A Day At a Time

 

Sometimes a day turns into a week, turns into a month, turns into a lot longer. That is kind of how my blogging (or lack of it) seems to be going. I could plead busyness…….I could plead the general state of our world….and it would be true. I could blame the grayness of our Iowa winter….and that would also be true.

None of those things by themselves should have turned off the blogging tap. Perhaps it was the perfect storm combined with a severe case of writers block…in fact, I think, I am dealing with an entire wall of writers’ blocks.  My brain still seems to be suffering from that and I have yet to find the remedy.

It seems that even as I sit here typing these random words; the creativity of words is buried so deep in my brain that I kind of wonder if they will ever find release again! My brain kind of feels like those frozen ice balls I saw on Lake Michigan last weekend….they just kind of roll around in the cold gray water and don’t seem to go anywhere. 

Somewhere in the middle of my vacation from the blogging world I was told I had a blogiversary.  It has been 5 years since I entered the world of bloggers and WordPress. What started out with great gusto has dwindled to zip and like I said…I am not quite sure how that happened.

I find that happens a lot in life. My husband always points out that everything happens…”A day at a time, until it is many days and weeks and months.” Sometimes this is good and sometimes it is not…also true of many things in life!

So many things happen one day at a time….one day we are young and it seems the next day we look in the mirror and we aren’t anymore. (At least I seem to have that issue!) In the blink of an eye our children are grown and have families of their own. 

The experience of how swiftly time moves was driven home a weekend ago. My siblings and I took a road trip to Michigan to celebrate the life of my cousin. He was only 53 before losing a valiant battle with cancer. I had not seen any of the Michigan cousins for a very long time. 

There was lots of laughter amidst the sadness. So much remembering and story telling of shared eperiences. There was celebrating of the fact that my cousin left an amazing legacy of faith that lives on his children and his wife, his friends, his co-workers and all who knew him. 

The weekend was a reminder about how fleeting this life really is. Fleeting like those ice balls on Lake Michigan…here today…floating in the icy water, but come Spring they will be just a memory.  It was a reminder to cherish the moments we have…to make time for the small things that don’t seem important right now, but do end up being the biggest things.

Make those memories today, because those are the things your family will cherish. Teach your children and grandchildren the truths that are important…faith in God, the importance of family, that honesty and integrity are worth the trouble, that truth…no matter how hard, is important and that finding joy in the small things makes life so much easier. 

These are the things I relearned that weekend in Michigan as I listened to Brent’s brothers, parents, co-workers and friends talk of the life he lived. 

May our lives be more than just ice balls floating in a lake. May the message that is our lives last far beyond a season….and hopefully our friends and families will someday celebrate a life well lived, with laughter, stories and joy.

Cherish your yesterdays,
dream your tomorrows
and live your todays.
~Anonymous

 

 

 

 

 

 

Holy Ground

Last week was spent with family. My dad in law passed away and we spent an entire day waiting with Mom for Dad’s homegoing.

My sister texted me as we sat in that nursing home and told me that I was on “holy ground”. Indeed…..it was holy ground. That sacred space between this world and the next. Waiting for Dad to make his way into the arms of the waiting Father.

Last week was an honor and a privilege. It was a celebration and a heart ache. Those days, where time narrowed and focused on the life of one man….my dad in law. Time stood still….the world and it’s big issues were ignored and love and family time consumed us.

Memories were shared. Many heavy sighs were breathed. Tears and laughter mingled at the same time…. Hearts ached for those of us left behind and rejoiced for Dad who journeyed on ahead.

Memories of a man who loved to sing and play harmonica. Memories of a man who tilled the soil and milked cows…a man who was incredibly proud of his military service and a man who loved a good bag of jelly beans. We remembered a man who loved his wife and his family well.

Dad wasn’t perfect, but he was perfect for our family and for the life he lived. He left many memories for Mom, his children, grandchildren, family and friends and those memories will be passed along to his great grandchildren.

Looking back on that week brings the realization of what really is important. Living honestly, loving well, building relationships with family and friends and understanding that this life is not about us.

We stood in that cemetery on a beautiful morning. We listened to the pastor remind us that our hope is not in this temporary dwelling place…we saw my mom in law receive the American flag ….we heard the shots echo and the lonely sound of taps played in the distance.

We did not say good-bye as we stood on holy ground. We knew this was instead “till we meet again”. We got to see what a legacy really looks like ….faith….family….and how your life is lived in the time you are given.

Thank you Dad for the lessons you taught…not only in how to live life but how to leave this life for the next. You will be missed…till we meet again.

“You live to die….
you die to live.”
Ruth Fondse