Forgiveness.....do it now and move on

I was thinking about forgiveness the other day and how important it is to our sanity. I was reminded, out of the clear blue sky, about two people I knew and hung out with in my younger days. They were both older than I am and were friends of a friend but I still knew them and did things together with them all. The two women were rather close. They did things together and traveled together.

On one particular occasion they went on a trip and flew somewhere. I believe they might have been out of the country or on their way out.

The one friend needed to use the facilites, the other friend got on the plane......and the plane left with out the other friend. A real friend would have missed the flight along with the other.

They never spoke again after that incident. And just a few years ago one of them passed away. I don't believe they ever settled things, they just stopped speaking.

It's pretty simple, someone does something they shouldn't, you tell them how you feel and then you say "I forgive you", even if you don't feel like it, even if they don't ask for it. And then you move on, with or without them.

Why do we make our lives harder than we have to?

Men Are Strange Creatures

I just met someone that I've been chatting with online for a month or so. The meeting was short, half hour or so. He ate breakfast and I sat and visited with him. I think he might have been more nervous than I was. Pleasant enough to look at and the conversation was light. I don't know if he left quickly because he found me hideous or if it was all more than he could bear. I was my charming self. I didn't seem nervous at all. I'm sure we will talk again online and that will be the true test. I wouldn't mind getting together with him again, he seems nice enough. Kind of a lonely guy since he is experienceing empty nest syndrome.

Men can be just as odd as us women. That's a profound statement that I just made up!

Morning Thoughts

As I sit here sipping my cup of French Roast, I'm thinking about my neighbors. I've lived in the same house for 46 years and I've seen it all come and go. Some has stayed longer than we've liked but that's another story. On our left is a young family we've known for years, they lived there, they moved, they came back and we are so grateful. We look out for one another, we visit, we do things for each other, their young son mows and shovels snow for us and his parents wont let us pay him. Still, we do something for him from time to time. He refers to himself as 'the lean mean mowing machine', he's only ten. Across the street are some odd characters. A guy and his son who comes on the weekends. Next to him is Handy Andy, a handyman by trade, to bad he doesn't do some handy dandy work on his house. Odd people, she never leaves the house, no curtains to open. When she does she's always dressed in black. Their grown children live there too. Very odd, but we speak. On my left is the house I grew up spending a lot of my time in. They were my second family. They have all gone now but ex relatives of theirs now live there which is again rather odd. They have kept the house up very nicely, wish at times I could go in and reminisce, I'm sure they have no idea who I am or that I know all about them. There are other houses in the neighborhood with people that have lived in them as long as I have lived in mine. But sometimes I wonder what goes on around here at night. I think I'll dig up an old copy of the movie THE BURBS and watch it for a laugh or two.....while I keep my door locked and my binoculars handy!

Build a Bridge and Get Over It

I have come to the correct conclusion that those of us who don't really know God at all are the ones that can't find anything to be cheery about. First of all God has our names written on the palm of his hand. He knows the number of hairs on our head, He knew us before we were even born and for crying out loud He sent his only son to die for us that we may have life, abundant life. And here we are, woe is me, my job stinks, my life stinks, no one cares yadda yadda yadda. If only we knew how wrong we are. We have roofs over our heads, food on the table, our children lack nothing, and for crying out loud Jesus hung on the cross for us. What more do you want? My church has a food pantry and every Saturday morning we serve hundreds. We have page after page of prayer requests for these people, they have no jobs, no two story, three bedroom homes, they have rotten health situations, they have abuse in their lives and yet they trust and believe that our prayers can make a difference. You know, ten years ago I almost died and I wouldn't be here today if it were not for the prayers of my church family. Am I where I want to be in life? Not yet, am I complaining about it? Not usually, most of the time I'm trusting God for that abundant life He has promised. It's all about attitude. 'Be of good cheer'....and thou shall not whine. Don't like your circumstances? Do something to change them. Whining gets you no where. There, I said it. Now I shall move on!

My trip

How wonderful it is to have people in my life that bless me. After a hard year 'friendship' wise, I was reminded this week of how people in our every day lives can be such a blessing. I had such a wonderful day yesterday, on my own in Naperville and Wheaton. While my friend was at her conference I once again wondered around the city. After checking out of the hotel at eleven, I found the huge Border's and spent over an hour there. I read, I wrote. I left my laptop at home and was glad I did. I knew where I was going to have lunch, same place I always do, The Corner Bakery. However this time I wasn't satisfied with my food and about two hours later I found myself in a Mexican Cantina eating a couple of tacos! I found my faveorite thrift store, "The Wise Penny" and bought a few things including yet another cookbook!! I even found an antique store and had a visit with the owner, we talked about old aprons. When friends treat you as though you are family, and hand over their car keys to you and say, "have fun"....you know you are truly blessed and have no room to complain about anything. It really is the nicest birthday present I have ever had, and I've had it for three years now! :-) The Lord really does have our best interests at heart.

I just knew it!

For the past few years at this time, I've been going to Wheaton with my friend. She attends a writers conference and I paint the town red while she is there. Being on my own, in a city with things to do is the best birthday present I could ever have. I just love the freedom. This year we were pretty sure we were going to be able to go but we weren't sure if we could stay over night this time. Money is tight these days as we all know. But deep down inside I pretty much knew it was going to happen. I prayed. I told the Lord, you know we just need to be able to stay overnight so we can be fresh as a daisy the next morning for the conference. I asked Him to just provide the way for us to stay overnight and on faith, I started to pack my bag. And sure enough, last night I got the call confirming we could stay overnight. The Lord is good to his daughters! ( and his sons too )