Today is my mom’s 70th birthday! She is so many things to me and touched the lives of countless others. We all have our favorite memories of laughing, crying or just having fun together. My gift this year is to celebrate life and acknowledge the greatness of my mom! She’s been living well these past few years free from pain, free from worry and stresses of everyday life. She’s experiencing the best retirement ever, you see she’s been with Jesus since 2012. I was anger for a long while because I wasn’t ready to live life without her. I didn’t feel prepared. What I’ve learned over the past few years is that she isn’t completely gone, as long as I live and breathe she is a part of me. She will always be my mother, death does not take that privilege from any of us. There’s not a single day that I do not think of her, she’s in a song I hear, I recall moments of wise words she had spoken to me, I feel her character or moral fibers woven within my humanity. She was strong, resilient, caring, determined, honest, trustworthy, gentle and stoic, some might even call her a “spitfire!” I think she would like being called that. I like to celebrate my mother and do so very often. Keeping her memory alive, allows me not to forget how she made me feel. She was my biggest fan and supporter of anything I set out to do, no matter my talent level in the pursuit. I can’t even begin to calculate the sacrifices she made for me, often I am reminded of the ugly things I said to her during the terrible teenage years of resistance and rebellion. She never wavered in her love for me, she always loved me especially when I was not deserving. There’s a part of me that will never fully understand the bond of mother to daughter, as I will never give birth to a child but from the daughter side to the mother perspective I have love in my heart that is for my mother alone, sometimes it is released in a big tear drop slowing cascading down my cheek…I resist the urge to wipe it away because I need to feel it slide down my cheek as if it’s reaching out to my mom. I catch myself smiling at times as if I’m hearing her tell me to do or not do something…wipe your feet, don’t run in the house, and anyone who knows me will recognize this one…”are you going to sleep all day?” Hahaha!

Mom, Happy Happy Birthday! Thank you for loving me and teaching me to love. ~Your Loving Daughter

Hebrews 12:11 (ESV)”For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

Hello Friends!

It’s been a while since I have posted anything; I recently started a new project and wanted to share it with all of you. I have enrolled in a “Contemplative Photography Practice Group” with Spirituality & Practice – Resources for Spiritual Journeys. I will include the website at the bottom of the page. The group is provided a word; quote or statement and challenged to post a photo representing it. As most of you know, I thoroughly enjoy taking photos and combining it with bible verses, quotes or my own thoughts as a means to encourage and comfort myself as well as others. I hope you enjoy the first two posts I have submitted for my practice group.

Week 1: Confusion or Chaos

This photo is both confusion and chaos for me, I work in an office and this is in my view daily. This past year I learned a valuable lesson/insight from a co-worker. Basically, there are two areas in which one can choose to live: area of control or area of concern. This falls into area of concern because it concerns me and it bothers me; however, it is not an area of control because I share an office with 12 other individuals and it neither bothers nor is noticed by most. I could try to make it a control issue but in the end, I would be frustrated daily because the only control I truly have is my own ability to let it go. I can take control of my workspace while on duty but I must let it go until I return and start fresh every new day. My stress level is low and I no longer feel like it is my responsibility to keep all things neat and orderly, Just Breathe!

Week 2: Quote “In that tiny space between all the givens is freedom.” By Sue Bender.

I love this picture, I’ve had people laugh at it, show surprise at it and some failed to see from my perspective. I came across this item while doing laundry recently, my immediate thought was “God” and my second thought was my mother, who has passed away. This something was nothing more than a “dust/lint” ball from the dryer. It is hanging on the underneath of my shelf. I saw an “Angel” God speaking to me and I also laughed while thinking of my mom…this would not be something found in her laundry room. And perhaps that is the message; with all the “givens” I have the freedom to be “Me!” “In that tiny space between all the givens is freedom.” ~Sue Bender

~Blessings and Peace~

Reference:
http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com