Sunshine and Shadows

This has been a day of constant change from sunshine to shadows. The weather prediction was just as flexible . . . rain or snow.

As I tried to study at my kitchen table, I was aware of the constant shift from sunshine to shadow to sunshine and back again. Around noon I thought sunshine had won, but later in the afternoon, rain clouds were the victors.

This weather pattern reminded me of a song my dad sang when I was a child. I can hear him now, strumming his guitar and singing *Back of the clouds the sun is always shining, after the storms, your skies will all be blue; God has prepared a rosy-tinted lining, back of the clouds it’s waiting to shine through.

When something blocks light rays, it creates a shadow. Children seem to enjoy man-made shadow plays. A light is shined behind a curtain and shapes block the light, creating shadows as a storyteller brings them to life.

We have no such control over nature’s shadow plays, but we each become our own storytellers by how we react to the shadowy events in our lives.

Faith in God is what enables me to endure. I choose to believe the sunshine of God’s love is waiting to shine beyond life’s shadows, and in His good time, it does.

Psalm 23:4 mentions the valley of the shadow of death. I experienced that with a Stage III cancer diagnosis along with Inflammatory Breast Cancer (IBC) in 2007. I kept my faith strong through prayer and daily Bible reading. In fact, many verses in The Book of Psalms became prayers to Almighty God.

Life’s shadows have many shapes. Some are created by limited finances or loss of a job, others by threat of divorce or sudden loss of a loved one due to illness or accident.

Are you in a shadow just now? 

Here’s a little prayer for sunshine, based on Psalm 33:22: May the sunshine of your unfailing love rest upon me, Lord, even as I put my hope in You and wait for this shadow to pass over.

*Back of the Clouds, Carolyn R. Freeman, Christian Service Songs, P. 178, Published by The Rodeheaver Co., Chicago, USA, 1939, Song Copyrighted by Rodeheaver, 1931.  

 

  

The Season of Love

The annual day of hearts, flowers, cards, and candy has come and gone. Yes, I’m talking about Valentine’s Day. If our hearts were a garden of love with a major bloom only once a year, gardeners would label it an annual.  

I do enjoy annuals, but I’m more satisfied with perennials. In the floral world, they are considered enduring, perpetual, and sustained.

Perennial love is more than a feeling. We all know feelings come and go. That means there’s always a point of decision. If this love is to continue, how much am I willing to give of myself to help it grow for, and with, another person in my life?

It’s not only a question for lovers, parents face the same issue. Like my friend used to say, “Kids! They seem like such a good idea at the time.” Then the baby arrives and life is turned upside down. Nothing is ever the same and parental love has to choose to flex and grow.

If love were an elevator, it would take you to many floors. One floor would be passionate, physical love, not necessarily ending in marriage. Love requiring commitment would be found on another floor.

Loyalty, expressed in familial love, is one for all and all for one. Platonic love is real, too, a friendly desire for another’s best with no sexual involvement at all.

1 Corinthians 13 is considered The Love Chapter. Verses three through eight explain how we can choose to love through our actions. Paul wrote that faith, hope, and love abide (or endure), but the greatest of these is love!

On that note, think about your life as you read my short poem about love.

 WHAT IS LOVE?

By Darlis Sailors

LOVE is fragile, like a flower in bloom.

Nurture it carefully; let it grow.

LOVE is challenging, like a trail in the woods.

Explore it slowly; discover its joy.

LOVE is valuable, worth effort and time.

Invest it thoughtfully; reap the rewards.

LOVE is emotional, up, down, twirled around.

Buckle your seatbelt; risk the ride.

LOVE is sharing both laughter and tears.

Open your heart; widen your world.

(DS, 2018)

Chief Critic

 

A friend and I were talking this week about being critical. I’ll share the story with you that I shared with her.

While growing up, my crippled grandmother lived with us. She walked with a cane and one shoe was built up about four inches to accommodate several hip fractures. Her bones were brittle and her broken arms in younger years had not healed correctly.

She also had dementia. I remember being accused of things I didn’t do, but I also remember her high-pitched shaky voice breaking out in a hymn now and then.

I had to share a room with her till I was thirteen. That’s when mom finally told her sister out west it was her turn to take Grandma in.

When Grandma was gone, I didn’t miss her a bit. I was simply glad she was out of my life. Even when she died a few years later, I didn’t shed a tear; however, a few months ago a strange thing happened.

I was relaxing in my living room when I felt God say, “You misjudged your grandmother.” Along with this impression came tears. I could not believe that after decades had passed, God would even care about this!

I shared it with one of my brothers a few weeks ago and tears came again, so I knew I wasn’t making this up. I did take God’s warning to heart, however, and asked Him to forgive me and help me not to jump to conclusions about people.

It’s so easy to be a critic. I’m thinking of the old adage don’t judge a man till you’ve walked a mile in his moccasins. After expressing a critical opinion have you ever had someone remark with a sneer, “Who died and made YOU Chief?”

I think in today’s world of E-communication, there is an overabundance of self-appointed chiefs---critics who indulge in prickly fault-finding and censure according to their own set of values. It’s never a level playing field, and let’s remember self-indulgence indicates a lack of self-control.

Words matter, whether spoken or written. By indulging a whim for criticism, we are destroying happiness, our own and that of others. Proverbs 15:23 in The Message Bible says it this way:  Congenial conversation---what a pleasure! The right word at the right time---beautiful!  

The next time you appoint yourself Chief Critic, stop and ask yourself: WHY do I want to be so critical? Give yourself an honest answer. You CAN change, you know.   

 

We Live in an Awesome World

Reading is a hobby of mine. When my brother brings me magazines, one of my favorites is a bimonthly publication by The Archaeological Institute of America. I generally read articles as I enjoy my lunch.

This week I was fascinated by explanations and photos of a *3,500-year-old ritual pool found in northern Italy.

Just imagine a pool roughly 40 feet long, 23 feet wide, and at least 16 feet deep. Now can you picture it constructed of wooden poles and interlocking boards?

“The Noceto pool is unique in Italy---it’s unique in the world,” says Zerboni.** “Building such a structure implies very careful planning, coordinating the work of many people, and a very clear architectural plan. We don’t expect to find such majestic structures from prehistory.”

Archeology is just one of many types of study which add color and knowledge to our world. Mankind has learned about his world, creatively made adjustments necessary to live in it more comfortably, and passed on knowledge from generation to generation.

I’m learning to Google my questions, so I typed in a scientific study name list and was rewarded with about 25 main categories and way too many sub-categories to count. The site simply said, “from sources across the web.”

I was familiar with major classes of study such as Biology, Physics, Zoology, Geology, Anthropology, Astronomy, Psychology, and Anatomy. People have earned degrees and spent a lifetime of study and research in many of these.

Lesser known to me, but important in their own right, were Physics, Chemistry, Genetics, Microbiology, Bacteriology, Biotechnology, and Embryology.

We live in an awesome world. Can you imagine where we’d be without this information? God even put mankind in charge of the sea, land, and air, so it's no wonder we have pursued knowledge (Genesis Chapter One, Verses 26-28 NIV).

Creation information can be found in Job---Chapters 38 and 39. God begins a conversation by saying, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?”

What follows are colorful explanations of the sea, sky, wild animals, horses and, birds. Interesting reading. Check it out sometime soon.

*Italian Master Builders, Daniel Weiss, ARCHAEOLOGY, A Publication of the Archaeological Institute of America, November/December 2021, pp. 38-41.

**Quote by Andrea Zerboni, a geoarchaeologist at the University of Milan, p. 38.    

Beauty and Contrast

 

I tried my best without success! I practically stood on my head, trying to see how a six-inch metal bolt could go through the new toilet seat riser on down through the original toilet seat holes.

Finally, I sent photos to my Goddaughter who is gifted in household repairs. She kindly said my photos were great, then walked me through the installation process.

OK . . . the right side was done! I tackled the left . . . awkward! I’m not a lefty and, besides, it was by a wall so I had to do it by feel.

I decided to call my handyman neighbor. He came and did it the next day. There's nothing like knowledge, experience, and coordination.

The contrast in personalities and abilities is to be appreciated. Thank God not everyone is a beautician, a banker, or a contractor. I was a teacher, but where would we be without doctors, nurses, and medical technicians?

I learned to use computers and enjoyed office jobs, but along came E-communication and cell phones with apps of all kinds. Thank God for two Goddaughters who are both good with technical know-how!

Have you ever noticed the beauty in contrast? I like to notice various shades of green as I drive down a tree-lined street. Of course, floral shapes and colors are a pleasure, too.

Then there are cats and dogs! Each species varies in shape, size, and personality. Owners will happily tell you about their pet's uniquely enjoyable characteristics.

Integral elements of contrast and beauty include male and female. This applies to plants and trees, animals, fish, birds, and humans. All were created to bear after their own kind and increase in the earth, but it requires both a male and a female to procreate.

For an enjoyable explanation of the orderliness in Creation, read Genesis Chapter One.

Youngster and oldsters, uneducated or highly degreed, east to west and north to south . . . all have access to God's gifts of beauty and contrast. Enjoy!   

The Old and New

It finally arrived . . . the first day of the NEW year! I enjoyed a quiet day at home, receiving and sending greetings to friends and family, along with a little TV time.

When a friend mentioned watching the Rose Parade, I was shocked to realize I totally forgot to plan ahead for it this year! I’ve watched the Rose Parade in person or on TV every year since college. But I had a lovely relaxing day and my new year got off to a good start.

A few weeks ago, I noticed a diary as I moved a pile of books. I had written daily notes while caregiving for my husband, but after he died, I let them go. I've only been doing it again for a short while.

This morning I reached for my diary first, even before breakfast, and wrote SNOW DAY. I enjoy waking up and looking out my window. I saw snow, but it was a beautiful bright sunny day, so I hoped the snow would simply melt off my car like it had earlier this week.

My diary has one page per day, with a scripture verse at the bottom. Today’s verse was a pleasant surprise!

The faithful love of the LORD never ends.

His mercies never cease.

Great is His faithfulness;

His mercies begin afresh each morning. . .

The LORD is good to those who depend on Him,

To those who search for Him.

Lamentations 3:22, 23, 25 (NLT)

I read it again, then again. LOVE, MERCIES, FAITHFULNESS, GOODNESS . . . ancient words of hope from the Old Testament. What could be better for a Happy NEW Year?

The thing is, I had already found these blessings to be true daily.

As my husband’s caregiver, I would wake up, look out the window to greet the day, and say, “Thank you, Lord. I know Your mercies are new every morning, so I’m counting on Your help again today.”

Our Father in heaven is the one Who said, “Pray about everything.” From experience I can tell you, He’ll respond to you if you do. 

No Magic Peace

Life is not a fairy tale; therefore, happy endings are not guaranteed. Real-life happy endings come when people choose to focus more on others and less on themselves.

In real life, there are peacekeepers and peacemakers. Which one are you?

Our military personnel act as peacekeepers on a grand scale. I’m thankful for men and women who serve around the world in such a mighty capacity. They’re definitely focused on others and not on themselves.

Peacemakers serve on a more individualized basis. Children and adults both fit the words of this well-known song:   Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me. Let there be peace on earth, the peace that was meant to be . . .

It seems Vince Gil is the popular singer of this song, written in 1955 by Jill Jackson and Sy Miller. I learned it in elementary school, and its basic message has always stuck with me.

Have you ever noticed how peace can be so seasonal?

Think about it. From Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day these characteristics gradually appear - - - empathy for people in need, more volunteers for food banks and soup kitchens, an increase in charitable giving, and upbeat seasonal greetings outside our normal friendship circle.

Isaiah prophesied a baby would be born carrying the title Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). This baby was Jesus, whose birth we celebrated once again this December.

Some of His most famous teachings are called The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-12). When I was growing up some called them “the BE attitudes.” Number seven, in verse nine, says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.”  

Notice there’s no time frame or season attached. We can be a peacemaker all year long. Be alert; be creative! Don’t be afraid to ask God for wisdom (James 1:5).

The fact that there’s no magic peace solution, no one-size-fits-all, simply increases its importance.