Kids got it right

It was a really neat church service today. The children, from preschool through high school, participated. They sang, read the lessons and prayers, helped with Communion -- did everything but the sermon. But Pastor Greg's sermon was just as neat. He talked about children and how we ought to be more like them. One of the things he said was that each of us needs to be alive in the moment. That we shouldn't miss out on life that goes on around us. Too often we hold onto regrets, fret about the past, and worry about the future. Children, on the other hand, don't. He gave the example of children who fight over a toy or a place in line or whatever. One minute it's all-out war and the next minute they're best friends. This made me smile because it's so true. Adults, on the other hand, find it difficult to forgive and forget and move on. Anyway, I just thought it was a really neat reminder to live in the moment. Be like a child. Sometimes, I think we spend so much time planning for the future that we forget about today. I can't believe, for instance, how fast my little boys have become young men. WOW! The little babes I once held in my arms are now young men I need to stand on my tip-toes to hug. So, the message for today is to live in the present like a child and enjoy every minute of it. That doesn't mean we ought not to think about tomorrow or have dreams and goals. It simply means that we don't forget about today because as many of us have come to know, there are no guarantees in life. Tomorrow might be too late.

Thought for the Day No. 4

I looked out the window and noticed the naked tree, its gnarly branches scratching the gray sky. It seems like only yesterday it was dressed in a green leafy drape accented with white silky fringes. I miss that green number already. I know that there is a time for every season, and that I need to embrace each one, valuing it for the gifts it brings. But it’s hard for me to find beauty in dying things. I think perhaps it’s because I’ve experience so much death in my life. Sometimes the sadness is so heavy that I crumble from all the weight. And then I remember my mother and the strength she showed as she battled cancer. She never stopped thinking of her daughters, even as she took her last breath. I know the green leaves and silky fringes will return to cover the tree when it’s time. And I’ve come to realize that although my mother is gone, my sisters and I are the leaves and fringes that keep her beauty alive during every season.

Thought for the day No. 3

When my sons were young, I’d sing made-up songs to them. Well, it wasn’t really singing, more like squeaking and squawking. But I tried. I really tried. I remember this one song, perhaps because it plucked my heartstrings. The chorus went something like this: My, how times flies, how it really, really flies. My little babe is now a little boy. As they grew, “boy” became “young man.” I don’t sing that song anymore, but sometimes I want to. Sometimes, I wish I could cuddle them in the rocker, their head against my heart, and softly sing that sweet song. But they’re 20 and 16 now, much too old to sit on my lap and rock away the hours just because.
Time really does fly and before you know it the little hand you held is the big hand helping you.
Don’t wish away todays for tomorrows. Todays fade fast enough.

Thought for the day No. 2

Life is too short to:
Wish away today.
Stay angry.
Put dreams off.
Hold back on love.
Not forgive.
Say there’s always tomorrow, because tomorrows turn into yesterdays and yesterdays into years and then we look back on our lives and think, where did the time go? It went while we were waiting for it to come.
What would you add to this list?

Thought for the day No. 1

I picked my son up after he took the PSAT. It was raw and raining and dreary and damp. To say that I was miserable is an understatement. When I blurted out what I thought of the wacky weather and dumpy day, he told me how much he enjoyed this kind of weather and why. I love how we all look at things differently. It makes the world an exciting place. Imagine if we all felt the same way about everything. B-O-R-I-N-G. It reminded me that we should embrace our differences instead of trying to convert others to think and feel the way we think they should. After all, it’s the differences among us that when woven into the fabric of life creates richness in texture and color not found when all of the threads are the same.