to serve in the US Navy. I am thankful to so many others I have known and those I will never know that have given of themselves to make our lives better and ensure our continued freedom here in the USA. Let's be thankful to ALL of our service men and women, and praise God that he created individuals so brave that they are and were willing to risk their lives for the purpose of improving ours. That is true sacrifice of self that is greater than all other sacrifices imaginable, except for one, and that is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who gave his life so that you and I may choose salvation and freedom for life eternal. We do not deserve either, but we must be humbled and grateful that we can receive both Freedom and Eternal life through these amazing sacrifices given by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the American Soldier!

It is in the Hands We Hold that We Find the Ties that Bind!

February 12, 2014 Follow-up below (It is in the Hands We Hold that We Find the Ties that Bind)

(Original Post: Wednesday, November 6, 2013)

Whole-Life" Relationships: Placing One Foot in Front of the Other
by Bobbie Wright Grogan

Sometimes in life, all we can do to get through our emotionally-charged lives and hectic schedules is to simply focus on the here and now. We all go through hard times. Heck, we all go through terrible times. Just think back over your life when something just floored you, took away your world as you had known it at the time, such as a death in your family or a prolonged, debilitating illness that made you realize how fortunate you have been during those months and years of health beforehand. Maybe you lost a job as the primary breadwinner of your family, or you were slapped in the face by the betrayal of a friend or loved one. Some things cut us deeply and shake us to the core of our beings. Some things leave us numb and unresponsive to the minor, more routine components of our daily lives. Still, other occurrences can just sap our energy to the point we are sure we will not be able to function or even get ourselves out of the bed the next day.

It is because of the hectic and chaotic nature of the grind of our daily lives, that we suffer so much when something terrible happens. Life is too busy for most people to enjoy anymore, and this is especially true for new parents or parents, grandparents, and guardians of school-aged children. We have so much going on at work, school, extracurricular activities, and other fluff and chaos that we have gotten ourselves involved in, that our mundane chores become easy to ignore. This is especially true in times of crisis. We HAVE to go to work. We HAVE to go to school. We HAVE to be a mother, father, or guardian of our children, although our busy schedules often prevent us from being the kind of parents that the kids NEED us to be. What should be placed on the back burner in times of crisis should be the things we feel we HAVE to do outside the home. What I am saying is that we need to be able to slow down enough in life to grieve when we need to grieve, love when we have someone to love, and uplift others who need uplifting in their current circumstances, and hold the hands of those who matter to us most. We need to be able to build stock in the relationships in life that actually will enhance your life not stress your life by sucking your precious time away from what should be our primary relationships.

It is way too easy with Social Media nowadays to focus on those menial cyber relationships when our "primary" and vital relationships are suffering, because of it. We get sucked in to "reading" up on others' gossip and grapevines so much, that we feel we MUST make it a daily part of our functional lives, but most of the connections are void of the primary relationships we need to maintain meaning and balance within us and our households. Our spouses need us, our kids need us, our aging relatives need us, and WE need ourselves back. We need to put stock in those things truly valuable in life, not someone who can and will eventually click the 'defriend" button when they disagree with the stance you take on politics, religion, or other controversial topics. Think about how many times we have disagreed with those people in our primary relationships. Most of the time, you have to agree to disagree, if you want to keep nurturing the relationship. You have to sit down and work things out. You have to TALK, specifically, talk with your mouth and not with your typing or texting fingers. You must connect in a much deeper way when it's done in person.

I know this post seems a bit random, but the point I am trying to make is this: When life gets tough or when life is going well, you are not going to base the value in your life on the relationships that aren't made of "lasting" material. You are generally not going to make much progress by just trying to exist the way we have been conditioned to exist in our modern society. You will not lie on your death-bed and wish you had spent more time at work rubbing elbows with your boss or co-workers, or writing the perfect mass-memo to your company employees. You will not lie there and think how meaningful your life was, based on the number of "likes" you received on your Facebook posts or based upon how many people "followed" you on Twitter. No, you will look to those significant, meaningful PRIMARY relationships to glean the value of life. What legacy will you leave with them? What will they do because of what you did for them during your time together? Will your children get married and ignore their spouses and children in lieu of getting that perfectly funny status posted? Will they seek a career that drains them to the point they have no energy left over for their loved ones who need them? Will money be their focus or will they focus on what they can do for others with that money? Will they spend the majority of their waking hours with people that are not concerned about their well-being, as we do in our careers and numerous extracurriculars we require ourselves to participate in? What will they believe in? More importantly, WHO will they believe in, because of you? What lessons have they learned from you that are worth passing down to the generations that follow them?

You see, when those hard times hit, and they WILL hit again and again, we should turn to those who need us and those we need, not to the people that must be updated online or in the office. We trudge forward in bad times, trying so hard not to let our sadness and pain shine through to those who really don't care about us either way. We shouldn't take the time that loved ones, especially children and spouses, need of us. We really should be laughing with loved ones, crying with loved ones, and "sharing" our lives with loved ones, instead of the ones we call "friends" or "followers." We ALL have days that it's all we can do to put one foot in front of the other, just as we HAVE to do while at work or outside activities we choose to do. Our energy should go into something more lasting, something amazingly special, something called "whole-life" relationships. Those are the ones that matter. Those are the ones we should be saving our energy for. Those are the ones that LAST!

Follow-up, February 12, 2014:

“It is in the hands we hold that we find the ties that bind.”  

~ Bobbie Wright Grogan

I took the above photo on a trip a few years back when my family went to visit with my sister, Stephanie, in Islamorada, Florida.  Shown left to right are the following family members: sister, daughter, husband, son, and father.   I love the way the photo embodies to me what true "FAMILY" should be...connected together and united in love.

Life is too short to dwell on the negative; focus on the positive. God wants us all as His Children to be happy in Him and His Will for our lives. When you walk hand in hand with Jesus, He will show us very clearly the things we ought to do and not to do with his leading hand. He also speaks to those who ‘listen,’ but it takes a true servant of God to take His words and put them into action in our own individual lives.  I aim to accomplish this wise objective in my own walk with Jesus Christ.      ~ Bobbie 

Wright House News: 2013 Wright Family Christmas

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