End of an Era


Just after I was married, my mother-in-law was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. She responded with determination and even though she owned and operated a Bible bookstore with a demanding schedule, she managed as well as she could. 

When my sis-in-law Deanna was a college freshman, and her life was just beginning, she quit in order to return home to help her mom. If she questioned her decision, she never voiced it. She just knew her mom was sick, and needed help. I’d never seen that kind of sacrificial love before—in someone that young. Eventually she returned to college, but quit once again when her mom needed her. I should have known right then how strong and courageous Deanna was—she was a lot like her determined mother. 

Deanna finished college, found love, married, and showed the same kind of sacrificial love as she raised her three children. She has a dynamic blend of humor, sensitivity, faith, and strong resolve. 






When her mom wanted to retire from her Bible bookstore, it made sense for Deanna to keep it going—after all, she’d been helping since she was a teen. As working moms know, you somehow make time for everything. Deanna was fully engaged in running her business while also juggling the sports activities of three super active teens. 


Then this beautiful woman—strong, faithful, and determined, faced cancer. Not once. But twice. Radical surgery. Her strength and courage were on full display.




But this mighty force of a woman was not a quitter. As bookstores faced extinction across the country due to online sales, she faithfully served her customers, and kept her doors open. Eventually, she had the only Bible bookstore within the entire region. 





And then 2020 brought COVID. It infected more than humanity, it created a crisis for small businesses—like hers. She had just purchased all the products to sell in her store for Easter, Mother’s Day, Graduation, and Father’s Day—and then she was forced to close as a non-essential business. Even re-opening by mid-summer could not recoup the losses this time. 



Cancer didn’t win, but COVID did. It is the end of an era. But I know it is not the end of the strength and the courage of its owner, Deanna. She will survive this because she knows Whom to trust. Over the years she’s learned that when something is taken away, God is preparing for something new. 




Deanna proved to me long ago that life is meant to live with your eyes on others—helping as needed. She’s been my inspiration and my friend. She’s my COVID heroine this season. Even though her store will have its final closing in a few days, she will be using her trademark humor, sensitivity, and courage to see how God will use her next. And knowing Deanna, it will be something that helps others because that’s who she’s always been.




This photo was from one of Deanna's early morning walks before heading to the Bible bookstore. 

Popular posts from this blog

Dreaming the Dream

Image
Dreaming big dreams about the future is easy for kids. The only thing standing in the way is time.  Kid’s dreams are not about skills, or opportunities, or even practicality. Those things come much later.  My grandson hopes to be professional soccer player when he grows up. This week, a small piece of his dream came true when his Boys and Girls Club was invited to participate in pre-game activities with the Seattle Sounders Football Club.  He got to suit up in a real jersey and walk on the field with a real pro player. Imagine a young soccer player looking up to who he hopes to be one day. If you haven’t taken the time to talk to a child about their future dreams—you should.  They believe. As we get older we sometimes forget that dreams fuel our hopes—and that's something we all need. So, do you still dream? Or have you left those childhood thoughts behind?  S pending time with children will  inspire you to believe agai
Read more

Wild or Tame? Which One Are You?

Image
Finally! Research that explains why I act the way I do. Columbia University’s Motivational Science Center studied people’s activities and what brought them the most happiness. Even more telling were how those activities changed as they aged. Twenty-somethings tend to equate happiness with high-energy activities. Words like excited and ecstatic are usually attached to spontaneous things—even risky things—and living life full throttle.  Researchers labeled this Promotion Motivation —the urge to take chances, including career moves that may not work out. Happiness comes from happenings—the more happenings, the more happiness. By age forty, adults associate happiness with things running smoothly at work and home. It’s also about feeling secure in relationships. Keeping healthy matters more too. This behavior is called Prevention Motivation —and people are more concerned with preserving and maintaining the things they value. It appears that time ofte
Read more

The Quiet Dad

Image
After my granddaughter’s gymnastics, she’d always ask to go to the park next door—even in the winter. When you’re a high energy child, cold is relative. Our routine seemed to overlap with a dad and his son. I’d watch them as I watched my granddaughter go through her favorite activities—crossbar, swings, spinner, and the curly slide.  But the dad was not doing the same. He’d go hand-in-hand with his boy—pointing to trees, clouds, and the texture of the grass. I could see they were in a different place—one of sights, smells, and feels.   His son didn’t speak, so the father spoke into the silence around them. Since it was winter, the park was quiet—just the four of us—an energetic girl, and a boy who experienced the park in a way I never had.   We were at the same place, but in different worlds.    I saw a father’s love for his son expressed in quiet words of exploration. Never once did his son use the swing or try the crossbars. His world was spent touching tree bark and looking a
Read more