Still More of My Favorite Things

This is Thanksgiving Day in the U.S.

I have so much to be thankful for!

Warm apple dumplings and soup with fat noodles,

Pencils and notepads on which to draw doodles,

Siblings and cousins in a family that sings--

These are a few of my favorite things.

A warm winter coat and a hat for my head,

Freshly washed linens to put on my bed,
Someone who knows how to smooth the car's dings--

These are a few of my favorite things.

Puzzles and crosswords and things I must guess,

A new book to read and a bright Christmas dress,
Lights on the houses in bright twinkling strings--

These are a few of my favorite things.

Sunday's newspaper thrown right by the door,

A tiny milk pitcher from which I can pour,
The beautiful change that the fall season brings--
These are a few of my favorite things.

 

 

 

 

An angel collection that stands on the shelf,

Each one to tell me I'm not by myself,

Good news from a friend when the telephone rings--
These are a few of my favorite things.



When the sink clogs, when the mud slings,

When everyone looks sad,

I stop to remember these favorite things

And then I don't feel so bad!

See more of my favorite things (here), Thanksgiving 2009, and (here), Thanksgiving 2008.

MaryMartha

Art from http://www.sxc.hu/

Family Resemblance



Some day our digital photos
will look just as quaint!

 Last week I spent time with members of my extended family, some of whom I had not seen for a number of years. We were gathered to memorialize the life of an elderly aunt who died the previous weekend. Although we felt the loss, our being together again was like her parting gift to us. We laughed and hugged, shared pictures and memories, and ate and sang, all the while being aware of how much she herself would have enjoyed this family celebration!

I was struck by the family resemblance I see on the faces of my cousins, now that they mature. They actually look more like their fathers or uncles than they look like each other. And they tell me too, that now I look like my mother whose features are clearly seen in our other aunts. Indeed, we do look like the family we belong to!

I wonder if that is true of us as Christians? As we mature, do we look more like the family of God? Do our lives bear resemblance to our Elder Brother and to the Father Himself? He would be so pleased!
 
MaryMartha
 
Art from http://www.sxc.hu/

Letting Stuff Go

Sometimes we are responsible for prolonging the pain that someone or something has brought into our lives. We often rehears the sad situation just for the satisfaction of remembering how badly we were treated by the circumstances! There are many things in life, not the tragic losses, but the ordinary disappointments, that we can handle best by just letting them go.

Here is my own example. I lived for twenty years in a very small home that with literal blood, honest sweat, and actual tears I had wrestled into a comfortable place to live. As a single mom, I reared my daughter there, so I was deeply invested in it. My remarriage required a larger home—there was another person now, a bigger one—and so I sold the little house in which I had invested so much. Later, that owner resold the home, and when I drove by, I was astonished. The garage had been remodeled and was now added living space. The ivory painted siding was now white, and black shutters had been added. It looked nothing at all like the home I had reluctantly left!

But appreciating the new look was not all I felt. I began to feel something like resentment or displeasure. "I wish I were the one who had thirty thousand dollars to remodel. Why couldn't I have put in n a nice lawn?” I suffered with those thoughts all the way home!

Sometimes I have the idea to drive down that street and pass by my former home—just to look—and then I remind myself that it would only be to my hurt. There is nothing to be gained by seeing what someone has accomplished that I was unable to do. It only creates discontent and added regret.

So then, the way to treat some of the minor griefs that come to us along our daily paths is to let stuff go. Some baggage need not be carried!
 
MaryMartha
 
Art from http://sxc.hu/

Enthusiasm

An employer was urging his workers to be enthusiastic. “Customers want to see you demonstrate enthusiasm as you assist them when they come into this business.” A good suggestion, don't you think?

The word has an interesting etymology. It comes from the Greek éntheos meaning God-possessed or in God. Now I'm certainly not implying that those who are not enthusiastic are not in God, but showing enthusiasm is a great way to demonstrate that we are indeed in Him! Scripture has many admonitions to be grateful, to be full of joy, to have hope and confidence. These are well-expressed by what we recognize as enthusiasm.

It is not easy to be enthusiastic about working with people that are difficult, at a distasteful job, or in troubling circumstances. But God hasn't required that for everything we are to give thanks, only in everything to give thanks. The Apostle Paul did not claim to like every situation in which he found himself, or to be fond of every person with whom he worked! He only said that he had learned to be content. The Psalmist wrote about “songs in the night” and “the valley of the shadow of death.” Obviously then, enthusiasm--”God-inness”--is not dependent on our always being comfortable and enjoying pleasant surroundings. Keeping a positive outlook is one way we can show that our hope and security is in God, and that our good cheer does not depend on the weather outside or the indoor “climate” of our interaction with others around us.

MaryMartha

Art from http://www.sxc.hu/