A really good friend of mine sent this to me, and it was so beautiful, that I just had to share it with my readers.  I hope you enjoy it.

I’m invisible…….
by Nicole Johnson

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I’m on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I’m thinking, “Can’t you see I’m on the phone?”

Obviously not.  No one can see if I’m on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I’m invisible.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I’m not a pair of hands; I’m not even a human being. I’m a clock to ask, “What time is it?” I’m a satellite guide to answer, “What number is the Disney Channel?” I’m a car to order, “Pick me up right around 5:30, please.” I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude — but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again.

She’s going … she’s going … she’s gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England . Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well.

It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, “I brought you this.”

It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn’t exactly sure why she’d given it to me until I read her inscription: “To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.”

In the days ahead I would read — no, devour — the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great cathedrals– we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, “Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.”

And the workman replied, “Because God sees.”

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, “I see you, Charlotte.  I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you’ve done, no sequin you’ve sewn on, no cupcake you’ve baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can’t see right now what it will become.”

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of
my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don’t want my son to tell the friend he’s bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, “My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand-bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.”

That would mean I’d built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home.

And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, “You’re gonna love it there.”

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we’re doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the
world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Thirteen candies I love (in no particular order). Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Works For Me Wednesday is hosted by Rocks In My Dryer, and if you’d like to know how you can participate, please click here.

This week I’ve got another simple and yummy recipe.  This really had to have been an act of God, because I’m normally not what you’d call somebody who knows how to cook well.  Perhaps God has just been showing me that I can become a better cook simply by paying more attention to what spices and ingredients I use in other recipes to create new ones.  Here is a dish I like to call Inspired Beef Noodles.  I served it last night with some green beans and crescent rolls and it was devoured.

1. 1             large red onion, sliced and loosely chopped
2. 1 TBS    extra virgin olive oil
3. 1 lb        ground hamburger
4. 2 cans   cream of mushroom soup
5. 3 cups   beef broth
6. 1 TBS    salt
7. 1 TBS    pepper
8. 4            large sprigs of thyme
9. 3            large bay leaves
10. 8 oz       wide egg noodles, uncooked

In a medium stock pot (at least 4 quarts deep), heat oil over medium high heat until a drop of water sizzles in it.  Add the red onions and saute until slightly brown.  Add hamburger and cook until the meat is brown.  Add soup and beef broth.  Bring to a boil and add remaining ingredients.  Reduce heat to medium low and simmer until noodles are tender.  Remove bay leaves and thyme sprigs before serving.  (I only add this because I didn’t do that once when I made something, and those things aren’t fun to bite into.)

I was so happy with the way this turned out, that I just knew it was the thing that I wanted to share with y’all for my WFMW post.  Ta for now dahlings!

These are the three ways we can view the things we go through in this life.  I tend not to see things as trials.  I think if somebody feels like they’re going through a trial, then they have already accepted defeat.  I think that we can turn to God for anything and feel encouraged that whatever it is we are going through is for our benefit, not to hurt us.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.”  Jeremiah 29:11

In this scripture, God makes it clear that whatever we go through is part of His plan to get us to the expected end He has created for us.

I do know that almost everything in this life is a test.  Our lives on earth are our entrance exam to get into Heaven.  Some of the tests are so easy that often we pass them and didn’t even realize we’d been tested.  Did you ever let somebody in front of you in congested traffic, even though you were in a hurry?  Did you ever hold the door open for somebody even if they didn’t ask you, just because you saw them with their hands full?  Did you ever say thankyou to somebody for their help, even if they had a bad attitude?  You passed those tests with flying colors, and probably had no idea you were being tested.  On the one hand, it might give you a bit of a lift to see the things you go through as tests.  Just be careful not to think better of yourself than you ought to if you pass the test.

I know I have flaws.  I know that the perfect work God started in me has not yet been completed.  I also know that while my life may be filled with difficult times and difficult situations, I choose how to react to them.  I can either get angry and frustrated and react out of my sinful flesh.  Or I can simply accept that God is refining me.  I’m being purified by the things I am facing.

“And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.”  Zechariah 13:9

It’s my hope and prayer that God’s people will keep their eyes on Him, even when we can’t feel His presence, and feel as if we’re surrounded on all sides by our enemies.  God promised never to leave us or forsake us.  Just because you think you can’t feel God, does not mean He isn’t there.  God doesn’t go back on His promises.  Ta for now dahlings!

Thirteen TV shows I enjoy watching. Pushing Daisies Private Practice Dancing With The Stars Ugly Betty Grey’s Anatomy Bones House CSI: Miami CSI: NY Criminal Minds Numb3rs American Idol Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!