"For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless....for I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. " ---Psalm 84:11, Jeremiah 29:11
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At one time, my 'Bucket List' resembled this:
Travel across country by train.
Visit at least one Laura Ingalls Wilder site.
Teach in front of 100+ people.
Collect a dreamy library.
Live on a little farm.
Write something other people will read.
Travel Route 66.
Thankfully, only the last one remains unchecked. Not done. And unlikely.
But you know? I'm grateful for these 3 young folks, below, who've whooshed me, via Youtube, down Route 66 many times. Through re-watchings, I've got the road's attractions nearly memorized!
These days I almost feel as though Tom and I traveled Route 66, like, years ago. Remembered, but not quite, in a hazy sort of way.
(Nope, I am not ready for the old folks' home.) シ
No, it's like as I'm aging, I watch God making my dreams come true, but in unexpected, brain-unimagined ways.
It's when we insist, "Things must be and look a certain way," that we gather trouble.
What matters is that we stay open for lovely things to happen. That we keep believing, knowing, we'll not miss-out. And heavens! Not allowing ourselves to repeat the ol' pathetic, "Good things will never happen to me! Things will never change," thoughts.
Please never go there again, ok?
Anyway, today color me thankful for ALL folks who faithfully use their God-given talents to bless the rest of us.
And oh my, may we faithfully share what only we can give, reaping all that God meant since He first imagined us.
"Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them..." --- from Romans 12
Regarding Bucket Lists? Do what you can while you still can. God's timing: it matters.
Life on Earth is a huge puzzle. If your piece is hidden, this world is not complete. It's lacking.
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In my last post I mentioned having my groceries delivered by Aldi. Do I mind giving the delivery folks a tip? Are you kidding? I love it. I'd much rather give money to them than my own gas tank.
And I love thanking them for what they do. Yesterday the kind, older black lady stood at the bottom of our front steps with a final bag while I placed others inside. I asked, "Oh! Did you need to take a picture of these first?"
She replied, "No, no need for a picture. It's just that I'm not wearing my mask and I don't like to bother people by being in their space."
I chuckled and said, "Oh, we are sooo over that!" She laughed, agreed, then came up the stairs. I thanked her for packing the bags so lightly.
But then later as I shut the door, I thought, "What have we done to ourselves these days? How sad, this feeling we must stand far apart."
Warmer days are here... color me rejoicing!
Oh! Have you heard the song that Lynyrd Skynyrd wrote for Governor DeSantis? Tom and I really, really enjoyed it. (Your results may vary, heh.)
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"Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will be equal." --- 2 Corinthians 8:14
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"For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." ... Matthew 6:14,15
2 comments:
We have also traveled Route 66 with several of our YouTube RV friends. It's fun to see it through different perspectives. So much of our life is different than we planned. By now we should have been on the road, living in our RV. This has been a dream for years and years. But we had to scrap those dreams to care for Mom. Some days it's MUCH harder than others. Especially when she's not nice because of the memory issues. But, I do know this is where God wants us right now. Finding a nice home next door was proof of His care in the situation.
I'm constantly forgetting about the distance thing and I hug people. Some are startled. Some are annoyed. Some are SO happy to just touch someone again.
I hope your Wednesday is a great one.
Blessings and hugs,
Betsy
Oh Debra, I appreciate your honesty and positive attitude so very much! When I read the line, "...may we faithfully share what only we can give, reaping all that God meant since He first imagined us" it filled my heart. Yes! There are things that we are destined by the Lord to do. Whether it's giving money, encouragement, service, listening, or something as simple as a hug or a smile. We were created to bless others. Beautiful post!
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