Getting to know Judy Hensley

You know what they say – what goes around, comes around… all’s fair in love and war… turn about is fair play…. Well, I made up my own set of journalistic reporting questions for Judy and it’s now time for us to get to know her! So, grab a cup of coffee, pour a glass of tea, get comfortable and hang on because, here we go!

I began by asking Judy her full name. I contemplated age, rank, and serial number and in both retrospect and based on her answer, I should have! Her response: getting kind of personal, aren’t ya? How about my social #. Lol! Judy (not Judith) Carole Hensley and I was a good girl before I married! But, something happened.

(Some things are better left untouched. We’ll just move on.)

She has a great sense of humor (if you hadn’t noticed). She has always liked her name, although did try to use different spelling variations: Judi. (I’m not so sure you could get many other variations… Joodie, Judee, Judie… well, perhaps a few more – apparently she went with Judi.) The experiment was short-lived, however, lasting only through Jr. High.

Judy let me off the hook in talking about PD for my interview; however, I am not so nice. I asked her when she was first diagnosed and upon finding out, what was her original reaction? Being diagnosed at the age of 40, just a tad past her birthday, she was (understandably) shocked. “My life is over. I’ll be an invalid in no time, and I thought ‘Just don’t cry in front of the doctor.’”

Well, my dear friend, that reaction is normal, as I’m sure you know full well by now. And our doctors sometimes cry with us, I’ve discovered! (Or at least they have the Kleenex close by and handy!)

One blessing that I have found from Judy’s diagnosis that many – known and many more unknown – have benefited from is her perseverance and participation in helping to find a cure for PD, which she readily admits would most likely not have happened if she hadn’t been diagnosed with the disease. Can one be thankful for a diagnosis for a disease? I do think so. For those who believe it, God truly does work all things together for good and Judy is a great example of such a truth.

Well, pressing on… Judy may be ‘over the hill’, but she’s yet to get old and grow up, stating that when and if she ever does, she will at that time be a professional photographer. If you have not seen her photos, you’ve got to to and check them out – www.flickr.com/photos/70487584@N00/ – the florals are beautiful! We will be featuring them on our site and they have been used in several Parkinson’s items (bumper stickers, calendars, etc) in order to raise funds for helping to find a cure.

Besides using her talents and gifts to benefit others, she finds photography to be a mode of relaxation (her photos being evidence!), as well as proofing her pictures on the computer. This, of course, is after she is finished growling, which she admits helps her to relieve stress. When she can’t sleep, you can also find her, once again, occupied on the computer with her pictures (and possibly growling).

Is she fulfilling her lifelong dreams? I will answer that question with a question, which was also her answer… Is she an astronaut? A women’s football coach? I would venture to say that is a ‘no’ to both. I would also venture to say that perhaps, that’s okay.

Many use the word ‘encouraging’ when describing Judy’s character, including myself. Does the gift of encouragement come naturally for her? It does and she likes knowing that people think of her that way, hoping that they can see some of Jesus living in her because of it. In turn, she encourages others to seek the gift(s) God has given them so they are used for His glory. Can encouragement be learned? Judy says that she has known some people who have tried to learn to be encouraging for years and were never able to do it, but that she believes they have some other talent/gift that is just as important. She believes that it is in seeking God and His will that we will find our natural talents.

In so much as what goes around, comes around, I turned the tables and asked her about tattoos. She has five. No, wait. That was someone else. No, she said that she is as old-fashioned as I am. Old-fashioned? Oh, I suppose one might construe it as such. However, I want to state for the record that pain is a factor and the fact that I do not like tattoos. Not on me. Neither does Judy. (Not on her, that is.)

So, instead of running to the tattoo parlor to take her mind off things, she would rather head to Europe if given a choice. Moreover, speaking of choices, here are a few choice morsels of information of what Judy would choose, if given a choice (how many times can one use that word in a sentence?):

- You are stranded on a deserted island and find a magic bottle with a genie inside that grants you three wishes. What do you wish for?

A cure for Parkinson’s, for my daughter to live a godly life and marry a Godly man, and for wisdom. (Interviewer’s note: I think that was four, but we’re dealing with a generous genie.)

- If you won a cruise and could only take one friend with you (not a family member), who would you take and why?

Hey, you don’t play fair. You know I’ve never been on a cruise? I would take my friend since junior high, Anne. We don’t see each other much yet always say, “We need to go on a vacation together someday!”… She is a dear friend and it would give us time to catch up on each other’s lives.

- If you were given a million dollars and had to give it all away, how would you do it?

I think I’d make sure my daughter could go to any college (150k), I’d give my family say 250k, give 100k to my church, wow that’s half right? I’d give 200k to the Have a Heart for Parkinson’s Foundation that Annie and I want to start to help Parkinson’s patients and families, I’d give Sherri 100k to get the motor home and travel as far as the rest would take her to fulfill her wish of stopping different places to treat people who have been serving others—but she has to let me tag along! And I guess I’d use the rest to prepay my funeral and host a big time party with all my friends (Hopefully before I die. If not then that’s what I want them to do after I pass, cause I’m pretty sure I’ll be dancing in the streets of Heaven and singing at the top of my lungs to the King!)

- If you could spend a day with anyone else, living or dead, who would it be and what’s the first thing you would ask them?

Paul – I’d ask him what it was like when he ‘n Silas were singing in praise in prison and they were set free!

- If you had to evacuate your home and could only take one item, what would you take (excluding family members/pets)?

My pictures.

- What is your favorite vegetable? Corn Fruit?

peaches

- What is your greatest challenge, past or present?

To be like Jesus

- Red or yellow?

You mean orange is not a choice? If not, red for sure or I’d mix them together to make orange.

- Movie?

E.T. or the first Star Wars (Pretty Woman is also good) and I like Bond. James Bond (especially Pierce Brosnan).

- Favorite day of the week?

Sunday

- Dessert or main dish?

Dessert, chocolate is best

- Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, or dessert?

Dessert

- Kitchen or living room?

Living room

- Swimming or running?

Swimming

- Cat or dog?

Dog

- Lake or ocean?

Ocean

- Coke or Pepsi?

Pepsi

At this point, I need to point out that Judy and I have much more in common than she realizes…

On a more serious note -

Sometimes we all struggle. Sometimes it’s hard to forgive. Judy admits that she didn’t forgive someone for neglecting to fill up an ice cube tray recently. While you may have been forewarned about treading lightly around my property if you should find an abundance of freshly dug ponds, may I suggest a warning of caution should you find empty ice cube trays lurking in Judy’s freezer? (Okay, maybe that wasn’t so serious but if you’re the one staring an empty ice cube tray in the face on a hot day, it’s deadly serious.)

While listening to her favorite group, Casting Crowns, Judy contemplated what she liked best about her blog partner, Sherri, and this is what she had to say: “She has her priorities straight; she has a most wonderful way of looking at life and seeing God in even the little things; she has a really fun-loving laugh; and she has a heart for the meek, the weak, and those who may stumble. But most of all, I admire her deep devotion to God and her attitude of gratitude!”

Wow. Thanks! Boy, am I glad you’re my PJ partner! Judy, I have secured you a seat on my RV’n Across the Nation Excursion. I’ll even pay for the Taco Bell stops. While we travel, you can read me the Diary of Anne Frank, a book you would recommend to others, which shows how strong we can be in the face of adversity. I would concur with you. Moreover, I promise not to let the toilet paper holder run out, as I know now how that annoys you.

It’s kind of funny, but when I sent off my answers to Judy and wrote my favorite quotes – one being about singing and dancing and living – on the same day, she sent me a card with the same quote. So, that being one of her favorites as well as mine, she shared her newest favorite Bible verse, found in Romans 12:8-10: “If your gift is to be encouraging, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift of showing kindness to others, do it gladly. Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring others.”

I think that right there pretty well sums up the definition of my dear friend, ‘Judy’.

You can tell a lot about a person by the quotes they like. Here are a few that Judy likes, even though she would tell you she doesn’t really have a favorite:

In three words, I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.
Robert Frost

If you can’t make it better, you can laugh at it.
Erma Bombeck

I am careful not to confuse excellence with perfection.
Excellence, I can reach for; perfection is God’s business.
Michael J. Fox

Well, life does go on and Judy has learned to laugh at it, you might say. And while she, like the rest of us, is not perfect, she lives for a perfect God and does quite an excellent job at it. We are so wonderfully blessed in knowing you, Judy Hensley!

Sherri

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