MY LOVING TRIBUTE TO: "BULAH FAYE VAIL"

Big Sis, it's so very difficult for me to comprehend that it has been six months already since Ms. Bulah Faye Vail has gone to be with the Lord. I am posting my loving tribute in her memory, as I was unable to attend her service in California. Rest in Perfect Peace, Bulah Faye! She will forever be loved and missed by us all.....Little Sis

MY LOVING TRIBUTE TO:
"BULAH FAYE VAIL"

1/25/28 - 7/29/10

Bulah Faye Vail was so much more to me than my best friend, Deborah's mother. She was my dear friend as well and we shared a very special bond that lasted for over 38 years. Our lives were entertwined and a part of an extraordinary, extended family.

Bulah Faye had a wonderful "Southern" charm about her and a very quick wit to match that would keep us all in stitches for hours. Bulah Faye had no problem telling it like it was...she was a cross between Erma Bombeck and later on she developed into "Maxine" with some of her most popular sarcasms. I find myself still using some of her slang words like "Shoot Fuzzies" or "Spittin' Nails." She absolutely loved her husband John (who passed away way too young) about 37 years ago. She never dated or remarried because he was her "one and only" True Love.

Bulah Faye was a strong-minded, strong-willed woman whom I admired immensely. She lovingly adored her children, Deborah and Michael and was a strong influential "Matriarch" for her family and grandchildren - Stevie, Brandi, Lisa, Brian, Michael and great grandchildren, Melanie, Tiffany and the great grandsons. She truly loved her family and all of her friends.

She was very well read and she had quite the knack for decorating in romantic, vintage style. She was meticulous and one of the most organized person I have ever met in my life. Everything had a place and was well kept with "perfection." She orchestrated her life down to the last minute. She was indistinctively, down-right uniquely, AMAZING!!!

She loved and lived life to the fullest and made wonderful lasting memories to treasure with her family and my best friend, Deborah, who was her Mom's best friend as well.

Bulah never missed sending me a special Christmas card every year and quite lovingly sent me Sympathy cards with Obituaries when I lost my beloved Mother and Brother in March of 2005. She was kind, loving and extremely compassionate. Just recently I received a treasured "gift" from her. One of her vintage "handkerchiefs" from her collection. I will forever cherish it as a token of her love for me.

Although we feel the deep sense of loss and grief for her passing; we can also search our hearts to find peace and comfort knowing that Bulah Faye Vail has finally claimed her "Southern" mansion with the Lord. She is being embraced in his Almighty, Loving Arms along with her beloved husband - John, her beloved mother - Granny Vance and all of her loved ones that have gone before her.

May the Almighty Lord continue to provide Deborah, John and entire family members and friends the strength they need to get through this most difficult time and know that as we continue on our life's journey; we will all be reunited together in Heaven, "One Fine Day!"

I will love and miss you always, Bulah Faye Vail; and I know I have said this to you a million times but a very special thanks to Almighty God for blessing us with "YOU" and a very special thanks to you for blessing me with your beautiful daughter; my Deborah, my "one and only" TRUE LOVE of 38 years!!!

Rest in Peace my Dearest Friend, until we meet again....Always, always,
Kathi

My Egg Friend

Impacting another person’s life is often a secret we may never know. But when we do find out that we have touched someone, there is a joy that is hard to put into words. Recently, I contacted a Facebook friend about this Blog. In her response she added, “you have a very special place in my heart since you are the one who initiated my knowledge and relationship with our Father.” I was total shock with these words, for I never knew she considered me in this way. That particularly gray and gloomy day suddenly became bright. It also brought to mind my “Egg Friend”.

My "Celebrate Recovery" Journey-First Step

Big Sis, I know that you are aware that I have been recently laid off and unemployed for the past 4 months. I am not regimentally getting up at 5:00 a.m. anymore so that I can get all "stressed out" rushing to fight the traffic for an hour commute. I also do not have to put up with all of the irate "crazies" at the last place of my employment in the high-stressed position that I held for the past 3 years. I really should be doing a "Happy Dance" about all of this wonderful new freedom that has been bestowed upon me due to "budget cuts" but don't get me wrong, although I do enjoy the schedule of "not having a schedule" to maintain for the time being to catch my breath, I completely feel like a "fish out of water." A job certainly should never define who you are but when you are working you feel "purposeful" and "useful."

My Prayer Thoughts

Lorraine, thank you for sharing your "beautiful" and "inspiring" prayer that you wrote....words to encourage us for God's strength, purpose, grace and trust.

As you already know, I was born and raised in a very strict, disciplined Catholic home. Our prayers were always very repetitious such as praying the Rosary which consisted of "The Lord's Prayer", "Hail Mary's" and "Glory Be's." Although during that period of my life, I believed that I was praying but I never actually felt anything stirring inside me. I never felt a close connection with the Lord by repeating the same prayers over and over. Also, my dear Mother (God rest her soul) had taught us to pray to the "Saints" when in need. For example, if you lost something, you would pray to Saint Jude to help find that something. There were thousands of "Saints" for thousands of requests. I remember questioning; why not just ask "God" for some assistance?

To me, Catholicism is sacred, ritualistic and symbolistic. Engraved in my heart, I carry a deep sense of "roots" that I will always cherish but I have enriched my spiritual life by becoming a "Christian." And yes, I also do believe that Catholics are Christians, as well. My intention is not to offend anyone and their belief system but I was and I am still in awe of the prayers that come from one's heart. They are meaningful, sincere, encouraging, inspirational and they stir something inside me to bring me into a deeper relationship with the Lord.

When I first read Bonnie T. Barry's prayer for Grace, I was genuinely moved by her prayer. Both you and I have learned that we are "enlightened" and "encouraged" by prayers that are meaningful, whether or not they are written or coming from the heart. I am still learning how to be comfortable saying a prayer from the heart "aloud" after being conditioned to say repetitive prayers for the majority of my life. I do find myself praying and talking to God throughout the entire day which is a remarkable discovery because I really do believe in the "Power of Prayer." I know that I need the Lord and his assistance, 24/7 and praying is a continual lifeline that gets me through the day. As I may struggle to pray "aloud" at times, I am also encouraged that maybe one day I might sit in reverent silence, reflect and compose a prayer from my heart. Thank you again my Big Sis!

Good Baptists Never Read Prayers

I understand what you are saying Kathi about God teaching you new lessons; I just learned something significant last week. Remember the prayer: “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord the soul to keep, If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take”? This was the first prayer I ever learned. Isn’t this a strange prayer for a 5 year old to recite before a restful night's sleep? I don’t know its source, but when I Googled it I found out that the first printed edition was in Boston in 1737.

Since that childhood time, I’ve learned to pray, always from my heart, spontaneously, and always stamping it at the end “In Jesus Name”. This is how all good Baptists learn to pray. In my later years, when I saw on television a significant event where a prominent Pastor or Priest was invited to give the benediction, I smugly reacted to them as I saw them read their prayers, “not very spiritual,” I judged.

Two months ago I started attending a new church near our home. I was so impressed with the superb, thoughtful prayers from our new pastor. One Sunday, I peaked up as he prayed and noticed he was reading it! How could this be from such a spiritual shepherd? Later that week, I was browsing the web and I came upon the most inspiring Blog by Bonnie T. Barry.  I looked at a prayer she had written, it was incredible and my prejudices of written prayers finally dissolved. It was so great I shared it with you and we both agreed that this was a prayer that we could say daily. The name of it is “Give me Grace”, http://www.redbubble.com/people/miracles.

Since that time I’ve purposed that thoughtful writing and reading of prayers is a wonderful spiritual exercise. Below is my first attempt and I hope not my last.

"Good Morning Lord, This is the day you have made, let me rejoice and be glad in it! Today, nothing will come my way that you haven't already given Your approval of and will give me Your Strength to live in freedom. Each event today will have a greater purpose that will either show me more about myself or more about You. I ask for Grace Father, to trust you more, as you grow me to be more like Jesus and that may I yeild to that purpose. I ask for your Wisdom for each decision I will have to make today. May I desire to Love and serve you more today than I did yesterday. Amen"

Eyelids vs Heart

I have never really thought of myself as being a particularly "vain" person but as the aging process seems to be in "full force"...I'm struggling with a few serious issues, at least from my perspective. It's bad enough that I'm trying to adjust to my hairline that is receding rapidly and that my eyebrows are so sparse they are barely visible because they have relocated to my chin area. My most recent issue that is severely tormenting me is my "droopy eyelids." They feel so incredibly heavy that I have to struggle to keep my eyes open. Being on a fixed income I knew that I could not afford cosmetic surgery so I got online and Googled "droopy eyelids" and was totally amazed that I found a website that sold "Eye Magic." A miracle product that you applied with no surgery involved. I took a quiet moment and in silence I thanked my most awesome "God" for directing me to this website. I waited very impatiently for the next three days until this small envelope containing a miracle, self-adhesive "fix" for my shattered "self-esteem" to arrive in the mail. The elation that I felt when I saw the "Eye Magic" label was indescribable.

I took my prized package quickly into the bathroom and scanned the instructions. This looked like a "piece of cake" to apply...They are actually little moon-shaped strips that you apply a small amount of adhesive to and then gently place in the crease of your eyelid. The very first try, I had it secured onto one eyelid and my reaction was...This is going to be "phenomenally great!" I actually did pretty well the next few days applying them. They were holding up what seemed like tons of excess weight. Even though deep down I secretly sensed that I really needed to have these eyes "circumcised" but these miracle strips were going to do the job for now and I was going to feel a whole lot better about myself and this aging thing.

It was the fourth day of the application when I got a rude awakening. I tried to apply the left strip and something just went terribly awry. The more I tried to properly apply and re-apply the strips, I slowly started to feel a sudden rush of "panic." I looked into the mirror each time I rearranged the strip and each time I looked more and more like and aged old "shar pei".. I tried every which way to adjust and re-adjust but the results were coming up the same. After wasting close to an hour, I felt completely defeated but I knew I had to go grocery shopping. I somehow managed to apply the "eye magic" strips but knew I could not use any type of eye contact with anyone because they would be able to see through my glasses and know that I was a "total and complete fake". It was so obvious that they were on crooked. Who was I trying to fool? Myself, I guess....

I learned a valuable lesson that day. I cried and sobbed all the way home plus I cried myself to sleep. Although I grieved for the "youth" that I lost and longed for, I knew that my Lord and my Savior still loved me and will continue to love me just the way I am, "droopy eyelids" and all. He created me and has a "perfect plan" just for me. I must always remember that "HE" is looking at my "heart" and not my "eyelids."

P.S. When I shared this experience with my wonderful, loving and compassionate daughter, she invited me over for lunch and told me to bring the "Eye Magic" strips with me... She gently and tenderly showed me that I was trying to apply them too high above the eye crease and when she applied them lower, right above my eyeliner....Thank you, "Jesus"...a small miracle had taken place that morning and I was back in the business of trying to grow old gracefully!

New Beginnings

OK...........it's begun Little Sis! We're just in the creative stage, and it all has to be approved by you. See what you think of the title of the Blog and description of it. I thought it should look like fun would happen here...my thoughts are to Inspire, Relate, and LAUGH!  If we keep these thoughts in mind, whatever we write will be worthwhile.  Hey, maybe I should put those on the site...?? Yes, I just did.

I just added my bio. How do we summarize ourselves in 25 words or less? Good luck! We can't forget to share how we met, that'll bring some smiles for sure.

Think about your favorite books and internet sites. We can add those. Also, I have a friend who is going to Malawi, Africa as a Missionary in a few month. I thought it would be great to add his link to our blog. Also, if you decide to go to Celebrate Recovery we can add information about that ministry. The ideas are beginning to roll.