The Path

Charecteristics, Life Notes, Thought, , ,

You are out for a walk. You see an interesting trail you have not taken before. Why not? You follow the new trail. This is new territory for you. You do not know what you will find. You do know the area, so you are pretty certain you won’t encounter any “wild” animals. Along the way, you step on a few rocks. You stumbled over a tree root. The occasional tree branch and bug finds your face. The humidity might be getting to you. Since this is not your planned route, you did not bring a water bottle.

Marty was soo excited to become a father. He read all sort of books. He was ready. He had everything worked out. The first week was different. The lack of sleep was not so bad. The first year was longer than he thought it would be. The second year was longer. Stepping on Legos in the middle of the night was rough. OH MY WORD! Potty Training! Sleepless nights were less often but still happened. The nightmares and the rocking back to sleep. Where did THAT attitude come from?!?! Wait, I can’t be at the ballgame and work at the same time! PUBERTY! DRIVING!

John was finally getting set into his new job. He liked the people. He enjoyed his job. The insurance was good. The benefits were good. He had his family taken care of. What do you mean my wife is sick? What happened? What do you mean her organs are shutting down? What is going on? How can I live without her? How am I going to tell our son? WHAT AM I GOING TO TELL OUR SON?!?! What am I supposed to do?

Every single person on this planet has a path. Some may choose to simply sit down and refuse to move. Some may be so focused on the path; they don’t see the surroundings. Some people dread the path.
There will be times for all of us when we come to a “fork” in the path. Sometimes, it may just be a 2-prong fork. Sometimes, I may be a 5-prong fork. Some people fall apart at the fork. Some people just keep walking down a path without hesitation. Some people “try” to follow multiple pathways at the same time.
There will be twists, turns, bumps, rocks, bugs, LEGOS, hurts, joys, sorrows, ups, downs, great days, horrible days, okay days ….

If you let fear keep you from going down your path, you won’t see the amazing scenery along the way.

..end transmission..

The Family China

Aside, Charecteristics, , ,

Molly was overjoyed that her grandmother had given her the family china set. Not only was it very old and worth more than she could guess, but it carried with it, a rich history. This china set had served world dignitaries and military heroes.

Molly felt great pride in being entrusted with the heirloom set. She was so focused on where she was going to display the set that she had not noticed the water damage to the box. When she picked up the box it crumbled. Before her brain could begin to process what was happening, the entire china set was cascading in pieces down the stairs.

Broken China

Molly’s grandmother rushed down the hallway to find Molly, bewildered and in tears, standing on the top step, in the attic. Her grandmother was taken aback by the sight. However, after only a moment, she was focused on Molly. “Molly dear. Are you okay?” Molly was now in full awareness of the situation and hysterically crying.

Her grandmother wasted no time guiding her down the stairs and to the chair. Holding her tightly, she softly spoke to Molly. “Dear, please don’t cry. These dishes were just things. They were not living beings, nor were they more important than your life, my dear.“

Molly tried to speak but was still too shaken. Her grandmother continued, “Calm yourself my sweet Molly. I have a secret to share with you. This china set was once a larger set.“

Molly sat up, looking at her grandmother with confusion. 

“You she, my dear”, her grandmother continued, “over the years, several pieces have been broken or lost. Some of the breakage was even intentional. My grandmother, the one who first used this set, had a temper. My grandfather had a way of setting off her temper. Let us just say, my grandmother might have used various pieces to, um, get my grandfather’s attention.“

Molly had stopped crying by this time. Her grandmother continued. 

“In addition to my grandmother’s, um, temper, other family members have had random clumsy spells. (clears throat) I may have contributed to the downsizing once or twice, or maybe a few times.“

Molly’s eyes now big and focused on her grandmother clearly saw the snickering.

After a while of silence and hugging, they both proceeded to clean up the mess.

Molly could still not bring herself to discarding the broken shards. She tucked the remains away in her closet. She hoped she could restore the set.

After a few months, while browsing the internet, Molly happened upon an idea. Without any deterring thought, Molly began to “repurpose” the “broken pieces” of the china set that held a rich history. Molly created a beautiful mosaic masterpiece with the broken pieces of china.

Family China - Mosaic

Life is full of twists and turns. There are ups and there are downs. There are times when we feel broken and shattered. GOD is THE Great Artist. HE uses our brokenness to create a masterpiece.

..end transmission..

So, you had a bad day

My Life, Rants, Thought

I have had a few bad days.

There was that one day when I was born very ill and stayed in the hospital longer than normal.
There was that one day when I stepped on the rusty nail that went through my toddler size shoe sole.
There was that one day when I watched a neighbor’s barn burn … because someone did not like them being black.
There was that one day when I was at my grandfather’s funeral.
There was that one day when I day when I got that flu that had me out of elementary school for 2 weeks.
There was one day when I slipped on the ice in the playground and busted my head open.
There was that one day when my grandmother died.
There was that one day when I watched the tornadoes overhead.
There was that one day when the playground equipment fell apart and busted my head open.
There was that one day when I was hiding in the attic with friends as the KKK was “visiting” the mission our youth group was at.
There was that next day when one of the houses in the mission village was burned to the ground.
There was that one day when I was in that car accident that almost killed me.
There was that one day when I moved just in time to not be hit in the head by the brick thrown through my dorm room window.
There was that one day when I dove onto the concrete floor of the inner-city center when gun fire rang loudly outside.
There was that one day when I watched my wife quickly fade away and die to an incurable disease, and then have to share the news with our son.
There was that one day when “friends” decided to call CPS on me because I changed churches.
There was that one day when …..

Before you complain about your mask, or traffic, or the “wait time” for your food at the restaurant …
Remember, everyone has bad days. PLUS, you are NOT the center of the universe.

…end transmission…

And they lived happily ever after …

Charecteristics, My Life, Relationships, Thought

“He sits on a park bench while the rain pours down. He stares blankly at the emptiness of the darkness before him. The rain serves as the tears he is to numb to shed. The rain flows like blood from the open wound in his chest. His heart has been ripped from his chest, crushed beyond recognition, and shoved back into the gaping hole with no delicacy.
The rain – freezing rain covers him … drowning him … shrouding him in despair. He is too numb to notice. Life has been taken from him… joy yanked from his life… happiness blotted out of his sight. His hands hang down … open … weak. He could not hold on. He could not protect. He could not save. He could not be the man she needed him to be.
If this was all, it was still too much. He still must tell the boy. He has to tell his son. He must tell his son his mother is dead.
—————
No, it did not rain that night. No, there was no park bench. There was only a hospital parking lot curb. It was a cold October night. The feelings, the pain, the despair was very real. There are no words that could adequately express the feelings of that night. There is no way to convey the feeling deep inside my chest. Yes, my chest. Yes, I am “that man”. I am the husband, the father of these words.
That night, I did two of the most difficult things of my life. I had to let go of my dear sweet, wonderful wife. I then had to tell our amazing son she was gone.”

This is an excerpt from a previous post of me describing the night my wife died. That night was over 6 years ago. The night … the feelings … the events … all still vivid to me.

Somewhere along the way in our history, perceptions became skewed about marriage. Far too many view marriage as “the goal”, “the finish line”. Once we reach this point, life is “happily ever after”.

For those whose calling is to be married, life BEFORE marriage is “preparation” for the journey. Becoming one flesh is the beginning of the journey. Marriage is where the new life begins as the two single souls join to become a new unit … and new “entity”. The married couple is a new body. Just like a body has different parts performing different functions, Husbands and Wives, each contribute their unique skills and talents to the new entity. The married couple must work together to function. Most importantly, the entity needs to have a heart to survive. That heart, is GOD.

The body needs food. The body needs activity. The body needs water. The body needs sunlight.
The LIVING WORD gives life to our spiritual body. Doing the work GOD has for us … keeps us active … strengthens us. The LIVING WATER of Christ sustains us. Living in The Light .. the SON Light is crucial to our growth.

Ponder on these things …

…transmission paused…