Don't Be Discouraged

There will be times when you might feel totally discouraged and unappreciated. There will be moments when no matter what you do for others it will never be enough, no matter how much you sacrificed. There will be days of emotional rollercoaster rides questioning your choices and decisions. Pick yourself up by the bootstraps, lift your head up and thank God for the blessings you already have and will receive. He will bring you through. Be patient and wait for Him. I know, He has never let me down. Everything happens for a reason. Pray for the wisdom and courage to accept it.

Never Give Up

I heard something extremely interesting on the radio this morning leaving church. A caller asked the MC to pray for her because she was close to committing suicide. He asked her why. “Because, her man moved in with another woman and her three sons and them with nothing,” she replied. The ex had turned off all of the power to the home, took the furniture and even the food. He had stopped making house payments so the caller was left to scrambling to keep what was left, which was the house. She asked for prayer and thanked God that she was still able to keep the house, but her ex and his new woman kept harassing her. This was driving her to suicide.

What I found puzzling was the caller. She was willing to give up her life because she was heartbroken. She did not think of the effect it would have on her four year old son. To me that was selfishness to the nth degree.

We concern ourselves so much about the success of relationships that we fail to see the millions of other blessings God has given us. The primary one is life. We are healthy, breathing and living. There are so many people suffering right now with terminal diseases, loss of limbs, loss of mentally capabilities and yet, we struggle with someone that doesn’t love us. Where are our priorities? I know, in the material realm.

Some of us are still dealing with relationships, past, present and future. Whatever the reasons for the good, bad, betrayals, careers first, strife and contention, major and/or trivial disagreements, we must find an equal balance to share our lives together. When it becomes an imbalance, the joy is gone and soon the love will follow.

Life Is A Surprise

Let's see now, where do I start? The older you get, the more you see and learn. Of course, this can be an argument in itself. As a child, some things go right by you, primarily, bills and death. On June 25, 2009, Farah Fawcett and Michael Jackson died. The day before was Ed McMahon. As we get older, we realize that life is short and we just don't have time for nonsense. Yet, we continue to act childish everyday. You made me angry so I won't talk to you. Or, you don't have time for me anymore so my excuse is to find someone that will. If we act like a fool expect to be treated like one. The truth of the matter is, we don't know the time or place when we are called to return, hopefully, to our heavenly home. But, we do seem to find time to make our lives and/or others complicated.

What Have We Learned?

We are living in historical times! The first black U. S. President, and awesome first lady, the first black Attorney General, governors & senators admitting affairs and a governor suggesting to secede from the union (Texas) are just part of the experience we are living! So many exciting things are taking place. Just yesterday, South Carolina's Governor admitted that he was in Argentina with his mistress spending Father's Day with her instead of with his wife and four boys. We all make mistakes, some we regret and all we hope that we learned a lesson from them. Yes, I feel for all parties involved because betrayal is heart-breaker and sometimes you just don't get over it. It affects even the people not involved. Affairs are usually caused because someone's needs are not met by the other partner. What's worse it's not discussed with the partner to try to resolve those needs in a timely manner. Then it becomes to late to amend the problem(s). Love is beautiful but it can hurt worse than some of us can ever imagine. I'm not justifying affairs and I don't judge people's actions. If two people are willing to reconcile then the indescretions should not be brought up ever again. If their love is deeper than stolen honey, they should find the roots and fertilize that love and start over again!

I Know Where My Help Comes

I do want to be clear about something. Yes, I thanked all of those folks that have made an impact, directly or indirectly, in my life. But, let's not forget who brought these things to happen. I believe in God, Who has made all of these things possible. I doubt if anyone will read this blog, of course, that is possible. But understand this, without God in my life, I would not have survived this long. To Him we give the glory and praise. I know where my help really comes from. The apostle Paul said, "I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity." Paul also said,"I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me." Check out Phillipians Chapter 4.

Thanks For The Memories

To all of the people that have ever crossed my path, went along, left along, met and were forgotten during this journey in life, I want to say thank you. All of those moments and some brief made me who I am and who you are. Haven't at one time during your journey, you wanted to tell someone how much you appreciated them? Don't misunderstand me, I'm not being morbid. I am appreciating the many blessing I have received. So many times, we take these blessings for granted. People are blessings, too! We just don't know what we had until its gone. And we think we're getting something better! We do fool ourselves quite a bit. We call it upgrading when we look for someone else in our relationships. Our excuses are usually "we can't get along", "he/she is not my type", "not moving fast enough for me", or the most noted "we're not on the same level." Whatever excuse that can be found, as long as it works, will suffice. It doesn't always take much to fool ourselves.

Voice From the Past

I did hear from my oldest niece who is married and have 3 children of her own. That was wonderful news. I remember playing tennis with her when she was a little girl. Mom & I went to her high school graduation and hadn't seen her for over 20+ years. We lost contact with her and somehow she found out mom had passed and found me. People we let misunderstandings get in our way but not discussing the way they make you feel from the person imposing that misunderstanding on you. That's what happened to us and it was via mail. What's worse, we had a misunderstanding on 2 different issues! After all this time, each of us thought something different. 2 way conversations can clear up possible problems better than texting or writing. Life is short and many of us just don't seem to get it. Do we feel we are wrong? Not always. Do we think there is a need to apologize? Again, not always. We are just lost, but we think we are on point. We have yet to understand the reason we are here in the first place. What makes us so smart that we know about handling the problem of living, of living with others?

Rest In Peace, Ron

It's been a while since my last post. One reason for me was getting too personal. Honestly, laziness. On June 9, 2009, the grandson of my confirmation God-Parents passed in his sleep. He was 44 years old. He left peacefully. I have always been close to his mother and grandmother which I consider a sister and mother, respectfully. They were there when my mother went to her heavenly home. He was a good young man who simply saw the best in life regardless of how life can throw curves your way. Maybe, if we made the best out of bad situations we could see things in better. But, since we bring a lot of problems on ourselves, we cloud our vision with regret and guilt. We fail to see the positive. Be careful how you treat people and what you say to people. There will come a time when you will need somebody.