And so begins another week…
I’m grateful for a restful, worry-free weekend and feel that I have a renewed sense of hope and peace about everything. I’m trying not to get myself too worked up about Thursday. Again, what. will. worrying. solve?? Nothing. I strive to stay focused in the present and enjoy these peaceful days.
Sisters lounging around
Greta takes such good care of her little sister
A visit from MeeMee today! (William's mom)
I look over at this precious bundle of sweet baby Nora sound asleep next to me. She sleeps peacefully, radiating a little dream smile every so often (she dreams of milkies).
When I look at all 7 lbs. 8 oz. of her and think about how much I love her, it almost physically hurts. It is surreal to me to think that there could ever possibly be a greater love than a parent has for their child, yet that is God’s love for us as His children. We are made in His image which is why we are able to experience and feel love, but it’s probably a sort of LITE version. Were the full version installed on our primitive operating systems it would most certainly result in a system failure. We couldn’t handle it. It would kill us. That amazes me even though I can’t quite wrap my head around it.
Also programmed into our circuitry is the longing for eternity. All you have to do to see evidence of that is take a stroll through the grocery store or simply turn on the TV in the comfort of your own home. An endless barrage of age defying products, procedures, tips and solutions around every corner and on every other channel. Everyone wants to look 21… (myself included)! Were I to admonish these products or the people that use them, I’d be the biggest hypocrite alive! Stop for a minute though and think about this quest for eternal youth. It’s not just a passing fad or something that has come about in recent years. There has never been, to my knowledge, an era or culture as a whole that has embraced aging. No one is going out to get fake crows feet or spending hours in the salon to get their roots dyed gray. (?) (Correct me if I’m wrong!) We want to stay young and live “forever” because that is how God wired us! Eternity is so deeply rooted in our hearts, yet for many, this is just simply a way of life without bothering to think about it! Honestly, I myself hadn’t ever really given it a second thought until recently.
Perhaps this is why it pains us so deeply when we lose a loved one. In our limited reference of this world it may SEEM like this is all there is. This IS our “forever” as we know it. As Christ followers we have been given the promise of eternal life. But because eternity is only a concept to us right now in our limited minds, we don’t and can’t fully grasp it. It is uncomfortable to lose the people we love to a concept that doesn’t fully make sense to us right now, even though we fully believe in it.
So here we all are doing the best we know how with what we have been given. We love, we live, we experience heartaches and the pain of loss. Then one day (in what will then seem like the blink of an eye) this will all be behind us. The “veil” that protected us on this earth by allowing us to live in ignorant bliss will be torn. No longer will we need the protection of the concept of time. Our quest for eternal youth will suddenly make total sense. And the full version of God’s love will be fully compatible with our upgraded operating systems. I believe in that, I place my hope in that. THIS. ISN’T. ALL. THERE. IS.
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that people will fear him.
(Ecclesiastes 3:11-14 NIV)
If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
(1 Corinthians 15:19 NIV)
iwillcarryyou 
Aleisa, this post is inspiring. You’re absolutely right.
Love to think that even when little Nora is sleeping and dreaming of her milkies with that sweet smile , someone is praying for her, ( me for example) as because of time difference I’m 6 hours ahead from the US ET.
I’m happy that you are taking time to relax. Have a wonderful week !!. 🙂
LOVE THE PICTURES OF THE GIRLS. GRETA SURE DOES LOVE AND TAKES CARE OF NORA. I LOVE THE PICTURES OF GRETA, SHE IS ALWAYS SO HAPPY. YOUR MESSAGE IS SO INSPIRING TODAY. (AS ALWAYS)!! IT DID MAKE ME THINK OF HOW I KEEP SAYING, I AM GETTING TO LOOK OLD. BUT I AM 67 YEARS OLD, MAYBE THAT IS THE REASON. YOU ARE SO RIGHT, WE WILL EVENTUALLY HAVE ETERNAL LIFE. IN A PLACE SO BEAUTIFUL THAT WE CANNOT EVEN BEGIN TO IMAGINE. AFTER READING YOUR MESSAGE, I WAS THINKING HOW MUCH I HAVE WITNESSED IN MY LIFE. BEING MARRIED TO SUCH A WONDERFUL MAN FOR GOING ON 48 YEARS, HAVING 2 WONDERFUL BOYS, AND 3 FANTASTIC GRANDCHILDREN, PLUS ALL THE CHANGES IN THE WORLD. I HAVE BEEN SO BLESSED, AND THEN TO THINK SOME DAY I WILL BE WALKING ON THE STREETS OF GOLD WITH MY MOMMY AND DADDY AND ALL THE LOVE ONES THAT HAVE BEEN CALLED HOME. WE SHOULD CHERISH EACH AND EVERY DAY HERE ON EARTH, BUT NOT BE AFRAID OF WHAT OUR FUTURE HOLDS. GOD HAS EVERYTHING UNDER CONTROL, AND I JUST HAVE TO LEAVE IT ALL IN HIS HANDS. SOMETIMES IT SEEMS HARD TO DO, BUT I KEEP TELLING MYSELF THAT I AM JUST HUMAN. I REALLY FEEL AS THOUGH THURSDAY WILL BE OK. IT HAS TO BE HARD NOT TO KNOW WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN, BUT MY SON GAVE ME THIS LITTLE TURTLE AND ON HIS BACK IT SAYS “ONE DAY AT A TIME”. WHEN I GET KINDA DOWN, I READ THAT AND SMILE, BECAUSE HE KNOWS HOW MANY TIMES I HAVE SAID THAT WHEN THINGS GET HARD TO FACE. I LOVE YOU ALL, AND PRAY EVERY SINGLE DAY AND NIGHT FOR YOU GUYS. I READ THIS AFTER TYPING, AND ALMOST ERASED IT. BUT INSTEAD I AM GOING TO SEND IT, BECAUSE GUESS THIS IS COMING STRAIGHT FROM MY HEART. HOPE YOU ALL GET A GOOD NIGHT’S REST, AND WAKE UP TO A BEAUTIFUL DAY. GOOD NIGHT AND GOD BLESS.
Amen, Aleisa…………….Amen.
Your blogs inspire me to live a better life; think more about what is really important. The pictures of Greta and Nora are really special. I am constantl amazed at the words that God has given you to share with others. I am glad that you are resting in the Lord for Thursday and my prayers are with you and your.
You are so INSPIRING!!! =)
I just read this poem today and thought of you. My prayers continue to be with all of you. May His grace be abundant to you.
The Mendicant
I stood, a mendicant of God, before His royal throne
and begged Him for one priceless gift, which I could call my own.
I took the gift from out His hand, but as I would depart I cried,
‘But Lord, this is a thorn and it has pierced my heart.
This is a strange and hurtful gift which Thou hast given me.’
He said, ‘My child, I give good gifts. I gave My best to thee.’
I took it home. And though at first the cruel thorn hurt sore,
as long years passed I learned at last to love it more and more.
I learned He never gives a thorn without this added grace:
He takes the thorn to pin aside the veil which hides His face.
SO beautifully said……….. ❤
Amen and amen…
It seems so prevalent in the Christian way of thinking that people strive to live forever, yet we know the reality of our finite existence. Not all cultures think this way. Right here in your own backyard is a culture who has a much better understanding of the “afterlife”. Most American Indian cultures except that we simply wear “this suit of armor”, called a body until it wears out. At that point we shed this weight and are free to begin the true life ” on the other side”….to pass over….heaven…. The happy hunting grounds. It is not the end but the beginning. It is today’s society, so entrenched in the Christian way of thinking brought by the Europeans that has conditioned us to hang onto every breath of life. The Lakota do not mourn for the one who has passed but for those of us who are left behind. A hard but honest lesson for us all. It is not to say “we must do the best we can, with what we have to work with, in the time allotted” is still how we should live our lives. We should look beyond where we are today and what the Creator has in store for us beyond this thing we call life. Cherish what we have today, that should be enough.
was going to wait until tomorrow to post but time is a fleetin (as we say down here in TN). Working i have so much to do to get ready for our trip to Cincy. Andrew and I will begin our trip to Cincinnati Wednesday after lunch and will be at children’s Thursday most of the late morning and into the afternoon more than likely. I now will just say a breath prayer as we wait for the parking gate to raise knowing that you will have, will be or already have gone through the same gate to childrens the very same day. I pray for what you will hear but really I need to pray for every precious soul that has so much hope as they pass through just as you and I will have and love their child who is under the care of childrens. And I was just relishing in how Abraham could be obiedient enough and willing to give his only son (ummmmmm this is God also). Yes we do love our children to the point it hurts but that is only a taste of the love God has for us as well as for our precious kids. I just checked out my sons Facebook and it reads (as his mother cried after reading) why worry about anything. It messes with your mind and robs you of any happiness. Press on and enjoy every moment and I pray for peace as your week progresses on.