Love Hurts - God Heals part 2

Have you ever poured out your heart and soul into a friendship with someone and they betrayed you? Or maybe they just weren't there for you when you really needed it? It makes you feel so hurt and sad. Maybe angry too. You question why you wasted so much time and energy on someone that proved to be so unworthy. Sometimes this makes you hesitant about befriending other people in the future. At least it's been that way for me. It seems like the past few years have seen a few of these situations in my family and it hurts like heck. I keep hoping there will be some sort of reconciliation and healing change. But it just hasn't happened (yet?). Perhaps it never will. So, I mourn the passing of friendships.

I have been thinking lately about these types of things. And I think I have concluded this: I don't think love is ever wasted, even if it's not appreciated or reciprocated. I think when we stand before the Lord at judgment, we'll have been relieved to say that we loved lavishly even if our hearts are broken to shreds. After all, that's what He did. And then we should just keep on loving and doing our best to be an open-hearted person.

The thing is, sometimes with some people, you have to love them from afar. We can be like the father in the story of the Prodigal Son. He was already looking down the road when his estranged son was coming home. We can determine from that, he had been looking for, hoping and anticipating his son's return. I believe we should have a heart that is open, welcoming and ready for reconciliation. The other person has to be on that same road as well. It has to be mutual. Just as the father was looking for the son, the son was ready to leave his "wild living" and return home. The son couldn't have it both ways at his home. He had to leave the destructive behaviour behind to enjoy the full benefits of a close relationship. Until that time, the father had his eyes on the horizon and a heart that seemed to be free of anger, accusations, and all the other things he probably felt over his child living wild and wasting his inheritance. He was ready when his child was ready, not with a lecture, but with open arms.

That's the lesson for me. Don't get hung up on bitter feelings over everything that has passed. Let it go and be healed and free from it. Be ready for restoration of the relationship, if and when it comes. In the mean time L-O-V-E from afar, as opposed to stewing or wallowing!




Image from Barry's Clip Art.

Thanksgiving, Reduced

Some years are different, some years are transitional. I'm not sure what this year will be when I view it retrospectively, but I'm guessing it will be more like a year of evolution for me and my family. And that can be a very good thing, even though it feels a bit strange right now.

This is the first year that Big Daddy and I will not be with either of our parents, and some blending of one or both of our extended families. That just seems odd. We were supposed to be cooking and serving about 4 turkeys our church donated to our local homeless mission. The good news is that they had more than enough people volunteer to serve! So, they don't need us to serve, only cook.

Not being needed to help serve to a large group for a large part of the day sort of unsettled our plans. We thought we'd be occupied and busy one way. We are used to big Thanksgiving Dinners, I don't think we have ever had a small one, but this year that is what we will do at home with our children. It actually seems very nice and relaxed so far.

Whomever we are with and wherever we are we have much to be thankful for. I am chiefly thankful for the peace and freedom I found in Christ, that I found no where else (and heaven knows I looked enough places for it!). I have to mention that because it is the foundation from where all other blessings flow. I am grateful to God for the myriad of other blessings, chief among them my beloved family. I will be missing the family members I won't get to see.


photo by Koen Muurling
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who stops by here!Not sure if anyone still does, but sending good wishes if you do happen, perchance, by my obscure corner of the blog-o-sphere. :)

A "Secret" Site

I sometimes enjoy the Post Secret Site. Be forewarned that a few of the secrets and the corresponding postcard art can be disturbing and have adult themes. However, more often than not, they can be variously artistic, thoughtful, funny and real. The picture below is from that site.


from PostSecret

Do you have a secret you wish you could unburden yourself of? I have a few. I have poured some of them out before the Lord in prayer and that has helped more than sending them anonymously to an artistic stranger. Still, the idea behind PostSecret is compelling and many of the postcards are exquisite little works of art.

Art

little nurse shark
(c)M.d.V.2009
Delighted
to see this creature
unafraid

Pet Peeve - Spelling Names Correctly

Why is it that my cyber-pals can spell my name right, but relatives whom I've known for AGES cannot? One particular relative, consistently misspells some of our names. However, my online friends seem to be able to remember a correct spelling. I would think not having met someone in person would make it more difficult to keep details straight. Some of the people who have broken bread with us countless times, and were with us through the births and baby dedications cannot seem to remember a few letters. There are times when the name is posted over social networking sites, and they can't even get it right when it's written elsewhere on the same computer screen "page." It's a pet peeve.

If someone is only casually acquainted with us, I can understand, but when someone has known you for decades and your children since before birth, well, I think it's rude to misspell. Am I being too hard? Am I being petty? Does this bother anyone else? It's a pet peeve. Winnie the Pooh would say, "A little bothering thing." Like a yapping chihuahua.


photo byby wcmcwi

Art

This is something whimsical~


(c)M.d.V.2009

Yummy Food: Rice Pudding

I have been really, really enjoying rice pudding by Kozy Shack lately. Besides being a yummy comfort food, and giving me a little calcium, it has another favorable quality. No one else in my house likes it. That means it's always there waiting for me when I crave it, rather than being consumed by the kiddos. It really harsh-es my mellow when I am looking forward to a little treat and I find that someone else ate it all up! We have that problem in our house. That is part of the reason why I switched from milk to dark chocolate. My family doesn't like it as much as I do, add that to the great antioxidants and you have my reason for switching. Even so, if the kids find my stash of dark chocolate they are apt to eat it, or at least one of them is! They have not done this with the rice pudding. Therefore, my rice pudding kick is all the more enjoyable. Don't judge me until you have a home full of candy craving addicts. I have really worked hard to surrender my will, and by God's grace and help, I am able to moderate and eat a little of a square or two of chocolate from a larger bar at a time. It's usually only one week a month that I find myself craving it, if you catch my drift. It is a complete BUMMER when someone has found it and devoured it!