I Said A Prayer For You Today

I said a prayer for you today
And know God must have heard,
I felt the answer in my heart
Although He spoke no word.
I didn't ask for wealth or fame,
I knew you wouldn't mind.
I asked Him to send treasures
Of a far more lasting kind.
I asked that He'd be near you
At the start of each new day,
To grant you health and blessings
And friends to share your way.
I asked for happiness for you
In all things great and small,
But it was for His loving care
I prayed the most of all.

 

 

 

 

An Angel on Earth

This page is for a very special young lady who, in the short time
that I have known her, has become a really dear friend. She has
been a friend not just to me, but to all my family whom she has
touched so deeply. She is a lady of many talents and one who is
wise beyond her years.She never does anything just half way. She is
one of those rare persons who will do anything she possibly can to
help someone whatever the need may be. She will go beyond the call
of duty and expect nothing in return. She has taught me so much,
given me the encouragement and inspiration to do things I never
dreamed I would or could ever do. She always seems to know when
I really need an extra note, card or spirit lifter. She always puts
others first. Two of her major causes are cancer and domestic
violence. She has a personality, a laugh and a way with words that
will brighten anyone's day no matter how dreary it may be. So please
let me introduce you to Lady Madona and tell you some of the
things that make her such a special friend and her entire family
our adopted family.

I first met Lady Madona a couple of years ago through a web group
that I had just joined. She had been in the group for awhile and
we exchanged some e-mail about my e-mail service and problems I
was having with it. A bit later, I asked her for her snail-mail
address so I could mail her something and she explained that she
normally did not do that but that for some reason she trusted me
and we exchanged addresses. Then she sent a post into the group
about a page "I Said A Prayer for You Today" which she had done for
a friend. I had heard the prayer years ago and asked her if she
would mind e-mailing me the prayer. Of course, she was kind enough
to do so and it was just a few days later that I received a snail
mail letter with that prayer on a card which still sits next to
my computer.

I had not known her long when, after she learned that my sister and
I were keeping my little great-niece Mattie, she asked me to send
her a picture of Mattie. It was only a few days later that Mattie
received her very first e-mail - a lovely little fairy tale with
words of encouragement and cheer. Mattie's picture now had wings
added and SHE was the little fairy and her "Sweet Lady", as she
calls my friend, told her to believe in herself and that she could
do anything she wanted to do in life. Mattie apparently learned this
lesson well because after all she has been through in her short
life, she is on the principal's list at school and has received a
letter from the Virginia House of Delegates commending her for her
good work in school. As long as Mattie stayed with us her "Sweet Lady"
frequently sent her e-mails and cards which Mattie had me to
print for her and she keeps all of these safely in her special
e-mail folder. Mattie's Sweet Lady Madona also never forgets her birthday.

I had not known Lady Madona long when she suffered a traumatic
brain injury from a fall and had to re-learn her HTML coding and
graphics. She kept telling me that I needed a home on the web. I
told her I was not smart enough for that and that I was doing good
to manage e-mail. She assured me that if she could re-learn simple
things that used to be automatic for her, walking, HTML, graphics,
etc. that I could do it. After not hearing from her for about three
days I received an e-mail with "been working" in the subject line.
There I found a wonderful surprise that brought a flood of tears -
links taking me on a treasure hunt to five very special pages that
she had designed for my "home" on the web. They sat around for a
while because I did not have the slightest idea how to get the text
on the pages and I hated to bother her by asking with all she was
undergoing at that time. The longer they sat, the guiltier I felt
as I "watched" her through e-mail fight her way through all the
problems resulting from her injury. She IMed me one evening to ask
me about something and at that time I asked her how I could get the
text on my pages she had done - never realizing just what was
involved. She spent from 9:00pm until almost 2:00am explaining
step-by-step, with all the patience in the world, to this computer
illiterate old lady how to access my Tripod filemanager, upload
files, write HTML code, etc. Definitely above and beyond the call
of duty!!!!

In November of 2000 when Lady Madona learned that Mattie had been
taken from her day care and we did not know where she was, she wrote
a poem and designed a very special page for visitors to light a
candle for Mattie so that this little girl would one day learn
of the many wonderful friends that she has praying for her on the net.

This past Christmas since Mattie could not be present with Madona's
family when she read "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to her three
girls, she made a page for Mattie complete with a wav file of her
reading of the story. Lady Madona certainly made Mattie one happy
little girl!!!

After September 11, 2001, I told her that we had checked everywhere
around and could not find a flag any place. A few days later, I
received a package with 2 flags with God Bless America on them - one
for my van and one for my sister's car.

She did a page for me for Christmas in 2001 that was so beautiful
and so special that when I read it, all I could do was cry many
happy tears.

I was totally surprised when I checked my e-mail one day and found
one from Lady Madona with a link to Marilyn's Hideaway. She remembered
that I love lighthouses and have my bath in a lighthouse theme
and when the page came up with the beautiful lighthouse I was in
tears - a beautiful entrance page to an index page for a new site.
All for no reason that I can figure except that she felt maybe my
other site was rather full!

Lady Madona has also made me several special web pages including
one "El Buen Papa" that I did for my Spanish professor from UVa who
is now 94 years young. He and his wife were so delighted that such
a beautiful page had been made for them!!!

She later did another very special page "Words of Wisdom" for a dear
friend with whom I taught for many years who was dying with
cancer. Thanks to her, he and his wife were able to share the page
which had contributions from other collegues telling him how much
his friendship had meant to them.

Mattie, my sister, one of my former students and I had the honor
and pleasure of meeting Lady Madona and her family during the Christmas
holidays in 2001. It was very apparent what a truly wonderful
person, wife and mom she is after seeing her with her husband Steve,
her children and with Mattie. My student later commented that
the thing that really impressed her was the love that was so apparent
in the family. She is one in a million and this is the lady who,
before I met her face to face, several people told me she could
not be my friend because I had never seen her!

I could go on but I feel I would need several more pages. :-)
Sooo, I will just say "Madona, thank you for ALL you have done, your
inspiration, understanding and patience but most of all thank
you for just being you"!!!

Always in my heart(with indelible prints),
Forever in my prayers!

 

 





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