HOW CAN YOU MEND A BROKEN HEART

Several weeks ago I was hit with something so intense that it stabbed into my heart faster than a champion butcher could debone a chicken. Not childbirth, broken bones nor even a hit in the chest by a seven hundred pound wild~eyed bovine has come close to the pain I have endured. I feel as though I've had a Cardiectomy. Just like a star in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, this chick might as well been a living sacrifice in the underground temple of the Thuggees and let Mola Ram reach into my beatin' chest and yank my heart right out. It has left my spirit lower than an Ozark black snakes belly in a muddy tractor rut. Sadly I am in a position I can do nothing but pray and believe me I've prayed. Forgive me Lord for I am not a patient person...I'm Nezzy, your action figure, a doer, a fixer and a peacemaker.
Yep folks....I'm a Martha. I'm the gal ya see speedin' across the room or yard like a flash of lightin' makin' sure that everyone is well fed, havin' a grand time and gettin' along with one another. I take action. It's the way I fly....I'm just that kinda chick. I see a need, I get~'er~done! Now, will ya'll see me sittin' at the feet of Jesus' soakin' in every sweet breath of His Word like Mary??? You bet your sweet bippy ya would but you could wager your bottom dollar I'd be trimmin' his toenails and scrubbin' his callouses while makin' sure he had his favorite snack within reach along with a nice cool tall glass of iced tea in his holy hand. I'm about as confused as a hungry cow on AstroTurf just waitin' and prayin'. It's Hubby who reminds me that we don't have the answer but we know the Almighty One who does. It is Hubby who recognizes the helplessness in my gaze and tells me, "it'll be allllll~right!" He says it so well. I know it will be all~right 'cause I know who holds tomorrow but that sure doesn't mean I sit still well or the pain is any less consuming.

Barry and Robin Gibbs touched on the subject in their soft~rock adult contemporary ballad sang by the Bee Gees in 1971 released by IBC Studios in London on the Atco Label, "How Can You Mend A Broken Heart." I sing out the words, "please help me mend my broken heart and let me live again!" I know God is in control and I covet your prayers. I'd be much obliged if someone could tell me " How Can You Mend A Broken Heart ???"

Note: A Cardiectomy is a scene outta Indiana Jones Temple of Doom where the heart is removed from a living sacrifice. I have not had a heart attack, surgery,my heart literally removed or any physical ailment concerning my heart. What I'm experiencing is totally emotional.

EARTH ANGEL

Smilin' like a goat in a brier patch this little lady celebrated her twelfth birthday on January 11th. She said her ice cream and cookie cake was the best part of her special day. This past year has been tougher than the back-end of a shootin' gallery for Angel. Yep folks, that in her real name. Last August a tumor at the base of her brain-stem was removed and diagnosed as malignant Medullobastoma. The surgery removing the tumor compromised her right side motor skills makin' it difficult to perform tasks that most of us take for granted. This 110 pound doll was hit hard with radiation and got so skinny ya couldn't see her shadow on a sunshiny day. Bless her heart, her weight plummeted into the mid~sixties as she lost her own beautiful hair and her skin was burned by the treatments. A test revealed another mass where the first tumor was removed. Angel underwent a second surgery which uncovered only scar tissue this time. To get the nutritional requirements needed to fight this battle, doctors put in a feeding tube. She has been undergoin' chemo treatments weekly and will continue to do so 'till mid~September.

Angel said the worse day of her life was when the doctor sat by her bedside talking frankly with her in detail about her illness and the course of action to treat it. The best part of her journey has been the many friends she has made at the hospital. She just beamed as she spoke of her special friends Kate and Emma who are in a commercial promotin' St. Judes Hospital. Her Christmas was so very special this year filled with love gifts from Physical Therapy, Church, Hospitals and many, many strangers just like you. Angel's Christmas last year was not celebrated with festive presents but only by the love of her family. I have four legal pad pages filled with the love gifts sent by you, my wonderful blogsisters. You guys are the best! This Ozark Farm Chick is still overwhelmed with all the love, emails and prayers ya'll have heaped upon Angel. I do believe ya'll are sportin' your own wings!

Although Angel misses runnin' and playing with her dogs she is beginnin' to write with her right hand again. She is attending school as her condition allows for sometimes chemo shoots her immune system through the basement. Poor gal discovered that two of her best buds moved away during the absence of her illness. She is tried of people tryin' to do everything for her and just wants to be 'normal'. Angel is now weighin' in around 80 pounds and when she hits the 90 pound mark that feedin' tube comes out baby!!! Through it all she has retained her odd but wonderful sense of humor. A nurse asked as she was leavin' the room, " dear, is there anything I can do for you?" Angel piped up, "yeah, you can clean my window." Just as the nurse was about to find someone in housekeepin' Angel finished her statement, "on the outside." She was on the seventh floor!!! She's twisted like that...heeehehehe!!!

Angel told me that havin' cancer has made her more aware of God and has drawn her closer to Him. She once told me in Kid's Church shortly after her diagnosis that if God wanted to take her it was OK, she was ready to go as long as He brought her brother back home safely from that 'Big Sandbox' in Afghanistan. Doesn't that just melt your heart? The girl does live up to her name 'cause she's just a precious selfless Earth Angel.

"Earth Angel" was actually written for the B~side of "Hey Senorita" but a D~J flipped the record and the song quickly climbed to number one on the charts late in 1954. The Penguins first sang the American Doo~Wop tune under the Dootone label on the seven inch vinyl record. Our young Angel loves the songs of Taylor Swift, the color purple and any animal who takes breath. She is a sweet soul whose smile can light up a room and loves the Lord with all her heart. Even though life has been as rough as a old dried up corncob her attitude makes her my hero...my Earth Angel!!!

THREE BLIND MICE

It's colder than a two day corpse in an ice house and the multi~layers of frozen glaze on the ground range from freezin' rain to fluffy wet snow. Here on the Ponderosa we feed critters....all sorts of critters. This is one Ozark gal who feeds wild birds year round. Rocky the squirrel always has an ear of corn hangin' on the big Oak tree to nibble when a cravin' strikes him and Tiger the Wonder Dog continuously enjoys a full meal deal. The cattle always have well rounded meals and the donkeys tummies are plump. I have to admit I've seen,'coon, 'possum, skunk, armadillo, coyotes, deer, wolves, big cats, lost horses, neighbors buffalo and yes even bears takin' advantage of our generous portions but there is one thing 'round these parts that is about as welcome as an outhouse breeze in the heat of summer are mice. Even worse are their giant kissin' cousins 'RATS'!!! Big fat furry bold overfed rats!

I would walk around the place doin' chores hearin' little movements 'round the foundation. Since the place is surrounded by active birds, lizards and who knows what that will sun on my steppin' stones on a warm day, I truly didn't give it a second thought 'til one day after unloadin' my supplies I noticed somethin' dart by outta the corner of my eye. Bein' the curious chick I am I decided to make like Nancy Drew (didn't ya just love those books???) to take the watch and wait approach. Much to my surprise a well fed rodent zipped straight to Tiger's dog dish grabbed a kibble, devoured it then helped himself to more. Since Tiger wasn't present, 'cause he was at my Mother~in~Love's runnin' with her dog Bobby (Kinda like Dumb and Dumber, did I ever mention that Tiger is about as sharp as a bowl of mashed 'taders???) I removed his dish from the scene. I offered up a delightfully delicious dish of green Decon pellets and impatiently waited. Heaven help me here... I'm not a patient kinda gal! Almost immediately I had three rats feastin' on their poisonous banquet. I watched them devour three large Jiffy Peanut-butter lids filled with Decon then after a playful game of tag 'round the tires of my car one of the little fellas curled up on my doormat and took a leisurely nap. This is the moment I picked up the phone and demanded Hubby to bring somethin' 'stronger' home 'cause I wasnt' havin' no 'Watch Rat' on my doorstep and the Decon was about as useful as buttons on a dishrag at this point!!!

The little furry fellas finished off my supply so I brought their platter in. The next time I passed by the French door there stood three fuzzy varmints searchin' for their dish lookin' in at me as to say, " oh please, pretty please Mam, may we have just one more morsel???" Later that day I put out the 'bait' that was used at our local feed mill to keep such critters at bay, surly that would be the death of my new found friends. Thanks Hubs, sorry for the bossiness but times like these call for a chick to be a bit demandin'. Heck, these Super Rodents were cartin' off my ten pound supply of Hombri Mini Blocks off faster than I could put 'em out. No doubt for the big orgy they were were plannin' to have above our family room that night. I made the little ferrous tenants my famous poison peanut-butter balls. Ya know the ones my dear DIL said, "If Mom kicks the bucket, were not takin' anything outta her freezer 'cause we'd be dippin' 'em in chocolate and eatin' them!!!! The ones that almost always insure sudden death but this time my deadly treat didn't work any better than a rubber-nosed woodpecker in a petrified forest. This was war!!! Somethin's eatin' my storage building!!! Really, gnawed a big old hole right through the thing and it has big thick wood siding. I purchased some Just One Bite, a warfarin free product as was the Hombre, and placed it everywhere. I made the peanut~butter balls outta it, I mixed quick set concrete and granola with it. It's been several days since I've heard the pitter patter of little toes or the gnashin' of teeth. Hopefully... I've seen the last of their antics!!!

This English nursery rhyme and musical round was published in "the Seconde part of Musics Melodie in 1609 by the teenage author Thomas Ravenscroff. We as humans are far too often as blind as those three blind mice. We walk around with blinders so busy and burdened with cares that we can't see the 'Light' that surrounds us every blessed day. God is our light but folks Satan is workin' overtime. He is out to steal our joy, ruin families and darken our days. Today I beg you to pause, take off those dark glasses and enjoy the rays of His real truth. Bask in the warm lovin' light that our Heavenly Father brings 'cause I sure don't want to end up in total darkness like one of those "Three Blind Mice!!!"