Day #8 For the Beauty of the Earth . . .

"For the Beauty of the Earth . . . for the glory of the skies . . . for the love which from our birth over and around us lies . . . for the joy of human love . . . brother, sister, parent, child . . . friends on earth and friends above . . . for all gentle thoughts and mild . . . "

Today, I am full of gratitude for the community in which we live and for the guidance of a benevolent and loving God in leading us to this place.  We are merely a hop, skip and a jump away from Cherokee, NC and the entrance to the Blue Ridge Parkway which we DEARLY love to explore.  The color change has not been quite as dramatic this fall, but there's only so much gasping and "Oh Wow" a person can do, and there have been plenty of such moments!!!

The quote under the picture is from one of my favorite hymns, "For The Beauty of the Earth"  . . . I've posted snippets from a couple of verses because I am particularly thankful for the beauty of the earth and my earthly home, and for the JOY of human love - brother, sister, parent, child, friends and for gentle thoughts and kind deeds.  

Late this afternoon I will join with a number of friends to pay our last respects and Celebrate a life well-lived, to one of our daughter's college room-mates whose mother's memorial service is at 4:00 today.  We will be there for support for our daughter, for her dear friend, for MY own friends (Whit and her Mother, Mitzi) and for their family and for our feeling of "like family" with Whitney and her husband and son.  Lots of different feelings to navigate, and, as I have confessed here before, my own issues with losing mothers is right there running.  

As all of us know,  some friendships run so deep and are so important to us that they FEEL like family, and, sometimes, are even stronger THAN family.  I have a couple or three of them - YOU have them - we all do unless we live alone on a deserted island.  Whitney has been like a sister to our daughter, and has, on more than one occasion, rushed to our side in times of trouble.  

I will never forget the bond I saw between our daughter and Whitney in December of 2008 when Dorothy was in an accident on the way to work, hydroplaning her car on an icy mountain road, and broke her neck in three places.  Whitney came to the hospital as quickly as she could and brought Dorothy a little Christmas tree for her room and lights for her halo contraption, and she brought her some of her own childhood ornaments.  Sure she was busy  . . .  has a very high-powered job and a husband and all sorts of obligations . . . but she came!  That matters very much.  

I have such a friend in Wendy - when I woke up from a week on a ventilator with doctors and nurses all standing around waiting on my family to get to the hospital to say good-bye when they turned off the machines,  I called Wendy on the phone - first thing,  She was just someone "like family" with whom I wanted to connect!  I often refer to her as my "sister of the heart". 

Last summer when my husband retired, and we moved to our retirement home,  another dear dear friend (from childhood) and her husband dropped all their plans to help us settle in and move books and go to the dump with throwaways, etc.  

I have a cute little acrylic picture (I keep it on my angel collection shelves) that has a cat sitting looking out of a "window".  On the other side of the frame it says, "A friend is someone who comes in when the whole world has gone out."  

All that to say, "Friends matter."  and "Thanks for my friends and for my family and for my "like family" and for my "Church Family" . . . 

"For each perfect gift of Thine, to our race so freely given;
Graces human and divine, flowers on earth and buds of heaven . . .  
Lord of all, to Thee we raise
This, our hymn of grateful praise."  

Day #5 - For Inner Peace . . .

"Thanks for Tears by now Forgotten . . . Thanks for Peace Within my Soul" 

We had a gorgeous sunset tonight in Cornelia, GA.   It reminded me so much of the one in this picture that we experienced some time ago up on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  Sunset is my favorite time of day, especially in the winter time.  Cold weather, for whatever reasons, brings the most glorious of sunsets!!  

The mountains are always calling to me, sometimes more loudly and more insistently than others,  and I just have to go up - - - higher and higher until there's no higher to go.  I find the greatest peace of mind and soul in the mountains.  In the quiet peace of gathering night, with all of the colors - so vivid for such a short time as the sun sets - and the first stars of the evening, I find my strength and a deep sense of calm and kinship with all of creation.  For however long I am able to be there,  it seems that the world and all of the cares it contains are both very far away and completely insignificant.  I am so thankful for such a place to go and be. I'm thankful for the sense of kinship, and the calm, and the peace of mind.  It makes me feel very blessed. 

I don't know when it was that the mountains became so important in my life.  I was always a beach person.  I suppose it's Terry's roots in the mountains of North Carolina, and the love of being there that he shared with me some years back.  As we served appointments in north Georgia and were close enough to get onto the Parkway easily,  I fell more and more and more in love with their majesty and beauty.  I'm now a convert.   *smile*

I experience much the same feeling when I'm fortunate enough to be on the Georgia coast on Jekyll Island . . .  sunrise on the beach when no one is around but the birds and the ocean and me . . ..  it's that sense of knowing there is something that stays the same even as it's a different place every day.  In addition, it's a feeling of being where something is so much bigger than I am - the ocean, a mountain peak . . . it feels solid and that's comforting to me in a world that is changing too fast and leaving me behind.  The top of Mt. Mitchell, some 6800 or 6900 feet above sea level, is the highest point in the eastern United States.  Standing up there gives me a feeling of safety that I get nowhere else . . . as if only God, Himself, can find me unless I want to be found, and a feeling of safety like nowhere else. 

I'm thankful . . . for so many things . . . today, in particular, for inner peace and for peace of mind when it comes, for however long it stays.  

Later . . . and, thanks for reading.  

Simple Things - Gifts to Each Other

 

(Nature's Christmas Trees - Simple Gifts!

Taken on the Blue Ridge Parkway at Cranberry Ridge Overlook) 

 “The Difficulty of Simplicity”

Lectionary Scripture: Luke 1:57-80

Christmas Hymn of the Day – “Simple Gifts” – Shaker Hymn

 

Based on: Matthew 6:19-34

"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal;  but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 

 

"The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

 

"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? "Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

 

"So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

 

"Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. "But seek first the 

kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 

 

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. (NKJ)

 

‘Tis a gift to be simple, ‘Tis a gift to be free,

‘Tis a gift to come down where we ought to be.

And when we find ourselves in the place just right,

‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

 

When true simplicity is gained, 

To bow and to bend we shan’t be ashamed.

To turn, turn, will be our delight,

‘Till by turning, turning, we come round right.

 

~ Meditation ~

“The Difficulty of Simplicity”

It is interesting to me to note through the reading of the Scriptures how many of the concerns of daily life today are the same as they were in Jesus’ day.  We have just read Jesus’ words to us about not worrying about clothing, and food, and where we shall live, and all of these things that so consume our thoughts on a daily basis. 

Something else about which we worry, which can and should be included  in a modern list of what not to worry about is what we’re going to give people for Christmas gifts.

Yes, we have the same needs and the same worries - - - food, clothing, possessions, health, others. The Greek word for “sound” also means “simple” or “single”. We should consider how, in our own world in our day, we can follow Jesus’ emphasis on singleness of purpose; one focus, one master, one goal. 

 

Jesus tells us to seek first His kingdom and not to worry about the rest of it. How do we do that? Think about how we do that. Think about a single life experience of yours - - - pared
down to its most simple elements.  What’s it like? Focus on the King of Kings – His kingdom – His righteousness.
How does the situation change?

 

“Simple Gifts” is an old, classic Shaker hymn. It is carefree and joyous of spirit. Shakers would often dance to this song, celebrating the gift of simplicity, a wonderfully freeing gift, leading to the “valley of love and delight”. Our word “simple”, derived from the Latin word meaning “single”, sometimes has negative or austere connotations. Singing this hymn can help us regain a right perspective on the gift and discipline of simplicity.

 

The Scripture referenced here shows us that life has always been complicated.  Possessions have always required time and effort to protect. Food and clothing have always been concerns. Some of us worry about where our next meal is coming from while others of us worry about how many fat grams are in our breakfast cereal.

 

Technology, prosperity, and political freedom may increase our choices, but they do not prohibit our responsibility from practicing simplicity. It may make our need for it all the more acute, in fact. Practicing simplicity extends way beyond possessions. We need to simplify our schedules. Do any of us truly “seek first His kingdom” before we write in our datebooks? Do we enjoy simple entertainment? Do we enjoy reading, walking, singing?

 

What about simplicity of personality? Getting rid of pretense and seeking to bless rather than impress? Can we see and accept the gift to “come down where we ought to be?”  There is such a thing as simple faith. This is not simplistic faith at all which asks no questions. It is childlike faith, which, though full of questions, trusts in a wise loving Father. 

Simplicity is needed in every area of our lives.  How do we both get and practice this gift of simplicity? It begins with singularity or simplicity of heart. It involves turning and “re” turning again and again to simple focus; to always “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness” in the certainty that our needs will be met by the loving grace and mercy of our Heavenly Father.

 

Prayer – Our Father, we confess that we lead lives that are anything but simple, and that we run around at times like gerbils in a cage, not even stopping long enough to take a breath. Teach us the beauty and wisdom of simple living, for we need this so desperately. Slow us down, Lord, and free us from the tyranny of the complexities of our lives, for we pray in Jesus’ name. Amen. ~

 

Activity - For the next month, allow yourself to utter daily the words of the hymn, ‘Simple Gifts’. Think “simple” in your plans for the holidays. Try to adopt the philosophy that “less is more” wherever you can possibly do so.