My Broken Vessel

My Broken Vessel

Our baby boy, so sweet

we were waiting to meet.

A brother eager to play,

with a new bundle named Clay.

When on a Sunday afternoon,

it suddenly seemed much too soon.

The baby quickly ripped away,

an emergency is what they say.

I cried to God, prayed to him with much fear,

please, Lord, this baby is so very dear.

Mother and child, both seemed in danger,

could we remember, the love found in the manger?

It all happened so fast,

yet the mold had long ago been cast.

Time to finish the knitting in my womb,

this new life assured from an empty tomb.

When your lung tore open wide,

they said that you could not survive.

Even before the physical touch of our love,

your breath, freed from confinement

was wrought with excruciating pain.

You were cradled by the wings of a dove,

took flight to be with angels above.

He carried you securely through tears

that fell like rain,

The will to live, to all of us, God above did give.

You are a child of God, molded by the Potter's hands. A miracle you are, our angel sent from up above, to teach us His unconditional love.

Your body still is broken and bent,

yet there is good reason that you were sent.

A shattered vessel perhaps to some,

yet you are the Potter's perfect one.

You have shown us all so much,

by always resisting Satan's clutch.

Even when the chips seem down,

your face never wears the hint of a frown.

You have waited so long, to God you MOST belong,

mount up your wings and fly, keep us all aiming high.

You have taught us how to trust,

even ashes to dust.

Let your light so brightly shine,

you are God's gift of mine.

You have already traveled a very long and dusty road,

and we have tried to feel the burden of your heavy load.

Yet always in that incredible smile we can see,

that life forever has been granted to you and to me.

Those trips when Heaven called you back, and held you,

oh so close,

it is Jesus you always managed to show us, that you

remember most.

So many times you would briefly leave to make a visit there,

it was Christ who kissed your head so soft,

so blonde and so fair.

In your brightly shining eyes, it is Jesus we can see;

so lovely and so pure.

These are the things, we are all so certain,

we can be wonderfully sure.

Jesus with the children, all looking upon His welcoming,

most radiant face,

Cradled you against His chest, warming you in splendid

and peaceful embrace.

He lives forever in your heart, in that most special place,

the glow of your spirit is our constant reminder of

His grace.

The love you give away to those who cross your path,

can help prevent the deep, dark fall into the

Devil's wrath.

It is you, our special angel sent from up above,

you are the reason we can feel so much of His love.

You have lived in God's most beautiful space,

it is written well all over your face;

the Devil in you simply can't find trace,

you are so strongly held in place,

within the loving arms of such amazing grace.

You are a child of God, molded by the Potter's hands. A miracle you are, our angel sent from up above, to teach us His unconditional love.

You have waited on our Lord,

with quiet dignity and endless faith,

In His arms you have shown to us,

we are all kept warm and safe.

As our future continues to unfold,

God will forever steady the mold,

A beautiful vessel made out of clay,

before we ever met you that first day.

He refines you more each and every way,

even in the ways that you have learned to play.

Our lives ahead look bright,

shining in God's pure light.

More miracles will truly come,

proof that we have a Holy home.

No more broken we will be,

we will all be perfect, in God's majesty.

Turn around all words of doubt,

non believers someday to Him, will shout!

Thank you for the love you have shown,

You have given us the greatest joy ever known!

We are all children of God, molded by the Potter's mighty hands. Keep sending angels from above, to teach us how to love. Show us how to care, teach us how to share, and help us all be vessels of your unconditional love.

Help us find in broken vessels,

more miracles sent from above,

Help us find in broken vessels,

the truth of Heaven and Eternal Love!

Clay Falls, you are a child of God, molded by the Potter's hands. You are a miracle of love, our very own angel mended and sent from up above. You have given us so very much: the capacity to give and to receive His unconditional love and such.

Written about my third special angel,

Clayton Alexander Falls, Sunday, May 19, 1985 in Boulder, Colorado

Taylor Monts Falls, Thursday, May 21, 1981 in Tulsa, Oklahoma;

bore witness with a tiny footprint before blossoming wings to stay a true angel above

Brandon Montgomery Falls, Sunday, March 7, 1982 in Tulsa, Oklahoma;

another angel who managed to stay earthbound, strong in faith and love

Written with much love, hugs, and more, I am proud to be your mom.

Annette Monts Falls

August 2, 2002

Girls In My Circle

from a beautiful girl in my circle........I do not know the origin, but it speaks wisdom.........

GIRLS IN MY CIRCLE When I was little, I used to believe in the concept of one best friend, And then I started to become a woman. And then I found out that if you allow your heart to open up, God would show you the best in many friends. One friend is needed when you're going through things with your man. Another friend is needed when you're going through things with your mom. Another will sit beside you in the bleachers as you delight in your children and their activities. Another when you want to shop, share, heal, hurt, joke, or just be. One friend will say, "Let's cry together," Another, "Let's fight together," Another, "Let's walk away together." One friend will meet your spiritual need, Another, your shoe fetish, Another, your love for movies, Another will be with you in your season of confusion, Another will be your clarifier, Another, the wind beneath your wings. But whatever their assignment in your life, On whatever the occasion, On whatever the day, Or wherever you need them to meet you with their gym shoes on and hair pulled back, Or to hold you back from making a complete fool of yourself .. Those are your best friends. It may all be wrapped up in one woman, But for many, it's wrapped up in several.. A couple from high school, A couple from old jobs, A few you've met as adults, On some days your mother, On some days your neighbor, On others, your sisters, And on some days, your daughters. So whether they've been your friend for 20 minutes or 20 years, AND ONLY IF YOU'D LIKE TO, Pass this on to the women that have been placed in your life To make a difference. Thanks for being one of those women!

Destinations of Footprints

Wow, how do I begin to write and explain my evening blessings? In the last couple of months I have been very privileged to reconnect with friends from my school years. Tonight was dinner out locally with two great cheerleaders! They are my cheerleaders and for that I am so grateful. We shared so many things in four hours that seemed to pass so swiftly we realize the need to share more frequently........in whatever manner lives allow us. In our quickly shifting and often very serious conversations, the subject of my little feet came up. I always laugh about my feet because really I only have one and a half feet............nine inches each which is six inches shy of two feet! Maybe that is why I am the way I am?!!! A resident of Lowman Home where my parents now reside, kidded me and still does that my feet were stunted because they had to 'thrive' in the shade of a large bosom.............now how do I keep my balance? Okay, back to serious things...............on the way home I realized that with the help of my friends the cheerleaders, that although they are very little footprints, I have left numerous and well defined footsteps from my journeys. My feet have carried me through many rough and often treacherous travels from one point to another point. Some of them connected and some of them separate from each other. But they are footprints with meanings. They are footprints that tell stories. They are footprints that appear all alone, and some that mingle with other different sized and shaped footprints. When I lost Taylor, our firstborn son, all I had to prove he was real was the tiny footprint from his birth. I never got to see his tiny feet....I loved feeling them kick and experiencing the miracle of life truly inside of me........when I saw him he was wrapped in a soft yellow printed baby blanket and although I was curious, Fred asked me not to unwrap him because he needed to remember him warm and wrapped and 'sleeping' peacefully in his mother's hungering arms. Oh, he was so sweet and so beautiful and so tiny.............and he came from our love. After a short time the nurse came back into my room and off they went. It was the only time we got to look like family from the outside. It was the only time Fred and I spent together with our baby boy. I know this is getting sad and that is not what I intend. The middle chapter of this book is that I had Taylor's tiny footprint. It was proof. I still have it. When we experienced this loss a friend shared with me the Footprints story of walking in the sand and only seeing one set of footprints............why God did you leave me to walk alone? And God answers............Those are my footprints...........I was carrying you. I did the walking and you were not alone. How many times did I, have I turned to these beautifully expressed words that are now so commonly read, displayed in different forms in different places? Countless times!!! Tonight helped me comprehend more fully, more intensely, that our footprints always matter. They may seem insignificant and lost sometimes (perhaps often?) And sometimes, like tonight, footprints cross over and join in with other, different footprints. One set no more significant than another set. While different, they are extremely alike. And when the footprints join that means we are blessed to be walking the same road for that moment. We have company physically walking alongside us. The walk goes faster. The walk seems easier. One step in front of the other; one step beside another. Encouraging, laughing, crying, sharing. And we confirm in one another that indeed when we feel we are the only one making the journey, God is there with us at all times.........we just need reminding that He can and does carry us when we feel abandoned and lost. And when we come to a juncture and meet other footprints, we take note and allow rest and healing for the lonely footprints. Spirits lift, smiles appear, laughter begins, and time stands still. I love it when God blesses our footprints. I am glad each one bears complete individuality, but I especially love it when they mingle so closely together that one set is just like another set and you can't tell one set from the other because they are so closely woven together. God is leaving His footprints right there with us. I thank Him for the footprints you leave on my heart when our destinations merge. Tonight, I thank Him for the footprints of my cheerleaders.........may we share many more sojourns in future moments.