Note:  My sister had this post on Facebook today.  I thought it was excellent so I asked her if I could share it.  It says a lot of what I would’ve said.  Just wish I had thought of it first.   Martha has been one of those friends of whom I feel I owe so much.  I have wondered if I would be where I am today if it hadn’t been for her.  She literally walked me through those turbulent teen years when troubles seemed to overwhelm me.  ~Kim

                                                 A Tribute to Martha

(Peter and Martha—I snitched this photo from her facebook page.  )

Yesterday was Mother’s Day. Seems like most of you moms out there had a good day. So did I, thanks to my neat family.

Too bad there isn’t a Big Sister’s Day.

My sister and I have a friend named Martha Schwartz. Martha never got to hold and cherish a child of her own. She wanted to. Oh, how she wanted to. I once sat in her Sunday School class when she shared how she had struggled to accept childlessness; how it had been hard to enjoy holding other people’s babies when she herself wanted one so badly.

I believe God gave her the grace to finally cheerfully accept His plan for her life, even if that didn’t include children. ….Only, it did. It certainly did include children!

My sister and I were two children who looked up to Martha. She always had a way of making us feel like we were important to her. She always took the time to listen to our “stuff” whenever we’d see her. She radiated the love and the joy of Jesus.

Once, when Kim and I were in our teens, Martha and her husband called and asked if they could come for supper. (SURE!) Martha had gotten a letter from Kim. Kim had been sharing some hard personal feelings she was dealing with. Those two dear people got into their car and drove an hour or so to our house, just so Martha could help walk Kim through her struggle in a redemptive manner.

Through the years, I’ve always trusted Martha’s heart, because it’s obvious that she plans to live her life for God as much as possible. You can trust people who truly love God!

Martha, we love you! Happy Big Sister’s Day! -Pam

After searching in vain for a long-lost cousin on Facebook, suddenly she appears commenting on my wall!  Wow!  She is into genealogy and invited me to join her family history website.   I did and there I found a picture that I don’t ever remember seeing before.  Of course I knew right away it was my Dad when he was still a teenager.  So I “swiped” it and am posting it on my page.  After all, this picture should belong to us.    I wonder why Mom didn’t have a copy of this but maybe its good she didn’t because of the fire that destroyed their home and photos.

Anyway, here it is, my good-looking Dad before he was my Dad.