2018.08.17: So Much and Something Little

I have so much to write about:

• Summer in Minnesota pack up at my Dad’s;
• Two back-to-back conferences in Helsinki, Finland, with a presentation at each;
• Two couples visiting back-to-back, including my dear mentors from Fuller Seminary;
• The start of the fall planning with employee workshop and faculty meeting days (with so much Swedish); and
• Anya’s university in London.

All these will have to come later. Tonight, I share about a wonderful surprise.

I was in my office, where I had placed a little, cheap plastic frame with a little saying by the missionary, C.T. Studd. It was my mom’s, and it was a saying that has impressed me in my life. I thought about throwing it out, but I kept it, even though it had little value.

The cardboard backing had a little pull out stand, which had a writing under the flap. It was a gift to my mom from her pastor, Pastor Brandt (the one who paraphrased the Psalms for the book Psalms Now!) and, I believe, later officiated at Mom and Dad’s wedding. But the stand was upside down, so I thought I’d turn it around.

Pulling off the back, there was a crumpled piece of thick paper. But this was not a scrap for tension within the frame, as I originally thought. It was a picture of my mom, her mother and brother, and I think her aunt.

Here’s a close up.

I have never seen a picture of my mom as a girl after age 3 (with her new glasses). Anya and I figure that she is about 7 years old here.

In the chaos of sorting and packing, the treasures were finding pictures of my mom that we had never seen before. I don’t recall seeing any pictures of her between 3 and after high school! These were wonderful.

I wonder what did get thrown out.

With blessings,

Beth