January 20, 2013

 

Yikes!  Where did this week go?  It was filled with every type of weather we could imagine… Mother Nature even provided us with a “snow day” to stay home and catch up on some reading, snoozing, and munching on forbidden delights (calories don’t count on snow days!) The word for this week is INSPIRE.

Inspire, inspiration, in-spire… breathing in: such a beautiful word.  And as I ponder and meditate with the word(s) in mind, it occurs to me that all of my life I have been surrounded by those who inspire me.  Completely and actively surrounded.  I could fill volumes with the names of those who have helped to mold my outlook.   My mom, of course, is at the top of the list.  Her zest for life, sense of humor, and true devotion to Christ continues to be a shining example for me.  She was widowed 3 times (she said, “I should have stuck with dogs!”) before she hit sixty-five.  But she always stayed the course, and never, never belly-ached.  Another beautiful blessing and inspiration is my precious daughter-in-law Kathryn.  Widowed at 28 with a five month old baby, she gathered her strength, set her goals, went back to college, and received her Associates degree and a wonderful job.  Kathryn and Jonathan will be moving into their own home in February.  She is absolutely an amazing inspiration to everyone she touches. Another inspiration is my high school friend Vince, who several years ago was diagnosed with A.L.S.  This man was not about to surrender.  He still had his passion for life and continued to laugh his way through.  I received one of his last e mails… He said “Still having some fun”, I was told it took him almost 2 hours to type that message.  Vince transitioned to his glorious new life in November.  Go Vinnie!  There is also my dear friend Becky who waged her war with cancer three times. And less than a week after she finished her final chemo treatment went on a tour through India and Peru.  Are you kidding me!!!  Never once, I mean NEVER, did I hear this woman complain!

As I said, I could fill volumes; those are just a few examples.  We’ve all had our major bumps (as in mountains), and I think that when we start to feel sorry for ourselves what we really need to do is to open our eyes and hearts to those around us.  We don’t need a search party… our guides are close at hand to uplift us, encourage us, motivate us, and inspire us.  Breathe them in, enfold yourself in their positive energy; it’s contagious!

Wow!  I feel better now…

“Don’t tell me the sky’s the limit when there are footprints on the moon.”  Paul Brandt

With love,

Bonnie