A Month of Thankfulness – Day 2 – Life

Here we are at day 2 of the #bloglikecrazy challenge and my item for today is Life.  Yes, I am thankful for my life, and just life in general.  I turn on the radio and TV and almost every day, I hear about people, much younger than myself, who are no longer with us.  It’s hard to hear about parents outliving their children, that’s just not how it supposed to be.  Life is now treated more like the thing you are granted in a video game when you reach a certain level.  It is not valued or embraced like the thing that it really is. 

No one’s life is perfect and when we sit and reflect, I am sure we can all come up with things we wish we could do over.  At the end of High School, I took the Air Force exam.  Even though I scored very well, I let the fear of the unknown talk me out of enlisting.  While I have no regrets, I do sometimes wonder where I would be now had I served.   I just choose to believe that the Air Force was not a part of my divine destiny.  Just like anyone else, my life has included great experiences and negative ones.  Experiences, even the negative ones, still have a way of enriching our lives and the lives of others.  If you ever question your existence, just imagine what other people’s lives would be like without you.

Life is what you make it, and the value of it is priceless!  I am thankful for having the opportunity to learn, grow, interact, share, and impact.  I would hope that when I am no longer here, someone would be able to say that I made an impact on them.

More to come tomorrow!

Advancing In Age

I was recently given the opportunity to “Guest Post” on another blog (Renew Refresh Reset Your Life) and I just realized that I may not have shared it with the readers here. These are my thoughts on aging…I would love to know what you think about getting older!

“I tend to be one of those people who will sit quietly taking note of my surroundings, and then spend days meditating on it.  My brain seems to take on a life of its own and will exhaust any conceivable concept related to that subject, sometimes to the point of physical exhaustion for me.   Actually, I think I just never outgrew the “why” stage of my childhood, and learned to ask the questions to myself instead of out loud.  Just a few years ago, I discovered that writing gave me that freedom of release and provided a way to clear my thoughts, just in time for the next adventure.  

Here lately, on more than three occasions, I have taken note of advertisements for procedures around anti-aging.  The processes claim to be a low-risk way to reverse the signs of aging, but in the grand scheme of things, is that even truly possible? Is it truly a reversal, or just a slight delay? What’s so wrong with aging?  Did I mention that I never outgrew that “why” phase?  Maybe here is a chance to Renew, Refresh, and Reset our thinking when it comes to aging? Aging is not always about what you lose, sometimes it’s a matter of discovering what you’ve gained.

I personally see aging as a positive thing, a blessing.  Aging signifies maturity, growth, and advancement. Anything that does not grow has no life, it becomes stagnant.  On the other hand, anything that continues to grow but does not somehow change is, well—I’m really not sure what that is.  For some, it may be difficult to see yourself advancing in years, but you have to remember, you are still who you are.  A line or a wrinkle on my face does not alter me; my spirit, which is the real me.  You can’t even see the real me, what you see is just a shell. The real me, is what gives life to that shell.  Sure, my “shell” does not look like it did when it was twenty, but I am perfectly ok with that.  When I was twenty, I had not had the experiences, nor was I even remotely prepared for the experiences that I have had when I was in my thirties and forties.  I did not know the concern for a child in pain, a parent in surgery, or the struggles that come with a job that goes away.  I did not know the joys of becoming a mother for the first time or having someone to love you unconditionally.  I had not communed with as many elders to understand the joys and struggles that come with making the world a better place.  That’s life, and sometimes life tends to show on our faces.  Each face has a story to tell, and oh what a beautiful story it is!  

Imagine all the delightful experiences you would have missed if you were forever young. You may be able to erase a line or two, here and there, but the true essence of who you are should never be hidden.  As long as I have breath in my body, I have the opportunity to live life to the fullest!  The time I could take to inventory every line or crease around my eyes, is the time I choose to use in reflection and thanksgiving for the maturity, growth, and advancements in life that I have been given.”

My Heartfelt Desire!

Dear Daughter,

It is my heartfelt desire that this life affords you the life that you dream.  It is my sincere desire that you realize that the world is your beautiful, beautiful oyster.  Opportunities abound, and every one of them is within your very grasp.  All you have to do is keep reaching for them.

My dearest daughter, it is my heartfelt desire that you ground yourself in Christ and that you someday be gifted with the spirit of discernment.  It is discernment that will allow you to recognize the truths of this world.

My dearest daughter, it is my sincerest hope that your children, my beautiful grandchildren, will possess the same tenacity to craft a life by design and not by twist of fate.  It is my heartfelt desire that you will know what real love is and experience it and all of its extraordinary wonders.

My dearest daughter, you need to know that sometimes it will seem as if this world will fail you.  However, you need to know and remember that your life was created by design and that those tribulations, that experience, will be subdued by triumphs.  You need to know that the triumphs will be far greater than the trials if you only trust in God’s unchanging hand.

Finally my dearest daughter, if you learn no other lesson if life, let it be this:  learn to recognize God’s voice.  That voice will come in many forms, and there will be many messengers delivering His message.  That voice will sometimes come as a faint whisper, or it may be as thunderous as roaring waves.  That voice may not make a sound at all or sometimes it will sound just like your voice.  If you are diligent in your obedience to Christ, He will be diligent in clearing your path for a life divine.

Moreover, these things my love are my heartfelt desires for you.

Love, Hugs & Kisses,

 

Submitted by:   Charita H. Cadenhead

Charita is the Author/Creator of:  Renew Refresh Reset Your Life  Be sure to subscribe!  She is also a Realtor and the Co-Author of:  Sell Your House Fast for the Right Price.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seeing Much Clearer Now

It’s amazing how some of the simplest things in life, teach you the biggest lessons.

Today, I took my car to have it washed.  The weather was beautiful and it had not been washed for a while.  Since I had the time, I took advantage of the moment.  Once it was ready, I entered the car and proceeded to drive off.  I noticed the clean smell and smiled when I saw the freshly vacuumed carpet.  Should have had this done sooner, I thought, and that’s when it hit me–the windshield.  The windshield was so clear, it seemed as if I could see for miles ahead!  I could see through it before, but this time I really could see the difference and realized just how dirty it had been.  Light flooded the car.  It did not seem that dirty before, but now, I was seeing much clearer.  I started to notice how blue the sky was, how bright the sun was, and noticed the beautiful colors of some of the trees that have started to show their Fall colors.  Wow, just a simple cleaning allowed me to see what I did not pay much attention to before.

Wow.  I then thought about all the people who are looking at the world, themselves, and each other through somewhat of a “dirty” windshield.  How they are not appreciating who they are because they are not seeing clearly.  They look in the mirror and only find fault.   Time to wash the windshield.  The Bible says in Matthew 6 that the eye is the lamp of the body.  If your eye is sound, your entire body will be full of light, but if your eye is unsound, your whole body will be full of darkness.  What are your eyes seeing?  Do they see clearly or are they clouded?  If they are clouded, pray and ask God to cleanse the windshield through which you are looking.  He can give you clearer sight and help you to notice and appreciate the things that you have been missing, even in yourself. (photo by Google images)