Thankin' the Lord...
This week’s column was pulled from the As I was Saying archives collection.
I’m sittin’ by my window this mornin’, as I have most every day for many years.
I thank the Lord for all the beauty and I have to go outside if the weather is suitable – and at times I go anyway!
I’m thinkin’ of the many who are sick, especially so many ‘round my age. But when a young person’s life is over it seems even worse.
But we must remember our Lord is in control, and will give us peace.
I have a little book in my hand that I enjoy readin’ what it has to say each day of the week – and I would like to share part of it with yall.
THURSDAY: “Think of a friend in trouble...is there some little thing you can do? If there’s nothing else, then offer a prayer from a heart that’s sincere and true.”
A True Friend Is A Treasure
My world is filled with many things
More valuable than gold
The countless “little” pleasures
Than an average day can hold
The happiness of loves ones
In a home that’s snug and warm
The beauty of a rainbow
And the splendor of a storm
But most of all, much dearer
Than the purest gold could be
Are friends as wonderful as you
Who share this world with me
– Elizabeth Gerus
As I was saying, I’m sittin’ by my window.

The View From Here

Making peace with ourselves...
It is a fact that until we make peace with who we really are, and discover what we truly love, that it is impossible to be happy with what we have.
On the ever-uphill road of acquisition, we lose sight of what is really important in our life, but as we grow older, simplicity gains importance. It is time to make peace with ourselves. Some of the things that seemed so important wash away and the real self begins to surface.
Some days, all of us are pulled together and other days we just do not care. The outside package of ourselves carries too much importance. When we do not live up to the world’s expectations of how we should look or behave, we fall victim to a vicious circle of self-loathing. We should not do this to ourselves.
True beauty is an inner light that shines with our spirit, not a face full of makeup. Instead of looking into the mirror and asking yourself how do I look, ask yourself how do I feel? How you feel about yourself on any day will influence how you look on the outside more than your clothes. Change starts with a strong inner life. Reflection or meditation with a walk will do more for your looks than any new outfit.
It is true we must make peace with the past, with the body and face we were born with and those that have evolved. Today I embrace the lines that look back at me and the parts that sag in the middle or stick out where they shouldn’t. I accept the hair that never holds curl or never unwinds.
Before we can find genuine love, we have to accept the fact and acknowledge that we are what we are, and we are fantastic and beautiful.
Real life knocks us all around, whether we are rich or poor. On the outside, we may look as if we have our act together, but each of us encounters those bad days when we feel small, fragile, scared and broken.
When we have a day that is not a good day, we should be kind and not pound relentlessly upon our spirit. These are the times I know I must pamper myself. I recently purchased a pair of young doves for my empty bird cage. Their soft beauty and sounds bring me such comfort and joy. Maybe I did not need them in a physical sense, but my spirit did. I recover myself one kindness at a time.
When I finally learned that it was okay to eat ice cream and sit in the park and listen to the birds, and say “no” to the next request for my time, I began to discover my inner self.
So, each morning I make a commitment to be there for myself. It has taken me years to realize that if I am not good to myself, my life won’t come together. Nobody can do it for me.

Changes are coming...
Inevitable change. It can be as subtle as wearing out of the sole of a favorite shoe or as explosive as a relay track team eating up the laps to win first place.
It is said the generation celebrating 50-plus years of marriage will be something for memory. Already, marriages don’t make it, 50-50. Changes in cherishing years of wedded union are already here.
Daily, changes occur in the goodness of medicine or certain foods. I drink a diet cola a day; now it is said to be harmful. Will green tea be next? I whined to a friend about giving up diet colas. She chided me as to my age and the years of intake of this cola. Why was I concerned?
One pleasurable change would be for pecans to be as good for us as cashews or almonds, but no such ruling yet.
Rapid technical changes are one bane of my existence. Changes in health that don’t involve cutting into my skin are welcomed miracles.
Some changes will be the result of nature and the lack of power, fuel, water and other essentials we are used to.
I’m adapting somewhat, but the generation of my grandchildren is in for a shock. When several of these teens and above hit our house for a weekend, I find myself washing and drying bath-sized towels like a madwoman.
Some of these guests require two showers a day, and with each dousing, three towels are needed – one for the hair, one for the body, and one to stand on as the other two are used! It took a few weekends to figure this out. Why, I used one towel twice in a week as a young girl. One on the floor? This isn’t a gym. How can a towel for clean hair be of any danger to the rest of the body?
I don’t think these wasteful people are ready for stories from the 40s or before where one No. 3 tub was used on Saturday night for one family, oldest on down. From this practice came the saying, “Don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater.” American young bathe more than any other people in the world.
Those who read National Geographic have seen how big lakes in the U.S. are rising from the bottom. The question is not how full is the lake, but how deep? Water will soon be worth more than oil or gold.
My husband and I have seen a wagon and mules in another county. Please don’t hit us as we amble down the highway, half off the pavement. Think what the pioneers of this country endured.