The Little Things In Life

                                   Every day is a brand new day, every day is a journey.

 I seek Thy aid, I ask direction,

Teach me to do what pleaseth Thee;
I can bear toil, endure affliction,
Only Thy leadings let me see.
ANON.

  The beginning of the year certainly has been hectic. We had a covid outbreak at work resulting in extra hours filling in for those out sick. The caravan sprung a leak and we were without a vehicle for almost 4 days. Thank heavens for my son and his help during that time. Let's not forget the unexpected financial cost that went into it. I have also had a few bouts with the head cold, flu and virus. Right at the end, the dishwasher broke and we spent another three days waiting on the repairman.

And then I turned 58 years old. 

Yes, it has been quite a hectic start to the year, but honestly, it sure does make life more interesting. So, I have really been looking forward to this morning. A morning all to myself, among my favorite things and doing what I love. A little bit of crochet, some writing, ministry work and a good cup of coffee.

It's the little things that bring us so much pleasure. We may look upon others wishing we had this or that, but in the end, it's the insignificant things we long for. What is that for you? I hope that you know what that "something" truly is and that you can partake in it from time to time. Our soul thirsts for it.

Would you believe that I never know what I will write about until I sit down in front of my computer? It's true. I think that perhaps it has to do with the fact that when I sit down, I am completely relaxed. I set aside time for it. I give myself to the process. I don't try to whip something out in ten minutes as I frantically look at the clock. I savor the moment, because it is what I love to do. 

Now, looking back on the month, I feel differently about all these "setbacks" that happened. What stands out over the rest? My birthday dinner at Osaki Hibachi Grill. The good time we had, the show that the chef put on and definitely the delicious meal. We tried saki for the first time and most likely the last, but we had a good time.

Even though, we did mourn the car issue and the cost it entailed, but when it came down to it, we can choose what to remember in the long run. Folks, life is way too short to dwell on all the negatives. Let's live life fully for Jesus didn't die on the Cross for us so we could be miserable. He died so we could live!

Have a blessed day everyone.

No One Fights Alone

 

                                  Everyday is a brand new day, everyday is a journey.

Oh, ask not thou, How shall I bear

    The burden of to-morrow?
  Sufficient for to-day, its care,
    Its evil and its sorrow;
  God imparteth by the way
  Strength sufficient for the day.
J. E. SAXBY.

Everyday we get up and face the world with all of it's twists. . . turns. . . idyllic encounters. Sometimes we coast through our days and sometimes we come home wounded, hiding out in our sanctuary.

I wish I paid more attention to the injustices of the world in my youth. It took my battle with cancer to truly bring me back to life. I haven't really lived until I was diagnosed with cancer. Empathy is earned through experience, not inherited.

There are so many injustices in the world, but we choose to ignore the most difficult to look at. We choose to fight the popular causes of the day rather than worry about the wrongly accused or the accused in general. We justify our lack of empathy by asking why we should be concerned with the salvation of the unsavory ones?  We are more concerned with Will Smith slapping Chris Rock on stage. Or what the Kardashians are up to this week. We care more about these folks than all the unsaved, especially the ones we don't care for. We naturally assume the worst even when we have no idea what is going on. 

People have issues, real issues that they are experiencing every single day. In one big swoop, someone's world has been turned upside down. Sometimes by their own doing and sometimes by others involvement. The world is not an easy one to live in, let alone be in this life by ourselves. People need other people, because we do not fight alone.

No matter what you are going through out there, we need someone to hold our hand, help us get up in the morning or offer a shoulder to cry on. No one can take away our pain, except Jesus, but they can certainly provide the support to move forward.

This week alone has shown me that there is much pain out there, especially since covid began. People have gone through so much as couples, parents, even individually with no support at all, because they were isolated from others. What we don't see does not affect us. We can easily disengage from all the unpleasantries in case our families become infected by it. That's how we think.

People are either coming out from a crisis, in the middle of a crisis or there's one waiting around the corner. If we would gather together as one, we could benefit from each other's pain. Imagine how much your experience could help someone else. 

The problem here, many of us don't want anyone to know the skeletons in our closet. If you grew up like me, when things hit the fan, the first thing we did was shut all the windows. Your problems stayed within the four walls. Even now, I struggle with this affliction. When my family encountered a major crisis, I had no idea where or to whom I could go to. That, my friends, is a shame.

So why did I feel like that? It definitely wasn't because the people around me were not "good" people. I never gave them the chance to show their worth as Christians nor as friends. I was scared, I was raised not to share and I had no idea how to go about it. Granted, there were many who were judgmental and they stayed away. Remember, people are afraid of that same crisis seeping into their home. It's better to stay away.

I am grateful for the ones who broke through the barriers of my upbringing and grabbed my hand. They came, they stayed and they embraced us even when we didn't feel like sharing. Even when we weren't nice. 

I learned a valuable lesson. We need people. We cannot go through life alone no matter how much we may push others away, our hearts long for others. Do not allow the devil to tell you that you do not need the fellowship of people in your life. You cannot fight alone and nor should you have to. 

Have a blessed day everyone. 

Voluntary Solitude

 

                               Everyday is a brand new day, everyday is a journey.

Unite, my roving thoughts, unite

In silence soft and sweet;
And thou, my soul, sit gently down
At thy great Sovereign's feet.
P. DODDRIDGE.

If there is one thing that the year 2020 has taught me is that all of my thoughts on solitude have been wrong. Yes, wrong. I have always dreamt of living alone somewhere atop a mountain away from everyone else. As long as I had internet, I would be fine. I imagined a helicopter dropping off supplies as I lived out my longing for solitude. Another more realistic scenario, I would take an entire Winter to hibernate coming out in Spring to rejoin the world.

Either way, the peace of solitude is something I have longed for and looked forward to as retirement looms. Why? Because I am tired. This world exhausts me at times and I fear my place in it. 

Silent. Still. Peace. Solitude.

I have always been fascinated by people who go off into the wilderness away from civilization. Why do they do it? Strangely enough, it's not to run away from people, but to be more in tune with nature. When we are surrounded by silence, one can be open to hear all sorts of things. The peace and serenity of being still.

The beautiful song of the birds. 

The bumble bee buzzing around from flower to flower.

The sound of the plane off in the distance.

The endless chitter chatter of the squirrels.

The beauty of silence is refreshing. We are surrounded by constant noise and our minds become cluttered with so many unnecessary vibrations. Is it any wonder the world is so angry? So rude? It needs to de-stress from the chaos. Our hearts crave for solitude, for peace, for a sanctuary.

We need the solitude. 

One can be surrounded by people and still feel lonely and empty inside. Being open to everything around us expands our hearing what people's hearts are saying. Really hear. Block out the unnecessary and allow the necessary to come in, becoming one in tune with the silence. 

Be still and know that I am God.

Be still.

Know me.

Can you hear Him? 

Have a blessed day everyone.

Chasing Time . . .Again

 

                               Everyday is a brand new day, everyday is a journey.

Within! within, oh turn

Thy spirit's eyes, and learn
Thy wandering senses gently to control;
Thy dearest Friend dwells deep within thy soul,
And asks thyself of thee,
That heart, and mind, and sense,

 He may make whole
In perfect harmony.
G. TERSTEEGEN

I have been chasing time for as long as I can remember. I have spent searching for that perfect organizational routine that can make my life go in perfect harmony. Books upon books have been read to no avail. Time has been still elusive in my life, refusing to be tamed.

If you are like me, you are trying to be everything to everyone while trying to achieve all that you can. Are there enough hours in the day for that? Majority of the time the answer is no. We fill our calendars with activity even when we don't have enough hours in one day to accomplish them. We all live with busyness. 

Sooner or later, we will face burn out. I have been there once before and that fact alone, set me off thinking on how to prevent it from happening again. 

Time is very precious to me, especially since my cancer. Since it is so precious that perhaps I need to be very intentional on how I spent it. If I was going to give up something, then I need to make sure that time will be spent well. 

So, what is important to you? Or who is that special someone? When we have to make a decision to prioritize our schedule, it can be very difficult. We enjoy all of it, don't we?

 I thought about what was important to me. Jesus has always been at the top of that list. I could not imagine living life without him. So, I based my schedule around spending time with Him. Prayer time one evening and bible study another. It's funny what we can accomplish when we put our whole being in it. I cherish the time, my alone time with Jesus. There are times where I need to unload a really horrible day and He's there listening.

We seem to think that we have to give up things to find a balance in our life. Honestly, we just need to find Him and all the rest will follow. 

Have a blessed day everyone.

A Restorative Year

 

                              Everyday is a brand new day, everyday is a journey.

The man who has no refuge in himself, 

who lives, so to speak,

 in his front rooms, 

in the outer whirlwind of things and opinions,

 is not properly a personality at all; ...

 he is one of a crowd.

—Amiel.

As the year comes to a close, I cannot help, but reflect on all the things that were and all the things that could have been.  For my family, It has been a very difficult time that began back in the Fall of 2021. As this past year began to unfold, we as a family, slowly started the process of restorative action. 

Life is full of cause and effect. There are consequences for all our decisions. Sometimes, we make a great decision and reap the harvest from it. Other times, we reap the heavy consequences of those poor decisions. Other way, cause and effect weigh heavily the price of those decisions.

Beginning restoration can be quite tricky. There are things that will never be restored fully no matter how much one may try. One can say all there is to be said. One may do all that one can do. One may repent in every way possible. None of these things matter if these actions are not received by others. Either one is forgiven or one isn't. 

There comes a time where one is faced with a fork in the road. Does one stay still waiting for redemption? For forgiveness? For permission for restoration of one's life? 

When all has been said, tried and done to no avail, one has no choice but to move forward on the path God has placed them on. We all have a purpose given to us by God. Many of us are not aware of what that purpose may be for us to fulfill. All one has to do is ask and God will show you His will for you. Just ask.

The year is almost over, the door closing forever on all that has been. We can look back full of regrets and we should show remorse for those bad decisions. But . . . we should also do our very best to reconcile all that we can by moving forward bettering ourselves and our relationships. Trials can strengthen families or they can rip them apart. We can pick up these broken pieces of a family and put them back together even stronger than ever. For the families that refuse to be restored, well, one can only move forward and do everything possible in bettering ourselves from this experience. 

Life does not stand still. It moves forward, a sea of cause and effect. It's all about what we do with the wave that comes our way. Make it a good one. 

Have a blessed day everyone. 

Life Stood Still

 

                               Everyday is a brand new day, everyday is a journey.

Thy kingdom come, with power and grace,

To every heart of man;
Thy peace, and joy, and righteousness
In all our bosoms reign.
C. WESLEY.

This month has certainly knocked me off balance. Somewhere in my daily life I have picked up a virus bug of sorts that laid me up for days. I haven't been this sick in a very long time. 

Everything was placed on hold. The dishes lay in the sink. The refrigerator remained empty. The laundry piled higher each day. The stack of mail grew taller. The e-mails remained unanswered. Life itself stood still. Christmas just around the corner.

We got up, went to work. Came home and went to bed. This routine was repeated again and again and again. Our daily schedule stood still as we barely functioned from work and back. 

It's amazing how something as small as a virus can set one back, totally humbling us. Nothing else mattered, but getting the necessary rest so we could recover fully. Not even the same things like our crafts or our movies or hobbies could get our attention as before the illness.

Now that recovery is on it's way, one feels quite overwhelmed by all that has been left on the wayside. It seems that we can never get ahead so why even worry about it. One step at a time. One day at a time. Breathe in. Breathe out. When it comes down to it, does it really matter as much as we think? 

I worked for a manager once who only had one piece of paper on his desk at any given moment. His desk was spotless! He believed that we can only devote our fullest attention to one thing at a time. This is very true, especially now, coming out of this sickness. Things can seem so overwhelming if we allow them to be. A house is just a house. It's the people living inside it that bring it to life.

It may take me a minute to get through everything, but it will get done eventually. The people in my life won't always be here for me to enjoy. Nor I for them.

Have a blessed day everyone.

Feeling The Old

 

                              Everyday is a brand new day, everyday is a journey. 

Be quiet, soul:

Why shouldst thou care and sadness borrow,
Why sit in nameless fear and sorrow,
The livelong day?
God will mark out thy path to-morrow
In His best way.
ANON.

We live in a world that has been turned upside these past few years with changes that have crept up unexpectedly. Trying to find some peace, some sanity in all of this conflict can be overwhelming. We are looking for a way to escape the enormity of everyday living. People are seeking radical changes that are way too radical for the likes of me.

I think I have become too old.

Have you ever wanted to just get into your car and escape? It doesn't matter where as long as you can go somewhere free. Free from all the political nonsense. Free from all the division among the people. Free from all the current chaos our Country has been facing. Free from persecution of opinions on all the social media!

Life can become very overwhelming! To the younger generation our views seem outdated and conservative. We live in a time where the experience of the older generation is not appreciated. One has to ask, but has it ever been?

When we are young, we seem to think we have all the answers to the world's problems. Everything appears black and white to our way of thinking. We also quickly learn that because things look simple on paper, it is not so in the real world. Life is not black and white, but many shades in between. Life is navigating through the chaos of right and wrong. There are no easy paths and definitely no easy outs. Decisions are made and consequences are doled out. Life is definitely far from being simple. 

By the time we are in our golden years, we find ourselves feeling beaten down by the world systems. We pick the battles we want to fight, usually the ones we know we can win or the most vital to the moral code we are held accountable to by God.

Yes, folks. I am getting old. Joining a generation of foddy doddy seniors who live in a time long gone. Reminiscing of a time where the truth wasn't so muddled. The world is spinning and we are getting older.

Have a blessed day everyone.