Jaime's Guest Post -- Part Two

Here's the second part of Jaime's story.  If you didn't get a chance to read the first part, you can catch up here.

Forgiveness, Contentment, and an Accent as Icing on the Cake!

By Jaime Plemon

Our days are numbered like the lines on a sheet of notebook paper. Our Creator already knows the plans He has for us, He also knows the number of hairs on our head. Think about that for just a minute. No, think about it for a few minutes…

I once thought I was going bald because there was so much hair in the drain. So, what did I do?  I cleaned the drain, let the hair dry, and counted them. (gross, yes?) Know how many there were? 12. Yeah, 12. Now, that put some perspective into my 16 year old head. Really! 12.....What difference does that make? I mean, we can loose up to 150 a day! I suddenly realized I wouldn't have an abnormally slick scalp by the age of 18. I also realized that things aren't always what they seem.

I lived a dreamy childhood with parents that loved (and still do love) me and my 3 brothers. Our greatest tragedies were no T.V. on weeknights and forced naps of Sunday afternoons. Some thought we had it all, and in relation to the 4.5 billion or so people on the earth at that time, we were doing quite well.

I will spare details but I want to explain a little bit of the sorrows that have passed through my life in the past 10 years. I met and married "the one." We lost a child in the midst of the 7 years we spent trying to have a family. To this day I know it was a girl, and if she was with me, she and my niece would be nearly the exact same age. (And I think best friends! :)

"The one" found others..... what do you do??? I didn't give up. He did. So ended years of building dreams, having expectations of all that would come, and all the work that we put into those dreams. They were now dust in the rubble…the rubble of two lives, that became one,that then fell apart.

I thought my heart would never heal. I thought I would live in this gigantic house with 1000 cats, my dog, and a leaky roof forever. Well, until they foreclosed because I wouldn't be able to afford it...

Here is where we talk about forgiveness. "Forgiveness is giving up hope that the past could have been different." Let me say that again.-- "Forgiveness is giving up the hope....that the PAST....could have been different.” (Re-read that if you need to. Really meditate on it!) Do you harbor bitterness toward someone because they did you wrong,and all you can think is “Well, if he or she hadn't ....blaaablaablaaa.....the I wouldn't be in the position I'm in...” Do your thoughts really change anything? No,but they do increase the hold that the "wrong doer" has over you. Do you really reallllyyyyyyy want to give them that power??? 

You see, every single time this roof would leak I would cryyyyy.... cry so much. And you know, it really had nothing to do with the water, it had everything to do with the fact that fixing up this big, beautiful place was a dream of ours, a dream that was no more, and I hated him for it! Now, in the spirit of anonymous quotes.... "Bitterness is the poison you swallow hoping someone else will die". Isn't that so true? (Yes, feel free to read it until you have it memorized!) Now make it part of your belief system! Nothing new can come into your hands when you are holding onto the junk that is an anchor to the old.

Now, lets talk about being thankful, can we? When you realize that, just living in America means that you are not part of the 925 million people starving in other parts of the world--that is something to be thankful for! If you own a car, you are in the top 4% most wealthy in the world....yes, the world. That's pretty stinkin' high. I'm not saying that living here is perfect. I'm not saying that there aren't people in my little town of 4,500 that are not going to sleep hot and hungry tonight. What I am saying is that if you are not among these, that you are blessed. Say out loud that you are blessed! Let others know that you are glad they are in your life!  I wanted to share these things because I don't want you to live the life of bitterness that I did. I want blessings for your life as soon as possible!!!

We have a chance to accept the Savior of this world right here and now, to make Him the Lord of our lives, and to never again live a life of hatred toward others, to never again ask "why me", to never again fear that this life, is not what it seems. He has laid it out for us, remember? Like lines on notebook paper. So perfect that he knows our innermost being…every hair on our head, every hair we lose. His blessings are on a path He created for us, we are just so busy looking around, pointing fingers, spending money we don't have, seeking to be entertained, that we miss them!  When all along, He is really all we need. He will give us the desires of our heart…if we, seek Him.

I tell you this to now circle back to the fact that this is a follow-up to my "I decided that" note. In that note, I had come to total peace and contentment in my life. Totally trusting God and knowing that He would truly give me the desires of my heart and that I would not settle for just anything.  (Editor’s note:  If only she had known what was coming!  This is the sweetest part!  --Katie)

As many of you know, I am getting married in October. I am marrying a man that is also divorced and now a better man because of the grace of God, forgiveness, acceptance, and being thankful for what he does have. He does not care that I am divorced. He is from Serbia, and English is his second language. This being said, his spelling isn't always perfect, either! He doesn't care if I know how to multiply, and he loves that my hair is naturally curly! He sat across from me in a divorce recovery group for 13 weeks and I never ever thought it would come to this. I never thought he would even talk to me! He was way out of my league! To my surprise, he did. And every second of his sweet mouth speaking in his beautiful accent has been a delight.

I should tell you that I used to have a list. (You girls know that we all have one, requirements for the next man.) Well, I did away with mine months before I met Zika. But you wanna know what I always deemed the icing on the cake... If "he" (whoever he was) had an accent! I'm not kidding. Ask my friends and family! :) Isn't it great that God hears these little things, and that He knew when I was born that He wanted to give me the desires of my heart…even when, to some, they seem so silly? But none of our dreams are silly to Him! He created us this way! We are perfect in His eyes. Acceptance of that leads to peace about who we are. Being content leads to peace about where we are.

I so look forward to all the other lost dreams that God wants to return. I can't imagine what could be next. All I know is that I wouldn't miss it for the world! He really can make something quite beautiful out of our ashes…I promise!

Jaime's Guest Post -- Part One

It's time for a guest post!  I can't wait for you to meet my friend, Jaime (who will be here today and tomorrow while I am going back to work!).  I still remember the first time that I met Jaime, though she probably doesn't.  I was maybe 14, and I remember thinking that she had the prettiest red hair I had ever seen and I wanted to be cool like that when I grew up (Though she is not that much older than me).  It was years later that I actually got to know her a little, and I have found her to be one of the most genuinue people that I have the pleasure of knowing.  She is who she is--an art teacher/hairdresser/photographer/all-around awesome lady!  (In other words, I would still love to be like her when I grow up!) 

Jaime will be talking a little more about what's going on in her life tomorrow (I'll give you a hint:  She's getting married in October!), but this is a piece that she wrote on March 19, 2010, declaring exactly what she wanted when the right man came around.  And people, let me tell you God delivered!

I've Decided That...

by Jaime Plemon

Someday, I will be pursued by someone who isn't bothered by my inability to spell and the fact that I have never fully learned my multiplication tables. Someone will like my naturally curly hair and share my dislike of insane heat and humidity. My political incorrectness (I also make up words that I can't spell) will be appreciated, as well as my insane fear of heights.

I can't stand Kirstie Alley and I don't care who knows. I won't appologize for the people in my life because I don't hang on to people I need to apologize for. I'm probably taken the wrong way constantly because I treat people I've just met like I've known them forever and have decided that I can't be paranoid about being perceived as anything other than who I know I am.

I hate seeing celebrity's stylists using products you can buy at Wal-Mart because they are fakes and would never do such a thing.

I'm a hopeless romantic and think that some day I'll come home to someone who takes the trash out without me asking a thousand times and may even pick (not buy) me some flowers every now and then.

I'd rather see a person in a movie get hurt than an animal, not that I value animals lives over humans, it's just that I feel the animals aren't given a choice.

I say I don't believe in Valentine's Day because it's cheesy but deep down doesn't every girl secretly want the fairy tale? My favorite movies always end happy and I laugh all by myself at things that probably aren't funny to most people. I laugh waaaayyyy too long at inappropriate times and love when others do the same! My dreams are insane and sometimes effect the first part of my day. 

Someday, the fact that I've been married won't change how someone feels about me and people will realize that that which does not kill us really and truly does make us stronger. My manic moments are spurred by a load of sadness and disappointment in my life that I'm working through and I personally think that says a lot more than never being effected...

I always think that when I get stuck behind a tractor that's going 35 mph in a no passing zone that God must be protecting me from something down the road. I listen to the same song 20 times in a row and still don't know the words because I can't hear worth a crap. Cloudy days are just as worthy of reaaaallllly loud music as sunny days.

I love beards, glasses, scarves and flip flops on boys and not necessairly all at the same time. I want to live off of Diet Coke even though I've not had any for nearly a year and I have to force myself to eat veggies. I want to have a daughter and name her a boy's name and allow her to dress however she wants and if anyone questions me as a parent as a result then I'll know for sure they don't need to be in my life.

I think spitting is the absolute grossest thing in the entire world and I'm as organized as a gnat. I have a crush on Ellen and if that's not ok then I'm sorry...actually I'm not. I wish I could memorize movie lines word for word but my brain doesn't work like that and I hate to do dishes. Is there a connection??? Probably...

If you've read this whole thing your just as insane as me and we are clearly meant to be in each others lives. :) Go out, enjoy being who God created you to be and don't appoligize for it. He doesn't make mistakes.

Jaime...that's JaIme...not JaMie, did I mention I hate when people I know spell my name wrong?? :D