16 Pivotal Minutes of Recollection – In Memory of Taira Baughman
It’s May 2013. You have sixteen minutes to collect your life story. With physical, mental and spiritual foundations falling apart, shock is setting in as you grapple with what you see and hear.
A special edition of TIME Magazine will hit the “newsstands and tablets Friday, May 24…dedicated to covering the devastation that followed the pivotal 16 minutes between when sirens first alerted Moore residents and when the tornado touched down.” Miraculously, by all reports, the spiritual fabric of Moore Oklahoma appears in tact, despite widespread physical destruction. People are joining forces – ready to recollect their story.
The sexual assaults plaguing the military are outpacing media coverage of the decade-plus long war overwhelming our military families. The Washington Times points out a commonly unpublicized fact – thousands of members surveyed revealed male-on-male perpetrators (most not in a combat zone). Clearly, sexual assault problems are across-the-board and eroding the fabric of our military.
6:00am on May 21st: like a whisper, I awake feeling the need to pray. I allow my knees to meet the floor, before anything else invades this new day’s sacred space. One more time, I ask God to please end the pain. My thoughts scamper from Oklahoma to our military to my sweet friend battling stage four breast cancer metastasized to her lungs.
I suddenly hear my own breathing as pictures of her four children and her giant-of-courage husband rhythmically float through my praying mind. A wave of peace comes over me, as I remember to thank God for my big sister Donna’s birthday and her part in my life story.
12:30pm: I arrive at Synergy Organic Café to meet an old friend. We are old in spirit not years. Our story began with her post-breast cancer battle and quickly wove through an inexplicable, untimely loss of her husband. We chatter back and forth while pulling up Facebook. The shockwave hits full-force as our eyes meet countless posts.
Hours earlier, our mutual friend left this troubled world behind. In fact, my early-morning prayer very nearly collided with my friend’s culminating life story. There in the company of Tina, my survivor-friend, I began to carry-on the story. Memory by memory, minute by minute, we celebrated Taira Baughman’s life. Her unwavering determination to live through cancer left an indelible faith-filled mark upon our lives, and thousands of others. People will no doubt join forces – ready to recollect chapters of her story.
Last month, I had the privilege of visiting with Taira and her husband. Together, we turned the pages of her life as we talked about her children, their marriage, and her hope in God. With determination in her eyes, Taira told me she was still going to write a book. I reminded her that she already had. Whether her blog remains as pages of entries or becomes bound and covered, her life story will remain in the fabric of thousands upon thousands of lives. We joined hands to pray – entering a sacred space where physical, mental and spiritual foundations are eternally perfect – beyond anything our eyes can see or our minds can imagine. Across-the-board, life is precious and fleeting. Are you ready if you only had 16 pivotal minutes to recount your actions and their impact?
God bless my faith-filled sweet friend, Taira Baughman. You came into our lives leaving footprints in our hearts, paving the way for us to carry on your legacy. ~ With all my love and hugs, Maryann
Please click here to visit Taira’s blog to carry on her legacy of hope. Help us care for her children in lieu of flowers — take these steps to help eradicate the financial destruction left behind by cancer:
On-line Caring:
https://www.giveforward.com/fundraiser/tjb2/billknockout
Snail-mail Caring:
The Taira Baughman Benefit Account
SunTrust Bank
15375 Lebanon Road
Old Hickory, TN 37138
Spark of Hope #83 — Forever Moments of Mommy and Me
Spark of Hope #83 - This past Monday, we had an excellent guest on our Because Hope Matters Radio Program. Rob Harris (my co-host) and I appreciated Joy Loverde’s knowledge and insight about caring for elderly parents. When I asked her what she’d consider to be the best gift for Mother’s Day, she said “time.” That really struck a chord with me. My husband and I raised our children amid his 28-year military career. We moved frequently, saw our families infrequently, and seldom spent “time” with them outside of holidays and random visits. It’s funny, though, how life has a way of bringing us full circle. My parents recently moved south, settling just five minutes away from us! We are now spending quite a bit of time together. We’re learning new things about my elderly parents; we’re shedding old assumptions; and we’re finding peace in old short-falls. As Joy said during our program, there are unexpected blessings that come in caring for elderly parents. Huge Outcomes are Possible Everyday when HOPE becomes your caregiver co-pilot.
In honor of Mother’s Day, I encourged our Facebook friends to write a letter, compose a song, or create a poem to say thank you to your Mommy this Sunday. Here’s my attempt to mimic my mother’s gift of poetry writing:
Forever Moments – Mommy and Me
Onto the rug tears did fall
Too young for the bus at three
“Maryann” I hear her call
Time will pass like a lightening spree
Follow the leader she goes
Jack Lalanne is the dream
Big muscles plus all he knows
As me and baby brother scream
Forever Moments – Mommy and Me
Take the pencil hold it tight
One by one writing is the game
Now press with all your might
Voilà you wrote your name
Fire flies go blink in the night
As she delivers a final kick-ball pitch
With team of five kids dimly in sight
Stealing bases before her eyes could switch
Forever Moments – Mommy and Me
“Maryann” I hear her call
Like lightening spree, time sped past
Too old to lead lest I fall
Stay with me don’t go too fast
Onto the rug our tears did fall
Team of five kids still in sight
Share hope’s muscle – stand tall
One by one seize the moment with all your might
Savor the Forever Moments – Mommy and Me
Hope is like a spark; if the conditions are right, it can spread like wildfire. Hope feeds the soul, ignites passion, and inspires others. Tucked inside each of us is a child-like spark that says: never forget to dream, play and imagine. HOPE is the extraordinary spark that says Huge Outcomes are Possible Everyday!
Spark of Hope #82 – It Isn’t Just Child’s Play!
Spark of Hope #82 – Before the invention of electronic games, my siblings and I loved to play outside after dark. As a team of five, we championed some pretty good games of baseball, frisbee, and fire fly chasing. We got into some mischief at times, but the memories created during summertime child’s play were..and still are…priceless. Around the country, students are counting the days until summer vacation. Parents are making plans to keep their children occupied once school lets out. An article in TIME today was a great reminder that having fun isn’t just child’s play. “After playing for 10 hours, either in the lab or at home, players gained the equivalent of three years of cognitive ‘reserve,’ according to the researchers’ calculations.” The participants were all over 50 years old. When you take time to play, it ignites a sense of HOPE that makes Huge Outcomes Possible Everyday. Imagine the possibilities when a heart is filled with hope!
Make Time to Play, Dream and Imagine!
Hope is like a spark; if the conditions are right, it can spread like wildfire. Hope feeds the soul, ignites passion, and inspires others. Tucked inside each of us is a child-like spark that says: never forget to dream, play and imagine. HOPE is the extraordinary spark that says Huge Outcomes are Possible Everyday!
When Duty Calls – Commemorating Military Child Month
When duty calls military members to places far and wide, children are often called to serve in various ways too. Being a military brat calls them to live in constant readiness — willing to Be Relocated And Transformed. In walking beside a military parent, their traits of adapability, worldliness and patriotism create a shining example for others to follow. My hope is that our nation will remain keenly aware of their service and sacrifice, beyond today’s culmination of the Month of the Military Child.
Connecting local communities with military families is vitally important for such awareness. According to the federal Department of Education, “more than 1.2 million school-aged children of service men and women” attend our nation’s schools — that means virtually every school has military children among its students. They each deserve a voice, and the gifts they possess have the capacity to make quite an impact. Here on the Emerald Coast, I’ve been privileged to watch the Young Marines as they plug into my community, serving in various ways. From dedications for wounded warrriors and fallen heroes to marching beside veterans of the Doolittle’s Raiders in a reunion parade, the Young Marines volunteer countless hours of service. Perhaps one of the reasons their 26 members acclimate so well to military protocol is that it runs in their blood. Thirteen members are following in the footsteps of military fathers, mothers, step-parents, grandfathers, uncles and brothers.
Providing a place where military children are recognized and celebrated is the vision behind the “BRAT Town Bugle.” Through the creative efforts of the founders of Operation We Are Here and Troops in Touch, an interactive, virtual place where children and parents can exchange postcards, tell their story, and download coloring pages was designed. During the Month of the Military Child and beyond, the Town Bugle is a great place to visit, ”celebrate, and pay tribute to all military children who serve along with their parents.”
Articles like this one that honor our nation’s youngest heroes is just one way to spotlight their patriotism. Join me in encouraging, motivating and celebrating children’s abilities to make a difference in the world around them.
Spark of Hope #81 – The Guidepost in Your Path
Spark of Hope #81 - Walking through life’s difficult journeys is a bit like walking on gravel. There are times when it seems like you’ll lose your footing, and times when the path is so full of obstacles that you can’t even see where you’re going. Ever since entering this battle with Alzheimer’s beside my mother, I vowed to confront it with one powerful constant. There is hope – when I am calm. There is hope – when I am strong. There is hope - as long as I have faith in more than I can see. Thanks to God, my family won’t lose our footing despite the gravel and the obstacles in our way. With HOPE, there’s a clear guidepost along the path — and that means Huge Outcomes are still Possible Everyday!
Hope is like a spark; if the conditions are right, it can spread like wildfire. Hope feeds the soul, ignites passion, and inspires others. Tucked inside each of us is a child-like spark that says: never forget to dream, play and imagine. HOPE is the extraordinary spark that says Huge Outcomes are Possible Everyday!
