This morning I received an email message from a friend. It was not a "newsy" message filled with personal information and friendly chat. But, it was very helpful none-the-less. It showed me something which I needed to remember -- kindness always negates negativity.
The email described a young boy at a restaurant having dinner with his mom. He asked if he could say the blessing, and Mom agreed. When the boy added to his prayer the comment that he would thank God even more if his mother bought ice cream after dinner, a fellow diner commented that the request on the boy's part for ice cream, was totally inappropriate. The boy heard the comment and was very upset. He asked his mom if God was mad at him.
A kind gentlemen overheard his question to his mother and came over to the boy to say that he thought the boy's prayer was wonderful. He said that he knew God thought so too. He added that "sometimes ice cream is good for the soul."
The mother ordered ice cream for the boy at the end of the meal. The child did not dive into the Sundae, instead -- he took it to the women who had made the comment about it being totally in appropriate -- placed the sundae before her, and said "Sometimes ice cream is good for the soul. My soul is good already, so I thought you might like this."
It made me think. Would I or could I be gracious to someone who had been unkind to me? If someone said something unkind, could I return a kind word instead? Isn't this what we are supposed to do?
The young boy reminded me that goodness and kindness are always the best antidote to unkindness and evil. In the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, Mary Baker Eddy wrote "Clad in the panoply of Love, human hatred cannot reach you." To me this means that if we can keep our thoughts on the goodness of God, no unkindness can enter our thinking, since it is already filled with God.
Then -- I thought about some actions I took recently. I realized that I had not been as kind to my husband as I could have been. I had not spoken to a friend in a loving way, nor had I given help to someone obviously in need. How could I then claim to be a practicing Christian?
Thanks to the email, I will be reminded more often to return kindness, understanding, and compassion no matter what comes my way. It is not always easy to do this, but it is possible with God's help.
What can we all do each day to make the life of someone we know better?
These are just some thoughts for today.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Special Friends are Golden!
Do you have a special friend? Someone who brightens your days, fills your thoughts with joy, and gives you unconditional support in hard times? A special friend like this is more precious than gold. I'm blessed to have such a friend. Actually -- I have two "special friends." One is my husband, Bob. The other is my special friend Sue.
Sue and I began our friendship through our church work. While we often saw things differently, and sometimes were in conflict, I began to respect her viewpoints and I learned to see her as a very warm, giving, and compassionate person. Wonder of all wonders -- she saw me as worthy of her friendship!
During the past year my friend has faced some very difficult challenges. These challenges have rocked the basis of her thinking and caused her to make decisions which she thought she would never have to make. Yet, through it all, she has remained courageous, joyous, forgiving, and supportive. The physical challenge of breast cancer weighed heavy, and demands of her successful business kept her attention, but she always had time to send a kind email message, make a short phone call, and give me the benefit of her good ideas. Sue has shown me how to be a better friend.
Now, as she celebrates her recovery from the breast cancer treatments, proceeds to relocate her successful business to a new state, returns the loving support of her husband and children, I'm proud to say that she is more dear to me today than ever before. While it may no longer be possible for us to spend time together doing "girly" things -- I'm cherishing the times we have shared. I looking forward to seeing her grow in wisdom, love, and joy.
As I write this I'm thinking of what makes a "special friend" special. To me it is willingness to be there for another person, to listen when needed, to make helpful suggestions and to offer corrections when appropriate. It is sharing, caring, and giving. It is finding joy in another's good. It is singing in the rain, walking quietly in a storm, smiling through tears, laughing at silly jokes, and just being there for each other.
Thank God for my special friend. May you find your special friend also and enjoy all the pleasure and challenges friendship entails.
Sue and I began our friendship through our church work. While we often saw things differently, and sometimes were in conflict, I began to respect her viewpoints and I learned to see her as a very warm, giving, and compassionate person. Wonder of all wonders -- she saw me as worthy of her friendship!
During the past year my friend has faced some very difficult challenges. These challenges have rocked the basis of her thinking and caused her to make decisions which she thought she would never have to make. Yet, through it all, she has remained courageous, joyous, forgiving, and supportive. The physical challenge of breast cancer weighed heavy, and demands of her successful business kept her attention, but she always had time to send a kind email message, make a short phone call, and give me the benefit of her good ideas. Sue has shown me how to be a better friend.
Now, as she celebrates her recovery from the breast cancer treatments, proceeds to relocate her successful business to a new state, returns the loving support of her husband and children, I'm proud to say that she is more dear to me today than ever before. While it may no longer be possible for us to spend time together doing "girly" things -- I'm cherishing the times we have shared. I looking forward to seeing her grow in wisdom, love, and joy.
As I write this I'm thinking of what makes a "special friend" special. To me it is willingness to be there for another person, to listen when needed, to make helpful suggestions and to offer corrections when appropriate. It is sharing, caring, and giving. It is finding joy in another's good. It is singing in the rain, walking quietly in a storm, smiling through tears, laughing at silly jokes, and just being there for each other.
Thank God for my special friend. May you find your special friend also and enjoy all the pleasure and challenges friendship entails.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Meet my Furry Friend
Have you ever wanted to feel really needed? Loved? Cared for? Well -- my furry friend helps me feel all these things every day. From the first moment of the day he is there to welcome me with his expressive tail and bright eyes. He seems to tell me -- "Today is going to be fun!"
Beau came to our family a little over nine months ago. He spent the first year and a half of his life chained up outside in all kinds of weather -- winter snow, spring rains, and summer heat. From the first moment we saw each other, there was a bond which just seemed beyond belief. You see, we (my husband and I) were about to bring Beau into our family as a valued member of the family, and as a trusted friend and companion. Beau had never known that kind of treatment before.
On the drive home, he was very quiet and withdrawn. It took almost two hours to return to our home from his first home in Northern New Hampshire. Getting him into our car to make the trip was a major challenge, and when we got back to our house -- Beau was very scared. He was terrified of my husband, Bob; and not too confident that I was going to treat him well. However, he was willing to accept his changed life arrangement with some trepedation.
It took weeks for him to settle down to anything approaching normality. His fear was almost overwhelming at times. But never, during all the time he was so afraid did he ever grawl or make any attempt to vent his frustration on us.
Shortly after he came to us we needed to take him to a local Vet to have him checked out. That story will follow in a posting called -- Beau's first vet visit. Check it out soon!
We hired a trainer to come and evaluate him and we were told that he may never adjust because he was so very much afraid of everything. In fact, that first day of the visit from the trainer -- Bob wanted to show the trainer (Anne) how much he was helping Beau overcome his fear, to he put Beau's leash on him and started down a flight of stairs. Beau's first reaction to fear is to run, and run he did -- pulling Bob off balance and literally pulling him down two flights of stairs. Thank God -- Bob was not hurt. But, it showed us that we had to use a lot more care when working with Beau.
I won't bore you with all the details, except to say that today Beau came downstairs on his own. He approached Bob with some confidence, and accepted a treat from his hand without bolting. Beau and I are best friends -- he follows me everywhere! While I wish we were able to give Beau more exercise, I think he is reasonably happy and well adjusted to our quiet life. There is just one more problem we have to solve -- his frequent and unannounced barking.
Beau seems to take particular delight in coming behind me when I am sitting in our family room and involved in something else and without warning barking particularly sharply. I jump a foot and loose at least a month out of my life. Beau sometimes just walks away and goes back to sleep. I wish I could understand why he does this. What he must be thinking -- it would be such a help in understanding how to help him.
Well -- I just wanted to introduce you to our furry friend. I will probably be writing about him more in the future since he is such a large part of our family. In case you can't tell from his picture, Beau is a 78 pound blue merle collie. He just celebrated his second birthday (at least we think he did since we were never told exactly what the date should be).
Monday, March 2, 2009
Getting Acquainted!
Hello!
For someone of my generation -- blogging is something quite new. At least it's new to me. I enjoy writing, and if anyone else would like to read what I write, it would be thrilling to share my efforts. At one point in my life I wanted to become a creative writer. To share ideas with interesting turns of phrase, witty comments, and a visual vocabulary. Alas, there's never been time, opportunity, or the push to make it happen. Now -- perhaps this is the time!
Let me first tell of the place where I live. As you enter the village of Mont Vernon there is a sign. On one side it says "Welcome to Mont Vernon" and on the other side it says "Enjoy the View."The small quiet village of Mont Vernon lies 840 feet above sea level and is one of the highest spots in Southern New Hampshire. Coming up the hill, one enters the village just as the road makes a gentle curve to the right. There is a town office building on the left, a Congregational Churchon on the right, an ancient town hall building which hosts the town Clerk's office and the police station. There is a library, post office, and volunteer fire department, as well as a general store which serves as a typical New England communication center -- videos, deli, original New England crafts, and more are available. The residents are mostly hard working commuters -- either Boston or Manchester, and they love the quiet rural life on our small village. Our children attend the village school until the sixth grade when they join others from neighboring Amherst in the Amherst Middle School. Souhegan High School is the ultimate goal of the teenage years, and most students go on to college.
My husband and I came here a little over fifteen years ago because we loved the idea of being in the "country." We still get a thrill every time we descend the Mont Vernon hill. The view is something to dream about -- especially if you are from the flat lands of Florida as I am. Rolling hills filled with countless trees, a few open fields, cows and horses make the picture complete. No matter the season -- the white of winter, the pale green and pastel colors of Spring, the deep blue green of Summer or the spectacular Autumn golds and reds -- the drive down the hill is impressive and memorable.
One may ask, "Why the drive down the hill and not up the hill?" Well, I guess it is because we always seem to be driving away from Mont Vernon no matter how much we want to stay here. There is no work available in the village unless it is in the town offices or the village store, and we still attend a church in Lowell, Massachusetts, to we are not even here on Sundays.
For someone of my generation -- blogging is something quite new. At least it's new to me. I enjoy writing, and if anyone else would like to read what I write, it would be thrilling to share my efforts. At one point in my life I wanted to become a creative writer. To share ideas with interesting turns of phrase, witty comments, and a visual vocabulary. Alas, there's never been time, opportunity, or the push to make it happen. Now -- perhaps this is the time!
Let me first tell of the place where I live. As you enter the village of Mont Vernon there is a sign. On one side it says "Welcome to Mont Vernon" and on the other side it says "Enjoy the View."The small quiet village of Mont Vernon lies 840 feet above sea level and is one of the highest spots in Southern New Hampshire. Coming up the hill, one enters the village just as the road makes a gentle curve to the right. There is a town office building on the left, a Congregational Churchon on the right, an ancient town hall building which hosts the town Clerk's office and the police station. There is a library, post office, and volunteer fire department, as well as a general store which serves as a typical New England communication center -- videos, deli, original New England crafts, and more are available. The residents are mostly hard working commuters -- either Boston or Manchester, and they love the quiet rural life on our small village. Our children attend the village school until the sixth grade when they join others from neighboring Amherst in the Amherst Middle School. Souhegan High School is the ultimate goal of the teenage years, and most students go on to college.
My husband and I came here a little over fifteen years ago because we loved the idea of being in the "country." We still get a thrill every time we descend the Mont Vernon hill. The view is something to dream about -- especially if you are from the flat lands of Florida as I am. Rolling hills filled with countless trees, a few open fields, cows and horses make the picture complete. No matter the season -- the white of winter, the pale green and pastel colors of Spring, the deep blue green of Summer or the spectacular Autumn golds and reds -- the drive down the hill is impressive and memorable.
One may ask, "Why the drive down the hill and not up the hill?" Well, I guess it is because we always seem to be driving away from Mont Vernon no matter how much we want to stay here. There is no work available in the village unless it is in the town offices or the village store, and we still attend a church in Lowell, Massachusetts, to we are not even here on Sundays.
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