Favorite Summertime Memories - Women of Faith Wednesday

Favorite summertime memory....Oh, what to choose???? I can't choose just one, so I'll pick four to share.

As a child, I always felt I was Pa Tootsie's favorite grandchild. Maybe I was, maybe I wasn't, but he always made me feel that way. Pa always had a way to make us feel special. What I remember most is how he would stash away our favorite treats for when we would come to visit. Anytime of the year, we would find peppermint sticks or rootbeer candy, but during the summer, we could always count on finding banana popsicles in the freezer. I loved watermelon as a kid (still do), and Pa Tootsie would buy me a watermelon and I'd get to come to his house and eat it with him. I'll never forget the summer he pulled out snow that he had put in Ziploc bags for us. You can bet we were the only kids in town having a snowball fight that summer! When Pa Tootsie passed away in the summer of 2006, I knew my kids would never get to enjoy those same treats from him. However, I remind them often of those times when we share a watermelon or banana popsicle.

In the summer of 1998, I went on vacation with my boyfriend and his family. When we finally arrived at the condo we would be staying at, he and I rushed down to the beach to watch the sunset. As we watched, he told me how much he loved me and I reminded him how much I loved him. Then he got to squirming around. I asked him what he was doing and he told me that his underwear were riding up. Little did I know that as I continued to watch the sunset, he was holding an engagement ring out in front of me. He asked me to marry him and I said yes (I still hadn't seen the ring and we had always talked about getting married, so I thought this was just one of those times). He asked me again and I finally saw the ring. I cried yes and we kissed. We will celebrate our 11th anniversary this year.

A few years after we married, my husband and I decided we wanted to start a family. Shortly after that, we were pregnant and found ourselves living with his parents after we bought a house that needed remodeling. Nine months and 52 pounds later, it was the middle of July. It was hot. I was HUGE. Our house was....not finished. Now don't get me wrong. I love my husband's parents dearly and I was very appreciative of the fact that they invited us to stay with them, but I was ready to get into our home and have that baby. I remember being in bed one night (did I mention I was 9 months pregnant?)praying, "God, please don't let me have this baby yet. I can't be living here and have this baby. I have to be in my house." Well, let me tell ya, God answers prayers. Even though there were countless times I thought I was going to go into labor at Lowe's, I didn't. We moved in on a Monday and I went into labor that Thursday at noon. My dear sweet Colin was born just after midnight on July 26, 2002. We welcomed him home a couple days later with our next door neighbors (my mother and father in law) there to greet us.

The summer of 2004, my life changed forever. You see, my husband and I had been church looking. We had gone to a couple and found ourselves at Calvary Baptist Church. That Father's Day, Dr. Copass would be doing a baby dedication. I wanted to participate with Colin, although he was almost 2 years old, and no longer considered a baby. I kept trying to call Dr. Copass at his office, but either I got no answer, or Peggy the secretary would tell me that he was not there. Then the Friday before Father's Day, I had some errands to run in town. I was trying to decide whether or not to go by the church to see if Dr. Copass was there. There was this battle going on inside me: one part insisting that he would not be there and it would be a waste of time and one part urging me to just give it a try. I was at the post office and the church was just 2 blocks away. I decided to give it a try. He was there. When I talked with Dr. Copass about the dedication service, he asked me something I never expected. He asked me if I were a Christian. Immediately, I began crying. There was his answer, no I wasn't. He asked me a few questions about what I knew and believed about Jesus. Evidently, I knew the right answers because the next thing I know I am praying and surrendering my life to Jesus. In that instant, I felt different. The battle that had been going on inside me earlier was over. I know knew what it was about. Satan knew what was going to happen to me if I went to the church and didn't want me to go. But because I decided to "give it a try," Jesus won the battle for my soul that day. I'll never forget that day. Every decision I have made in my life since then has been based on that decision to give my life to Jesus. Without this day, I would not have been burdened about the fact that my 80 year old grandfather who was dying of lung cancer was not a Christian. I prayed for his salvation and God answered that prayer. Without that Friday in July, my marriage would not be strong like it is. God is the center of my marriage. I seek his guidance in being the best wife I can be for my husband. My husband would not have been pushed down the aisle (that's what he says it felt like) when I joined the church. Without that glorious day, my children would not know the love of Jesus. Colin would not have surrendered his life to Jesus and my two other sons would not be learning of his love and how to live like Him. Without that day, I would be who I am today.


To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven.
Ecclesiastes 3:1