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THURSDAY THOUGHT 12/29/11

BEGINNINGS

I used to try to make something significant out of the end of one year and the ringing in of a new one … but it never really rang true.  Years ago, I even tried, just once, the raucous New Year’s Eve celebrating in a noisy room filled with a few friends and a few hundred strangers.  (I was okay with it until the lead singer in the band thought it would be great to drop his trousers and moon the audience at the stroke of midnight.  The significance was lost on me.) 

These days, I no longer celebrate endings.  Instead, as my Mother was wont to do, I usually (no, not always; I’m not perfect) ring in each new day, each fresh morning, each new beginning with a simple prayer:  “Thank you, Lord.”  (I even sometimes sing it loud and long.)  It is a wondrous feeling to know I am loved as I am, forgiven for what I’ve done, guided to become — a step or two in the right direction each day – the man God’s wants me to be. 

My point:  Every day is a gift, an opportunity to start fresh, to begin anew.  Even if yesterday was a bear and half, each new day is a … well, a new day.  Embrace it.  Cherish it.  Most of all, take full advantage of it, this new beginning.  – jri

For those who know me, you know I admired my Mother for her strength and joy.  Many days she was beaten down – though never defeated! – by health problems and the usual setbacks of life.  And every morning, I would sit at the kitchen table and hear her descend the stairs, always with a loud greeting (“Good morning, my darling boy”) and often with an off-key song on her lips that could rattle the window panes and wake the dead.  Her two favorite tunes:  “Open up the windoooooooows, open up the doooooooors, and let the merry sunshine in!” or “I don’t know why I love you like I do.  I don’t know why … I just do!” 

To this day, and she’s been dead now 30 years, I can hear that voice … and awake with joy in my heart at the beginning of a new day.  God bless you on this and every new day.

WEDNESDAY THOUGHT 12/28/11

THE “STEADY” MAN

Joe had been my father-in-law for 23 years.  Now deceased, he will always be remembered by me as man of steadiness.  Quiet by nature, he was a doer, not a talker.  He was also a man of principle, a man who said what he meant and meant what he said.  He was steady. 

He reminded me of another Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus.  We know little about Joseph. I’m not sure if anything he said is recorded in the Bible.  However, he was a man of profound faith.  When God spoke, he listened and obeyed, apparently without question.  He learned that his fiancée, Mary, was pregnant by the Holy Spirit .. and he accepted it.  In a dream, he was told to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt, assumedly walking away from family and friends … and he did it.  Then, also in a dream, he was told that it was time to return to his home … and, again, he got up and did it.  Wow!  What a man of faith and strength!  Though he never talked the talk, he certainly did walk the walk.

My point:  Just that you could easily miss Joseph – and all the other quiet, steady men in this world – if we don’t pay attention.  These are not the trumpet blowers and gong bangers who crow and brag and bore everyone they meet with their list of accomplishments.  No, they are the quiet men of faith, the ones who say what they mean and mean what they say … and who change the world for the better.  Speaking only for myself, I know I could certainly use a bit of Joseph in myself. – jri

 Joe, my ex-wife’s father, had no faith most of his life.  Too honest to fake it, he simply accepted his lack of faith.  However, his wife insisted that their children be raised in the faith, and Joe quietly, unwaveringly supported that.  Toward the end of his life, by the way, he did have a conversion and died as a believer.  He was a good man, a role model I admire to this day. 

TUESDAY THOUGHT 12/20/11

THE CHRISTMAS/LAUNDRY LIST!

For many folks, our Christmas lists (as well as our prayers, wishes, and hopes all year long) tend to be about what we want.  We pray for just one more break, one more goodie, one more pony under the tree.  Our petition may be as serious as the recovery of health for ourselves or a loved one, or the restoration of a broken relationship.  Or it may be as frivolous as … well, back to that pony again.   

That’s why we often get disappointed, what with all these petitions and here’s-what-I-want prayers.  Very egoistic.  Well, what about what God wants?  What about what He wants for us?  See, and here’s the kicker:  Even when I’ve received everything I’ve ever asked for (and I generally have … cursed by my self-focused blessings), it’s never been enough; it’s never fulfilled or satisfied me for more than a day or week or month; it’s never filled that gaping hole in my soul. 

My point:  God and God alone knows what is best for us.  So, rather than approaching God with a laundry/Christmas list of wants, why not just let go and let God decide what we really want and need?  – jri

My biggest prayer these days (and my prayers keep getting simpler) is for an honest desire to accept God’s will.  That prayer follows a recognition that God is a good God – always, no exceptions – and that when I just do my best and keep out of His way, everything works out exactly the way it is supposed to.  Yes, that requires a fair amount of faith and trust at times.  But, well, isn’t that what it’s all about?  May you recognize, accept and cherish the blessings of the Lord today and every day.

TUESDAY THOUGHT 12/13/11

THE SURVIVORS’ CLUB

I know more than a few people whose lives have been shattered by either things they have done or things that have been done to them.  I also know people who, for no reason whatsoever, are cursed with the terrifying darkness of mental depression; some ponder suicide on almost a daily basis. 

But here’s the best part; yes, the best part:  They persist.  Though they often live in darkness, they also live in hope.  Like the Magi, they travel by the light of a distant star.  That star does not flood their path with brightness.  No, it guides them through the darkness.  Many live in an uncertain and oft-questioned faith.  Still, it is faith, nonetheless.  And they persist.

My point:  Trust.  And when you find that even trust fails, hope.  Christ came into the world to bring it light.  Perhaps not today, perhaps not right at this instant, but that light – that bright, warming joy-giving light – will flood your life.  Persist … just as Christ persisted. – jri

I sometimes confuse personal fulfillment, happiness and pleasure with joy.  I’ve also learned that there it is possible to be miserable and yet joy-filled..  On occasion (no, not always, I admit), I can be living in a pain-filled funk, dealing with both very real and some imaginary losses.  Nonetheless, I can also be filled with joy, the joy of knowing that I am trying to live the life of love and caring that God asks of me, and the joy of knowing that it all makes sense, even though I may not always and at all times clearly understand it.  God bless you.  Be joyful today. 

FRIDAY THOUGHT 12/2/11

SIX WORDS

I know a man who, by at least one definition of success, has everything, but who, in reality, knows nothing.  He has several homes, a handful of boats, more toys than he can shake a stick at.  Plus, he walks with a swagger, an arrogance, a false friendliness and chilly warmth that I once almost admired … until one day I happened to catch him in an unguarded moment, a moment when he could not be in control of a fairly simple event.  It betrayed way too much insecurity and inner fear … almost terror.  (He reminded me of the All-powerful Wizard of Oz with the curtain pulled back.)  He had surrounded his life with objects and ideas to protect him, and it hadn’t worked.  My admiration turned to sadness bordering on pity.

Then the other night I met this man’s polar opposite.  He had met life head-on: had seen much, had lost much, and had learned much … including how to travel light through this life.  His face was hard, but his smile was inviting and his eyes were warm, caring, open … and grateful (yes, grateful).  Even his philosophy of life – no, really, more his creed – was short and light.  He had it down to six words, six good words, written below. 

My point:  Our will and our efforts do not last.  We can fight time and gravity (as in, all things eventually get pulled back down into the earth) to no avail.  Our blessings – our true wealth —  are faith, love, caring and sharing, not for self-aggrandizement, but for others.  Everything else leaves us empty, afraid, and alone. – jri