05.11.10
Posted in Believe, Heart Tugs, Inspirational, Love at 8:46 pm by Sandi Rauwolf
A simple truth poured into my heart last week that I want to share with all of you. We currently live in a busy society with the mindset being that if we are not keeping our minds and hands busy at all times, then we will risk being passed over, have missed opportunities or be labeled an “under” achiever. Yes, it is important to keep our minds and hands busy but at what cost? A small voice within my heart posed this question,
“Does the brain or hands have any hope of working without the heart beating?”
I paused in awe at the deep meaning of that question before I answered,
“Well, no.”
“So the entire body whether it is the head, the hand, the feet or the mouth are entirely useless without the heart?”
“Yes, completely useless!” I say as chills run thru me.
This has so many meanings, here are a few: 1) We need to step back and ensure our heart is centered where it should be – putting God first, our family and then the rest of life, 2) The body (i.e God’s children – that’s us! :) has no hope of succeeding if we continue to neglect the heart (i.e. God’s heart, His Love that we are to receive and share with others by living it), and 3) when we have pure hearts filled with unconditional Love that is the foundation needed to ensure the rest of the body gets everything it needs to have Life.
On the way to my mom’s on Sunday for Mother’s day, Ty and I were having a great talk as we often do on family road trips. I shared with him what had dropped into my heart last week and how it is time for God’s heart to come back to the earth. During our conversation I had a heart tug to look out the window and up to the sky. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I said, “Ty do you see what I’m seeing?” He said, “Yes, wow – you have to take a picture!” So I hurriedly grabbed my I-Phone from my purse and took this picture (God and Ty are my witnesses that this photo is original and has not been doctored in any way):
What do you see?
Let me crop it into a couple pictures.
Look again … now what do you see?
I see a left-hand holding a heart in the palm of its hand. Wait, there’s more – let me crop the bottom of the picture.
What do you see?
A Heart!!!
If you look closely at the first picture again, you will see the left-hand with the heart in its hand on the top. You then look to the center of the photo and it ‘s as if the heart was released and imprinted part of itself thru the cloud it fell thru.
And on the bottom of the screen you see the heart floating down to earth.
I am still in awe because that summed up all I have been feeling in my heart. God truly is extending His hand releasing His Love upon the earth. It’s up to us what we do with it.
I have to wonder if anyone else saw this beautiful writing in the sky on Sunday. I feel blessed for seeing Love in everything but to see it written across the sky was a Mother’s Day gift that I will always remember.
May your life be filled with the ability to see Love in all things and to understand that …
“Although it is good to keep the mind/hands busy at work, if we neglect the heart then the mind/hands have no hope of succeeding”.
I am thankful for this Word He poured into my heart last week and pray it blesses you as much as it has me.
With much Love to you all!
Sandi Rauwolf :)
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04.11.10
Posted in Blessings, Encouragement, Inspirational, Love, Self Reflection, Simplicity, Thankfulness, Uncategorized at 7:14 am by Sandi Rauwolf
Life is a precious gift and we don’t know the hour or the day of when we will leave this life. At that moment, there is mourning and our focus changes to a time when we no longer focus on life but upon death. Death, a projection of opposite imagery of Life meets in the middle to share a common bond, a precious gift.
We lost my great Aunt a week and a half ago to pancreatic cancer. She fought a long 17 month battle with the most painful cancer. She knew there was a better place than this suffering and did not fear death, she welcomed it – to her and all those who loved her, we embraced that day thru tears as a precious gift … an end to her suffering.
On Saturday they held the memorial service. I sat there listening to the Pastor paint this absolutely beautiful picture of my Aunt’s life. Different people shared with him things that she had done which had impacted their lives. I sat there with tears streaming down my face because I was so proud that she was MY Aunt. She lived a true life of Love. She wasn’t a pastor, she wasn’t one to go around sharing her beliefs … she lived it. As a result, it made others want to be like her … to live that Love because her entire life spoke Love without a single word. Thru my tears, I thanked God for the gift of both my Aunt’s Life and Death. God then whispered within my heart “The Dash”, encourage others to live the dash. Please watch this, it will be a true gift to you:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ch8oOWkGd8Y&feature=related
As I sat there in the memorial service so proud that she was MY Aunt, it was sealed within my heart that no matter what discouragement I may face in this world that I am to continue to live that Love and encourage others to do the same. What an honor it would be to think that some day the words spoken at my memorial service could be a gift to each person there.
This blog is dedicated to my sweet Aunt Ocie Wise, who left this world 03/31/10 at the age of 78.
May you live your life in and thru Love being mindful of the mark you will leave in this world … your dash.
Much love to you all!
Sandi Rauwolf
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03.09.10
Posted in Blessings, Inspirational, Joy, Love, Special Needs, Thankfulness at 10:36 pm by Sandi Rauwolf
This past weekend I was blessed with spending my Sunday afternoon at a local Special Needs home. One of my special needs angels, Kelly, from Sunday School moved to this home a few months ago. The smile on her face when Ty, Samantha and I walked in was priceless. She is so happy there and introduced us to all of her friends. Here is this home filled with young adults who, to the rest of the world, cannot participate in normal life due to their disabilities but yet this house was filled with so much happiness and love that it should be a corner stone for all of our homes.
We had so much fun meeting Kelly’s friends and walked away with many new friends of our own … truly special angels. Jennifer stole our hearts. She is in a wheelchair, has slightly slurred speech with her eyes not being able to focus straight ahead but she is so smart! The kindness and love within her well let’s just say that I wish the world was filled with Jennifers! Brandon is incredible. He is, I believe, 17 and has Down Syndrome and loves the Cubs. He kept tapping Ty on the knee saying, “right guy?” smiling and laughing so much it was contagious. Then there was Michelle, Kelly’s roommate, who is down-right hysterical. She also has Down Syndrome so her heart flows of love and happiness but also with a twist of sarcastic humor. She had us in stitches not to mention she kept staring at Ty because “she likes the boys” so they say. Then there is Robert who is probably the biggest Elvis fan I’ve ever met! His room is filled with full size Elvis cut-outs, posters, pillows, blankets, CDs, etc. and a wall full of medals from the Special Olympics. He also has Down Syndrome and I was honored when he was telling me he has a few girlfriends special to him and now I am one of them too. These are the special gifts in life, you know?
Towards the end of our visit Jennifer showed Samantha her room and I stayed out in the main area visiting with Brandon and Kelly. They then came back and Samantha said, “Mommy, do you want to see Jennifer’s room?” I said, “Absolutely!” I followed Jennifer as she rolled herself thru the turns in the hallway as if it was nothing to maneuver that wheelchair. She began showing me some things on her bookshelf. I noticed one of the girls had followed us into her room. I had seen her lying on the couch but staying to herself the whole time that we were there. She then began to slowly come towards me a little at a time until she was standing right in front of me. Jennifer then told me that she was deaf and blind. The girl reached out her hand to me. I took her hand in mine and my heart shouted loudly, “hug her!!!” So I hugged her with a big hug holding her for a minute. When I stepped back, she placed her hand directly on my heart. I saw a peace come over her face and love was felt in the room at a dimension that I cannot describe in words. Tears formed in my eyes when I realized what had just happened … without me saying a single word, she felt who God made me to be thru my heart. It’s what drew her near me and what allowed her to perfectly place her hand directly on my heart without being able to see and without someone having to guide her to where it was. Another simple truth – this my friends is exactly how we need to live. We need to live so that others can feel us thru the heart of who we are without a single word or a single touch.
Sunday forever changed the kids and my lives because that day we were all touched by an angel, actually by many! Our hearts will never be the same and I am so very thankful! May you live so that your heart can be felt because it has “Something to Say”. (If you haven’t ever heard the song “Something to Say” by Matthew West I recommend listening to it or looking up the lyrics. That song just dropped in my heart earlier today and when I just listened to the lyrics I about fell off my chair because it sums up this entire blog :) God is awesome!
With Much Love,
Sandi Rauwolf
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01.24.10
Posted in Challenges and Strengths, Faith, Inspirational, Personal Perspective, Self Reflection at 8:40 pm by Sandi Rauwolf
Last night Chris took down the snowmen that were lining our sidewalk with light going to our front door. They are solar powered but have switches that allow you to turn them off. The weather has been snowy and wet so he placed them on a white towel on the table to dry over night. This morning I walked downstairs fairly early. It was still dark outside and there on the table were the four snowmen. Three didn’t have their lights on but one little snowman had light shining really bright. My eyes immediately focused on the one lit up, he was so beautiful. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him.
He brought this beautiful, soft light to a dark room just being there on that table. He had a smile on his face and although he didn’t say a word, light radiated from every part of him. He brightened the room and made me smile. What a great thing to walk downstairs to this morning. I was sharing with Chris that I thought it was so neat how this one little snowman stayed lit up even though the others didn’t. He said it was lit up because its switch was broken. I said, “What do you mean?” He said, “Well there is a button on top you have to push to turn it off. That one you can keep pushing the button but it doesn’t turn off.” I thought that is a good word! Most people would think he’s broken but I think he is perfect! It’s our perspective that needs to be fixed, not him. He is exactly the way he is supposed to be; actually that little snowman is exactly how all of us are supposed to be.
People and things in life are going to push our buttons over and over again but if we continue to focus upward and keep going, our faith will grow and soon no one will be able to take away our joy no matter how many times our buttons are pushed.
I wanted to take a picture of these snowmen to post with my blog and something interesting happened. The three snowmen with their lights off were lying with their faces up and in a position that looked like they were standing. But, the one with the light, well no matter what I did to try and get him to face the same way as the others, he kept turning as if he was walking forward. Here’s the picture:
It amazes me how we can learn so much thru the simple things that surround us every day like these snowmen. A few things that came to my heart were:
1) We can make a difference by letting the light of who we were made to be shine without a single word. Be true to who you were made to be.
2) Our eyes are drawn to that light instinctively and as a result we look past the bad that may be surrounding us. It’s up to us if we leave our eyes focused on the one that’s lit up or the three that aren’t. Remain focused on the good – be thankful for what you do have and quit looking at what you don’t have.
3) People and circumstances in life will push our buttons but it is up to us if we will allow it to dim or turn off the light within our hearts. We have a choice to focus on how much our buttons are being pushed or to focus on ensuring at the end of the day we were able to stay true to who we were made to be (i.e. be the bigger person – not getting angry, bitter, judgmental, or saying/doing something we regret, etc.). Don’t focus on the person or thing in life trying to bring you down, focus on being who you were made to be and let God work on them.
Inner reflection – where’s your focus? Is it on the snowman lit up or on the three that aren’t? If you are in a place where you feel overwhelmed or want to better your life, I encourage you to begin focusing your eyes and thoughts on what is good. If you continue to look for the bad things then that is all you see (that gets exhausting and overwhelming), but if you choose to focus your eyes and mind on what is good then soon that is all you see. You then realize the truth – it wasn’t your circumstances that had to change, it was your perspective.
With much love,
Sandi Rauwolf
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12.25.09
Posted in Blessings, Christmas, Encouragement, Inspirational, Joy, Love, Uncategorized at 2:57 pm by Sandi Rauwolf
This entire Christmas season it has been on my heart, if we all had the Spirit of the Season within us every day of the year we would truly live in a different world and what a wonderful world it would be! It’s not about the commercialism, the gifts, not event the traditions … it’s about the Spirit of our hearts, that heart tug. Chris just said to me, “I can’t believe Christmas is already over.” He then said exactly what has been on my heart this month. He said, “You know, as soon as Thanksgiving is over everyone’s attitude seems to change. They began to be a little nicer, think a little differently, they give unselfishly to others, they are happy and kind.” He then paused and said, “Once Christmas is over, things change and go back to the way they were.” Then I said, “Yes, wouldn’t it be great if every day people could have the heart they do at Christmas.” He said, “Yeah, like the end of that movie Scrooged. Once you have that feeling, you want it every day.” I smiled and said, “My thought exactly!!!”
Here’s the clip he’s talking about (Warning: clip is from You Tube so I did not create it thus could not edit – it includes adult language at the end of the clip, view at your own discretion):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2Rq50NFgCc
My heart then talked to me a little louder and the realization settled in … it really is up to us. We can choose to do something about it. And “the something about it” isn’t about religion, it isn’t about skin color, and it certainly isn’t about social status. It’s about the condition of our hearts. See if we each decide to have our hearts changed and learn to live true unconditional love in all we do, we would live in a different world one that I have imagined living in since the time I was little. When we act in love thinking of others before ourselves, when we ensure our actions are kind, sincere, caring and considerate, when we give of our time to help others even in the little things we do … like going out of the way to open a door or help someone pick up something they dropped – we are making a difference. It brings a peace and joy that all the money in the world couldn’t buy. Give from your heart whether it is sharing a smile or being able to buy a meal for someone who can’t afford one – when we do those things from our heart, we are one person in this huge world making a difference.
I encourage you to keep the Spirit of Love going, every day. Go and do a random act of love for someone else after the holiday. Commit to doing something once a week or if that is too much start out once a month. Every day before my kids walk out the door, I give them a hug and kiss, tell them I love them and (both of them will tell you) I always say, “Do something kind for someone else.” I promise you the gift you receive for giving love from your heart to others is priceless. If you want some ideas of sharing kindness (or if you want to download a free note card – example, let’s say you decide to make a meal for someone unexpectedly, you can download the card, write a note and not only does it touch someone’s heart but the print on the back encourages them to keep the love going by doing something nice for another), go to www.inthespiritoflove.org. Please know that making a difference starts with “one”, will you join us?
Have a very blessed holiday season to you and your family!
With much Love,
Sandi Rauwolf
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12.13.09
Posted in Christmas, Heart Tugs, Inspirational, Judging Others, Love, Special Needs at 8:04 pm by Sandi Rauwolf
This weekend we were headed out of town for our annual trip to Indy to see Santa at the Zoo. The last two years I promised myself I would buy some warm boots so my focus wouldn’t be on the icicles forming on my toes but instead on the Spirit of the season. So before we headed out of town, we stopped at the store to buy some boots for me. As I was taking off a pair of boots and placing them in a box, I felt a tug on my heart guiding my eyes up and towards the beginning of the shoe aisle. I looked up and saw a mom walking down the aisle with her little girl’s feet on her feet. Her tiny arms were stretched up with her hands held tightly by her mom’s. Every step the mom took the little one was able to take a step with her. The girl’s hair was blonde and hung over her face as she looked down at her feet.
I finished putting the boots in the box and as they walked closer I felt my heart overflowing with so much love. The tug on my heart then said, “Look closer.” At that moment, my eyes met the eyes of this precious little angel. She had the most beautiful blue eyes you could ever imagine. I stayed knelt down and began talking with her, “Hi honey, what’s your name?” The little girl tried to form the words to say her name but couldn’t. Her mom then softly responded, “Her name is Jenna.” I said, “Well, it is great to meet you Jenna. You have a very special soul, you know that?” I could see her eyes light up and her mom said, “Yes, she sure does.” Jenna then began to point to her left shoe all excited. I could feel her heart communicating directly with mine. It felt like I was living her excitement right along with her. I said, “You are excited because you got some new shoes.” Her mom then said, “Well, she actually only had to get a new left one.” Although the girl couldn’t speak, our hearts were able to communicate perfectly. The love and excitement that filled my heart and the store from this little angel was amazing.
I asked Jenna, “How old are you honey?” Her mom then said, “She will be 18 this Saturday.” I said, “Wow! Eighteen that is great. I hope you have a wonderful birthday and a lot of fun!” I couldn’t stop smiling just feeling so much gentleness, kindness, and love from this little angel. Her mom said to me, “Thank you so much for talking to her that was really nice of you.” I hesitated for a minute and thought why wouldn’t I talk with her then at that very moment it was as if I could see her thru the eyes of how most people in the world saw her. This little angel had a disorder of some type that prevented her from growing like other children. She was the size of about a 1 ½ year old. She was going to turn 18 years old Saturday, not 18 months. She could not walk on her own. She had no teeth on the top and a few scattered teeth on the bottom, spaced out and growing in every direction. Her skin was tight like leather so the bottom of her eyelids were pulled down as if someone was intentionally trying to make a strange face by taking their fingers and pulling the bottom of their eyelids down. My heart swelled. I smiled at her and said, “No, thank YOU for talking with me. This little angel just made my day today. The world needs to be filled with more hearts like hers, it would change the world.” Her mom smiled really big and I could feel Jenna’s heart smile even bigger. I felt something inside of me change that day as if the love from that special little angel brought my heart to an even higher level of love. I didn’t do anything special, I just saw her for her heart and not for her circumstances.
I was then reminded how important it is that we see people for their hearts and not what’s happening on the outside. If we can see every person as the love that is within each and every heart (no matter how buried it may be) then soon the world will be filled with hearts like Jenna’s.
It reminds me of a story I once heard about a new teacher. She was given a list of her students and noticed they all had their IQ scores to the right of their names. She thought, “Wow! What an opportunity to teach such bright kids.” She met each one of them and saw them for nothing less than the IQ scores that she saw by their names each and every roll call. At the end of the first quarter the principal called a meeting with her. She was asked how she is obtaining such great academic achievements with these students. She told them it wasn’t her at all but thought it was brilliant to put such highly gifted kids in a class together. The principal looked at her puzzled. The teacher went on to share all of the things the students were doing, their progress and what she expected by the end of the year. She said, “Thank you for sharing their IQ scores with me. It was a great help having them noted next to each student’s name.” The principal looked at her and said, “Those aren’t their IQ scores but their locker numbers.” The teacher looked at him in amazement. He then began to share with her that she had been given a class full of children who had been struggling with grades and behavior issues. They had never taken interest in school and actually none of the other teachers were able to reach them because they had so many issues. She was shocked because she had never had a problem with any of the children. The principal said what she had achieved was remarkable.
The powerful lesson about this story is the only thing that had changed was someone’s perspective. The new teacher believed in them and saw the good in them. As a result, amazing things happened … each kid became who they were meant to be.
I want to encourage you to see each person for who they were meant to be by looking into their hearts and right past any outside appearance or circumstances. When we decide to change our perspective to see only the good within others, we then can experience the same gift of peace and joy as felt thru hearts of angels like Jenna. Who’s the Jenna in your life?
With much love!
Sandi Rauwolf
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12.05.09
Posted in Blessings, Christmas, Inspirational, Joy, Love, Thankfulness at 8:47 am by Sandi Rauwolf
While getting our Christmas stuff out and ready to put up this week, mixed amongst all of the stacks of things on the counter Samantha had placed a box of mini candy canes. As soon as I saw it, within my heart triggered a beautiful memory of being about her age so excitedly standing in line waiting to see Santa. I could not wait to get up there and tell him all the things I had seen in the JC Penney and Sears catalogues that year hoping he would put some under our tree. I remember my sister, brother and I would sit there for hours paging thru those huge catalogues making our wish lists. It was fun for us and gave mom some quiet time. Anyway, I took one of the mini candy canes and just as when I was little, I couldn’t open the wrapper – some things never change. :) I was determined to do this without any help and I struggled with that little bugger for a good couple minutes after which I finally conceded and got the scissors out of the drawer. Ahhh, success!
As soon as the candy cane touched my lips, another wonderful memory overflowed my heart of those special moments I have been blessed with through the holidays. Growing up we didn’t have much compared to others but we had two parents who loved us unconditionally and who instilled within each of us – hearts overflowing with thankfulness for what we DID have. We were reminded to be thankful for even those yucky green beans in front of us (well we thought they were yucky at the time). My Dad would always remind us that there are many people in the world who don’t have a single morsel of food to eat or even a pair of shoes or a clean pair of socks to wear. We were always told that NO MATTER WHAT, we were loved and we were often reminded of that after we had made a mistake. So although the consequences were harsh, we were taught to learn from those mistakes and to know that we were still loved – unconditionally. It was important we understood that it was our decision/behavior that was bad and not who we were that was bad. (See if we associate that behavior with ourselves then our self esteem is down, we feel unworthy of anything because we can’t get rid of ourselves but we can get rid of the bad behavior.) So although the candy cane taste triggered wonderful memories, it isn’t the tangible things I remember but the love and joy I felt through those times – true unconditional love. What incredible treasures they are deep within my heart.
This year if you are facing a holiday where you don’t have funds to purchase gifts or to financially help others, please remember that love and joy are FREE and everything you do in life is building a memory for someone else – give freely of your heart, of your time … share love and joy with others, it’s the best gift you could ever give to someone.
With much love, peace and joy from my heart to each of yours – go out and make a difference in someone’s life today by being the beautiful person God made you to be and making a wonderful new memory within their heart and yours. What’s your “candy cane” memory? I want to encourage you to share one thru the “comments” link at the bottom of my blog. Your “candy cane” memory may inspire another … it’s the little things we do that make all the difference.
Love to you all!
Sandi Rauwolf
Author, Blessings Too Good
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08.27.08
Posted in Blessings, Inspirational, Relationship, Simplicity, Thankfulness at 10:18 am by Sandi Rauwolf
Since my last blog God seems to keep presenting the idea of “moments … God moments”. The funny thing is that we are surrounded by these moments all of the time but life tends to get in the way of us noticing them. The God moments are in the little things like the innocence of a child’s smile as they board the bus for their first day of school.
Today was Samantha’s first day of 1st grade. I remember back to when Ty was boarding the bus his first day years ago. He was a bundle of nerves, along with his mom! Both of our eyes filled with tears. As the bus approached, we both became seemingly more nervous. He stepped on the bus glancing back at me trying to be brave but obviously scared. The tears rolled down my face – the realization set in, my baby was growing up.
But today, Samantha was much different than her big brother (who is now an 8th grader). She confidently and very excitedly watched the bus turn the corner. The closer the bus got to us, the more excited she became! She knew every moment in kindergarten was preparing her for this moment today, and she was ready, more than ready! Nevertheless, there I stood tears filling my eyes being overwhelmed with a mixture of emotions … feeling so incredibly proud of her for the confidence she exhibited, being thankful for God blessing us with this little Angel as our daughter and the realization that my baby girl is going to 1st grade -feeling helpless knowing I have to trust that big yellow school bus to take care of her.
As she boarded, I stood outside through tear filled eyes peeking into the windows of the bus trying to find her. I noticed the other children around her with the same faces as Ty had years ago – nervous and scared …. but, then there right in the middle of it all was Samantha beaming, and I mean BEAMING. I couldn’t help but notice how the other children seemed to glance her way and suddenly their faces softened. It was as if they were unknowingly tapping into that feeling of euphoria she seemed to be illuminating. Looking into her beautiful blue eyes framed by her blonde spiral curls peeking out of her pony tail, she really did look like an Angel and not just to me but to those around her. I saw exactly what God was doing through her and it reminded me of how God works through those little moments to reach us. The exact moments sent to help us when we need something to soften our faces. The moments that are so easily missed unless someone shares the secret opening our eyes to a new perspective in life – one where we notice these “moments … God moments”.
A friend (thanks Mary Ann! :) sent me a story recently that is a perfect depiction of these moments. It causes us to step back, pause and realize how easily we all tend to underestimate the power of the simple things in life and how God touches us through them.
Twinkies and Root Beer
A little boy wanted to meet God. He knew it was a long trip to where God lived, so he packed his suitcase with Twinkies and a six-pack of Root Beer and he started his journey.
When he had gone about three blocks, he met an elderly man. The man was sitting in the park just feeding some pigeons. The boy sat down next to him and opened his suitcase. He was about to take a drink from his root beer when he noticed that the man looked hungry, so he offered him a Twinkie.
The man gratefully accepted it and smiled at boy. His smile was so pleasant that the boy wanted to see it again, so he offered him a root beer.
Again, the man smiled at him. The boy was delighted! They sat there all afternoon eating and smiling, but they never said a word. As it grew dark, the boy realized how tired he was and he got up to leave, but before he had gone more than a few steps, he turned around, ran back to the man, and gave him a hug. The man gave him his biggest smile ever.
When the boy opened the door to his own house a short time later, his mother was surprised by the look of joy on his face. She asked him, “What did you do today that made you so happy?
“He replied, “I had lunch with God.” But before his mother could respond, he added, “You know what? God’s got the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen!”
Meanwhile, the elderly man, also radiant with joy, returned to his home. His son was stunned by the look of peace on his face and he asked,” Dad, what did you do today that made you so happy?”
He replied, “I ate Twinkies in the park with God.” However, before his son responded, he added,” You know, he’s much younger than I expected.”
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. People come into our lives for a reason, a season, or a lifetime. Embrace all equally!
~author unknown~
May God open your eyes this week to that secret … the “moments … God moments” that surround us every single day allowing you to embrace them with a knowing and true understanding that God works through them to reach us. The smallest moments in life make the largest impact so I encourage you to seek those moments in your life and to let God work through you to bring Twinkies and root beer to someone who needs it.
Love and Blessings!
Sandi :)
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08.19.08
Posted in Blessings, Humble, Inspirational, Love, Special Needs at 12:14 am by Sandi Rauwolf
I was blessed with quite an incredible evening tonight! My family and I headed out to catch a local baseball game – the Joliet Jackhammers. I wasn’t sure what to expect because it was the first baseball game our family had ever attended together. And, Samantha (who will be 6 years old this Friday), walked into the ballpark, American Girl doll in tow and representing every sense of the meaning “girlie girl”. She is more interested in improving the guys’ baseball uniforms with some new fashion design than to sit and watch a baseball game. However, we really wanted to attend this special night … it was appreciation night for the volunteers of our church’s Kidz Connection Team.
You couldn’t have asked for a more perfect night! The sky was clear, the temperature perfect without even a slight breeze to give you a chill once the sun ducked down behind the stadium wall. We enjoyed the game, met some great people, had great conversation and enjoyed the time together as a family. About halfway through the game, Samantha was getting a little bored so jumped at the chance when I asked her if she had to use the ladies room. We worked our way down the row to the aisle while carefully trying not to step on toes and repeatedly saying “sorry” as we passed each person who would then have to stand to allow us to pass by – now I remember why I like the seats closer to the aisle! :)
Anyway, as we exit from the ladies room Samantha spots Jammer, the team mascot. She stood, eyes wide open and literally frozen in her tracks (you know the typical deer in the headlights stance). She did not know what to make of this 7 ft. creature named Jammer – who (to her) happens to look like a Sesame Street character on steroids. I personally think he is adorable! I bent down to comfort her and assure her that she does not need to be frightened, but she hid behind me and clung to my leg like a piece of gum on a shoe. She was not going anywhere without a lot of work!
Just at that moment, I look up and there in front of us was wheelchair after wheelchair of special needs adults. My heart immediately swelled. Since the time I was a little girl, I’ve had a soft spot in my heart for special needs children and adults. Actually, this year I have been blessed with teaching the special needs class at church every Sunday and those kids are the highlight of my week!! I have Grant, Ryan, Tim and Kelly in my class, and they are my little angels. No matter what stress I am facing all I have to do is think of their smiling faces, and I am reminded of what is important in this life.
I walked over and spoke to the nurse to find out where they were from. She said they were from United Cerebral Palsy (http://www.ucp.org/ucp_local. cfm/74) right there in Joliet. I then walked over and started talking to each of them asking them how they were enjoying the game. Their faces just lit up! Imagine, a stranger walking over and caring about them! One guy’s grin was so big I swear it reached to his ears! He kept pointing to his bracelet. I told him it was an amazing bracelet, but he was persistent in continuing to point to it. I then noticed it was comprised of six small white blocks on a brown leather band. I slowly turned each block over, one at a time while watching his excitement, and it spelled his name … Norman. I said, “It is great to meet you, Norman!” He then started pointing to me, so I introduced myself and Samantha to him as well as the others. Norman was so happy to be communicating with a perfect stranger. Immediately, to his right was another gentleman who could utter a few muffled words, enough that I could understand he was saying “Hi Sandi and Samantha, how are you?”. And said with a grin just as big as Norman. His right eye wandered to the far right and his left eye wandered down towards the floor, but he ensured we knew that he was doing everything to try and make us feel special by looking at us. Each of them then took my hand and started kissing it as if to say, “Thank you – thank you for noticing us and taking a minute to let us know you care, helping us feel like we DO matter in this world and that someone loves us just as we are.” With each little Angel kiss on my hand, I was humbled even more. Here I was, with a grateful heart and feeling blessed by THEM for their innocence and pure love but yet they were thanking ME! I then felt sad for a moment because how many walk right by and won’t even look at them by reason of their deformities – because they are different, because they are not perfect? I felt blessed for the gift God had given me as a little girl because I had never seen special needs people for any of their physical differences but only for their sweet souls with a love filled heart.
I was struck by quite a realization right at that moment. It hit me with sudden certainty that the same feeling and perspective I have always had towards these sweet souls is EXACTLY how God must feel towards each of us. He looks past all of our imperfections and sees us for our sweet souls with a heart full of love. It was yet another reminder of how imperfect each of us is, in our own way, but yet God loves us anyway. He does not walk by us unnoticed. Instead He embraces us, He looks right past every flaw and He loves us unconditionally. He is patiently waiting for US to notice HIM with a love filled heart hoping this time will be the time we do not just walk on by.
Maybe something in your life is making you feel less than perfect today or not worthy of anyone’s love especially God’s, whether that feeling is caused from others treating you poorly, difficult challenges you are facing or mistakes you have made – please know that God’s love for you is unfailing. He is there and will help you through anything you are facing no matter how imperfect you may be feeling or how lost you may have been … all you need to do is “notice” Him.
May God bless you and bring you your own Angel kisses this week!
Sandi :)
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08.11.08
Posted in Challenges and Strengths, Encouragement, Inspirational, Personal Perspective, Self Reflection, Transformation at 9:35 pm by Sandi Rauwolf
It seems these days God continues to move me, and in big ways. With the book coming out, I find myself in moments of phantasm, drifting back to a time when a normal, healthy life was nothing more than a glimmer of hope mixed in with an undying faith of God’s plan for me … but yet, trusting completely in that plan no matter what the outcome. Those moments, today — now flood me with emotions that are hard to get on paper, but I’ll try.
It’s a butterfly moment … the moment when a beautiful butterfly can finally free itself from its cocoon, leaving the old and ugliness behind. All of that horrible ugliness is replaced with something exceptional … a feeling of being on top of the world, floating on air, expanding its wings and glancing down to see if indeed it’s all “real” because it feels too incredible – too good to be true. Then it discovers that not only is it floating, but things are even better than that. God has taken such an ugly beginning and magically transformed every moment of darkness into something incredibly beautiful, something beyond comprehension. And you sit here as living proof of His grace and endless possibilities. How is that possible? How could it be? How could something so ugly, so seemingly encased in darkness for that long emerge a symbol of grace and love representing nothing less than the true meaning of HOPE?
That moment, that incredible transformation, my friends, is proof of how God CAN and DOES take the ugliest, the darkest of situations and transforms them into something truly magnificent. My heart overflows with thankfulness for the opportunity to sit here sharing my thoughts with you while glancing forward at the endless possibility of helping others in their faith by reason of those darkest, most challenging times.
Tears fill my eyes with not only a “knowing” but a true understanding that every second is a gift and “getting” that in the darkest of times, we should not feel secluded but instead feel protected, like the butterfly in its cocoon – trusting His plan and knowing that God can, without a doubt, transform something horribly ugly and dark into a beautiful creation – a creation that is so incomprehensible that it could only be possible with Him.
May God bless you with a butterfly moment reminding you that no matter what you may be facing, trust His plan for you – be patient while he creates something truly magnificent in your life. Hugs!
Sandi :)
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