Encouraging and equipping women over 60 to live their best life!
I think it’s easier to share misery than it is to share celebration. I’m not saying I don’t fall into this trap from time to time. But what I want to address here is re-training our brain. Taking the time to evaluate our default thoughts and, if we don’t like them, we can make a conscious effort to see them and redirect those thoughts and change them. We are creatures of habit. But I fully believe we can change.
I did nothing to deserve this striking floral showpiece that sticks out her neck to show off her beauty. What I did was to keep my birdfeeder filled with a mixture that contains black oil sunflower seeds. The birds do the rest. As they peck at the feeder, cracking open resistant seeds with impressive acuity, some fall to the ground. Unnoticed by birds, chipmunks and other interested creatures who call my garden home, they tentatively open to the hospitality of the soil, the warmth of the sun and the hydration of the rain. They courageously begin to put down roots, fragile tendrils initially. Their journey, stretching toward the sky, has begun.
Everything we do, even the most mundane task, we have a reason for why we do what we do. Most people never think this way, but with everything we choose to do, or not do, there is a payoff. There is a reason why we are doing this all day, every day. We may not even be consciously thinking about it, but this is the way our life works. Everything from the big decisions to the little mini choices, we have reasons why we do the things we do.
We must always hold onto hope. And we must never let go of the hope of healing—even healing from our sexual traumas. We can experience freedom from shame’s grip. We can experience freedom from the lies we have lived with for many years.
This is the joy of life, learning from others, finding our way, and helping as many as we can along the way, but always knowing there is water in the well. And it does not belong to us. It is God’s gift.
At times, caregiving is tough, but the care you provide others is a gift that eases suffering and provides support. You may find yourself having hard conversations about end-of-life wishes, eternity, and comforting fears about the uncertainties of last days. Listen patiently and answer compassionately.
Each season offers beauty, purpose, and challenges. In our minds, and hearts, we must see the beauty and purpose within our place in life. And we need to know God is sovereign—He has a plan in mind. He has a purpose. And He makes beauty out of our ashes.
Ah, the power of a personal mission statement: not cautious but extravagant, not to get, but to give. What changes do you need to make to love your spouse extravagantly? Make it your personal purpose statement: love extravagantly.
You never really know how you will react, especially after years and years of trying to prepare yourself. My first reaction privately, Thank you God! Immediately, tears streamed down my face. Then I thought, Wait a minute! My mother was no longer suffering and confined to a bed, needing help for every basic need. I knew she was in heaven, so why the tears?
Remember the feeling of being chosen to a team in PE when you were a child, or being chosen for a dance at your high school dance, or being chosen to be someone’s bride? All those events make you feel special because you have been selected, picked out as the object of choice. You’re not just one of the crowd—a #126. God sits with you and wants to remind you that you are His.
