Last January, I lost my job and the diamond out of my ring. I loved my job. The job could be stressful but what job isn't. I've used my time to clean and organize the storage room, (My husband says I'm not really OCD. I'm CDO because I need to have the letters in the correct order, but I don't think I'm that OCD. It may have just seemed that way as I was labeling boxes). I have also painted in the house, visited my daughter and her new husband and started writing the book I've wanted to write for a long time. It's a bible study for the tweenagers. This one's on the life of Joseph. I also have one started that is based on a Bible Challenge that I started when my daughter was in the 3rd or 4th grade. She wants to use it at her church.
Then my daughter talked me into writing this BLOG. I must admit I'm enjoying it more than I thought I would.
(Note to self - Stop chasing that rabbit and get back on track.)
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| Storage Room 1 |
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| Storage Room 2 |
Kev and I were packing up the Christmas decorations when I went to wash my hands and the dish towel got stuck to the setting on my ring. I looked down and started to bawl. Not just cry. I lost it. I ran down the stairs to show Kev, he was coming to the stairs to see what was the matter when I ran into him. He couldn't understand a thing I said. After he saw what I was crying about he helped me look. He took the drain off the sink and checked the trap. I vacuumed and checked the bag. When I had stopped crying and got where I could actually see the screen, I texted my sisters and daughter to get them to pray. We both went to the attic and searched. It's amazing how much glitter is on the attic floor after putting away Christmas decorations.
I could tell from the look in his eyes as we searched that he thought it was gone. But he helped search anyway. He said, "Do you know what the odds are of finding a loose 1/4 carat diamond? Not to mention we aren't even sure where you lost it. " But he kept looking until I stopped looking.
He offered to replace it. He had suggested several times in the early years of our marriage to trade my diamond on a bigger one but I loved my original diamond. The one he picked out and bought when he was in college and was delivering news papers and working at the jewelry store to buy it. And to pay for the long distance calls to me. We dated years before cell phones were even thought about. Where I lived was long distance from his college. We would call and let the phone ring once and hang up. That meant, I love you. I just can't afford to talk today, and it saved money if we weren't home. There was a long distance charge if his room mate or one of my sisters picked up. If we wanted to talk, we would call back immediatly after we hung up from the one ring. If we weren't home the others knew not to pick that one up.
After we had looked everywhere we could think to look Kev said, "You know it could be in the bag with the Christmas tree. It makes sense that it got knocked out when we were putting the tree in the bag." The bag was already in the attic and I guess I just wanted to hold onto that HOPE for a while.
During the summer of 1978, Kev and his room mate from Gardner Webb College were staying at the home of a former youth director from my church. Both of them were working as summer youth directors at neighboring churches. My sisters and I saw our former youth director at Burger King. He invited us to a pool party, one of the guys was having at his house. I couldn't go but my sister went. When I got home from work they were there. We lived on the top floor of a house that used the main floor as a day care.
My sister said they were waiting on me to go get pizza. There were 6 of us that night. After that me, my sister, Kev and his room mate went out several times a week. One night Kev asked me if I wanted to go with him and his youth group to a Youth Evangelism Conference in Greensboro, NC. I did want to go with them. On the way home, I fell asleep with my hand on Kev's shoulder. He somehow slipped the ring my parents gave me for graduation off my hand and replaced it with the diamond. We stopped at McDonald's for dinner. The kids knew the whole time and watched me. They didn't want to miss it when I noticed the change. I finally noticed it when we were getting on the church bus and I put my hand on the rail to get in. I screamed and they laughed and clapped.
I met Kev in June of 1978. We started dating the middle of July and he asked me to marry him in August. He asked me if I would marry him and at least 300 other people. (He knew he was going into ministry.)
That's the diamond that got lost.
The Friday after Thanksgiving, Kev and I were bringing down all the Christmas decorations from the attic. He brought the red bag with the Christmas tree down and put in in the living room. I laid the tree skirt out upside-down. The underside is solid red. We opened the bag. I took out the first section and shook it, I took out the middle section and shook it. Kev had to help me with the bottom section of the tree. As it was coming out of the bag, I saw something shiny move in the bag. After we put that piece down I jumped down to the bag. Kev said,"It can't be!" I was excited and scared at the same time. My eyes were starting to fill with tears and my heart was pounding. I handed it to Kev and said,"Is it glitter or is it my diamond?" He said,"It's the diamond!" I texted the attached picture to my sisters. Kev put the diamond in a small bottle. He put it on the shelf with our Kneeling Santa at the Manger. He said we would let Jesus watch over it for a little while.
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| My Diamond |
This was a truly blessed Thanksgiving! Not just because of my diamond, it was also the first Thanksgiving for our daughter and her husband.
I hope you had a great Thanksgiving and that you let yourself enjoy this Christmas season. Remember it is the season to celebrate Christ's birth.
Have a Great Day,
Mama D
Psalms 9:1 (NIRV) Lord, I will praise you with all my heart. I will tell about all of the miracles you have done.
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