There is something about aging that causes you to reflect on things differently. I was telling a friend the other day that there was tremendous freedom in being fat, over fifty and having gray hair. It eliminates the game playing of being young, beautiful and single when you're single, 'fluffy' and look your age. I get to say what's on my mind with the freedom of just being me and have acquired the wisdom of knowing when to shut up (most of the time).
My birthday was fun. My sabbath day has been both encouraging and convicting. I have hopes for tomorrow being spent in the garden. I want to subdue a small piece of earth in my backyard. The last two years horrible squash bugs have decimated my zucchini. This year, we are at war. I am planting nasty smelling flowers that bugs don't like all around my vegetables. I am ready with my soapy water and if that doesn't work..... I'll wage chemical war on them. So what if I glow in the dark after consuming my Swiss chard? I will not be foiled by creepy crawly things. I hate 'em. As my friend Carla would say, Gak!
One of the things that I truly loved about working in Student Development, was watching the students transition from their first year to the young men and women they would become. It is easy to see the hand of God at work in others when you get to invest in their lives and be an 'interested party' instead of a casual observer. I received a letter from my niece today. It was a poignant letter about growing up and how to know where your home is. She acknowledged that our ultimate home is in heaven, but the rest of this must be important or God wouldn't have designed it for us. She went off to college in another state, made her important relationships with other students who left their home states and came to matriculate at the same college. Now she is working in another state with a job that allows her to travel.
She knows the job she is in is temporary and wants to know how you decide where home is when your heart is with family and friends scattered hither, tither and yon.
I am excited that she is asking this question. I am grateful that she is giving me a chance to see her grow in wisdom as she comes to some of the hard things about being an adult. I like that she knows me well enough to know I would tell her that heaven is our ultimate home. I also like that she decided to pose the questions in letter form. I like writing old fashioned letters. I just wish I could do it with the panache of some of the letters I have read that were written two hundred years ago. We have so damaged our ability to communicate heartfelt truths by reducing our vocabularies to what is appropriate for television and newspaper. One of the first things they teach you about writing is not to write above your targeted audience. I understand why, but it is sad.
In keeping with my discipline theme, today I did garden. Tomorrow's goal is to write my niece and offer her what I know about making life decisions. Tonight I will reflect on what the Word says on the topic. If I come up with something profound, perhaps I will share it. I may share it anyway. Not having something profound doesn't seem to keep me from posting.
My birthday was fun. My sabbath day has been both encouraging and convicting. I have hopes for tomorrow being spent in the garden. I want to subdue a small piece of earth in my backyard. The last two years horrible squash bugs have decimated my zucchini. This year, we are at war. I am planting nasty smelling flowers that bugs don't like all around my vegetables. I am ready with my soapy water and if that doesn't work..... I'll wage chemical war on them. So what if I glow in the dark after consuming my Swiss chard? I will not be foiled by creepy crawly things. I hate 'em. As my friend Carla would say, Gak!
One of the things that I truly loved about working in Student Development, was watching the students transition from their first year to the young men and women they would become. It is easy to see the hand of God at work in others when you get to invest in their lives and be an 'interested party' instead of a casual observer. I received a letter from my niece today. It was a poignant letter about growing up and how to know where your home is. She acknowledged that our ultimate home is in heaven, but the rest of this must be important or God wouldn't have designed it for us. She went off to college in another state, made her important relationships with other students who left their home states and came to matriculate at the same college. Now she is working in another state with a job that allows her to travel.
She knows the job she is in is temporary and wants to know how you decide where home is when your heart is with family and friends scattered hither, tither and yon.
I am excited that she is asking this question. I am grateful that she is giving me a chance to see her grow in wisdom as she comes to some of the hard things about being an adult. I like that she knows me well enough to know I would tell her that heaven is our ultimate home. I also like that she decided to pose the questions in letter form. I like writing old fashioned letters. I just wish I could do it with the panache of some of the letters I have read that were written two hundred years ago. We have so damaged our ability to communicate heartfelt truths by reducing our vocabularies to what is appropriate for television and newspaper. One of the first things they teach you about writing is not to write above your targeted audience. I understand why, but it is sad.
In keeping with my discipline theme, today I did garden. Tomorrow's goal is to write my niece and offer her what I know about making life decisions. Tonight I will reflect on what the Word says on the topic. If I come up with something profound, perhaps I will share it. I may share it anyway. Not having something profound doesn't seem to keep me from posting.
Comments