To Everything There is a Season

Sunday, September 28, 2008

He Who Is Able

May God wrap His arms of love around you,
so that you feel His presence with you;
May His Holy Spirit the Comforter abide in you,
through you and all about you ... and grant you peace;
May His hand of healing be upon you, and bring complete healing;
May the physicians be granted clarity of mind, and wisdom,
and may even His hand guide theirs.

May you find all that you need in the One who is able to provide.

Angels

The Art of Letting Go

In the past months I have had to learn the art of letting go. The last ten years have been like a beautiful chapter in a book filled with extreme highs and and lows. Its been a time of mountain top experiences and the lowest valleys I have ever walked through ... sometimes surrounded by people, sometimes on my own. I have found my life partner and companion, I have lost some of the most important most precious people I will ever know. Some through death others through circumstances others because I have had to walk away from a friendship that has been a large part of my life ... a friendship that has brought much joy and happiness but has become toxic - partially due to a lack of care and attention, partially due to life's twists and turns that has changed us both.

"People can be like plants, in odd ways, and if a relationship is not watered or nurtured, it too can suffer from thirst, its leaves can turn from a bright green to a muted brown, and, like the colorless leaves on the once healthy plant, it too will eventually die. Letting go involves surrendering, for our own good, and ultimate peace of mind. Often, we must let go as well to honor and respect the needs of the other person, even if their goals are quite different from our own. This does not mean that I do not feel sad, and I truly miss this person, but sometimes we have to let go to grow, even with the pain and hurt, so we can get to the other side of the rainbow, with the hope that there is still light inside."

So then, a chapter in my book of life closes, but as it closes another opens. Those who have been lost will always remain precious memories. Others whose characters were not so vivid and vibrant are blossoming and becoming the main characters. The people I laugh with ... the people I love with and the people I cry with. The people I am comfortable sharing my memories with and listening as they share theirs. Life changes, we change, but with the changes comes new life, new hope.

Thursday, September 4, 2008

There are two days in every week
around which we should not worry,
Two days which should be kept free
from fear and apprehension.
One of these days is "Yesterday"
with its mistakes and cares,
its faults and blunders,
its aches and pains.
Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control.
All the money in the world cannot bring back Yesterday.
We cannot undo a single act we performed;
we cannot erase a single word we said.
Yesterday is gone.
The other day we should not worry about is "Tomorrow"
with its possible adversities, its burdens,
its large promise and poor performance.
Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control.
Tomorrow's sun will rise, either in splendor or
behind a mask of clouds, but it will rise.
Until it does, we have no stake in Tomorrow,
for it is yet unborn.
This leaves only one day, "Today",
and anyone can fight the battles of just onen day.
It is only when you and I add the burden of those awful
eternities, Yesterday, and Tomorrow, that we break down.
It is not the experience of Today that drives people mad,
it is the remorse or bitterness for something
which happened Yesterday and the dread of what
Tomorrow may bring.
Let us, therefore, live but one day at a time.

~~Author unknown

Footprints In the Sand

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord.
Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.
In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.
Sometimes there were two sets of footprints,
other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed
that during the low periods of my life,
when I was suffering from
anguish, sorrow or defeat,
I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord,
"You promised me Lord,
that if I followed you,
you would walk with me always.
But I have noticed that during
the most trying periods of my life
there have only been one
set of footprints in the sand.
Why, when I needed you most,
you have not been there for me?"

The Lord replied,
"The times when you have
seen only one set of footprints in the sand,
is when I carried you."

You Are Always Here

I see you in a beautiful sunset against the evening sky,
and in the rainbow that brings hope of a brighter tomorrow.
I feel your presence in the gentle breeze
that touches my face and calms my soul.
I hear you in that gentle voice
that speaks softly to me during a summer rain.
And in the imprint of footsteps in the sand,
I recognize the deep imprint of your life in my heart.