Tag Archives: life

How Do I Love Thee?

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Some people will read no further than this title thinking that because of the word “thee” it will be of Biblical content. Not so. It is actually from the poem by Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)…How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways. However, I am going to put a new spin on it because I am moved to do so.

How do I love you? Let me count the ways.

I love you with compassion in your thoughtless ways.

I love you when your ire is up and when your guard is down.

I love you for infrequent smiles that are your very own.

I love you in the times you let your inner bully win.

I love you more for times when you reign that bully in.

I love you in the many ways that you appear aloof.

I love you when uncalled for, you offer up reproof.

I love you though these things are not the you you’re meant to be.

How do I love you? Unconditionally.

Has the time come for all people to come to the aid of our world? Can we do with unconditional love whatever is in our capacity to do to heal our brokenness? Can we ask with Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Weekend Anyway

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After attending a cousin’s funeral yesterday, I wondered how many of the people who also attended would enjoy a happy weekend. It came to me that because my cousin, until her Alzheimer journey, had been such a happy, upbeat person , no matter what touched her life, she still managed a smile. Was it always a happy smile? Maybe not, but even after attending her funeral, remembering her beautiful smile makes me happy anyway.

☀️Happy Sunday Fellow Pinners ☀️:

 

Life and Death

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It is a sad time for many people who have lost loved ones very recently. No one can know the depths of another’s grief; no one can feel another’s aching feeling of loss; no one can bear another’s pain.

Life and death are caught up in each other’s shadow, in that death is a part of life and life is a continuation of death. Christmas is a very difficult time of year to have to face this reality. But then, is there ever a good time? I think not. Loss is loss whenever it occurs.

It has saddened my own heart to hear of the recent passing of two lovely ladies; one I have known for over sixty years, and the other I met just a few years ago. Both were, and are near and dear to their families and close friends. Both have left a gaping hole in the hearts of many.

Ecclesiastes says it best in chapter three, verse (1) There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: (2) a time to be born and a time to die, (4) a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,. (NIV)

Laughing and dancing will not be on the agenda of some of us this holiday season, but we will honor the lives of these two ladies and be sure to include them in the memories of Christmases past.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Matthew 5:4. 

 

 

The Human Touch

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Do you miss it? The human touch, I mean. Not so much if you have a significant other in your life, and, better still, in your home. But those who now spend much of their time alone remember what it was like to reach out and touch someone on a daily basis. It is was comforting…healing… therapeutic…strengthening. Life without the human touch is like a banana split without bananas…bacon and eggs without toast and coffee…dancing without a partner. Something is missing: that touching of hands, the pat on the back, the hasty hug, the gentle nudge.

There are a few places where the human touch is a part of the practice…a visit to the doctor, dentist, chiropractor. At most churches you are greeted with at least a handshake and if you are lucky enough to have a friendly home church, hugs are the norm. (I love my home church!)

The human touch is as much a part of human nature as singing in the shower. Count your blessings if you have someone to share the human touch, but if not, may I suggest an occasional visit to your doctor, dentist, or chiropractor…and a regular visit to your favorite place of worship.

Bruce Springsteen wrote and recorded “Human Touch”…nice song.

 

 

 

 

 

Life’s Changing Seasons

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The leaves are turning yellow,

the grass with stunted growing,

is changing with the seasons,

no longer needing mowing.

Fall is falling into place

awaiting winter’s cold,

spring and summer…come and gone

like winter’s transient snow.

And life goes on…

or sometimes doesn’t;

does it really matter what was…

or what wasn’t?

What matters most is that we know

how much to love, how deep to grow;

just a few of many reasons

to appreciate life’s changing seasons.

If you are in the spring of life

or summer’s slowing pace

be prepared for autumn

to usher winter’s grace.

Though leaves are turning yellow,

And grass is withering,

summer, fall and winter await the birth of spring.

©2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today

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Today, may your burden be a little lighter,

your life be a little brighter,

your love be a little stronger,

and your hugs last a little longer…

today.

May God bless your day with what you need to live it fully.

 

Time Traveling

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“Into this cold, stark world, naked and afraid, with a slap on the rump to give us breath and start us on the road to death.” This is a quote I read years ago and for some reason kept in my notes. When you think about it, it is not too unlike the poem, “The Dash”, written by Linda Ellis and posted on my July 19th blog this year. Both the poem and the quote give thought to the time between our birth and our death.

Whether our lives are short and sweet or long and sometimes arduous, it is the time between day one and the final day that matters. It is how we lived, loved, served; how we treated each other, how we forgave, how we acknowledged others, how we humbled ourselves. It is being open to teaching and learning life’s lessons and sharing our knowledge; it is about comforting, consoling and caring; it is about interest in others over self-interest, and it is coming to terms with “the after”.

There are those who believe that death is death and that is that; nothing more, nothing less, nothingness.

And then there are those who believe that death is a continuation of life, and to those who look forward to seeing their previously departed loved ones, death can only be a blessing after a journey along that road that began with our first breath.

So, rather than shed tears at the departure of a dearly loved friend or family member, I choose to smile, knowing that their real journey has just begun. The journey to life everlasting where only love rules…unconditional love…finally…after all that time traveling.

Psalm 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil,

 

 

 

 

Life and Times Trivia

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Life expectancy in 1937 was 59.7 years. A postage stamp was three cents, gasoline was ten cents a gallon and you could go to the movies for twenty-five cents. You could get a new car for $760.00 and a new house for $4,100.00.

Bread was nine cents a loaf, sugar was fifty-nine cents for ten pounds, and milk was fifty cents a gallon.

In sports, the Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup and Toronto Argonauts won the Grey Cup, and Ralph Guldahl was the U.S. Open Golf champion.

In the news LOOK magazine hit the newsstands, Amelia Earhart’s plane disappeared, Japan invaded China, and President Roosevelt outlawed marijuana.

Guy Lombardo, Tommy Dorsey, and Bing Crosby were the music masters while in the movies A Star is Born and the Good Earth were hits and The Life of Emile Zola won an Academy Award.

Well, we all know what happened to the cost of living and the plight of marijuana. We also know that life expectancy is now eighty-plus years and I, for one, am happy about that. I was born in 1937.

 

 

The In Between

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The following is a poem by Linda Ellis and contains her copyright at the end of it. It is a lovely poem about life and death and everything in between.

The Dash
by Linda Ellis
 
I read of a man who stood to speak
At the funeral of a friend
 
He referred to the dates on her tombstone
From the beginning to the end
 
He noted that first came her date of her birth
And spoke the following date with tears,
 
But he said what mattered most of all
Was the dash between those years
 
For that dash represents all the time
That she spent alive on earth.
 
And now only those who loved her
Know what that little line is worth.
 
For it matters not how much we own;
The cars, the house, the cash,
 
What matters is how we live and love
And how we spend our dash.
 
So think about this long and hard.
Are there things you’d like to change?
 
For you never know how much time is left,
That can still be rearranged.
 
If we could just slow down enough
To consider what’s true and real
 
And always try to understand
The way other people feel.
 
And be less quick to anger,
And show appreciation more
 
And love the people in our lives
Like we’ve never loved before.
 
If we treat each other with respect,
And more often wear a smile
 
Remembering that this special dash
Might only last a little while.
 
So, when your eulogy is being read
With your life’s actions to rehash
 
Would you be proud of the things they say
About how you spent your dash?
 
© 1996 All Rights Reserved, Linda Ellis
 This entry was posted on Friday, July 28th, 2006
My reason for sharing this poem today is for the many people in my life sphere who are grieving the loss of a loved one…a daughter, a sister, a husband, a wife. May it also serve as a reminder that those we love have a dash as do we ourselves. May this lovely poem be the blessing that I’m sure it’s author meant it to be.