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Reflections and Memories–Oh What Treasures

 

   REFLECTIONS

A few days ago I attended a luncheon to remember and honor one of our beloved Delta Sky Sisters at a food pantry where she spent many hours serving others.

It occurred to me that our career, (as stewardesses/flight attendants) was mostly about serving and caring for others; therefore serving others was just a part of who we are… (a volunteer resource galore).  An unexpected and unique family bonded by an identity we now call Sky Sisters. A generation of girls who became strong women and broke many glass ceilings… not to leave out our pilots and sky brothers…just remembering the way we were.

Behind the smiles we had our own struggles; yet some how we left those behind and focused on our duties.

                                    ….JUMP SEAT  THERAPY…. THE BEST, ….TMI OVERLOAD….

Some of those in attendance I had not seen for many years; however the memories of our flying days were fresh as a new hibiscus bloom in the heat of Texas.

Reflections of those memories remind me of how blessed I am to be a part of so many lives in a career that took us to places around the world.  So much beauty, experiences, romance, joy, sorrow, and loss, … a way of life that can only be understood by us.

                                   … So many people different than us yet the same…

                                       …Thousands and thousands of untold stories…

As I looked around the room, conversations about times of all those years in a silver tube painted with a widget of red, white and blue at 35,000 feet, among the clouds brought smiles to  my heart….trying to take it all in and not miss any moment.

                                         … Connected By the Wings on our Uniforms…

What a sisterhood!  Often miles away from home yet for a trip we were friends that remain in some ways a friend for life and close for forever in our memories.

                                                 ……    from all walks of life   ….

We grew up together in the 60’s as jet travel increased and the world became smaller; our perspectives changed as we learned to be more flexible with schedule changes.  Delays taught us patience and tragedies humbled our hearts and taught us to be kinder and more loving. The war of our generation: Vietnam …broke us as we tried to make sense of it all …Woodstock and free love and the pill gave us a lot to think about and decide …what’s it all about anyway.

… Laughter and Tears….

                                                  Different beliefs….but still a team

As we remember those who are no longer here in their earth suits, I thought out loud “Thanks for the memories on all those flights with Delta and for the friendships that last a lifetime and beyond. All of you are part of me and I am changed for having this experience with you.”

                                        …Not forgotten…no regrets…a million memories…

Like one small rock thrown in a still pond….the ripples are far reaching…..so it is with our Sky Sisters memories far reaching to the hundreds that we knew and the stories we hold close to our hearts forever…Even the annoying ones and the what the !?!? ones.

Reflections of the faces and the life of the ones we now miss are imprinted in the pictures of our minds and felt in the deep parts of our hearts… 

                                   … Just Like the Reflections on the Sea at Sunset…

                                          …….. A TREASURE TO BEHOLD FOR ALL TIME……..

My heart is full of prayerful and thoughtful thoughts to you all.

Martha

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Oh How I Love Flying, the Gift of Feeling Free

           Flying Free

The wind was blowing with a gust, as I unloaded my art supplies and canvas from the trunk.  It was difficult to hold onto the canvas as the wind swirled around me like it would lift me in flight. Overhead I hear the sound of a jet airplane.  I look up and seeing the plane climb higher and higher, the blowing wind and the sounds of the jet engines jog my memories.  I am thinking about how much I miss flying and airplanes.

So many places, so many people, so many experiences racing in my mind at the speed of a jet.

As I enter the studio, this one memory penetrated my thoughts:  In 1970 I began to wear a POW bracelet made of stainless steel, engraved with the rank, name and loss date of an American serviceman captured during the Vietnam War. Praying daily for his return and  hoping that I would be able to give it to him or his family when he returned. (I will not reveal his name to protect his privacy.)

It was an ordinary day in April 1973, on a non-eventful flight standing at the airplane door greeting and welcoming  passengers on board.  The agent had informed me that we would be taking home one of our servicemen who had been a prisoner in Vietnam.  He and his wife would be boarding last.  The image of this man was difficult to process as he walked slowly onto the plane.  He was so thin and frail and I found myself wiping away tears.

During flight I approached him; trying not to draw attention as this was his wish.  I thanked him for his service. I shared about wearing a POW bracelet and the back story about how the bracelet program began.  I showed him my bracelet and said,” I hope one day to give it to him or send it to his family.”

He spoke so softly that I could barely understand…..this is what he said “You can give it to me that is my name on your bracelet”.  Tears of joy flowing from our eyes….  

Our reunion was short as the plane landed and he continued on his journey home.  This rare encounter shall forever be one that filled my heart with compassion placing me on holy ground.

                              Time to put earbuds in and select a playlist……

Rarely do I know what I will paint and what the finished piece will look like, I take this memory and my love of flying and let the process begin.

 Standing at the easel I swipe the you-tube app and begin to listen to “Leaving on a Jet Plane” by Peter, Paul and Mary:   https://youtu.be/Qc-7SnMnX78 .

Such freedom I feel when flying on a jet plane.  This accidental artist begins mixing colors and choosing the brushes and the palette knife, I move the paint covered brush across the canvas like a dancer gliding across the floor, interpreting the music.

All these memories of flying take over and the painting reveals my soul of how free I feel and how blessed and thankful for all the years that jet airplanes took me into flight to…  Beautiful and faraway places to many to name.

Even though my wings are clipped and I no longer stand at an airplane door greeting passenger/customers, the freedom of flight never completely escapes me.

As my playlist changes, this song begins “I Will Lift You Up on Eagles Wings” https://youtu.be/4rRea9qnjK4 .  I am reminded of one of my favorite scriptures….

“The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth.  He will not grow tired or weary and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;  but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”    Isaiah 40: 28-31

Be free to fly with the wind lifting you to higher thoughts.   Be the incredible, amazing , gifted you.   You are unique.  Your fingerprints, your voice and your DNA is yours alone. 

With a grateful heart I thank everyone who has crossed my path on a jet plane or anywhere else for your presence is a gift I treasure.

Blessings,

Martha

 

PS   I find it interesting that somehow I was hired as a Delta Stewardess/ Flight Attendant and wore the wings for almost 36 years;  During the 1960’s and the present the experts say:  It is easier to get into Harvard than to be hired as a Delta Flight Attendant…..flying high was a dream that came true and changed my world forever…..

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The Beauty Under the Sea

       Being under water is not something that I like, in fact it is something that I fear.  Perhaps it is because of my childhood experiences of learning to swim in creeks, and large ponds that for sure were home to snakes.  I do not like snakes.

           Back to Under the Sea……My husband loves to be under the sea…..scuba diving and snorkeling….My daughter loves it as well.  She naturally loved swimming underwater and snorkeling, especially in Hawaii. 

Me not so much….My first adventure with a snorkel was shortly after Will and I married and traveled to Bermuda.  I took the plunge off the sailboat and gave it my best shot.  After about 30 minutes I swam back to the boat and left some of my fear behind.

Several years later, Will and I went on a sailing vacation from Tortola with 2 other couples.  Everyone was diving or snorkeling.  One day I decided to give snorkeling another try.  With Will holding my hand we snorkeled over the Wreck of the Rhone.  The beauty under the sea captivated me and I am thankful that I was willing to set aside the fear with faith to experience this adventure.

 I wish that I could say that I loved snorkeling but I just do not.  I loved the beauty of God’s amazing fish, coral and the world of life that lives there, yet I had rather view it from a glass bottom boat or pictures or National Geographic videos.

Faith casts out Fear….this I know to be true…yet overcoming any fear can only be done by doing and believing you can…No one can do this for you…..

This painting hangs over Will’s dresser in our bedroom.   The colors and the shapes reveal in abstract my experience from that memory.  I used gold leaf in this painting to capture the images of the life under the sea.

What are your fears?  Are they giving you thoughts of I can’t?  Are they keeping you stuck?

                     Challenge your fears:   Take the plunge to free yourself from the doubt, the I will fail, it will not work out.  You just might be surprised by the outcome.  

At a Bible study on God’s plan and purpose for life the speaker gave us a paper tape measure in centimeters.  She instructed  us tear away the part below our age and throw it away, for me that was 70 centimeters.  Then she ask us to  think about what age we hope to be .  So I thought, maybe 90.  Anything after that we were to throw away.  I was left with 20 centimeters. So if the Lord allows me to live 20 more years, then how shall I live each day.

             Looking at your life from what has already passed, and looking at it in the light of perhaps the tomorrows, gives one the perspective of living each day with purpose not fear.

                             Challenging all of us to live for eternal purpose now, not later, for later may not come……..

The white blank canvas speaks fear to this novice artist yet I take the plunge with my paint loaded brush of color, and I began each stroke with hope and a purpose somehow creating art that inspires not only me, but all who look upon it…….

Finding faith today,

Martha

 

PS.  Comments welcomed, just click on title and comment section will appear.

 

 

 

 

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How can my Gulf Coast neighbors overcome the floods?

    Overcoming the flood waters is on my mind today as I pray and do what I can for my friends on the Gulf Coast as the flood waters recede.  The destruction is staring at them and far-reaching beyond their sight.  Overcome they will , but how does anyone know where to start with the shock of all of this?  Grateful that they have survived yet overwhelmed with the what now.  Yeah, I know they say it is just stuff and they are thankful for life; but when the shock wears off and the task of doing takes over I just cannot image the mere exhaustion that will continue for many days, many months, and for some, many years.

                Let us not forget about them I pray.

Harvey certainly lived up to his name which means eager for battle, and battle did he, with winds and rain that just kept coming and destroying for days.  It was difficult to see the images as I prayed Lord stop the rain.  Finally it stopped and the sun appeared and help continues to arrive that has given hope to our world of division.  A picture of how we can work together to begin to build again.

No words have I for inspiration among so much heartache, brokenness and destruction but the hope I have is to look up.   “I lift up my eyes to the hills–where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.”  PS. 121: 1-2  The painting focused on this writing is the cross rising above the floods of life with the light of the Son bringing the hope and mercy to us by faith.

May you find this hope no matter what storms are around you now or the  storms that will come, and you will look up and know that you are never alone .  God with us forever…….and ever……

Prayerfully,

Martha

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The Complex Joy of Flowers

      On my morning walk enjoying the brightness of all the blooming flowers around me washed by the recent rain,  I ponder the complex birth of the variety and the joy that flowers bring to all celebrations or tragedies in our life.  The memories that certain flowers bring at a memorial service and the smells that trigger the moments of time spent with those we love opens the heart to the joy of those occasions that only the beauty of flowers reflect.  Think about how when you smell certain flowers and what  memory you recall; perhaps it is a time of celebration or maybe a time of loss. This is the complex design of flowers created by God, each unique just like you with your own voice, your own fingerprints like no one else.

Then I wonder and remember how flowers a bring a special lift to those in the hospital, those in a nursing home, those in a home where moods of darkness dwells and just a bouquet puts serotonin in a spin and springs a feeling of happiness to ones heart.  A wedding, a birthday, an anniversary, a party, a dinner, a funeral, a grave, a just because occasion, these are a few of how flowers can give joy to sad time or a happy time.

These words written on my heart from Isaiah 40:7-8 “The grass withers and the flowers fall, because the breath of the Lord blows on them.  Surely the people are grass.  The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”  Therefore send the flowers today for this moment is the moment of now and the next may not be.  Find your inspiration in the creator of all creation and give your art to the world who so needs it.  Write the note, smile and say hello, send the e-mail, make the call, send the text, paint the canvas, draw the picture, cook the special meal, sculpt whatever,  and love while you can.   Who knows when our time here will be up…..Be joy to someone today.

The painting above was inspired by the irises that grew on the driveway of the home where I spent 17 years raising my daughter.  They were planted by the previous owner who loved flowers by the evidence of all the azaleas, magnolia trees and bougainvilleas that were in full bloom when we bought the house.  These were the flowers of my childhood in Mississippi so this most definitely inspired me to buy that home.

If you have reach this part of reading this post I am sending you the best part of my heart today the part that knows you have something that someones needs to see, to hear, to eat, or to read that will encourage them onward to thoughts that can change their emotions to feel the wonder of joy all around and they to might even send the flowers….

Blessed I am to have the gift of seeing color.  Send me a comment as I am inspired by you who have found me here.

Martha