Forgiveness

It is just who I am

It’s Just Who I Am

It is funny how as time goes by you develop little annoying quirks in your behavior. For example, over the years I’ve discovered that I will “not be thinking right” stick things into my favorite books. I even have a book bank. Yup, I put dollar bills in there, thinking that when I transfer over to the other side, my sons will be overjoyed to discover this little treasure. They are in one of my favorite Bibles. But, what if they give the Bible away? Now, that wouldn’t be too funny. I’ll just put it in my will for one of them, in that way; maybe a page will pop open in front of him. I’ve also slid things between the books on the book shelf and then wonder how these things have gotten there.
I’ve also noticed how I am rather fond of small boxes. I will put things of great importance in these small boxes and put them where I will never be able to find them again while I’m on planet earth, but at least I know they are safe.
There is something I can find right away and I never need it and that is winter clothes. I live in the south, but still have my warm winter clothes on hand. They are stored safely away. After all, you never know. Never know what? There could be a blizzard down here? Do I dig out my snowshoes too? What am I saving these things for? Well, you just never know.
I have bought my Christmas gifts ahead of time, thinking that I was pretty smart then, when the time rolls around I can’t remember what I was going to give to whom. I just need to put notes on each present and be sure and not put any of those things in the small boxes.
I collect boxes of Christmas cards and many times I’m sure I have sent the same card to the same people a couple of times in a row. I realize I am not unique as I have even received the same card three times in a row from the same people myself.
I was an avid hobby gardener that turned into a wild eyed, radical slave over my plants. I couldn’t wait to order more lilies every year or more vines. I couldn’t go into a hardware store without first entering the nursery first. We live on a small postage stamp size lot and have all of the native oaks and mimosas, tong trees, one magnolia that had two babies, pear, kumquat, countless loquats because loquats believe in being fruitful and multiplying into hundreds, calamondin trees, lemon tree, two grape vines, peach tree, banana trees and fig. Have you ever seen the atrocity from the zillion of seeds that come up from a healthy mimosa tree? Everything we have is deliriously happy and reproduces continually. The mimosa babies have roots the size of a bowling ball. When I get tired of pulling them up, I’m busy high on a ladder cutting back the honeysuckle vine from taking over my oak and while I’m up there I may as well cut back some of the dead oak branches. I can’t tell you how many pruners and loppers I’ve gone through in this lifetime alone.
I ordered a few blue dawn morning glories online, because when I read about how one simple vine will bloom as much as 700 blooms in one season, well I got excited about that one! I could picture my porch just covered with a blaze of blue flowers. One month later I have all of these vines growing at least a foot a day. The vines make vines and they just keep branching out, up and down. No I am not exaggerating; I’ve even seen my husband tie knots in a few. The vines in the back are honestly blooming their little hearts out because they have full sun, but the ones around the porch aren’t in full sun, so I am only getting minimal blooms. I haven’t decided what to do about next year yet. I have heard that the second year is when it really grows. Really grows? Is this some kind of joke? I’m afraid they are going to come through my window at night.
All my plant life has babies. I don’t understand how everyone can be so fertile. Take vinca’s for example. They are very small tough flowers, drought resistant, they don’t care if you water them or not, they are still going to “vinck.” I find them everywhere and when I pull them up I am now hardening my heart as I put them into a trash bag. No more Mr. nice guy, I no longer transplant them. I’ve always had trouble throwing plants away and they know it too.
Out of one single rubber tree I now have 35 babies. All of my split leaf philodendron’s that I have all came from one momma and I give many away and in fact, now supply a nursery with some of my things.
My hobby has turned into a job and it seems I rarely have time for anything else because I am always potting something. Soon, I will be giving many away so that I can play more and not sweat quite as hard, whether it be up a tree, under them or pulling something up.

Are we like vines?

Have you ever noticed how fast some vines grow? Some just want to literally take over the world, growing practically a foot a day as their branches make branches and reach out to everything they can find. Vines also reach out to other vines as well. When you watch them wind around their arbors, there will always be one that whirls out into the air looking to latch onto a strange vine not related. Once the two meet, they fall in love; as they twist themselves around each other tightly in the air.
Then, you have the small fern vines that grow quickly and surely, keep their eyes on their goal so that once they get to the top, they will bloom readily; showing the world just how fast they accomplished their goal.
There are the intensely fragrant vines that envelope those who walk by them with their seductive colognes that seem to capture even the strongest of hearts.
Moon vines, Morning Glories, Trumpet Vines, Pandora Vines, Honeysuckles, Bleeding Heart Vines and there are so many different species of them all. Vines and flowers are a lot like people when you think about it.
Take the Kudzu vine for example, that can take over many acres and trees in just one growing season in the south. Everyone was perplexed in how to deal with it. I could have told them along time ago to just let goats clean it all up. Goats love kudzu. Goats will die for kudzu. As if that is not enough, you will not believe how in demand kudzu is today. Go to Nancy’s Basket: and you will find out. http://www.nancybasket.com/ there is even kudzu soup. Anyone can turn something that goes crazy into something profitable if they think about it long enough. Kudzu reminds me of a very ambitious man. Just steer him into the right direction and he will make your company more money can you could ever dream.
There is a species of Morning Glory called “Blue Dawn” with breathtaking large blue flowers that would be the type of person who would like to control your house, your job, your marriage, you’re everything..if you allow it. The vine makes branches of vines and those vines make vines… I think you get the picture. How can something so beautiful be such a conglomerate unto itself? You meet someone and before long, they are controlling every area of your life. Aha! The spirit of blue dawn has entered into that person! No question about it.
The Pandora Vine does a lot of growing and gets might fat…with a few delicate blooms. In other words, it brags with little result. Like a few people we all know and don’t take too seriously.
The Bleeding Heart vine blooms and blooms and keeps on blooming and takes a long time to vine out. It reminds me how there are those who have such potential and keep right on showing their potential, because when given a job, they do it right and so perfect; yet are fearful of going any further in their lives.
The Trumpet vines grow vigorously and hardy, determined that nothing will ever stop them, because their roots travel underground and you never know when one is going to pop up. People who are Trumpet Vines are unstoppable and strong; they are full of confidence and will only bloom when they are ready. They climb over fences, grow up trees and will choke the leaves if allowed. Any obstruction in their way will only make them stronger.
The Honeysuckle Vine woos us with their lovely smell as it takes over your large oak tree. Even though you may cut it back, it smiles back at you; just waiting for the time when rain comes to reach out and climb again. The person who is a honey suckle vine has honeyed words oozing from its mouth as it seduces you with its fragrance while all the time wrapping its tentacles around to squeeze the life out of the victims.
Could our personalities truly be something like these vines? I think I’d like to be like a grape vine and produce a lot of good fruit.

Nothing is ever as it seems

The object of your affection has something else that comes along with it. Haven’t you ever noticed? If you finally land that dream job, only to discover you are stationed with a person who gossips against you through their green eyes. Perhaps, the dream job has placed you with a 6X6 room that you can barely move around in or maybe the company Is expecting you to get paid for 8 hours but work 12. Many of us have already been there and understand where all that is coming from. Nothing is ever as it seems.
The object of your affection was a romantic link and you finally walked down the aisle with him. But after 6 months, the honeymoon was over and he suddenly chooses a football game over your company. Maybe he has roaming eyes and you thought they were only for you, or maybe all he can think about is money….and how big of a paycheck you can make. What happened?
You noticed the house for sale online and thought this could be the perfect place. It was everything you wanted and you signed on the dotted line. A couple of months later, you heard screaming outside of your window, only to find out your “good” neighbors” were having a knock out drag out fight. Later, you discovered 2 very friendly dogs using your lawn as their own private place to empty themselves. As if that wasn’t enough, the people down the streets didn’t care enough to control their dogs.
You got it! Nothing is ever as it seems. There will always be a slight cloud over the sunshine to dampen our enthusiasm if we allow it. Cannot we look at this type of negative as a positive and begin to turn those very things around?
For example, if a husband prefers his football game to your company, wouldn’t this be a good time to get together with your girlfriends? After all, if he is so enthused with the game, he won’t even know you are gone. Lunch with the girls is a refreshing time needed by everyone.
If your dream job places you into an inconvenience of stifled quarters and overwork; why not rise up to the challenge and become invaluable to your employer. A raise and promotion would soon be in the upswing as you would have proved yourself as dependable, trustworthy and most important, one who didn’t complain when the going got rough.
As for your bubble bursting when you moved into your home. Just remember, people will always be who they are and they aren’t going to change because of you, so you may as well accept them as they are. Everyone is going to make noise and mistakes. Dogs are going to continue to roam the streets just as sure as taxes are sent out. One thing we can always count on and that is change.
Before you buy, marry someone or take that job; ask God to show you what always goes along with it. It might surprise you and be a new challenge in the chapter of your life.

Know Yourself

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Know_thyself

I believe it was Socrates to urged us to know ourselves. Our limitations of love, adventure, work and ethics. He was right on the mark. If we can know ourselves we can begin to understand ourselves and with that is forthcoming with not just an acceptance but a delightful freedom of happiness with

I am Blessed

There isn't any other way to describe it, I am blessed! I am not called lucky or fortunate but, I am very very blessed. You might be asking in your heart what is the difference with me being blessed and someone else being lucky? I believe that being blessed is someone who can still see through the eyes of a child and when they see a rose or a dolphin they take great delight over this creation. This delight brings a real surge of joy in your soul and right then and there, you know without a shadow of doubt that the world could crumble today, but you will be taken care of, because the rose and the dolphin will still be there for you to see.

As I see it "luck" is something that happens to a person who doesn't see how he is being blessed. He recognizes it as a random act and not from the Creator. Everything I see I give credit to our Creator. It is all from His hand, except the evil we see. I firmly believe that if our leaders followed through on overcoming evil with good, there would be no more wars because the opposition would be totally befuddled and humiliated.

We were created to love, not destroy.

Let the Rain Fall

Let the Rain Fall

We pray for rain and when it comes we hear moans and groans. I say let the rain fall. How could we appreciate the sun if the rain never falls? Our character cannot grow without the rain falling, but we’d be as dried up as old prunes without the rain. There is just something rich about a good rain. Ever notice how your flowers perk up as if to say “this is exactly what I needed, boy, do I ever feel alive today!” With this attitude they promptly put out a new light green shoot that otherwise wouldn’t have come upon this most enticing scene. Yes, of course all of your pet plants communicate just like we do, only differently. They say so much and yet without all the mumbo jumbo that fills our daily yarn. Right about now you could be asking yourself how plants communicate? Good question. As I briefly described in the above is one of the ways. Another way is when a plant needs rain, you can see it begin to shrivel into a lifelessness dull entity of thirst. Observation is the key to understanding the plant kingdom. And, doesn’t that also work with people as well? Aren’t we supposed to care enough to listen with our hearts?

Rain can be good, as long as there isn’t too much…then we find ourselves drowning in a good thing. If it makes the roots of a plant weak and begin to literally rot and able to fall over, what does too much of a good thing, do to people? Do they fall over too? I think so. All we have to do is look at some of the sad lives of the famous people we use to love, such as Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland and Janis Joplin. They had it all. Lots and lots of rain, but they couldn’t deal with it. All they wanted was love. I bet Elvis would have gone back to his truck driving days in a minute to find someone who would have just loved him for who he was, not for his name or what he could give them. They say he was very close to his mother. Perhaps he discovered his mother was the only person he was able to trust and would not take advantage of him. Maybe Marilyn just wanted a man to love her for who her spirit was, not for her body. Judy was seeking love too and felt there was no more hope when she took her life. The basis of most people who take their lives is the belief that no one really cares or understands their hurt. No one loves them and they give up. They have lost their hope. If they had hope inside of their heart, they would be able to be revived. Yet, there were those who saw the life of goodness inside of these people and really loved them. Did they hear a recording over and over in their mind filling their minds with lies? Can we learn from these people?

I think we can learn from everything if our spirit is sensitive enough to be still and listen to what it is saying. We turn a deaf ear to the things we do not wish to hear and try to ignore the truth when it makes us uncomfortable, until like the plants getting too much water, we begin to fall from having too much rain. One of the biggest life lessons I have discovered is to be thankful for what you already have and enjoy where you are at the moment. If you have too much, how can you have a thankful heart? If you do not have a thankful heart, how can you be happy? How can you enjoy the moment, because you will always be reaching for something and not know what true love means? The world will always tell you to put yourself first, but that isn’t the real path toward happiness. If you place others first, you will discover your kindness will come back to you in multiples and unexpectedly too. It will be like needing rain and just knowing that the exact amount will be sent in the perfect time.

One of the greatest things we can do in our lives is to honestly care for other people and become a giver in everyway we possibly can be. We will experience joy, love and so much more. We shouldn’t have too much of a surplus of things when we look around at those in need. Yes, we really are our brother’s keeper.