My husband was lying on the couch taking a rest and I was sitting in my chair across from him.  I heard the half-ping of doorbell and said, ???It??™s Momma again!???  That??™s when my husband said to me that maybe she is being sent to watch over Jarrett to make up for what she did to you.

Right there I almost lost it and the tears rose to my eyelids but held steady.  I knew that if there was a way and if our God would allow it, that it would be true.  Or perhaps an angel that looked like Eileen would be sent to watch over our son.  The thought of that gave me peace and made me happy that the ping had sounded.

You are probably wondering what I am talking about when I talk about my doorbell so here goes.  My Momma has been gone now for nearly eight years.   Around the last year or so our doorbell would start to do this half-ping thing right around the holidays but especially at Christmas time.  It got to be a joke that if we heard the half-ping that we would no longer walk downstairs to answer the door.  I was the first one to say that I thought it was Momma trying to find a way back into the house.  As time continued it just seemed easier to believe that she might just be the reason for the half-ping and so my husband and our daughter started to agree with me.  Logically it is probably that a new battery is needed or that the system is testing itself and half pings at will, but it is sometimes comforting to believe for a little while in fairy tales.

If my husband is right and Momma is trying to make up for the bad times that she and I shared, that is awfully nice of her to do this for me.  She owes me nothing the account was settled a long time ago. 

If the good Lord is allowing her to watch her grandson for the time that he is in Iraq and away from us than I owe God much praise for the kindness and to her I say, ???Thanks Mom and you keep right on ringing that bell.  I will run to the door of my heart to open it each time I hear it sound.???

?©July 7, 2004

On July 5, we saw our son off at the airport.  Dressed in his desert fatigues he was headed back to Iraq.  The personnel at the airport could not have been more accommodating to us.  We were issued hugs, tissues (yes, I was crying) and passes so that we could see him off at the gate.  I hugged him the longest and kissed him.  The two weeks furlough just flew by too fast but I know that I will see him again and the next time he will be home for good. 

Dear Lord, please watch over my baby and I pray it be your will that he return to us whole in body, spirit and mind.  Keep a protective hedge around him and always covered in the blood of Christ.  Lord, return the other sons, husbands and wives to their families as well.  Keep them safe Lord and let them know that it was You that did it and may they all give You the glory You deserve.  And Lord, if I may, please reach the heart of the Iraq people and save as many as possible.  Speak to me God and keep my heart open to all the beautiful possibilities that exist in You.  Do it also for my family and especially our son.

Thank You, in Jesus name I pray.  Amen.

This is certain, that a man that studieth revenge keeps his wounds green, which otherwise would heal and do well.

-  Sir Francis Bacon