For the last lenten blog post for Marble Women’s Ministry this year, I wanted to share a cute story and to honor my Mom too, who played a large role in finding some of the special poets and other contributors for this year’s blog.  And a few times, she had to listen to me when I was overwhelmed a bit.

The picture above is of my Mom, Lynn Doll and her twin granddaughters, Catherine and Chandler (I mentioned them in the “Magical Thinking” post earlier).  We were on vacation together in Bermuda.  All smiles for sure.

You see, my Mom puts her heart and soul into everything she does, but her prayers before a holiday meal, well these are particularly special to me.   She prepares for this important moment and does not forget anyone who needs prayers, our late family members, and all around the table.  I am still not sure how she can go from preparing the meal a few seconds before, to sharing a carefully prepared prayer that is so thoughtful and most of the time leaves me a bit teary.

Well you see there was this one Easter.  Chandler who was 5-years-old at the time was sitting in front of a plateful of food and she was ready to get started.  To her, my Mom’s prayer had gone on a bit too long.  Chandler interrupted the prayer by saying in a stern and definitive voice, “Amen Grammie!”  Then my whole family erupted into boisterous laughter, as a child can say the darndest things! And the prayer was finished that year. My Mom had to throw in the towel.

Honestly, it is a moment that my family will treasure forever.  “Amen Grammie!”  Well it gets said at every holiday meal now.

Now to all of the followers of this blog….

Thank you for joining our Marble Women’s Ministry Blog for Lent this year, a growing community from around the US and world who join us each day.  Praying with a Camera this year was an idea that I had and I so enjoyed looking at the pictures and the stories behind them.  We had another focus, honoring the poetry of women to guide us on our lenten journey.  Our team hopes that the daily blog gave you an opportunity to add something positive to your lenten journey and also helped you to focus more on what is important in this life that you are leading.

We had many contributors who have been a part of our blog for many years.  But these year, our circle expanded and many new contributors felt moved to share their pictures, poems, and stories.   Thank you all for putting your heart out there for all of the readers!

And finally…  If you are local to NYC, our Women’s Ministry is sponsoring a 4-part program: Bold Authenticity: Answering the Call to Greatness with Greta Muller starting on April 29th.  Click here to find more information and to sign-up.

We wish you a blessed year and we will be back at the start of the Advent Season.

Marcie Doll and the Marble Women’s Ministry Team