Someday

Three years ago today, my dad passed away.   We knew he was sick, and he had gone to the hospital on Monday to have a surgery that might help him.  His blood pressure was too low to do surgery, and he died on Friday. One of the saddest things I heard that week, was my mother talking to him, holding his hand, and saying “we never did get you on that fishing trip to Alaska”.  You see, my dad was an avid fisherman. And it had always been a dream of his to go with all of his boys (5 sons plus 1 son-in-law)  But we never quite got  around to getting the trip planned.  it seemed like there was just never quite enough time and/or money.  I guess we figured ‘someday’ it would be easier.  My dad was only 74 when he died. And now my brothers especially have to live with that regret.

What is keeping you from living out your someday? What can you do today to start making some of those dreams come true?

Loving and Being Loved

My husband and I recently celebrated out 22nd wedding anniversary.  5 kids, 2 weddings, and 2 grandkids later, we are still celebrating.   It seems more and more in this day and age that we are not the ‘norm’. Very few of my children’s friends have parents who are still married to each other.  I think that is so incredibly sad.

Before I go any further, let me just say that I am NOT JUDGING you if you have a “failed” relationship of any type.  I know that things happen, and I know there are valid reasons for divorce and broken relationships.  I am far from perfect, and would not dream of trying to tell you that my way is better in any way than yours.  My purpose in this little blog is to provide a little encouragement for whatever relationship(s) you may have.

It’s Okay to Cry and Scream

As we approach Memorial Day weekend, we mourn the loss of loved ones. We know we are ‘supposed’ to celebrate their memory.  But sometimes it just hurts. It’s hard to understand why things have to happen. This weekend, I am mourning the loss of both my parents and my only sister.  My parents both died within 6 months of each other, and they were WAY to young. That was only a couple of years ago.  My sister was killed in a car accident 22 years ago.  She left behind a husband and four children.  She was pregnant with the 5th. They say time heals. I’m not sure that is true, but it does take away the raw edges of the pain.  But even now sometimes it’s okay to just, cry.

Maybe you don’t have a loved one you are mourning.  Maybe you are dealing with something else entirely.  It could be a horrible sickness.  It could be the loss of your job. Or a broken relationship. I don’t know what life has handed you to deal with. But I hope someone does.  It is so important for us to share our troubles with each other. Sometimes it helps us to know that someone is willing to listen. Sometimes it takes our mind off our own problems for a little while when we listen to others. Here’s a new song that I like to listen to that does a good job of expressing some of the feelings of sadness, & loneliness. Listen to the words if you haven’t heard it yet. It is called What it feels like. We should always be praying for each other.

A Public Apology

I know, you probably think this is about the fact that I haven’t posted in such a long time.  And yes, for that I truly am sorry.  No excuse except the fact that I work full time, and still have a husband, a teenager, and a pre-teen living at home.  We are done with wrestling season, finally, but are in the middle of band, soccer, and end of  school year activities.  I do have several posts started, I just need to finish a little research on them, and I will post again soon, I promise.

But that’s NOT what this post is about. It is much deeper than that. You see, I have been reading and studying the parable of the lost sons from Luke 15:11-32. I have always looked at that parable as a great story of  how God loves us no matter what we do and will always welcome us with open arms when we admit our need for him.  And it is, because he does.  But I never gave much thought to the second part of the parable. When the younger brother  is welcomed home, the elder brother  throws a little ‘tizzy fit’.  He doesn’t think it’s fair.  He, the elder brother, stayed behind, took care of the family farm, worked hard, never did anything wrong…and yet a party was never thrown for him to celebrate what a wonderful son he was. Funny thing is, at the end of the parable, he is still outside the party, refusing to go in and enjoy himself.

I’m afraid that’s how I have acted my entire life.  (Even during the portion of my life I was acting a bit more like the younger brother did.) I was raised with a very strict sense of right and wrong.   Unfortunately, I have used my moral guidelines to judge everyone else by.  Whether I know you or not, I have probably judged you at some time.  It has been really brought to my attention in multiple ways the last few weeks how bad I am at that.  So, I apologize.  Just because you think differently than I do, does not make you a bad person. And it most certainly does not make me more deserving of anything. God created variety for a reason and I believe it is my duty and privilege  to accept that.

When my oldest son got engaged to a girl I barely knew, I told him that I could see that he loved her very much, so therefore I loved her.  Now they’ve been married almost 2 years. I know her a bit better, and I still adore her. I believe we should maybe broaden that perspective a bit.  The Bible tells us that God loves ALL of his children.  What would it take the next time you meet someone  you don’t see eye to eye with, to accept and love them just because you know that God does?  It is my sincere prayer that  when we meet, you would feel nothing but love.  And I will have the privilege of knowing you better because I’m not prejudging you according to my own belief system.