Thursday, February 21, 2008
A Postscript to Previous Post
Often people talk about "Circle of Life" especially at times of sadness like funerals. Well today I am privileged to see it in action. This morning was the funeral of my sister's father-in-law and at noon we found out that my husband's nephew's wife is in the hospital with the delivery of their second child imminent. Truly, the book of one person's life is closing and another's is just beginning to be written. I know it can seem trite or even hokey, but when you see it happen in your life ,you just have to stop and marvel at how God really does work these things out.
The Eyes of a Child
Today has been a day like few others. It began with attending the funeral of my sister's father-in-law. My sister has been married for over 15 years so I have know her FIL for a long time. He has been ill for quite a while and although it is comforting that he is no longer suffering the effects of his loss on those closest to him is evident. My sister was concerned about how her 2 young daughters would take the loss of their beloved Pappy. As is usually the case with children, they have handled it so beautifully. After the initial surprise wore off, they were excited at the prospect of Pappy being in Heaven, wondered if he would fly around like the angels, and what he would have for breakfast in Heaven. As the funeral approached my sister was concerned about whether or not they should attend and if people crying would upset them. She and I discussed it and she sought the advice of other family members. Well both the almost 6 year old (b-day next week) and the 4 year old were there this morning. I asked my sister how the girls were doing and she nearly cried to tell me this. She said that they girls had come to the funeral home with their daddy and Bebe (grandmother) yesterday and they were excited to see Pappy was in a treasure chest and the inside of it looked like a "baby's bed". Now, if only we could see things through such innocent and open eyes. In so many respects a casket is a treasure chest holding what is left of a loved one after the most important part has gone on to a better place, and how wonderful to think of the inside as a baby's bed since that is how we are welcomed into this world and now to leave it the same way. . . Once the funeral started the 4 year old wanted to know why they were closing Pappy up - but when I explained we were going to have a church service to tell Pappy good bye. She asked but why did they close the box and I told her they would put Pappy in the ground after the church service and she was satisfied. During the funeral she and her sister and cousin happily drew pictures and decorated with stickers only occasionally pausing to check out whatever was happening up front. Afterwards in the foyer the 4 year old asked me why her mommy was crying and I told her it was because she was sad because she was going to miss Pappy. Everyone milled about for a bit and she came back to me in a short time and said mommy was missing Pappy and also thinking about Pop. (I blogged earlier about the accident my parent were involved in and my father's long journey toward recovery). Both girls were excited about seeing Pappy go in the ground and as I reflect on the thought of a treasure chest - it is just that, the burial of a treasure. Pappy was a treasure to those who loved him here on Earth and one of God's treasures as well. Once more it takes a child to put into perspective those things with which we as adults see with such different eyes. I know I have said it before, but I want to see things like a child, for it's purity, it's innocence, it's beauty and it's joy!
Friday, February 15, 2008
How I Spent My Valentine's Day!
Valentine's Day is a commerical bonanza for retailers - enough said.
My sweetie had planned to cook dinner for me and have it ready when I got home from taking my mom to see my dad. The visit with dad was a mix of feelings. He had managed to have a flower for my mom which was such a sweet gesture. Evidently the staff at the nursing center put a flower on the meal trays for the patients for Valentine's and my dad saved a lovely orange/red tulip for mom - his Valentine. He always brought her flowers for Valentine's. His mental state though was not at it's best and he was not as emotionally up as I would like to have seen him.
I digress - Earlier my sweetie had called me and told me his brother was gonna be at the regular Thursday night Hold 'Em game at the "hangout". Now my husband and his brothers have not always had the best of relationships so when ever either of his brothers call and want to hang out I encourage it. Thus I said "You should go play tonight". My sweetie didn't want me to feel neglected on this "holiday of romance" and said he would only go if I came and played too. Now I do love me some Texas Hold 'Em and he does have a nice group of guys to hang out with so..... for Valentine's I played Hold 'Em with my husband, his brother and 3 other guys. I had a great time. I also won $35 . . . not bad, huh?! What was the best was that I spent time with my husband doing something we both enjoy and spent time with friends.
When the game broke up we grabbed a bit to eat at a nearby eatery with one of the other guys and had another wonderful time in fellowship. All in all I have to say it was one of the best times I have ever had for Valentine's. No waiting in a long line for dinner or spending a small fortune on a "romantic meal". I did receive a beautiful single pink rose at the end of the evening - a beautiful period at the end of wonderful evening spent doing something fun with someone I love which is just one of the great things that love is all about . . . just spending time together.
My sweetie had planned to cook dinner for me and have it ready when I got home from taking my mom to see my dad. The visit with dad was a mix of feelings. He had managed to have a flower for my mom which was such a sweet gesture. Evidently the staff at the nursing center put a flower on the meal trays for the patients for Valentine's and my dad saved a lovely orange/red tulip for mom - his Valentine. He always brought her flowers for Valentine's. His mental state though was not at it's best and he was not as emotionally up as I would like to have seen him.
I digress - Earlier my sweetie had called me and told me his brother was gonna be at the regular Thursday night Hold 'Em game at the "hangout". Now my husband and his brothers have not always had the best of relationships so when ever either of his brothers call and want to hang out I encourage it. Thus I said "You should go play tonight". My sweetie didn't want me to feel neglected on this "holiday of romance" and said he would only go if I came and played too. Now I do love me some Texas Hold 'Em and he does have a nice group of guys to hang out with so..... for Valentine's I played Hold 'Em with my husband, his brother and 3 other guys. I had a great time. I also won $35 . . . not bad, huh?! What was the best was that I spent time with my husband doing something we both enjoy and spent time with friends.
When the game broke up we grabbed a bit to eat at a nearby eatery with one of the other guys and had another wonderful time in fellowship. All in all I have to say it was one of the best times I have ever had for Valentine's. No waiting in a long line for dinner or spending a small fortune on a "romantic meal". I did receive a beautiful single pink rose at the end of the evening - a beautiful period at the end of wonderful evening spent doing something fun with someone I love which is just one of the great things that love is all about . . . just spending time together.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
I'm Blessed!
I have the most wonderful husband in the world. He is a tender, romantic soul. He wrote me a love note the other day even though he was pretty sick and feeling very badly. He loves me and strives to help me love myself. He is such a light in my life - the only light brighter than his is the light of my Savior who I know loves me more than all those people in my life who love me put together. People talk about being a living example of love and my husband is and it is one of the many things I love about him.
I just had to shout it to the world!
I just had to shout it to the world!
Old Barns
A dear friend forwarded this story to me and I know she is an angel because it is something I needed to hear.
A PERSPECTIVE ABOUT OLD BARNS
A stranger came by the other day with an offer that set me to thinking. He wanted to buy the old barn that sits out by the highway.
I told him right off he was crazy.
He was a city type, you could tell by his clothes, his car, his hands, and the way he talked.
He said he was driving by and saw that beautiful barn sitting out in the tall grass and wanted to know if it was for sale.
I told him he had a funny idea of beauty.
Sure, it was a handsome building in its day. But then, there's been a lot of winters pass with their snow and ice and howling wind. The summer sun's beat down on that old barn till all the paint's gone, and the wood has turned silver gray.
Now the old building leans a good deal, looking kind of tired. Yet, that fellow called it beautiful.
That set me to thinking.
I walked out to the field and just stood there, gazing at that old barn. The stranger said he planned to use the lumber to line the walls of his den in a new country home he's building down the road. He said you couldn't get paint that beautiful.
Only years of standing in the weather, bearing the storms and scorching sun, only that can produce beautiful barn wood.
It came to me then. We're a lot like that, you and I. Only it's on the inside that the beauty grows with us.
Sure we turn silver gray too... and lean a bit more than we did when we were young and full of sap.
But the Good Lord knows what He's doing. And as the years pass He's busy using the hard weather of our lives, the dry spells and the stormy seasons to do a job of beautifying our souls that nothing else can produce. And to think how often folks holler because they want life easy!
They took the old barn down today and hauled it away to beautify a rich man's house. And I reckon someday you and I'll be hauled off to Heaven to take on whatever chores the Good Lord has for us on the Great Sky Ranch.
And I suspect we'll be more beautiful then for the seasons we've been through here... and just maybe even add a bit of beauty to our Father's house.
May there be peace within you today.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
A PERSPECTIVE ABOUT OLD BARNS
A stranger came by the other day with an offer that set me to thinking. He wanted to buy the old barn that sits out by the highway.
I told him right off he was crazy.
He was a city type, you could tell by his clothes, his car, his hands, and the way he talked.
He said he was driving by and saw that beautiful barn sitting out in the tall grass and wanted to know if it was for sale.
I told him he had a funny idea of beauty.
Sure, it was a handsome building in its day. But then, there's been a lot of winters pass with their snow and ice and howling wind. The summer sun's beat down on that old barn till all the paint's gone, and the wood has turned silver gray.
Now the old building leans a good deal, looking kind of tired. Yet, that fellow called it beautiful.
That set me to thinking.
I walked out to the field and just stood there, gazing at that old barn. The stranger said he planned to use the lumber to line the walls of his den in a new country home he's building down the road. He said you couldn't get paint that beautiful.
Only years of standing in the weather, bearing the storms and scorching sun, only that can produce beautiful barn wood.
It came to me then. We're a lot like that, you and I. Only it's on the inside that the beauty grows with us.
Sure we turn silver gray too... and lean a bit more than we did when we were young and full of sap.
But the Good Lord knows what He's doing. And as the years pass He's busy using the hard weather of our lives, the dry spells and the stormy seasons to do a job of beautifying our souls that nothing else can produce. And to think how often folks holler because they want life easy!
They took the old barn down today and hauled it away to beautify a rich man's house. And I reckon someday you and I'll be hauled off to Heaven to take on whatever chores the Good Lord has for us on the Great Sky Ranch.
And I suspect we'll be more beautiful then for the seasons we've been through here... and just maybe even add a bit of beauty to our Father's house.
May there be peace within you today.
May you trust God that you are exactly where you are meant to be.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
More Waxing Philosophical
The Gambler sung by Kenny Rogers contains a line that says:
You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em;
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
I don't know why but I have been thinking about this line a lot lately. I wrote about my father and the accident my parents were involved in a while back. Lately things have been rocky, my father who is a control freak has been reacting very negatively to his loss of control in life. He resents being told what to do by therapist who are trying to help him recover. I have tried to be supportive and encouraging but where do you quit banging your head against a brick wall. He is controlling the only thing he can, his recovery but to his detriment. Sometime ya gotta quit chasing the straight, flush or whatever hand it is and just let the cards be dealt again.
You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em;
Know when to walk away and know when to run.
I don't know why but I have been thinking about this line a lot lately. I wrote about my father and the accident my parents were involved in a while back. Lately things have been rocky, my father who is a control freak has been reacting very negatively to his loss of control in life. He resents being told what to do by therapist who are trying to help him recover. I have tried to be supportive and encouraging but where do you quit banging your head against a brick wall. He is controlling the only thing he can, his recovery but to his detriment. Sometime ya gotta quit chasing the straight, flush or whatever hand it is and just let the cards be dealt again.
Unexpected Contemplation
I came across another thought provoking quote yesterday. I love John Wayne but had never thought of him as a philosopher or deep thinker but this is attributed to him:
Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clear. It’s perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday.
John Wayne
This little quote got me to thinking about how many things come to us clear and perfect and how do we treat those things. For example our children, relationships, opportunities and miracles. How often do we take something perfect and mess it up. Oh, I know we are human and flawed so naturally we will make mistakes but knowingly make bad decisions? knowingly take the wrong route? knowingly tell God that we know better than He what we need or what needs to happen? I make many mistakes on a daily, nay, hourly basis but this little quote gives me cause to consider more carefully those gifts that are laid before me. Do I learn from my yesterdays? and can I make my tomorrows better than the day before?
Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clear. It’s perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we’ve learned something from yesterday.
John Wayne
This little quote got me to thinking about how many things come to us clear and perfect and how do we treat those things. For example our children, relationships, opportunities and miracles. How often do we take something perfect and mess it up. Oh, I know we are human and flawed so naturally we will make mistakes but knowingly make bad decisions? knowingly take the wrong route? knowingly tell God that we know better than He what we need or what needs to happen? I make many mistakes on a daily, nay, hourly basis but this little quote gives me cause to consider more carefully those gifts that are laid before me. Do I learn from my yesterdays? and can I make my tomorrows better than the day before?
The Joy and Angst of Childhood
The Swing
From Child's Garden of Verses
How do you like to go up in a swing,
Up in the air so blue?
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing
Ever a child can do!
Up in the air and over the wall,
Till I can see so wide,
River and trees and cattle and all
Over the countryside--
Till I look down on the garden green,
Down on the roof so brown--
Up in the air I go flying again,
Up in the air and down!
Bed in Summer
From Child's Garden of Verses
In winter I get up at night
And dress by yellow candle-light.
In summer quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day.
I have to go to bed and see
The birds still hopping on the tree,
Or hear the grown-up people's feet
Still going past me in the street.
And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?
From Child's Garden of Verses
How do you like to go up in a swing,
Up in the air so blue?
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing
Ever a child can do!
Up in the air and over the wall,
Till I can see so wide,
River and trees and cattle and all
Over the countryside--
Till I look down on the garden green,
Down on the roof so brown--
Up in the air I go flying again,
Up in the air and down!
Bed in Summer
From Child's Garden of Verses
In winter I get up at night
And dress by yellow candle-light.
In summer quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day.
I have to go to bed and see
The birds still hopping on the tree,
Or hear the grown-up people's feet
Still going past me in the street.
And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?
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