Am I the only one having trouble keeping up with what day it
is, much less what the date is?
It seems that I have spent the entire year just figuring out
how to get to such and such date, and now that I am here, I’m not sure that I
am really here, or even where HERE is!
LOL
I’m not going to lie—it has been a tough year.
All of the craziness around me hasn’t helped, either.
I have discovered that my heart hurts when my friends hurt
or argue.
We ALL think we are right and we have no clue how someone
can’t see things as we see them.
You know, it is called LIFE~~Plain and Simple.
We believe the way we believe because of the way we were
raised and with the experiences we have had.
We all were raised differently, and we have had different experiences,
and THAT simply is WHY we are unable to see things as others see them, and sit
down for this one~~PEOPLE are thinking the same way about YOU that YOU are
thinking about THEM.
I’m sorry to have to be the one to tell you that… =) (nope,
not really. It made me giggle. Yes,
there is still much work left to be done on me!)
Because of our differences, we have to work a bit harder to
learn to live Compassionate Lives.
Today I am 54. 54!!
I am now OFFICIALLY an old maid.
My Aunt Lattie (Daddy’s only sister) was the measuring stick
for me being an old maid, because, you see, she was 52 when she got married and
was happily married for over 25 years to one of the kindest men that God placed
on this earth.
I guess, really, I have been official for a while, now. I just felt the need to confirm what I
suspected…LOL
It’s ok, because thinking back over the Frogs I have kissed
(sorry frogs—I don’t mean to use you as something evil), I am pretty happy to
be right where I am and to have escaped some close calls~~whew! Thank you, God, for protecting me when I was foolish.
It is tough not to look back on my life on days like this,
especially when the world outside is so calm and quiet, so my mind can walk down
the trails I have journeyed.
Yes, some tears have fallen, but that is nothing new.
It is so easy to go to the “poor pitiful me” parts and look
around and feel lonely. Time has a way
of changing things, as it should, for where would we be if we stayed stagnant
and didn’t move….if things never progressed, or yes, even digressed? What if we had no serendipity moments…no
moments that took our breath away (both for the good and for the bad)…how would
we learn if we didn’t have experiences?
If we stayed in the past, where it might not necessarily have been safe,
but comfortable, how would we revel in the goodness of mankind…the beauty of
nature.
What if NOTHING ever changed?
Boy, howdy, wouldn’t THAT be awful?
As I reflect on the changes I have been trying to make in my
life, I still feel the old me constantly emerge, and it takes a sledge hammer
on many days to wake me up to ME being a big ole brat.
I have worked on being compassionate~~to realize that I
MIGHT not always be right (I said MIGHT)…to acknowledge that the times I want
to share that I am RIGHT is not nearly as important as having PEACE in my life.
I cannot do one single thing about anyone else. I don’t possess the power, and really, we
should ALL be very happy with that fact. =)
BUT I do have the power (on most days) to control ME and how I react to
others and how I treat others. I can
only hope that I will make a difference for someone, and let me be clear, THEN,
I want to be certain to point them to God, the maker of Heaven and Earth, as
the EXAMPLE to follow, and not me. I
just pray that my life will not turn people away from God.
You know how hard it is to change YOU? Then image the impossibilities of changing
someone else!!
I have lived the most blessed life.
You have patiently walked with me as I have retold the
journeys I have made. You have
encouraged me when I felt as if my world had fallen apart. You have lovingly given words of support when
I needed them, and most of the time, when I did NOT deserve them or expect
them. You have listened to some crazy
ideas that I have had, and either laughed and said, “there she goes again” or
some have actually heard my heart’s cry for change and have made the efforts
with me. You have bought my
patterns. You have bought my hand
painted items. You have gone “oooo and
aaaahh” when I have shared what I am doing. Yes, some have even told me when I
was wrong.
You have been a family.
So, as I reflect on the past year of my life, while I have
fought to stay positive and to keep the faith through trials, you have been
there with me and for me. I hope I have
learned some lessons to make my life easier, but then, maybe I will make some
of the same mistakes, BUT one thing is for sure, I know many of you will be
right here cheering me on, and praying for me.
I have written down 10 items that I would like to ask you to
join me in praying for in my life as an “unspoken prayer” because God knows,
and if the time comes for me to share, I pray I will be willing to do so. They aren’t frivolous items, but real needs.
I look forward to living each day to its fullest~~ To LIVE…to
THRIVE…to PARTICIPATE!
I hope to remain Thankful.
As I look back to this day in 1962, I am THANKFUL for being
placed in a Godly home with a Father and a Mother who led by example. ..Who allowed me to grow and to make
mistakes...Who taught me what was
important, and allowed me to have fun adventures.
I am grateful that I had two brothers, who loved me for part
of my life, and I can only hope, who are thriving and living their lives to the
fullest and are clinging to the values that our parents taught us and are
passing them on to others.
I am so glad that Daddy was able to get that $500 loan to
pay for me!!
I laugh as I remember the stories of Mother telling that she
was not allowed to let her feet touch the ground for her 10 day stay in the
hospital—10 days, folks! LOL
I pray that I will continue to develop a heart of
Christ. That the things that break His
heart will also break mine, and that I will do what I can to HELP.
Thank you, for continuing to stop by my little corner of the
world.
I am simply Blessed to Create~~charlotte♡
