The Greening of Spring

Before Christmas, we “Green the Church” with Christmas things and pine branches and boughs. Yet today, I saw the beauty of the greening of Spring.

Just a couple of weeks ago the trees were still naked and gray. Everything looked gray.

But today the trees were fluffy and green! The leaves fill out the hollow spots. They take shape and make the trees appear if they’ve grown in height and width within just a few days.

I’ve never been one to love the spring, but today I may be a convert. The scents and colors of Autumn are my preference.  I used to only think of the mud and having to plant a garden in the Spring. However, today I saw the flowers blooming, the trees budding, and the sky shining with sunlight. The air is fresh with rain and sunshine.

Moral: Sometimes we see things we’ve missed seeing for decades, but it was right in front of us the entire time.

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God’s Country is All of the World

I was listening to the radio on my lunch hour today. Normally I listen to an audio book when I drive, but I forgot to take my phone with me. The first song I heard had language something like this: I live here in God’s Country, this is God’s Country. Maybe I misunderstood, but it sounded like the singer believed that one piece of the earth is God’s Country. So far as I can tell, all of the world is God’s Country.

Be it the dumps where we put our trash to the gardens where we grow our flowers, or from the earthworm to the killer whale, or from the homeless encampment to the mansions of the wealthy, or from the small family farm to the castles in the mountains and everything in between, it is all God’s Country. From the ugly to the beautiful, from the sad to the happy, from the silent to the screaming, this is God’s Country.

And when I say “God”, I mean whatever source you believe formed the earth, no matter if you are a person of faith, agnostic, or atheist, this place is home to us all. There is room for us all. We are all of equal value. Our wealth or poverty, our positivity or negativity, our level of happiness or sadness … we were all created in love, by love, and for love.

May we not limit the world to small patches of places that are treasured. May we treasure all of the earth. It takes all of us with all of our abilities to make the world spin on it’s axis.

Moral of the Story: I hope I misunderstood the song. I hope they meant the world as a whole is God’s Country … because it is.

 

So This Week was “Fun”

So this week was “fun”. I had the stomach flu that reminded me of the scene in Braveheart when they disembowel Mel Gibson’s character. I never found that scene worth including in the movie, but I see a little value now.

Normally, I am a horrible person, wishing my illness on evil the likes of Hitler, but this was so bad, I couldn’t wish it on anyone. Seriously … no one … ever.

My tummy is still rumbly three days later, and I’m still afraid to eat, but no more fever, achy joints, nor the intense pain and activity of the first 10 hours.

Praying you NEVER get this bug!!! Peace & Health be With You!

Moral of This Story: Never get the stomach flu. Ever. Please.

 

Beauty is in You

Normally at Big Lots this beautiful woman is at checkout. Always kind and always in full makeup, beautifully done hair, and stunning, long nails. Tonight a gentle woman with no makeup, simple hair, and plain nails was at checkout.

Both are absolutely beautiful and genuine. Both warm my heart and make me smile and laugh. It takes all of us to make the world go round, but the more who have kindness galore like these women make it a better place to be.

Moral of the story: You are beautiful when you are who you were created to be. If that in jean’s and a t-shirt or a ball gown/full tux, you remain just as beautiful because of what is in your heart and your actions in the world.

 

So This Happened Today

I taught a class for our clients at work. I got up after to talk with a client, and it felt like one leg was an inch shorter than the other. I tried really hard to be attentive and responsive to the client’s questions, but all I could think about was why one leg felt longer than the other.

I tried to check out my feet discretely, but I didn’t see an answer to my troubles. Finally, after the client left, which felt like forever as I was trying to decipher what was wrong, I was able to turn around and look at my seat. What do I see under the table? The sole of my shoe!

It was super annoying to walk around the rest of the day like that (especially stairs), but I had no other shoes with me. Furthermore, I wasn’t planning on going home after work. I wanted to volunteer at my church’s Free Store.

I finally decided to tell them I’d be late to Free Store and went to Meijer for shoes. So glad I did! It felt instantly better to feel the ground beneath my feet at the same distance from my hips. I was a very happy volunteer with very happy feet.

The old shoes will visit the Shoe Smith to make a full recovery of the soul with a reattached sole.

Moral of the story: Balance is vital to a happy life.

 

Friends from Unexpected Places

This morning I woke up thinking about a few people in my life whom I greatly appreciate and know that God put in my life to make me a better person. This week has held a series of unfortunate events, and there are very negative things I could have lived forever without knowing about within other people in my life. While everyone I have ever met has made me who I am today, God woke me with the light of joy and appreciation for a certain few of those life shaping folks.

Trish, Ruth, and Donna at church. Growing up, they were just a few of the moms in my world. I was friends with their children, and I respected them, but I the friendship was with their children. Now that I’m all grown up (ha, ha), and their children have moved away, I have become friends with these moms. These are women I see not only as leaders in my church family, but as friends that I am blessed to have in my life.

I have other friends too, where over the years, it’s their parents or their children (yes, I’m that old, that my friend’s have adult children), that I have a valued friendship with as well. My world is better and bigger because of these relationships that have developed over time.

Moral of the Story: You never know who will shine the light of friendship within your life. May you have many friendships that bless your world.

 

Grateful for a Sinus Infection

Friday, February 23, 2019

At 4 a.m. I knew I had to call in sick. My cat had been throwing up. I didn’t know they could dry heave, but my little sweetie pie, cranky pants kitty cat was doing just that. I was exhausted from mouth breathing and blowing my nose into oblivion. Every night for a month, I do this, and the longer it goes on, the more tired I get. Plus my nose has owies inside, and I’m getting bloody noses from blowing my schnoz 8 million times a day. Although I think it is helping to increase my lung capacity.

After letting the office know I wouldn’t be in, I was able to get an appointment for Joy in the morning, and one for myself in the afternoon. Joy was constipated and dehydrated. They gave her fluids and a medicine for me to rub in her ears to help with her appetite. It was clear to the Vet all of this is psychological, because her health is better than her age group in all other ways. I need to keep up the tricks to make her feel like the top cat. Which, of course, she is the matriarch kitty in our home. Maybe by just a handful of months, but nonetheless, she’s the boss (at least my boss … and now I have three … Merry is my mom’s boss).

As always, her favorite part of going to the Vet is coming home. Especially after the new Owner of the Vet’s office rolled around in her carrier: Mr. Kitty. Mr. Kitty is the new rescue for the office, but he totally acts like he owns the joint. At home, we were both exhausted, so she slept on a living room chair in a blanket, and I on the couch. Though I had to get up sooner than I wanted, because, before I knew it, it was my turn to go to the doctor.

Incredibly, I got in right away, and the doctor came in quickly. After asking me thousands of questions and pushing on the sinus cavities in my face where pain was just waiting for a reason to explode, he determined that I don’t have allergies from my answer to three of the questions and the pain in my face, but a sinus infection. Yeah! A couple of weeks ago I went in for overactive bladder. It normally goes away after a couple of days, but not this time! It’s like my new exercise plan is running to the bathroom. Anyhow, I mentioned (well, she heard my nasally voice) the snotty face, and after a few questions, she declared allergies. It made sense to me then. Except that she gave me a list of things NOT to take in order to avoid making the overactive bladder worse that may have reduced the snottiness in my face. So very much fun!

Hopefully, I am now on the road to recovery from being snotty and the owie that is every sinus cavity in my face. Hopefully, Joy is now on the road to recovery as well and will resume eating with pleasure. She’s really struggling with accepting the new kitties. I hope the pheromone plug ins will help, and clearly putting her needs and wants first so she can see her place in my world. We did a slow introduction, and she seemed like she was improving, but clearly not. Maybe she takes after her adoptive mom: Stubborn as the day is long. But even this old lady can be worn down, so hopefully my old kitty will come around too. At least in the meantime, she still has her own room with her own food and her own litter and her own toys. A safe haven.

While I’m at it, I’m very impressed with how respectful the Willow and Poppy are being of Miss Joy and Miss Merry. The new kitties defer to the old kitties. The new kitties love their toys, Merry mostly ignore toys, and Joy has her own set of toys that she loves and drags around. The new kitties have never even tried to touch her toys. No matter the reason, I am glad they are being lady-like as much as possible.