We have so many holidays to celebrate this month! I just read an Easter quote: "Earth's saddest day and gladdest day were just three days apart"...Susan Coolidge
It is very true. Christians believe that Jesus died on the cross and three days later he was resurrected. That is a happy ending to the horrible things He had to endure, so that whoever believes in Him will have everlasting life! What do we owe our Heavenly Father in return? We owe Him our love, respect, loyalty, obedience and gratitude. Same things we owe to our earthly parents (we know there are some bad parents out there, but nevertheless, God also commands us to honor our mother and our father, and he doesn't list aany conditions).
As we celebrate many different religious holidays this month, we are also reminded that there is a lot of turmoil, misery and tragedy around the world. Recently, many tornadoes have touched down around our country, destroying homes and people's lives. Ukraine is still at war with Russia for almost two months now, and there are food shortages around the world. New covid cases seem to be on the rise in some parts of the world, not to mention the poor people in Shanghai, China, where all the citizens have been ordered to complete lockdowns in their homes. In 1999 we visited Shanghai. It is a beautiful, rich city, but today the streets are deserted and the city of 25 million people looks like a ghost town. The people who tested with covid have also been forced to go into quaranteen centers. The latest I read is that the citizens are being asked (ordered) to open their apartments as shelters for the infected, because the government is running out of quaranteen locations. We have so little control over certain things in our lives. We do not know what the future brings from one day to the next (actually from one second to the next, and that may actually be a good thing, if we knew, it might be too terrifying).
At the same time though, we have blessings all arounf us, that sometimes we ignore, or fail to recognize. Therefore, from now on, everyday, find something beautiful to notice. It doesn't have to be something you see, it could be a scent that reminds you of someone special, or a special moment, a beautiful memory. Perhaps the aroma of freshly baked bread coming out of someone's home. It can be the sound of the breeze slightly rustling the leaves in the trees, or a light rain that cleans the environment and has that beautiful smell in the air (I love both...I sit and listen to the rain and the wind). How about watching birds and also listening to their beautiful songs. Now that spring is here, all the songbirds are out, and the other day I saw the first hummingbird on the hummingbird feeder, and a couple of butterflies! (When we lived in California, we had 5 hummingbirds that stayed around all year long, here they go away with the cold weather and return in the spring).
Anyway, make a consious effort to look for those things, and cherish them. They may seem insignificant, but to some, these things are the "stuff" of life. The little things that are put here on earth for our enjoyment. The things we often take for granted. Try to appreciate all these things that many times are overlooked. The problem is that we are so "busy" with "life" and distractions around us, that we don't make the time to look for these "insignificant" things to enjoy. As I get older, I feel blessed that I am finally able to recognize what I have been missing. It is never too late. It is not so much the things we did that we often regret, but the things we didn't do.
So, today take notice of something special you see on your lunch hour, or your walk this afternoon.
As the saying goes (don't know who said it)..."Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away". Today, and everyday, find something that will take your breath away!! We don't know how long we have on this earth.
He is risen, indeed he is risen!
Have a blessed week...
