Sometimes I Need To Be Reminded

Sometimes I need to remember what I believe and stand for. Here's my list. I think I am better at some than others. Luckily I have time to work on them. First: Life is mostly good with some hard stuff thrown in for good measure. The hard stuff is what defines us. Therefore, what we do with it determines who we become. So, handle the tough stuff with care. Second: While I don't really believe in Karma (although I have known a few Karmas and Carmas in my life), how we act toward people really does come back to us. If you are kind, you will probably be treated kindly, but if you are mean, you may be treated in a way you may not like. Third: Surprisingly though, we may find ourselves being treated unfairly by people for no apparent reason at all. IMPORTANT LIFE LESSON NUMBER ONE: Life is not fair. However, I guarantee you are not being treated as poorly as some people in the world. There are places where women are still stoned for showing their faces, or places where little children serve as soldiers and do not attend school. Fourth: Remember how incredibly blessed you are. IMPORTANT LIFE LESSON NUMBER TWO: You will never be happy when the list of things you want is longer than the list of things you're thankful for. Fifth: Family is everything! IMPORTANT LIFE LESSON NUMBER THREE: Family is everything. Family comes before self every single time. Every time. Probably this should be important life lesson number one, and mentioned before everything else, but....it's ok. Sixth: When you make a promise, keep it. Seventh: Whatever thing you are looking for in the world, in people, in relationships, in church....you WILL find it. If you expect to be treated poorly,you will. If you think it will be a bad day, it will. Conversely, if you think today will be the best day ever and you look for the things that will make it that way, you will not be disappointed. Eighth: You and only you are in charge of your attitude. "Men are free to act..." Ninth: Never, ever think people aren't watching, listening, loving, caring. They are and do. Tenth: Never underestimate your influence in the world. You influence constantly for good or bad. You either bring joy or pain into the world. Choose to bring joy. Eleventh: Do not make your mother cry. Wise words from a wise man. Twelve: Satan is real. He is miserable and wants us all to be too, so he sets nifty little traps to destroy us and our families. It is easy to see the traps when they are set for others, but we are sometimes blinded by our own pride and believe we are entitled to our destructive feelings because they belong to us. When we don't forgive, when we are stubborn with people, when we hold onto anger...we LET him win. We are not doing a good enough job in defending our families. We are spending more time on home security systems than time protecting our eternal families. Thirteenth: God is real. So is his Son, Jesus the Christ. He gave His Only Begotten Son because he loves us. His Son gave his everything because He, too loves us. Don't brush off that sacrifice because of pride, unforgiving attitudes, feelings of injustice. There is only one Judge. It isn't me, or you, or the President, or the Queen of England. He will judge in a more fair and loving way than we tend to judge ourselves and others. Fourteen: Be happy. Fifteen: Be faithful. I recently heard another wise man say we need to be better about understanding the POWER of faith. Sixteen: Forgive like you hope others will forgive you. It's hard to believe, but you probably offend others as much as you feel the offense. Yep. If you don't believe me, ask the person who bothers you the most if you bother them, but don't get mad with their answer. Seventeenth: Free agency isn't free and while it seems like good fun, it can be one of the greatest sources of consternation you will have. People will not always choose what you hope they would. Learning to master agency can be harder that calculus. Or rocket science. Eighteenth: Love like you hope to be loved. Don't hold back, holding back is one of Satan's best tricks. He doesn't really want us to love each other. Nineteenth: You are not better than anyone. Twentieth: There is humor everywhere. Find it. Twenty-first: Serve everyone like your life depends on it. Serve those you have a hard time with most. There you go.

Musing

It has been a LONG time since I've written anything on my blog. It isn't for a lack of things to write about in my life. In the last 12 months I've: Had another surgery on my eye, now I can see 20/20. Got TWO wonderful, beautiful, fabulous new daughters-in-law. Ran my first 5K. And many, many other things. Life has been mostly good, but isn't it always? Today has been my day of feeling....reflective. I took my mom and Aunt Kay to Montana to see Marti. I wish I had a picture of her face when we walked in! She was SO happy! It just made me glad I thought of taking them up. We had a great time driving around and seeing Marti's old stomping grounds. She and Wayne somehow understand each other, and she was directing him all over Dillon. Whenever he'd get where she wanted him to go, she'd say, "TADA!!!" Since her stroke, she hasn't been able to verbally articulate how she feels, what she needs, what hurts...the list goes on and on. We underestimate the power of speaking. Of being able to say, "I love you." Marti is the kind of teacher I want to be just like. She loved her students. She helped them have successes, even in the face of really hard issues. She has worked with some of the most difficult students there are. Some had cognitive issues, some had problems socially, others were students with behavioral issues so pronounced--some thought them unteachable. She taught them skills that gave them sources of income. She gave every single kid a chance. Every SINGLE one. Now she's in a rest home recuperating from a broken pelvis. In this home is 'boy' in a cowboy hat. One of her former students. When we were taking her out for a walk, he raised his hand to say hi, but when we approached him, he put his head down. Two other residents picked up his slack and asked her if she was going out. "What a deal," she said with a grin. This is one of only five phrases she can articulate. They don't care, they love her. We love her. It's hard to know how she was, to how she is now, but today we got to see a glimpse of her old self. It was a good day. The other reason I'm feeling like this is that a girl who was in choir with Kelsey was killed in an accident last night. I barely knew her, but I have such fond memories of her. She sang like an angel. I remember the solo she did for Jr. Miss like it was yesterday. I remember how kind she was to the younger girls. I remember her helping us cut veggies at at special dinner. In all, I probably spent only 6 hours of her too short life with her. Yet, I am profoundly saddened by her passing. SO...it makes me wonder about how many people are, or will be affected by me in MY lifetime. I swear, everybody in Montana knows Marti. She has obviously had such an impact on so many lives...she still does. Sarah was just starting out. She could not have known the impact she had in my life. It just really makes me have the feeling I should be so, SO much better.