Good Good Friends - SOLD

I sketched this picture today to use as an example for a painting later and it reminds me of the gift of good, good friends who are friends forever.

I cannot believe it was almost 20 years ago when I worked as the Director of Women's Services at Cullman Regional Medical Center.  I met some good, good friends there.  At the time I managed Labor and Delivery and the Nursery, a couple of my other friends managed ICU, the Medical Unit and the Surgical Unit.  We became very close and we supported each other through thick and thin.  One year we decided to take a trip together and attend the Jazz Festival in New Orleans.  Maybe because we were responsible for 24 hour a day call on our units we felt a little like renegades to all be away from the hospital for a weekend together.  We had wonderful charge nurses who took on our responsibilities and we felt free!  We ate at Emeril's restaurant, we went shopping and we battled the wild rush of fans at the festival.  It was a time to remember.  The shopping trip turned out to be one we still laugh about.  Sheila, one of the friends and I were walking into the mall and remarked on how cool it was and how we really did not bring appropriate clothes but, hey, we were on vacation.  We could just buy what we needed.  Sheila is tall, blond and regal looking.  This particular day she had on cropped pants made out of a green army pattern.  This was before the day when "fanny packs" were making a come back and Shelia had on a black "fanny pack" to keep up with all of her money while we shopped.  We went in to a store where they had sweaters on sale for $5!  Sheila said she really needed a sweater since the temperature was getting cooler.  She found one on the sale table, the only problem was that it was orange.  Not just orange but bright orange.  She said, "Marcia should I do this?  I mean this looks horrible with my green army fatigue pants?"  We were in New Orleans!  We were having a carefree weekend so I went with the moment and said, "Sheila! Of course you can get it.  We are in New Orleans and no one knows us here.  Who do you think would say anything?  The fashion Police?"

We enjoyed the entire weekend and actually walked all over New Orleans.  

About a month later I was sitting in my office and Sheila ran in and threw a Glamour magazine on my desk.  She then quoted me and said, "Who would care?  The fashion Police?"  There on the pages of the magazine was Sheila complete in army fatigue cropped pants, a fanny pack and a bright orange sweater.  Her eyes were blacked out so unless you knew it was Sheila it would be hard to tell ---kinda.  Anyway, the magazine had a page dedicated to fashion statements.  They were called "Do's" and "Don'ts". These were outfits that you might want to "do" because they were in fashion or "don't" because this particular look just would not work.   Unfortunately, Sheila's wardrobe was labeled as a "Don't"!!

I had lunch several months ago with Sheila and another friend from that trip, Paula.  We still laugh about that.  Sheila has not let me forget it.  I am so thankful for good friends but I will no longer be giving out fashion advice. :)

God Winks - Gifted

When I was 19 years for only 2 weeks I got married.  I won't even go into how long ago that was.  My husband was in college and pastoring 4 small churches.  We lived in Waterloo, Alabama which is the end of the road - any road.  We were the youngest people in the small town by about 40 years.  My best friend was my neighbor, a retired Methodist Minister's wife who was 72 at the time.  Mrs. Jaggers was very small and fragile looking except for her hair which looked like the pictures you see of Albert Einstein.  She looked like she had been electrocuted but she was special.    She  and her husband gave me a wonderful gift when I met them.  They told me that they thought I was a smart young woman and they wanted to pay my college tuition while I lived there.  What a gift that changed my life.  Audie was still in college and there was no way we could pay for two college degrees at that time. 

 Every day Mrs. Jaggers would walk with me around our little neighborhood and tell me stories of her life.  I am sure she was trying to mentor me as a minister's wife as I was clueless.   One day she told me about the birth of her 5 sons.  She then told me about the birth of her one daughter.  She told me that her daughter had died at birth and she cried as she relayed the story.  In my young, naive mind I thought, " that was really a long time ago and I would expect her to be over that by now."  But I remembered that day. We moved from that little community but Mrs. Jaggers remained in my heart and life.  

Six years went by and I found myself as a young mother who had just had a baby girl die.  I was devastated.  Even though I had a 2 1/2 year old son and another newborn daughter, I was very mad and did not understand why God would let my child die.  Several people tried to comfort me during that time but nothing worked.  I did not want to hear one more person say, "God needed a little rose bud in Heaven."  Are you kidding me?  God needed my daughter to make a rosebud?  I know they were trying to just say something but it did not work.  One night I got a call from a little 78 year old friend who said "God will come to you."  I could believe that message because it came from Mrs. Jaggers and I had seen her life and I remembered.

It was at this time that I two prints that I loved.  One was a little blond boy who looked like my son and the other was a little girl.  I asked Audie if I could get these prints framed.  I told him maybe they would be a reminder to me of the children I had and I would let go of the grief of the little one I did not have.  He told me that our hospital bills were so huge at the time that we really did not have frames in our budget. Now, I am just being real here.  I said, "Not only does my child die but I cannot get these damn pictures framed!"

Two weeks passed and one day I received a large package in the mail.  The package was from a professor at the University of Kentucky.  I had worked for several professors there while Audie was in graduate school.  There was a note inside the package that read, "Marcia, I cannot explain this but when I saw these pictures I knew you had to have them. " Inside the package were the identical prints to the ones I had - matted and framed.   I felt like I had received a letter from God.  He knew me.  I still did not have answers to hard questions, but God knew me.  

Squire Rushnell wrote a book about God Winks.  In it he says that many people experience coincidences in their everyday lives that are too strange to be chalked up to just mere chance.  He calls them God Winks.  A personal communication from God to an individual, which is usually a circumstance or event that seems like a coincidence but is too personal and unbelievable to be so.  God Winks.

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Trust- SOLD

10" x 10" oil on linen panel

Recently I have been painting some high key paintings (primarily light tones) and because this is different for me I sometimes find myself asking, "what am I trying to say?"  Then I might add one stroke - just one stroke and the painting feels complete.  I have prepared to paint for years by attending classes, reading, studying and drawing, and painting and painting.  Why is it so hard to trust that creative spirit that has prepared?

The Look of Love - SOLD

24" x 24" oil on deep sided canvas with sides painted

Magnolia - SOLD

If you live in the South you can probably smell this right now.  I love magnolias.

Belle- SOLD

Home is where someone runs to greet you.

Holding On - NFS

This is nurse's week and I have been thinking alot about my many years as a nurse.  I worked as  a Women's Health Practitioner in several roles so my nursing career focused on mothers and babies.  I remember one mother who came into the unit in labor and she had no idea how far along her pregnancy was.  This was years ago when ultrasounds were not very sophisticated, as they are today.  I remember the doctor performing an ultrasound on our very old equipment and he told me to schedule a helicopter transport for the patient to a high risk facility because she was in active labor and the baby looked very small on ultrasound and we were not equipped at our small community hospital to offer the care this infant would need.  I went to tell the patient of the plan and she said, "I cannot do that.  Please deliver my baby here.  I do not have transportation and if my baby is born in another city I will not have a way to go back and forth to be with him.  I have other children at home  and no money."  I told the doctor what she said and he said, "well we will do the best we can."  The baby's heart rate started to drop and it was evident the patient would require a cesarean section delivery.  As I was getting her ready for surgery, the patient asked me, "would you do something for me?"  I said, "Yes" thinking she might want me to call someone but instead she asked, "would you pray for my baby?"  I laid my hands on her tummy and prayed.   I do admit, it was a selfish prayer asking God to please help me, the doctor and the pediatrician know how to care for this small infant.  As the patient was taken to surgery, I got the nursery ready to admit a premie.  When I heard the pediatrician come down the hall from surgery, he was walking.  My heart dropped because I thought the baby surely had died during delivery and he had no reason to hurry.  But I was wrong, he said, "Marcia, come to the warmer."  He opened his little blanketed bundle and there was a kicking, squirming, whimpering little fellow who weighed in at 6 pounds, 3 ounces and he was breathing without assistance.  

Later the obstetrician came back to the station and he asked me, "What went on back there?  The patient said you saved her baby's life?"  I told him I had prayed for her and the baby.  Not sure how he would respond I told him I would never force my beliefs on someone but the patient had asked me to pray for her so I did.  He then smiled and said, "could you be on call for that because it is a lot easier than a helicopter transport."

This Sunday is Mother's Day and I celebrate mothers.

This painting was completed on my iPad - just a quick sketch but I loved the picture.

Happy Mothers Day.