How Do You Spell "LIFE?"

HOW DO YOU SPELL “LIFE?”

Questions Need Answers

Some of you may remember a clever bit of advertising from the mid-seventies. It had people answering this question: How do you spell relief?

Whether their problem was acid indigestion or gas, each answer and spelling was the same: R-O-L-A-I-D-S.

I’ve been asking myself lately, “How do you spell life?”

What first comes to mind is C-H-A-N-G-E. I always thought I liked change, so why think about it now? After all, change has been part of my life since conception.

To Live is to Grow

I faced up to change through years of education and a variety of jobs. Then I dealt with change through unexpected health challenges. But, for me, the biggest change, came with retirement.

It doesn’t matter how you spell it, the interesting thing about change is our ability to adjust or adapt to it. 

When we were making a major move years ago, a friend jokingly said, “Blessed are the flexible for they shall not be broken.” Wise words in their own way.

The next spelling is my personal favorite: C-R-E-A-T-I-V-I-T-Y. I don’t have to wait for change, I can make my own.

Create With Color

Unhappy with the colors in the house? I can study paint chips and come up with some new tones. Tired of the furniture arrangement? I can experiment with moving things around. Need some new inspiration for meals? I can consult a cookbook, changing ingredients even more if I so choose.

The creative part of my life has varied. I took lessons in tole painting. It was so exacting I got a headache. I switched to oils and felt more freedom.

I took piano lessons but wanted to learn how to play the organ, so I taught myself. I enjoyed writing letters and sending cards, but decided it would be fun to write more.

Creativity developed as I took classes and studied books about writing. Interest deepened as I experimented with different genres. Short inspirational stories became my focus. It was satisfying to publish a collection of them as *REFLECTIONS: Inspirational Stories from Everyday Life.

There’s one spelling of life that we cannot avoid: R-O-U-T-I-N-E.

Seasons Bring Change

Since Creation there has been a routine of days, weeks, months and years. Imagine life without them. . . what a jumble. Cycles of sun, moon, and seasons change our lives, but we adjust.

These changes may challenge my flexibility, but the One who set them in motion is strong and steady.

The Apostle James wrote, “Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow” (James 1:17 NLT).

That’s why I spell life H-O-P-E-F-U-L.

Who better to understand the challenges in CHANGE, CREATIVITY and ROUTINE than the One who put LIFE in motion?

I’m hopeful because, in all of life, if we need the steadiness of His strength or the wisdom of His advice, all we have to do is ask (James 1:5-6).

*Available from BookLocker.com