Ode to a Gem
I started scrapping when my son was born in '94. I didn't know that scrap magazines existed until 1999. I read them for years and marveled at the people who were published. I wanted to try to submit but was scared that I wasn't good enough. I also didn't have a digital camera, a scanner or a computer that was capable of emailing layouts. In stepped a woman whose style I greatly admired. It was rare to see women of color in the magazines back then and I felt a personal victory when I saw her work in print. I mailed a layout to this lovely lady and she scanned it and sent it back to me. (Did I mention that I live in NY and she doesn't?) It was the first layout I ever had published and it meant so much to me.
This lady has been there through thick and thin, giving me another set of eyes to critique my layouts when I needed it. She sent me my favorite coffee mug. It reads "Good Morning, This Is God!: I will be Handling all Your Problems Today. I Will Not Need Your Help -- So Have a Good Day. I Love You!" This inspirational mug and a beautiful card arrived during a time when my school district was laying people off and my name appeared on the excess list. It felt good to be lifted up in prayer. That Gem is Gemiel http://gemscraps.blogspot.com/ and I am blessed to know her.
6 comments:
What a wonderful and inspiring story! Love the mug, what a great way to get your morning started!
It's so nice to know there are wonderful people in the world and her kindness is proof of it.
OOOO....as soon as I saw the picture in my blog reader, I was drawn in my the diamonds. I love me some diamonds. But, when i got done reading your post, it was even better than a bag full of diamonds...friends and supporters make our lives richer and fuller than anything else~
Staci, I don't know what to say. I am just speechless and trying to keep my composure. Your post has blessed me more than you'll ever know. May God continue to handle all your problems everyday. Blessings to you.
So sweet to have someone so close to you.
Hi Staci, thank you so much for sharing your story. I am not good with putting words into writing but one I thing I want to share with us all is that I am a Scrapebooker today all because of Gemiel. I will never forget going to her scrapebooking meeting (for the first time ) with nothing, yet I end up with a finish project. And even to today she is still doing the same thing. To me Gemiel is a rare Gem send by the Lord for people like me. And rare Gem are hard to find.
Post a Comment