Yearly Archives: 2010

August 8, 1945 (By Louisa & Birgitta)

Posted on by

God was good to us on August 8, 1945.

Well I guess technically it wasn’t until 42 and 44 years after that, 1988 and 1990. Those were the years that we (Louisa and Birgitta) were born into the Nyman family and purposely placed under the care of our understanding, insightful, and patient mom that we lovingly refer to as Midge.

Though it’s been painful and traumatic losing our dad at 21 and 19, we know we’ve been blessed beyond measure when it comes to our family. Having only two decades with our dad was better than a lifetime with any other dad.

Now more than ever we cherish Midge . . .her friendship, guidance, and the fact that she’s our mom.

As Midge’s two youngest daughters, we feel grateful to have such honest relationships with her. She listens with an open mind never judging the way we speak, what we think, or even what we pierce. As a result, we both without a doubt consider her our closest friend.

This morning we were talking with her about her birth date. We realized that she lived the majority of her life before either of us were even born. It was a crazy concept to wrap our young minds around. All we know is life with her as our mom. The fact that Midge has a good four decades on us is reason enough to listen to her advice. Over the years we’ve learned, unfortunately with lots of mistakes and unnecessary heartache, that what she told us in the first place was usually correct. As we get older her guidance and opinions are becoming more and more valuable to us, and we seek it out because we know she receives wisdom from God.

Margaret, Meg, Mama, Marg, Midge, Marni . . . she’s known and loved as any of these, but most importantly to us, she’s known and loved as our mom. Her devotion to us has always been obvious and we’ve never for a moment doubted her love. Growing up we were fortunate enough to have our mama at home with us. Quality time was always a giant part of our childhood and still is to this day. There’s no one we’d rather spend our time with.

Today is Midge’s birthday and we’re blessed to spend it with her. As we celebrate her life we can’t help but miss Papa. August this year is bittersweet because Midge is 65 today and Papa would’ve been 65 on August 18th. God knew what He was doing though when He gave us the mom we have. She’s a woman of strong faith who leads us by her example.

Happy Birthday Midge! We love you more than words can express.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5)

It’s in there.

Posted on by

After we’ve bought a certain kind of car, we feel a camaraderie with matching cars on the road. Although I’ve never owned a Toyota before, now my eyes land on them, particularly Highlanders. “What a handsome vehicle,” my brain tells me. But before my purchase, I’d never heard of them.

The other day I pulled up behind a Highlander at a red light. I was admiring its silvery color when I noticed something interesting about the Toyota insignia. The letters T-O-Y-O-T-A are all present in that one symbol. And  suddenly it made perfect sense. The loopy design I used to think resembled a man in a cowboy hat was just a clever way to embed the company name into their emblem.

Before the stop light turned green, God put an interesting thought into my head. He, too, is hidden in a similar way, not the letters of his name but his touch, his influence and his wisdom, embedded in the world around us.

I think of God every time I see a flower with five perfectly arranged petals instead of six. It would have been easier to make it symmetrical. I see him hidden in the endlessness of outer space as the Hubble continues to travel and show us more of the heavens. Mankind thinks we’ll eventually see the end of it, but my guess is there is none.

God is hidden in the conception of a baby. With fertilization comes the full potential of a complicated human being. The invisible DNA, present from the first cell division, is so unique it can be trusted to finger a criminal and send him to prison.

The Lord has also hidden himself in the circumstances that come into people’s lives. Our family “saw” him again and again during the 42 days of Nate’s cancer as coincidences became too numerous to be happenstance. He is also hidden in the unexplainable phenomenon of changed lives, of radical turn-arounds that defy logic and probabilities.

God is hidden, yet he calls to us. “Come and find me!” And he intends to let us discover him. This invitation is, of course, the opposite of our M.O. We try to hide things from God, hoping he’ll never ask about them. It might be a deed we’re not proud of or a secret sin we don’t want to stop. It might be a way of thinking we know is wrong.

How ridiculous to think we can hide anything from the Almighty. He has the ability to see beyond x-ray vision right into our thoughts. Nothing can be hidden from him. We would do well to follow his example by telling him, “Come and find me.” But we should also add something he never has to say to us: “I’ll keep no secrets from you.”

“ ‘Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?’ declares the Lord. ‘Do not I fill heaven and earth?’ declares the Lord.” (Jeremiah 23:24)

Doggie Defender (by Jack)

Posted on by

After reading yesterday’s post, I feel the need to make a case for myself in reference to the issue of protecting Midge. In last night’s blog about fear, she glossed over the idea of me playing a key role in looking out for her. Although I’ve always been aware of her needs, during these last nine months since Pidge died, I’ve made that JOB ONE.

But lest you think I’m all “give” and no “get”, I want to set the record straight. My doggie pals and I agree that food is of utmost importance, but immediately after that comes affection. And Midge gives me plenty of that. Every head-pat, back-stroke and tummy-scratch puts heaven on earth for me.

And speaking of heaven, that brings me to the subject of God. I am a deeply spiritual animal, and I do agree with Midge that God is in charge of us both. However, if she experiences fear for any reason, I believe God has put me next to her to leap into action. If she is in need, the Creator will prompt me to tend to it. So don’t think he and I aren’t working in tandem on a regular basis.

Another “get” for me is Midge’s voice. All of us dogs thrive on happy talk. She speaks to me often, and I hang on her every word. Knowing I’m her only audience doesn’t mitigate my pleasure, and I eagerly expend wag-energy letting her know this.

Last night she sat down next to me on the floor, and we had a lengthy conversation. She cooed about how much she loved me and instructed me to live a long time. I’ll be eight in October and am feeling my age, but I promised I’d do my best. As we conversed, she used words; I used my eyes and tail. We understood each other perfectly.

Once in a while Midge is displeased with me, and it breaks my heart when I mess up. For example, last week I got nature’s call after she’d gone to bed. Even though we’d taken our regular midnight walk, several hours later an unexpected urgency came over me.

The next morning I heard her talking loudly to me from the basement corner where I had tried to hide my mess. Since then, I’ve been too embarrassed to go down there, even when Midge does. But I do wait for her at the top of the stairs.

As for protecting her during a break-in? I faithfully demonstrate my ever-readiness each time someone approaches our front door, using my loudest voice (which otherwise is quiet) as a sample of what I’d do in an emergency. If I sensed a smidgen of fear in Midge, I’d be all over an intruder. Some people say I look like a bear. That suits me fine, especially if it would terrorize someone threatening my Midge.

I’m a fortunate canine. Many of my buddies lead aimless lives without direction or purpose, but I’ve been given a calling. So, in conclusion, no one needs to worry about my mistress. Until God takes me to heaven, I’ll protect her like a ferocious, intimidating bear protects its cubs.

“Love always protects. Love never fails.” (1 Corinthians 13:7a,8a)