Monday, October 27, 2014
Welcome All, to my Monday Blog!!
As I was heading up to my office just now, humming as I took each step, my husband asked me “what’s that tune?” Then I replied, “it’s a HAPPY blog-day tune, THAT’S what!” It’s funny…I can’t remember NOT blogging, but it’s only been one short year!! Isn’t it just really cool how GOD works in our lives when we get out of His way? He so wants us to LIVE our gift of Life—to the very fullest—each and every day.
How about you? What’s YOUR Happy tune? Oh, and by the way, I SMILE, when I hum mine. It gives me a little lift in my heart. Yes, it’s a bit childish…and that’s exactly why it works!! We are wise to remember these words from Jesus:
“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” —Matthew 19:14
“Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child, will never enter it.” —Luke 18:17
“And we must receive His kingdom as children, not by purchase, and must call it our Father’s gift. —Matthew 18:17
Amen.
This week in “That Melvin Bray”, we find the Mother waiting to go “UNDER” as Maggie contemplates her own fears of hypnosis…kicking and screaming all the way, just like a “little child.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpts and Thoughts: “That Melvin Bray”
Chapter 23—Take a Deep Breath, Close Your Eyes, Relax
“If you have the faith the size of a mustard seed, you can move mountains and cast out demons.” —Matthew 17:14-15
Lizzy stood up from behind her desk and suggested we all go out onto the patio for a breath of fresh autumn air. That was a great idea, because when we got outside, it was obvious that Life, the ultimate gift, was truly alive and well just on the other side of the walls of that awful, dreary room Lizzy called an office! Color therapy? I didn’t care what color was embracing me that day; I was sad to the bone.
Being a mother myself, my heart was breaking into a million little pieces all around me as I observed the Mother’s body language. It appeared the grief and sorrow inhabiting her body had slowly and painfully begun to detach themselves from that empty shell of a being her heart had been trapped in for so long. Oh, if I could just cry out loud with her and for her.
“Have you ever been hypnotized, Katherine?”
“No. However, quite some time ago, my doctor suggested that it may be helpful and referred me to you.”
“Would you allow me to use this technique in our therapy?” Lizzy asked.
Katherine leaned forward once again and answered, “My doctor told me of your success with this type of treatment, and if you believe it can help me, I’m willing to try, Dr. Benis. I’m not afraid anymore.”
The Mother was showing signs of faith—maybe only “the size of the mustard seed” , but it was there alright and would prove to be mighty!
“Well, let’s go back into my office and discuss the best way to proceed.”
I thought, Okay, here we go, and we all headed back into Lizzy’s office.
By then, it was about 4:30 and Lizzy was ready to begin the magical process for which she was so famous. As I observed Katherine holding Ricky’s little love note and baby picture, I sensed courage and determination—traits that had become foreign to her over the many years of gripping sadness and grief. Even I had a sense of and hope—as in, I wonder if this is gonna work; I sure hope it does!
Lizzy instructed Katherine to retire and relax on the large, stuffed chaise recliner resting beside Lizzy’s desk. I was to retire to the reception area and relax. Yeah, like that’s gonna happen.
I forced myself to doodle for about half an hour but never fully engaged myself in the work, which was weird for me. I couldn’t concentrate, but fortunately, the doctor appeared and asked me to rejoin her and Katherine.
“Bring your sketchbook, Maggie; I need your help.”
We reentered the office, and Katherine was lying on the recliner with her eyes closed as if she were asleep. Without conversation, Lizzy motioned for me to sit at her desk. I did, and I calmly waited for further instructions. Katherine was still “under,” and Lizzy instructed her to describe in specific detail exactly what she had seen at the bus stop while waiting for the bus the day Ricky disappeared.
I looked at Lizzy but didn’t need further instructions; I simply began to sketch the scenes as Katherine described them. The next couple of hours were quite an experience. I was finally seeing the Fixer at work. What she did for that loving mother that day was truly a beautiful thing.
As the Mother would remember an individual, Lizzy would direct her to look closely at everything about the person, including his or her style of clothes, the color of his or her clothes and hair, and especially anything that seemed odd or out of place compared to previous days at the bus stop.
I sketched furiously in black charcoal, noting precise colors by each individual’s description. I felt like a forensic artist in a crime lab; it was very intriguing. Something else I found intriguing was the fact that although historically psychiatrists helped adults to find their inner child, in this case, the psychiatrist was trying to help the adult find her outer child—literally. Yes, it was quite intriguing.
Lizzy gave Katherine more specific instructions, and then Katherine opened her eyes and rejoined the two of us. Lizzy was emotionally and physically drained, and Lizzy knew it. This had been a monumental day for the Mother—and for us too.
Katherine was like a new person. The transformation she had experienced from two o’clock to five o’clock that afternoon had been nothing short of incredible. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed it. When she had come into the office that day, she had been a sad, meek, withdrawn and beaten human being. But she had left Lizzy’s office a hopeful mother, standing proudly with shoulders back, with a conscious determination to make an all-out personal attempt to find out what had happened to her child. Ricky’s love note and baby picture were the finds of the century, and finding those had set her cold heart on fire. She had left that day blazing mad that someone had taken her baby—and just as mad that she had given up on ever knowing what had happened to him. She couldn’t get home fast enough to tell her husband and show him what we had found at the Niceville Festival only a few days earlier.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Mother has a renewed spirit and an overwhelming need to find out what happened to her little boy nearly forty years ago!! Maggie and Lizzy are only too determined to help her in this search, and we’ll move closer next week as we begin to unravel this decades-old mystery of a sweet little boy named Ricky…
Join me— Next week: Chapter 24, One Step at a Time
Until then, I thank you ALL for visiting me each week; your comments and questions are wonderful and I would love to hear from more of you!! My hope is that in some way, I might bring JOY to each and every one of you, in some way, right here, through my Blog.
If you haven’t read my book, I lovingly suggest you pick up a copy. What I do each week here in my blog of “Excerpts & Thoughts”, is only a small portion of the real grit & merit of the story—the REAL messages which I want to share with you, in hopes of being an inspiration and of some personal value to you.
GOD is Good! GOD is Great!!
“That Melvin Bray” is available at:
amazon.com
barnesandnoble.com
Abbottpress.com
BAM.com
YES, GOD is Good. GOD is Great!!
Love, Margaret
Talent is God-given — Be humble
Fame is man-given — Be grateful
Conceit is self-given —Be careful
“Teach me and I will be quiet; show me where I have been wrong.” —John 6:24
Author Margaret McBride 