Tag Archives: life

A Dragonfly Story Reblogged

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Yesterday a friend read this story to me over the telephone and suggested I might like to put it on my blog. She was right, so I did an internet search and lo and behold up popped the Dragonfly; and so once again I am sharing a piece of writing that touches my heart.

Dragonfly

Submitted by admin on Fri, 02/04/2011 – 14:13

The dragonfly story is particularly useful for those who attend a funeral who are distressed by the fact that their loved one has not made contact with them since their death.

Once, in a little pond, in the muddy water under the lily pads, there lived a little water beetle in a community of water beetles. They lived a simple and comfortable life in the pond with few disturbances and interruptions. Once in a while, sadness would come to the community when one of their fellow beetles would climb the stem of a lily pad and would never be seen again. They knew when this happened; their friend was dead, gone forever.

Then, one day, one little water beetle felt an irresistible urge to climb up that stem. However, he was determined that he would not leave forever. He would come back and tell his friends what he had found at the top. When he reached the top and climbed out of the water onto the surface of the lily pad, he was so tired, and the sun felt so warm, that he decided he must take a nap. As he slept, his body changed and when he woke up, he had turned into a beautiful blue-tailed dragonfly with broad wings and a slender body designed for flying.

So, fly he did! And, as he soared he saw the beauty of a whole new world and a far superior way of life to what he had never known existed. Then he remembered his beetle friends and how they were thinking by now he was dead. He wanted to go back to tell them, and explain to them that he was now more alive than he had ever been before. His life had been fulfilled rather than ended. But, his new body would not go down into the water. He could not get back to tell his friends the good news. Then he understood that their time would come, when they, too, would know what he now knew. So, he raised his wings and flew off into his joyous new life!

Rejoicing Anyway

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Psalm 30, verse 5 says rejoicing comes in the morning, but there are those of us who find that a shallow promise when our joy is sabotaged by some of life’s events.

Dreaded diseases, death, loss of love, soured relationships, and sometimes just life itself can leave us feeling joyless.

However, Jesus tells us in John 16:20 that our grief will turn to joy. I take this to mean whatever we are suffering will turn to joy.

I really like this promise, and in spite of all else, because of it, at times find myself rejoicing anyway.

 

In Flanders Fields

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In Flanders fields the poppies blow between the crosses, row on row, that mark our place;

and in the sky the larks, still bravely singing, fly…scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the dead. Short days ago we lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

loved and were loved, and now we lie in Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe;

to you from failing hands we throw the torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die we shall not sleep,

though poppies grow in Flanders fields.

John McCrae

Lest we forget.

 

Gratefully Yours (Day Five)

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This ends my five days of gratitude posts. Today I am grateful for:

my many blessings

unwavering faith

good health

life’s memories

a black and white animal in my garage that turned out to be a cat and not a skunk!

Hopefully, I will continue to express gratefulness in my life on a daily basis instead of taking everything for granted. Prayer time would be a good time for that, now wouldn’t it? That’s another thing I’m grateful for.

 

 

 

 

 

Weddings and Wakes

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This month I had the privelege of observing the celebration of life in two entirely different ways.

Both were the ending of old lives and the beginning of new.

One was a wake, and the other, a wedding.

The first was a memorial for a dear friend who exchanged life on earth for life everafter in the heavenly realm, leaving behind her role as daughter, sister, mother, wife; a life that death did part.

I witnessed the second celebration from a distance, but the reality was the same. This time the life left behind was that of singleness, in exchange for the role of wife, helpmate, lover, friend; a new life of sharing til death do part.

Both events were not only celebrations of life but continuations of life. One life had been fully lived, and the other will now be lived more fully.

It was my privelege to observe both the wake and the wedding of two beautiful ladies, exchanging old lives for new, and for each, the journey continues.

 

About Wisdom

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Your life is a learning process–you can become wiser only by learning. Sometimes you might have to attract making a painful mistake to learn something important, but after the mistake you have far greater wisdom. Wisdom cannot be bought with money; it can only be acquired by living life. With wisdom comes strength, courage, knowing, and an ever increasing peace.

I’m not sure where I read or heard this, but was obviously wise enough to make note of it.

Let’s Face It

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Life gets busy and we don’t always fit in everything that we set out to do in a day. For some of us, a daily time of devotional is very important, and if we don’t find the time to make it happen, somehow our day seems incomplete.

Yesterday, over lunch with a very interesting friend, this plight came to the fore. She mentioned that her daily activities (and she has many) seemed very compartmentalized, including her devotional time, and she wasn’t comfortable having God in a compartment. She would prefer to have everything flow nicely together, with God in the midst of it.

That conversation made me think of Brother Lawrence and his book, The Practice of the Presence of God. This Carmelite Brother had such a profound personal relationship with God that there was nowhere he went, or nothing that he did, but God was with him like a second skin.

So I’m thinking we can do that. We can carry our devotional time with us throughout the day by simply acknowledging that God is in everything we do. We need only become aware, and simply let him know that we are aware.

We have time when we’re driving to thank him for being with us. We have time when we’re visiting and praying for others to tell him we love him. We have the opportunity in our brief periods of relaxation to feel his abiding presence, whether we are reading or watching television, or just plain vegging out.

So let’s not fret if a morning devotional doesn’t happen in its entirety. Let’s face it…God doesn’t. He would rather have us nice and relaxed so that he doesn’t have to pry his way into our day…or our lives.

Perseverence with a Capital P

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This post is for those who have not already read My Precious Life. It is Chapter Twenty-Nine, The Way I See It, in its entirety. It is about laying down our lives for our friends.

I need to persevere in promoting my book if it is to become a best seller some day. So here is Chapter Twenty-Nine

The Way I See It

A Lesson in Laying Down Your Life

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13)

The way I see it, this doesn’t mean that you trade places with the guy tied to a railway track with an oncoming locomotive barreling down on him, or with Jesus on the cross.

In 2004, I worked three days a week at the Canadian Bible Society book store. It was a part-time job that I loved, and had done for close to five years after my forced retirement from the Mustard Seed Gift Shop. It was a perfect match for my spiritual beliefs, retail background, and love of books.

Volunteering at Providence Health Care Centre every Tuesday morning was another activity I loved. A dedicated man and wife team conducted a hymn sing for the residents of the long-term care facility there. My responsibility was to help bring the people to the hymn sing, turn pages for them if they were unable, and just generally encourage them to sing along. Again, it fitted perfectly with my love of music, and a closeness I felt with the older generation, (of which I am one).

Lunch or coffee with friends or family was also a weekly occurrence. At church, I was a member of the Worship Committee, and sang in the choir.

That life gradually changed when Jerry was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2000. It wasn’t debilitating until symptoms of dementia became noticeable in 2002. A once strong and active man became a victim of the dreaded disease known as Alzheimer’s.

In January, 2004, it was obvious that he could never be left alone again, and my life took on a whole new dimension. God had given me an awesome responsibility as Jerry’s full-time caregiver, and in order to carry it out, I was forced to give up my part-time job and the volunteer work I loved so much. Church, choir, and committees were put on a back burner until only God knew when. Likewise, all social activities became painfully few and far between as the task at hand took its toll on the life I once knew.

I had, in fact, laid down my life for my friend. That’s the way I see it.

“….whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 10:39)

My Precious Life is available in E-book, soft cover, hard cover, and can be purchased online at Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Amazon.uk, Barnes and Noble, Westbow Press, and numerous online book stores as well as your local book stores.

Thank you for persevering with my perseverence!