Almost three years ago God demonstrated abundant Grace in my life. I was given the opportunity and arranged to stay with a friend’s Mom after work and through out the week nights. It was a commuting dream which I had been praying on for months. Alas!
This 91 year old woman (now 93 at the time of this post) has been remarkable to me. So many lessons to learn from her. So many stories to be heard. Her silver hair hangs nearly to her shoulders as she swipes the bangs styled to fall slightly to her right when they are not clipped to that side. She speaks in nearly a mumble and it takes some time to pick up the rhythm of her speech. Once in sync, it becomes clear this woman has a terrific and even scampish sense of humor.
For most nights we watch reruns of some favorite sitcoms. Often having seen each episode at least 3 times, we laugh. We know the joke before it comes, and we laugh. Sometimes the commercial breaks are filled with laughter as we recover from a funny line we’ve heard and commented on before. We roll it around in conversation for even further examination of humor and soon discover it is still funny. We reward it with another round of laughter. Perhaps we wait a day or two and slip it into conversation. We each wait a moment for the recognition, knowing the smile that is guaranteed to follow. Sort of an inside joke between just us.
Confusion begins to take a peek into our consciousness at some point. It is unobtrusive and fairly easy to moderate. A misplaced thought is easily redirected to correctness. A bad feeling is explained and the psyche is soothed. Through it all the observer sees unconditional love is expressed. But wait, it is expressed through animals. The love of dog becomes overwhelming and unhealthy. An imbalance begins to teeter-totter between the harmony and denial that sides with each of its riders this day. And then the next. This imbalance creates an inability to navigate the see-saw any longer. It seems denial is stuck up in the air and harmony will not let it drop down and dismount this ride.
A sudden event alters the course of these actions dramatically. It is instead replaced with sadness and regret. As we know, change is often unwelcome. Even when we are looking forward to change in our lives, it is often met with uncertainty and causes some discomfort or angst. It almost always requires significant work on our part if we hope to navigate our change for the better.
To that end, the ego fights hard to hang on to the past. Like a scorned lover it prefers to spend time lazing in the what-ifs and the could have beens. If you listen there, you will hear it and that may be how you spend your days. Or, what if we recognize that those things that once served us well are no longer necessary baggage for our journey. We can lighten our load. We can know that we have a joyful journey ahead of us, thanks to the lessons learned on the path we have already traveled.
With that blessing, we know the best is yet to come. With that promise of the purest and most Divine Love we know where life leads.
Embrace the journey!
Embrace it with Love.
-Decidedly Debra