A Teardrop on Earth

 "A teardrop on earth summons the King of Heaven."


She knelt.

Bending over the earth.

Plunging her hands into the warm soil.

Digging.

Picking up the small rose bush,

she gently placed it in the hole and patted dirt around it.

She heard a small wren trill his sweet song nearby.

Her tears fell,

catching on the tender pink petals.

"This is for you, Dad....",

she whispered, her voice breaking.

Sobs escaped.

Her world had been turned upside down during the past week.

Careening crazily.

Toppling over.

 Dropping like a rock.

Emotions raw,
overwhelming,

shimmering on the surface of her broken soul.

Tears flowing easily at unexpected moments ~

dishing up ice cream...

mowing the yard...

shopping for groceries.

Memories of shared times with her beloved father.

♥

Sharp, painful memories of a sleepless night in a hospital room at his bedside.

Hearing labored breathing through the oxygen mask.

Holding his warm hand that clutched at hers.

Her head bowed in constant prayer.

Face wet with tears.

Heart beating wildly.

"Please, God. Not Dad...please don't take Dad from me."

Her gaze lifted, lingering out the window overlooking the sleeping city.

Lights bright.

Sky dark.

Streets empty.

Questions wrapped themselves tightly around her mind.

Heavy.

Strangling.

Tired eyes stinging with more tears.

 Two days, they had said.

He would pass in two days.

She gripped his hand tighter,

planting a gentle kiss on his forehead.

"I love you, Dad", she whispered in his ear,

not knowing if he could hear her voice or not.

"I love you with all my heart."

She focused on his face,

etching it into her heart.

She studied his hands.

Her father's hands.

Strong, steady, caring, hands.

The bracelet around his wrist imprinted with "Integrity".

His life had been filled to the brim with it.

Generous.

Determined.

Caring.

Humorous.

Faithful.

Devoted.

Loving.

Christ's love moving him to extremes. 

His love the first and last word in everything he did.

Giving freely and asking nothing in return.

♥

She stood,

brushing the garden dirt from her hands and picking up the old watering can.

Water flowed

mingling with yet more tears.

 Her vision blurred as she dropped to her knees again in despair.

Sobs freely breaking through and cutting into the air.

Hands clutching her knees,

rocking.

 She watered the rose with her pain now.

As she lifted her head,

her watery eyes searched the clear blue sky for comfort from Heaven,

her father's favorite scripture bloomed suddenly deep inside her.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

  

Heaven had been made real for him.

The heaven he read about and spoke about so many times.

She knew he was now kneeling at the throne of God,

lifting his hands in praise.

She lifted her hands, too,

feeling the warmth of the sun on her dirty palms.
Offering up a broken heart.

The wren trilled.

 The sun shined.

The rose grew. 

Tears fell.

Her love bloomed,
and her faith remained steady. 

"I miss you so much, Dad.
I will always love you..."

~  Eucharisteo  ~

 

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A Faux Folk Bed

Our guest bedroom has gone through multiple changes during the past eight years we've lived in this old farmhouse.
If you don't know me at all,
I enjoy switching things up once in a while.
{Ok...ok...MORE than once in a while.}

When we moved here in March 2006, the room started off looking like this.

Sweet and cottagey.

 A Simply Shabby Chic duvet and crisp white cotton sheets on the dark Jenny Lind bed

next to a wicker trunk, wicker rocker, and wicker lamp.
A sisal rug covered the painted wood floor.

As my SSC obsession collection grew,

the look changed

with pink floral drapes,

an elegant linen dust ruffle,

vintage botanical rose prints,
antique brass sconce,
a couple of my dream catchers,

and the addition of a flea market Turkish rug layered on top of the sisal rug.
Much more of a shabby chic style.

During the summer months,

I wanted a clean, airy look.

So most of the florals were switched

for a white linen duvet topped with a RASCC petticoat sham.
Simple shabby chic elegance.

 

But something kept bugging me.

This bedroom is very tiny as is the rule with many old farmhouses.

Despite the fact that the windows are large which makes it a very bright room during the morning hours, 

I constantly struggled with wanting it to feel more spacious.

It was time to declutter and simplify even more.

First thing to do was to deconstruct the vintage wooden box spring that we purchased at an auction back in 1984.

I wanted a "folk bed" feeling that Rachel Ashwell made popular.

 She created this by placing two single mattresses on pallets.

Photo: Rachel Ashwell

But I was working with a standard size bed....for now.

{I am currently on the lookout for two twin vintage wooden box springs - or twin sized pallets.}

I really want the bed to eventually look like this.
Two twin mattresses on top of pallets with casters.
A little shabby chic bohemian feeling.

Photo: Rachel Ashwell

This is the look I hope to eventually achieve.
These are the folk beds that my incredibly creative friend, Tausha has in her beautiful barn room.

Talk about boho prairie love.....
♥

Photo: Tausha, Simply Me blog.

I should have taken photos so that you could see how old our box spring really is ~

with coir-like material and cotton stuffing covering the top and rusty looking springs.
Old.
Very very old.

It was still solid as a rock though, so I ripped off the material and stuffing and took it down to the bare bones.
The only thing left on it was the wood and springs.
After a good vacuuming and cleaning,

I spread an old quilt and fitted sheet on top of it, 

and laid the mattress back on the box springs.

The dismantled Jenny Lind frame was hauled up to the attic to be stored.

I dressed the bed simply.
A couple of SSC pink ruffled quilts,
my favorite petticoat pillow shams,
a flea market needlepoint pillow.
It immediately felt more casual.
Less dressed.

I immediately loved not seeing a traditional head and foot board on the bed.
It had taken up "visual" space.
That is what had been bugging me all along.

The mirrors that were stacked and leaning on the dresser were stored away as well,
leaving the top free of clutter.
I placed a simple mercury lamp and clear vase filled with pink roses there instead.

I removed the room sized sisal rug and stored that away as well, 

leaving the painted floor bare with the exception of a different Turkish rug
(one with more pink tones in it) ~
because there's nothing better than feeling bare wood floors beneath your feet.

The room felt larger. Airier. Cleaner.

Less fussy.

You can see how my husband and I build the barn door style closet doors here.

An old feather ticking pillow was tossed on top of a rolled up vintage striped quilt.

A cool spring breeze blew in the windows while I played with the pillows and quilts.

It was all I could do to not to plop down in the middle of that bed and revel in the clean simplicity of the room.

Though the changes were small,
the feeling is big...
and I'm loving it for now...

...until I find a couple of twin wood box springs (or pallets)...

which will mean a bit more tweaking, of course.

  

:)

Update:

A sweet package was waiting for me when I got home the other day.
This is what was inside.

A beautiful Shantyjack created by my kind and thoughtful Texan friend, Sherry Hicks from
Shantygirl blog.
Sherry is well known nationwide for her version of beautiful Union Jack throws made with shabby chic and prairie fabrics.
She calls hers "Shantyjacks".
She sewed mine using fabrics from Rachel Ashwell and Cabbages & Roses
layered on a cloud of gorgeous white linen.

She used the pink floral Cabbages & Roses fabric
to commemorate my breast cancer scare during this past winter.

I just adore it.

Thank you, sweet friend.
Your work is utterly amazing,
your thoughtfulness so appreciated,
and your friendship...
a true blessing.
God bless you!

~  Eucharisteo  ~

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