An Unexpected Time Capsule

 

 

 

A box of canning jars stashed in the attic was an expected time capsule.  When I had wrapped them carefully in newspaper, I had no idea I wouldn’t see those jars or pages for another 17 years.

The crinkled, yellowed pages made me recall where I lived, what I was doing and what my life was life at the time.  I was a young mom, full of hope and good health.

We never know what the future holds, and it’s a good thing.  Had I known what the next 17 years would hold for me physically, spiritually and emotionally, I might have packed myself in that box and hidden in the attic, leaving the canning jars to fend for themselves.

In those 17 years, I’ve learned to  walk by faith, day by day, moment by moment. Some of these headlines were the beginning of that journey to find peace in uncertain times.

(scanned images are mine.  click on other images to find source.)

North Dakota and Minnesota had just survived the 1997 Flood of the Century. The Red River of the North is the boundary between the two states, so they shared the burden. We were battle sore and weary, but determined to survive.  Nobody was begging the government to intervene or blaming anybody, people rolled up their sleeves, helped themselves and helped their neighbors.  It was a horrifically, wonderful time. The attire of the time was rubber boots and warm flannel and the duty was to help where there was need.There were no strangers.

• 117 inches of snow of Fargo
• 4.5 million acres covered by floodwaters in two states
• waters reached up to 3 miles away from the river

The floodwaters surrounded the farmstead we were renting.  We sandbagged, ran sump pump 24/7, prayed and eventually were evacuated to town for a week, not knowing if we would come home to salvageable belongings. We spend months picking up broken tree branches and cleaning up flood damage.

And 2013 brought floods to Colorado as reported by the Denver Post.

Only 2.6 million?  Chump change!  (What does that saying mean, anyway?)

And I guess the Senate is still spending money. Click on the above image to watch the US Debt Clock tick.  It will make you sick.

It’s like the heartbeat of America.

I think someone is going to have a heart attack.

 

The article said “the University of North Dakota (Go Fighting Sioux!) and North Dakota State University charge $2,236 in tuition to attend school full-time for a year.  That adds up to $93.17 per credit hour over two semesters.”

Currently, NDSU freshmen students pay $264 per credit. (Hey you people in the west, notice that out-of-state tuition is lower with the Western Undergraduate Exchange program.) 

Greenspan’s warning in 1997.

Fox News warning us that Social Security checks could be stopped.  Really?  Take it out on our retired and disabled citizens?

Why do I have this nagging feeling that 100 housewives in Washington could have made and kept a budget better than 100 politicians? You know, if I couldn’t afford steak, I didn’t buy steak.  And if I really, really wanted steak, I didn’t go to the neighbor’s to borrow money to buy steak, I waited until it was on sale or went without. My kids had to earn their allowance.   I purchased needs before wants.  Anyhoo…

Remember being worried about him?

Now we have him.

Who didn’t enjoy some good news at this time?  Many of us rejoiced with the McCaughey family and their many blessings.

Dateline introduced the world to these beautiful kids, and have followed them through the years.  Click on NBC’s picture to watch a video interview of teenagers about to enter high school.

I didn’t find a lot of pictures and interviews on the internet.   The parents are raising children, not celebrities.  Good for them!

Did you ever have a phone that looked like this?

Or a plan like this?

Looking back is always bittersweet.  Some memories can be enjoyed and embraced, others need to be healed and forgotten.

But, as we look at our past, live in the problems of today, and face our uncertain future, we have this great comfort.

 

There’s one thing that will never change.