My name is Goldie Anne Guykenhaall.  I live in Conyers, Georgia, with my husband, William, and our youngest daughter, Sharon, whoh both take good care of me.  I am homebound because of mulitple health problems, including diabetes that cost me both legs, chronic heart failure, emphysema (I'm on oxygen 24/7), and rheumatoid arthritis (this I have had for years).  I am basically bedridden.

I know it isn't easy for William or for Sharon, as they have to cater to my every whim.  They have to feed me when my arms/shoulders won't co-operate because of the RA, and they have to dress/bathe/change me.  I know it's uncomfortable for them, but they do it because it's necessary.  Besides, I can't do it for myself.

Yet they are willing to help me in any way possible, and I am very grateful for that. 

Because of my worsening health, I can no longer attend church.  This is probably one of the worst things about being in my situation.  I was one of the "higher ups" in the church social ladder; I was there with my friends, Edna, Martha, Coralene, Rachael, Dorothy, and Edith every Sunday.  Rain, snow, sun, holiday or no holiday:  I was there at church, right there in the front row, so we could have a good ringside seat of all the action going on on the platform (and even behind us).

I was one of the Calmont Baptist Church "Seven".

Happily, my friends and even the pastor come to see me several times a week.  They know I am a good pray-er, so they regale me with all that is going on, and I pray for my fellow church members if they are going through struggles.  They, in kind, keep me in prayer, and it's like a warm, soft blanket covering me:  I feel the warmth and sincerity of their prayers, and I feel comforted.  It's like God putting his Big Wide Arms around me and saying to me:  "Child, I am here.  I will never leave you or forsake you.  I care for you.  And I love you."

I have to laugh at that.  I am an old woman, and here's God calling me His Child.  LOL  I'm hardly "child material"; I'm in my seventies!  LOL

People may think my situation is very bad, because I can't do a lot for myself, but I am blessed beyond measure.  I have a husband and daughter who are willing to put everything aside to care for me, their bedridden, sick mother, I have a wonderful network of church friends, I can see, hear, taste, smell, touch, and enjoy God's beauty around me, I have a good working mind, and I can write down my thoughts/feelings in my journal, such as I am doing now.

I'm also grateful because I am free and living in the greatest nation in the wrold: the United States of America.

There are many people who have it far worse than me.  Sometimes I need to remind myself of that whenever I see the news on the telly at night or hear of injustice being meted out on my fellow man (or even on animals).  Sometimes it's enough to make me want to cry, but I know that God is in control, and I need to keep trusting Him.

Well, I am getting sleepy, so I am going to try to get some sleep.  Didn't sleep well last night:  RA made its presence known; hurt all night long.  I will write in here again soon; until then, this is Goldie saying so long!   May God bless you as much as He's been blessing me!

~Love, your friend, Goldie Anne Guykenhaall.  :)