THE BIG GUY UPSTAIRS CAN SHINE THROUGH IT ALL

  

A very good friend sent this quote to me (Thank you!)... 

 

"All days can't be bright but it's certainly true, there was never a cloud the sun didn't shine through ". 😊

I love blue skies.. clear blue skies -- a canvas to build my dreams on. But clouds, though pretty in its own, can mess up my reverie. It comes messing up my canvas pushing and shoving its images out of shape. Then when I think all's lost.. here comes the sun! Clunky, billows of clouds, clusters, whatever its shape or size are no match to it. The sun, blessed ole Sol, comes shining through it all!!
🌤🌤🌤
I guess I will take my cue from that. Life is beautiful. Though sometimes it can be quite a challenge, too, shaking up your dreams just like that. But naahh.. the Big Guy upstairs can shine through it all and get me back on track again. Gosh Daddy, thank YOU!
😇🌞🌷💖 

APPRECIATE WHAT YOU'VE GOT WHETHER IT'S A LITTLE OR A LOT

-------------------
Good morning! The sun's out today and I got plans how to enjoy it. But allow me first to tell you a story...........

This was many years ago .. in the house of a friend. She was a housewife to an ailing husband but somehow managed pretty well with their not so meager resources. We sat around the dining table situated close to the living room and feasted on a native delicacy of ginataan she herself cooked. Conversation flowed naturally among good friends as it normally would.

Then she reached for her glass of water and drank from it. When done and with the glass still in her hand in mid-air she blurted out .....  'This is fantastic! Lorrrrrd.... thank you for water."

It was not your ordinary lip-serving praise or thanks rendered to the Divine. This was more than that, apparently. Her smiling eyes lighted up her whole countenance. The words came out strong and sure. The moment, ordinary to most, came out as so profound. Like she knew what it meant.... she understood its Creator as if she was there when He formed the beginnings of the earth.... her whole being praised the work of His hands.

I was dumbstruck by this sudden outburst of praise to her God who also was my God, of course. I know my God too; I know Him in my heart. But this lady....  her knowing oozed out from every pore of her skin, from every breath she took, and it seemed from every thing she touched-felt-experienced, from her very life. She looked at me and I didn't need to hear the rest of her words as I saw the truth in her glowing eyes telling me how wonderful this Creator was and is.

I think I learned more about faith and God in that brief moment of praise than from my catechism teacher-priest.

From then on, I made it a point to seize every tiny creation, moment, and experience with great respect, praise, and thanksgiving to an awesome Magnificent God.

And right now I am praising and thanking God for all you wonderful people with your equally wonderful friendships. 'This is fantastic! Lorrrrrd.... thank you for them all." And please bless them tremendously.

I HAVE NOTHING AND YET EVERYTHING IN MY BACKPACK

I was sitting there enjoying my green tea frappe... yes, Starbucks... where else?! :-) While waiting for my daughter who went to National Book Store on an errand I overheard this conversation from the next table not far from mine. In a group of middle-aged women, one matronly-looking woman spoke.... "Ay naku, pera-pera lang yan. Tingnan mo lang kung gaano kabilis ang solusyon kapag nabigyan mo na."  -- In essence that meant ... "It's all about money. Money buys everything."

That got me to thinking. Back in the house as I sat at my desk the thoughts came tumbling out and I wrote...........

There’s nothing else I know. There’s no supernatural formula I could easily summon up to solve problems with. There’s no wise guru to teach me some special mantra to erase worrisome cares and woes. There’s no big fat bank account to ease my way through the rough and tumble grind of earthly struggle and strife. There’s no magic potion on my shelf which I could conveniently pluck out and slip into a mean person’s coffee to bring about a change of heart or mind.

But I know this.....

I travel through life’s journey with this special thing packed tightly inside my backpack. It’s a small thing lest you think it’s a grand magnificent piece of heavy treasure stacked in there alongside other stuff. But it is a treasure indeed and it glows albeit often small, sometimes strangely, at times falteringly, even faintly, neglected at some point, at odd moments I don’t feel it and yet its flame won’t snuff out nor disappear into thin air as you think it easily might. It glows steadily and amazingly considering it’s just the size of a mustard seed. It’s there regardless of how I feel.

I have my share of tough times too just like we all do and those things don’t and won’t stop because that is just what life is made of. I'm just a weak puny human being trying to make it in this crazy world. Yet I can say this much that it’s like I always land on a bean-bag each time. Faith is like a soft self-inflating bean- bag which catches you every time you fall. Oh maybe you’ll get some bumps and bruises here and there but who wouldn’t with a fall no matter its size. And yes you will feel depressed, lonely, disappointed, angry, afraid, sad and everything else miserable in the book of life. All of life is about feelings, too.

But it doesn’t kill you. In fact, it’s like warm comforting arms wrapping around you in a big glorious divine hug. It simply makes you feel so good that you always want to cry so much relieved. It’s like something or SOMEONE tells you ... ‘It’s okay, don’t be afraid; I’M here.’

It’s just wonderfully there. I, with blessed joy, thank God for this gift and treasure.

JUST STOP AND BREATHE

 

 

 

 

---------------------
What a quote-filled morning to start the day with. My good friend, Mr. Quote Man, is quite obsessed with packing my inbox with ideas which he thinks would or could block the proverbial 'writer's block' as a convenient excuse. A writer himself he probably knows what he's talking about. Understood that pretty well, my friend. Intent and effort is truly appreciated and which shall be put to good use... that is, if sitting by the window and communing with mother nature does not take the better part of my morning. :-)

With about six good quotes he sent me I plucked this one out because it is something which I think would resonate well with most of us. To quote.......

"Whenever you find yourself doubting how far you can go, 

just remember how far you have come. 

Remember everything you have faced, 

all the battles you have won, 

and all the fears you have overcome."   

---  Author Unknown

Unquote.

Had a brief chat with a friend just recently. I was touched by her sadness over the way things were running in her life. I need not go over the details here, suffice it to say that she felt up against a huge wall..... and needed a 'sounding board' to air out her frustration. To help get the load off her chest. To cut a long story short, she seemed fine after that 'healing' moment. A beautiful precious bond good friends in wonderful friendships offer to one another in blessed kinship.

But it made me think. Life is tough. None is spared by its troubles. We get them all. Maybe differing in size, shape, intensity, reason, cause, or even purpose of which I want to think is for our better good, growth, maturity. But we don't always understand it that way. We don't seem to get it most times that it's how it works.... the hurt, pain, bruises, tears, disappointments, frustrations, angst, confusion, desperation, bewilderment.... we have to go through it all. Not nice, very inconvenient and not exactly user-friendly.

But I have learned in my own journey that I needed to stop the ranting, the heaving, the trying....   and just STOP. And breathe. Just breathe. And when the dust settles where everything (issues, obstacles, etc) goes back to its place and sits there grateful not to be unnecessarily roused to hyperactivity --------- something beautiful happens. Calmness flows through your whole being like the hand of God touching your soul and saying........

'Rest. Be still. Know that I am GOD.'

Wish you all a lovely day. Count your blessings. It's all there in your day. Because God loves you and blesses you with it every time.