From Sam... The other night I was making dinner, and Aaron came in with some groceries. He laid the bags on the counter and then went into the bedroom to change. I was carving a chicken and was up to my wrists (literally) in chicken, when I saw the bread start to collapse pushing the bag off balance and onto the floor...causing the glass bottle of white rice vinegar to shatter. It was just a mistake. I'm sure he didn't think about laying the bread down nicely to avoid a spill. Not a big deal. So I finished boning the chicken, washed my hands and started to clean up the (what my children must have reminded me 50 times) "very very stinky", "super nasty", "disgusting" vinegar and glass.
Glass is weird because when it breaks it goes EVERYWHERE!!! You can't even see it all, but you have to be really careful that you clean it all up so that you don't end up with a piece of it in your foot. I started the cleaning process, and as soon as I thought that I had gotten it all I would change my vantage point, and see more shards that I had missed. I probably did this 8 times, and I'm honestly not 100% certain I got it all...I'm just hoping I did. As I was cleaning it I was surprised that I wasn't more irritated with Aaron. I mean, his absentmindedness caused me 15 minutes of extra work (which also meant dinner went on the table 15 minutes later), and also cost us how ever much that bottle of vinegar was. But all I kept thinking was "he didn't do it on purpose", "he's got a lot on his plate", "I feel bad he had a rough day, and now he has to get more vinegar next time we want to make sushi". I think the reason I wasn't frustrated with Aaron is because--like the glass I was cleaning--I chose to look at the situation (and him) from a different vantage point. Have you ever met someone who once you get to know them is entirely different than what your first impression was? Well I have. In fact, since moving to Texas I have found some extraordinary friends, but there has been one girl who I have really struggled with. I get along easily with people. I'm not very judgmental, and I try to be really inclusive so it really chaffed me that I didn't "get" this girl. Normally I would just think "well our personalities don't mesh, so whatever", but our husbands are in the same program which means that we are around each other regularly so I kind of have to make it work--and I'm not the type of person who likes to "make it work". I like to be genuine and real, and I really really wanted to understand her so I could honestly like her. I knew that an opportunity was coming up where we'd be around each other quite a bit. I decided to try to clear my mind of my first (dozen) impressions and change my vantage point. I tried to see her with new eyes, and accept her as she was; not clouded with my idea of what she "should" be. It was very interesting, and I can honestly say that I thoroughly enjoyed her. How different life would be if we all chose to do this with one another both on an individual level, and on a grand scale. There is so much negativity in this world, why don't we all try to look at each other with new eyes; to understand each other and respect our differences. Let's put the same amount of effort into truly "seeing others" as we do when we are looking for glass because the alternative is allowing frustration, enmity, resentment, and misunderstanding fester just as a sliver of glass does in your foot. It's amazing how freeing it is when you can remove that shard of glass. I'm hoping that as I continue to develop and change I won't even need to remove the glass because I will avoid it by choosing to see others from a different view from the very beginning.
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From Sam... Do you have anyone in your life that you feel like has your back 100%? Who isn't just a "Yes Man", but really has your back; they're honest and will tell you if the disagree with your choices, but it's because they love you and want you to be happy. They would do anything for you. They love your kids. They love your spouse. They try to see things from your perspective even if they don't agree. They're supportive, and no matter what you always feel like they are on your team! I don't think very many people have someone like that. I have been blessed to have this person in my life for 26 years. It's my sister Molly. I don't think we've ever said this, but all of us (Emma, Molly and I) are 2 years and 10 months apart (almost to the day). Because I was so little when Molly was born I don't remember very much about it, and I don't recall any pictures of she and I together when she was a baby (probably because she was the 4th child after the brothers and me). We fought like normal kids do. And I don't think I really appreciated Molly and the relationship we'd have until I was 17 years old when our family moved to a new town. Instantly we both needed a friend and we clung to each other. I would be starting my senior year of high school, and she was starting her freshman year. That year we did so much together. We were ridiculous and immature, but what we thought was we're awesome! We had very little inhibition, and laughed a lot. I remember blasting "Nelly" music with the bass turned way up, and then rocking out to Gavin DeGraw the next minute (we were clearly very confused about who we were heheh). We would stay up late talking about boys (of course!), clothes, makeup, boys, and sorting out the mysteries of life (which usually included a boy...or several). I always felt like I could share anything with her, and still she and Aaron are the only people who know certain things about me. I came across this book that she made for me for my 18th birthday, and thought it was worth sharing. (Please don't hate me for sharing this Molly!) Through everything in my life, she has been a constant. She has never made me feel judged, even when I've made mistakes. She has always been a cheerleader, and encouraged me to stretch myself and believed I could do more than I thought I could. Molly is someone who seeks to see good in everything. She never gossips. She is a wonderful example of kindness, patience, honesty, motherhood, and friendship. I truly can't imagine navigating this crazy ride called life without her. (So you'd better not die any time soon Molly!) Happy Birthday!!! From Emma... Words often spill over when I'm at the keys. I'm at a loss for words when it comes to my relationship with Molly though. She is incredible. And there aren't words enough to articulate what a wonderful friend, sister, and support she is. So on that note I say the following: Molly, you teach me how to live life to the fullest. You've been the sanity that has guided me through endless psychological battles. You've set the example of how to overcome countless challenges (adolescence, anxiety, parenting stuff, oooooh the list goes on). And you have always encouraged and appreciated my individuality. I love you. You're the peanut butter to my jelly (the homemade kind of peanut butter that we blended ourselves of course), the tea cup to my tea pot, the bench to my front porch on a brisk morning, and the laugh to my everyday. I love you Molls. Happy Birthday! Emma For Emma...
Have you ever heard of the law of attraction? I'm sure you have, but likely not in the context I'd like to discuss. Here's a little info about hubby and I and our lives. We are coming up on four years of marriage. Prior to that we dated since I was 17. Really in the scheme of things, that leaves very little life we will have spent apart when we someday leave this earth. Four things I've narrowed down that have made our marriage not only work, but bring us a lot of joy, are these: Our marriage is founded on... 1. Belief in Gods plan for us 2. Mutual Respect 3. Trust in one another 4. Common goals For the purpose of this post I'd like to focus on the fourth: common goals. So, the law of attraction. I started watching a documentary awhile back (that I actually never finished) buuuut the documentarian highlighted a very specific idea. Our lives are woven into the fabric of the universe and a force very much at play is the law of attraction. Translation: When we have fixed in our minds positive things that we want and we focus on those things, the law of attraction causes the universe to grant us those things. I thought this seemed pretty hokey when I heard it. I mean come on? Envision what you want and you'll get it? A bunch of baloney...or is it? Let's test the theory. When Jordan and I got married we had some basic ideas of what we wanted for our future. But honestly, I think most of it was the, "I love you and can't envision my life without you! Let's get married and be happy forever!" Don't judge. I won't go on. You get the gist. As life progresses though you realize that there are a lot of big adult questions and concerns i.e. how are we going to pay rent? What do we do when we can't get jobs? What am I going to study in school? What's going to bring satisfaction as a career? When should we have kids? Will we be able to have kids? If we do are we even the kind of people that can raise relatively normal kids? Does he stay home? Do I? Do we want to travel forever? etc. And as the questions fly so do the doubts and worries. Then you do finally make a plan that you kind of, sorta, maybe feel like will work out okay and out come the naysayers that want to tell you every way your plan isn't going to work. Key point: it's hard! That was four years ago. Since that time Jordan and I have made and changed A LOT of plans due to life, passions, even the change in seasons sometimes. One thing has remained consistent though. Those things we have prioritized in our lives and said, "I love you and can't envision my life without you! Let's get married and be happy forever!" about have come. Examples: 1. When we got married, Jordan had no idea what he wanted to study in University. But he knew he wanted to go. And he knew he wanted a career that would allow him to help people. Recently we met an incredible woman who works as an addiction counselor. She found out Jordan and I write songs and compose music together so she asked us to come and play for a group of her patients to illustrate the benefits of creativity. After having that experience together on top of previous interest Jordan decided he wants to be a Marriage counselor. He has since started his classes and loves it! This after a couple years in school and about five "major" changes. A series of small experiences that led to one big experience, all leading to a desire we have had since we got married, and right on time too (he just finished all of his generals and electives). 2. I'm a stay-at-home mom and with Jordan starting full-time school again we decided it would be best for our family if he quit his full-time job. That left us both wondering, how are we going to pay the bills? This is a big kid question that is never far from the brain. We talked at length and decided we want to really start pursuing my photography business. About three weeks ago out of the blue, before Jordan quit his job, someone stopped by our house and invited us to attend a workshop on self-reliance. You can attend one of four courses for a period of 3 months. We discovered that one of the course titles is How to Develop Your Business. The friend who stopped had no idea what was happening occupationally, educationally, or financially with us. 3. This semester for school we thought we would be required to pay Jordan's tuition because our pell grants were scheduled to come through in different semesters. We have savings but that is a relative term when you're a student. We had been giving it some thought. Jordan was looking for a part time and I was pursuing a work-from-home option to be sure everything would work out. Needless to say, it caused some stress. Jordan recently got online to figure out what the expenditures would be and it turns out the grant did come through this semester. This will give us the wiggle room and time we need to build the business we are actually interested in while also taking care of our small family. Some people might call these coincidence. I disagree. Everyday we have the choice to live passive or active lives. We can choose to be engaged. We can be deliberate about what we want and pursue those things. In fact, that's the only way we will reach our full potential. We weren't put on the earth to exist and then die. We were put here to live! It seems a funny thing to have an earth dotted with a whole mess of people who have every opportunity open to them, especially in this country, and that never take advantage of it simply because they don't ask the question, "what do I want in life?" Let me clarify that I'm not saying life is always hunky dory. Last week our car was broken in to. They stole our GPS and an iPod (that's the second iPod I've had stolen from a car. Maybe I'll stop leaving them in there now.) Did I ask the universe for that? Definitely not. But the next day while driving someone let us cross in front of them in to the turn lane, I was able to complete a butt kicking hike, and I saw a beautiful orange butterfly. There will always be things to combat a crummy experience but there is nothing that combats the stagnancy of an unintentional life. Be deliberate! You have potential! Make plans! Dream big! and know that the Universe is there to help you along in your pursuits. It wants you to succeed! You'll find the more razor focused your desires are, the clearer the response will be. At least, that's been my experience. From Molly... This week we wanted talk about each of our happy places and why. Mine is in my garden. Anyone who knows me very well knows how much I love my garden. Why? There are so many reasons! But the great thing about a happy place is that there doesn't need to be a reason! When I am working in my garden I just feel so happy. I love how my hands smell after I've been picking tomatoes, the dirt under my fingernails, the exciting earthworm sighting, and just watching everything grow, develop, and thrive...and then getting to eat it! I grow all sorts of things, and some things better than others. This year was slicing tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, roma tomatoes, zuchinni, butternut squash, sugar snap peas, sweet corn, slicing cucumbers, pickling cucumbers, sunflowers, basil, cilantro, strawberries, and raspberries. Some things grow better than others, but I enjoy learning new things every year. So about your happy place not needing to be logical...the planting zone we live in says that May is the safest time to plant. However, I ALWAYS plant in April. And yes, some of my seedlings always die. But I enjoy gardening SO MUCH that I actually like to plant twice! haha. See? It doesn't need to make sense. We live in a two bedroom 800 sq ft apartment, so we spend a lot of time outside. We've thought of moving multiple times since we now have 2 kids, no dishwasher, and no washer/dryer. But when push comes to shove the number one reason we stay is the garden. It brings me SO much joy every year. Happy places are important to have because the fact is we aren't always happy, but isn't it wonderful to have a "go to" happy place. When we were kids Samantha convinced me that if we used the right words, we could jump into our closet and enter candy land. We did it all the time. Our hangers became candy canes, chocolate syrup poured out of the door handle stopper, and everything was edible. We LOVED that game! Now wouldn't it be lovely if we could do that as adults? Well we can! Happy places can be all sorts of places. More of mine are my front porch bench before dawn while the girls are sleeping and a cup of tea in my hand. Another is strolling down the roads here in the evening and finding picturesque buildings like this one below. Or sitting on a simple bench like the one beneath also. Or swinging on our hammock in the yard. There are so many happy places that create happy thoughts and happy feelings. Now that's happy :) From Sam... I used to think that a "happy place" was a destination, and when I pictured my "happy place" it was literally a place. It was home in WA with my family (mainly my mom and sisters). When I was in college, I loved going home to visit (I still do) to see everyone, but every time I left I felt so sad and empty. It was like my mind believed it couldn't be happy unless I was in my "happy place". As I have gotten older my happy place isn't a literal geographical location, and has little to do with who is around me. My happy place has everything to do with my state of mind. My happy place is when I feel contentment. What I love about this is that it allows me more control of how to get there. When we were poor, newlywed college students we didn't have very much money or time to get back home so it was miserable pining away for my happy place for 5 months. Now, I don't have to wait to go somewhere, I can find that happy place within myself. The secret? Do more things that delight me! By integrating delights into my life I can have that contented feeling with me more often. In fact, just in the last 4 days I have found my happy place many times in many different ways. One thing that delights me is conquering a fear. It's probably strange, but it feels so exuberant to internally scream "I DID IT!" I think it also helps me to recognize that I have control. (Have you noticed that I don't like feeling like I'm not in control...?) This Saturday I went zip-lining with Aaron for our 9 year anniversary. The first run off the platform was gut-wrenching, but as soon as I began soaring I felt euphoric. It was seriously like I could look my fear of heights in the face and say "TAKE THAT! I WON!" and I loved it. And every time I ran off the platform of a new line I was in my happy place. Then, that evening we went to a cheese and chocolate pairing class where we learned about bean-to-bar chocolate making, and the subtle nuances that pair specific chocolates with specific cheeses. (I know it sounds weird, but it was awesome!) No, I didn't adore every single flavor, but I was learning, I was eating. I was content, and I was happy. The next morning I was laying on the bed and both kids came and laid on top of me for a dog-pile. They were laughing, I was laughing, and Aaron snapped a picture. I was in my happy place. Last night I got the kids to bed, grabbed an oversized sweatshirt, I cuddled up next to Aaron on the couch with a snack and read a book I've been dying to start for almost 3 hours. I was in my happy place. As you can see, my happy place isn't static--it's fluid and much of the joy I get when I'm there is looking at all I have overcome on my journey to find it. It's unrealistic to think that we will be happy all the time. It's also unrealistic to have our happy place be dependent on multiple external factors (finances, geographical location, your mood, others opinions and behaviors, etc.). For so many years I thought that finding your happy place was acquiring that picture perfect moment and somehow morphing that into your life, but that was so naive. Happiness is so much more readily available to us--we just have to grab it...and sometimes eat it! I've had an epiphany! The consequence? I enjoy the time with my girls more, pay someone to help clean my house twice a week, and just finished writing my first e-book. Now what the heck do all of these have in common?
A story... About a month ago I saw a woman at Costco who had 5 kids in what looked like 3 years. The oldest and then two sets of twins. That wasn't the amazing part...the amazing part is that she was smiley, laughing, relaxed, and obviously delighting in her kids. I watched her interact with them and thought "if I were in her situation, I would be a basket case in public, juggling all of them and trying to keep track of my wallet, and trying to control the shopping cart" (which she didn't even have. She had a double stroller and just carried her few items!). Now first, yes they were all her kids. They all looked just like her and definitely interacted like siblings. So this experience really got me thinking. How do people juggle so much and stay so happy? My conclusion: you can't do it all, so you have to pick and choose. It is impossible to do it all! You can't be a mother, and entrepreneur, and volunteer at the Red Cross, and serve within your church, and make a balanced dinner every single night, and make sure your baby's learning sign language, and keep chickens...well I guess you can...but I guarantee your kids, employees, husband, and chickens will all want to fire you! So if we can't do it all what CAN we do? First, we should determine what our roles are. Part of my epiphany was that I've had my roles mixed and matched. I thought that the role of "mother" included taking care of the kids, and cooking, and cleaning, and managing the affairs of the home. Well, that is actually 4 different roles (and probably even more). The fact is, I am only in "mother" role when I have connecting/teaching moments with my girls. Connecting with the girls, I love that part! But once you tack on cleaning, cooking, chauffeuring, home management, and on and on, those connecting moments become few and far between and it's easy to feel like "i don't like being a mom anymore!". So the next part of my epiphany - I need to figure out what roles are most important for me to fill. For me that was mother, wife, cook, entrepreneur, blogger, and some more... so yes, still a lot! But mind you I don't fill them simultaneously! Though some of them can conveniently overlap, like having Stella help me make dinner or reading my new book to Aaron and talking about it. Now, ask yourself "what can I throw out?" I bet we will all come up with a few roles we could do without filling. Do you really need to volunteer for the PTA this year? Should you really become your family's dietitian and make sure everyone eats 6 servings of vegetables a day? Will you truly be glad you signed the kids up for swimming lessons, soccer, and dance in a month? If you come to the conclusion that's it's not that important or doesn't fit into your vision for your family, throw it out! So the last part of my epiphany - if my life was a business, what would I outsource? You can outsource ALL sorts of things in your life, and we all do it in some way or another. Maybe you have your shirts dry cleaned, go out to eat, put your kids in daycare, have someone file your taxes. There are soooo many ways we can lighten our load, and the fee isn't always monetary. I have traded favors with other moms lots of time - babysitting for babysitting, bread for cleaning, veggies for tending my garden, etc. For me what I've decided to outsource is cleaning. All of my other roles I want to stay in, not because I feel like I should but because they're fulfilling to me. I'm telling you, this has been a huuuuge relief to me! I finally feel like there are enough hours in the day again. Part of that is also due to Liza sleeping better now, hurrayyyy! (sadly you can't outsource sleep...) Road blocks? Pride and fear. Most of us don't like admitting we need help or are afraid if we do. But although we could do it all half-heartedly, wouldn't we rather rock the most important things? In my experience, the times or circumstances that have forced me to do what's right for my family, even though other people might not agree or it's unconventional, have been some of the greatest blessings in my life. As i'm able to let go of appearances, expectations, and fears, I find that most people are extremely understanding, and I am empowered to create my own joy. So all of these epiphanies have been specific to my life and I don't think could all be applied to everyone, but hopefully you can take a part of it and apply it in your own life to rock what's most important to you! "May we think of freedom, not as the right to do as we please, but as the opportunity to do what is right." -Peter Marshall From Sam... As most of you know we moved from Northwestern Washington to Central Texas at the end of May. During this past two weeks I have been amazed at the outpouring of love I have seen as people have been dealing with the ramifications of Hurricane Harvey. I was extremely touched at how many people checked on us to make sure we were ok. I received so many calls, texts, and messages checking in, and my parents said that a lot of friends and family called them as well. Thank you for thinking about us and keeping us in your prayers. Because we are about 2.5 hours from Houston we received some rain and cooler weather, but nothing significant and have been doing just fine. The town in which we live received over 1000 evacuees, and there were even more county-wide. Churches and community centers opened their doors, and volunteers were working around the clock. The amount of donations that were given was heart-warming, and I am so proud to see how we all ban together when times are tough. On September 11, 2001 I was 12 years old, and I can clearly remember watching the news and seeing the planes fly into the twin towers. It was horrific, and it made me scared, and being so young I didn't understand what it all meant and how it was going to affect my world. (12-year-olds are so egocentric...) But you know what I also remember? Hours and hours of footage of people helping people. It was the same during Hurricane Katrina 2005, Hurricane Ike in 2008, the tornadoes in the midwest in 2011, the tornado in Moore, OK in 2013, and I could go on. And when friends or family have struggles I see it too; people stepping up and helping where they are needed. It's not always convenient to help, but I can assure you it's not convenient to have your home destroyed, to lose a loved one, to receive a grim diagnosis, or whatever the struggle may be. I am always so impressed by the acts of kindness--both large and small--that I see when the world seems dark. I love Harry Potter...Not just a little bit, but I ADORE the series! And I've always really liked the quotable lines that are applicable to life. This quote comes from book 5 when Harry is talking to his God-Father Sirius and telling him that he's concerned that he might be "bad". I love Sirius' response. None of us are perfect. We all make mistakes, but everyday we can make choices about who we want to be. I've joked with Aaron so many times, "If my parenting is graded on effort I get a solid A. If it's graded on execution I think I'm sitting around a B-." In life there's no measuring tool for goodness, only we know how how far we've come. I hope that we all can take the opportunity to act on the good. I can tell you from hearing about experiences from evacuees that a simple kindness from you can mean the world to someone else. From Molly... I woke up before the dawn today. I love the smell of that time in the morning and how cool the dry air is. I thought about how peaceful it was and how blessed I am that every morning can feel like this. As the sun crests the mountains, it fills me with hope not only for my day but for my life. What a blessing to live in such a country! As I was at the gym I saw people lifting some seriously heavy weights. Like “wow, your bicep is as big as my thigh!” It looked HARD! Why do they do it? Because it makes them stronger. Today is the memorial of 9/11. I remember that day well. I woke up in the morning and I saw my mom in front of the television and she was crying. I saw two buildings on the screen and smoke was billowing out of them. I didn’t understand exactly what it meant, but I did understand from that day forward that some people don’t like America and want to destroy this land and our freedoms. And although the towers fell and so many people’s lives were tramatically impacted, I also know that it made us stronger. During WWII the Germans sent countless air raids to London in order to make the people live in a state of fear. However, their randomized raids actually did the opposite. It rallied the British together, and became the “norm” for them. There is even a story about a large theatre in London that reopened during that time period, and when the raids would come, they would simply stop the show until the noise was done then they would keep playing. A fearful people is a weak people, but a hopeful people is a strong people. It seems to me that the vast majority of us do a lot of complaining and a little working. During the last election I actually deleted my FB account because I was so tired of hearing people talk and complain about politics and our government, with no commitment to civic duty or becoming involved in the political process. Perhaps we’d like to think that we make a difference simply by stating our opinion, but the truth is opinions without diligent work and organization quickly dissipate like a jet stream. That first sonic boom sure is loud, but within 30 minutes there is nothing left to see or hear. I think we could all do better about spending less time idly expressing our opinions and more time getting our hands dirty in the service of our country. There are countless organizations we could join, service groups we could volunteer for and causes we could actively and consistently support or oppose. Our involvement in local politics does much more to determine federal politics than we might realize. In fact, I’ve been working on a project for about a year to help people know exactly how to become more involved, and hopefully by the end of the year I will have launched it and you will all be the first to know! Because I too have more I need to do! When I picture Old Glory I picture her tattered by the rage of war, lifted by the hands of our military, stitched by our founding fathers, and hung and revered by us all, the people who get to enjoy everything she has and does stand for. I love my country. I am proud to be an American and I know that I have a part in defining what it means to be an American. All my life I want my hands to be dirty from working to preserve the values and life that I love. Many people know the popular quote by President Lincoln saying that “a house divided against itself cannot stand” but most people don’t know that he was quoting the Bible. In Matthew Jesus states “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand” (KVJ). As a people we will disagree. In fact, I think it’s good that we do. There isn’t always one right way, but the closest we can get to a perfect way is to work together, to embody the characteristics that Christ embodied: patience, respect, charity, hard work, diligence, vision, selflessness, humility, and moral courage. If becoming involved in the political sphere seems overwhelming remember that the first and most important house to have united is your own - your family. If we cannot model these values in our own homes, how do we expect to in any other avenue? From families come homes, from homes come communities, from communities come states, and from states come countries. Let’s get our own houses in order and then let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work putting our money where our mouth is. O thus be it ever when freemen shall stand Between their lov'd home and the war's desolation! Blest with vict'ry and peace may the heav'n rescued land Praise the power that hath made and preserv'd us a nation! Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just, And this be our motto - "In God is our trust," And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave. Thank you to all who serve our country in whatever capacity they are able! From Emma...
I was six when the Twin Towers fell. I remember watching little snippets of it on TV while my mom tried to both protect from and explain the goings on to such a young mind. I remember the next time we flew shortly thereafter I was really scared and as we walked through security, to the gate and on to the plane I could feel the fear well up inside me like something tangible. My mom leaned down to check on me as I sat rigid in my seat in coach, eyes darting back and forth, wondering who the bad guy was among the throngs of people surrounding me. "I'm afraid," I told her, as the plane roared to life and began moving. "Emma," she said, "If you feel afraid, then they have won." The assurances that followed didn't impact me so much as that initial statement. I've been really sick a mere handful of times in my life. Last night it hit me like a freight train though and I spent half the night on the pot with the garbage can in my hands (I apologize for the graphic visual). Jordan and I prayed last night as we lay in bed for me and my health. As I lay miserable and over emotional Jordan said to have faith. In a moment of self pity I asked him what that really means to have faith. He said that faith is hope, rooted in God and a knowledge of his power and that he has a plan. God is power and grace. He is peace and comfort. He is all good things that bring light to otherwise dark places. As I lay in bed contemplating faith and my own misery that would "undoubtedly last forever" I was reminded of that hope that appears most strong when suffering is present. As a six year old I was given the opportunity to learn trust in humanity and watch as we put the pieces back together with a focus on the needs of others. This morning my husband ran to the store for things that are illness appropriate, my sister dropped off a bag of things to help with the recovery without every being asked, and a neighbor volunteered to make dinner for us. The world is full of wonderful people but if we don't pause to see it, we allow fear to win. I lived in South America for a time when I was about 18. It was an eye opening experience. Everything we did, we did in pairs. Certain parts of the city were off limits. Rules were placed as a protection to us and any long excursions needed to be approved and required accompaniment from those that spoke the language fluently and had a firm grasp on the culture. It was beautiful but the separation made coming home even sweeter than it had been on trips before. Upon returning home I recognized something new within myself. It was a newfound gratitude for home and country, and the freedoms it represents. It was a pride that transcends simple politics and displays the greatness of a nation founded on morality and vision, with God at the center. To this day, my heart swells with pride and my eyes fill with tears whenever I hear the Star Spangled Banner sung. We are America and it is a privilege unlike any other to be part of this great nation. In this world there is suffering that goes far beyond me laying in bed with the flu, but maybe if I take the time I can learn empathy ad discover what it means to help another. That is what America is to me; a nation built and preserved on strangers, families, friends, reaching out to lift each other. And as it is with so many things in life, "If you feel afraid, they have won." Don't let the fear of what is or what's to come keep you from the strength grounded in faith and hope. "I love those who can smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. 'Tis the business of little minds to shrink, but they whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves their conduct, will pursue their principles unto death." -Leonardo da Vinci God bless America! |
who we areSpread the Good: Three sisters embracing the human experience, ups and downs included, inviting others to join the celebration.
AuthorsThree sisters, three years apart, three words: Spread the Good Archives
January 2021
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