Freedom to Choose Our Own Path

Woo Wee!  The sun is a shining and this woman has been out with her clippers giving her shrubs a haircut!  I found some clippers at Home Depot that were endorsed by the Arthritis Foundation and, yes, they work!  It is so wonderful to drink in the warmth after the start of a cool chilly day.

As I was outside, I was thinking about character once again ... probably because it is so important to our lives.  It  is true, the fastest way to reveal the true character of a person is to give him freedom  to choose his own path.  For those of you who watch American Idol, contestant, Chris Medina, is a perfect example.  Two months before he was to be married, his fiance was involved in a car accident leaving her brain damaged and in a wheelchair.  Chris took his vows to her seriously and is caring for her.  Chris didn't run, he stepped up to the plate.  As it says in my Daily Walk Devotional Bible ... "circumstances never create character; they merely reveal."  Amen to that!  How do you react under stress?


"All of you who are on the Lord's side...!"~~Exodus 32:26  This is a ringing call to commitment that you find frequently in the Bible.  Whose side are you on?  I have been reading about Moses and the Israelites wandering around in the desert.  How easy it was for the Israelites to grumble and complain with God in their very presence.  Go figure... Moses relatives from the tribe of Levi stood firm against public opinion, refusing to worship the golden calf which was approved by Moses's brother Aaron.  When Moses confronted Aaron, he blamed and waffled around ... but, as for the tribe of the Levites they stood their ground on the side of the Lord.  It takes good character and strength to go against strong public opinion! 



The one thing that I can say about my father and mother is that if they shook hands and gave their word, they kept that promise.  My father and mother were deeply in love and were truly a couple who guarded their vows ... for better or worse, til death do us part.  Yes, they were human and as human beings, they made mistakes yet the two of them had this unspoken bond.  When my mother was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, my father took over her chores and helped her with her exercises.  When he died rather suddenly at age 55 of cancer, my mother was lost.  She spent many years grieving the loss of her mate and her friend.  Where one went, the other was not far behind.  My mother knew that her beau was waiting for her in Heaven.


Despite the verbal attacks, I learned good character from my parents.  I'm not sure they even knew that their words injured me yet maybe my mother did.  In her last months of life, she lived with me and my two children.  Looking back, there were cries for help that I didn't recognize at the time.  She was so thin and frail.  She said once to my daughter, "Do you want to see my pearls?"  Her pearls were the bones on her back.  Fashionable in the 30's??  Every now and then, she would look at me with tears in her eyes but never say anything.  When I would ask her what was wrong.  She would simply say, "I am thinking of long ago."  I wish she would have told me her story other than little bits and pieces ... today, the words she spit at me are a thing of the past and I have become more compassionate because of her.  Thank you, Mom!  When adversity hits you, instead of being angry and sitting on the pity pot, think about how you can learn from it and be different.  Isn't that what life is all about?

I sought solace in the arms of a living God and He took me in.  He's directed my paths and even when I have rebelled, He has wooed me back ... not by using force but by appealing to my heart.  I gave up my wretched life and came to Him of my own free will.  Year by year, my own character has evolved.  I love reading about people who have overcome adversity and used it to pole vault to good character and strength.  It's kind of like putting together the most beautiful woman ... take Angelina's lips ... Elizabeth's eyes ... and on and on til you get one gorgeous lady.  I look more at the inside and want to be a warrior ... a fierce yet fair warrior!  I want to stand up for what is right and not be afraid of the dark.  When I graduated from high school, we sang this song ... I remember it like it was yesterday!  Enjoy!!

God removed me from the place where I grew up and exposed me to others who helped me grow on the path of life.  Each stop in the road ... Yuma, Richfield, Houston, Plano, San Antonio, Lakeville, Plano, Frisco, McKinney ... has brought new friends, new challenges and new life.  For those who encouraged me, I am ever so grateful.  However, my life started with "home" and it will end with my ashes being scatted over my parents graves.  I will have come full circle!

It is with joy and hope that I write my blog.  Life is such a winding road and it's so lonely to walk on all by yourself.  Look up to the heavens and you won't be alone ... look around you and you will find others just like you who are struggling and growing.  Reach out, take a hand and smile...

Take care my readers and always know you are loved and prayed for...YA YOU!