Forgiveness: Something to meditate on...

How easy is it to forgive?  Not very, eh...  When you've been badly hurt by someone; and that knife twists and turns in your mind and heart...  anger and a desire to strike back is often the first response you want to make.

But wait! Stop!

The Lord knows that this anger and desire for revenge is a normal reaction to what has happened.  What is important though is what happens next.

For now you have a choice.  Do I strike back?  Or do I subdue that anger and hurt as best I can at that immediate moment and remember...

Remember what we are called to do and be...  Despite the hurt and desire to inflict the same on the other, we must try to forgive.

We can't do this on our own, because inside we are at battle with our desire to hurt the other person, and our desire to do what the Lord desires of us.  We must believe and trust that God's grace is there for us if we can just ask for it at that moment.  That moment when you give this pain and hurt over to the One who heals hearts.

It doesn't mean we will forget what has happened... It may be that we will have to give it over to the Lord again and again in order to finally be at peace...

I really liked the words by Max Lucado.  There is much wisdom there.  Who wants to live with a heart distorted by anger and hatred of another person.  It will affect every action and interaction we have with others.  Anger and hatred can alienate us from God, others and ourselves.  It will never bring us peace.  But God can...  

Don'cha know? This just hit the spot!

I love books!  Who would ever have guessed that one day I would  have a book shop!  I sure didn't.  People give me their unwanted books for free; or I buy their books; or I trade three of theirs for one of mine.  No matter how I acquire them, I end up with a huge choice of things to read.

My cup runneth over!

This is sooooo ME!!!

Reading is also one of the reasons I haven't written a blog post in a long time!  As you know I have a bookshop as well as a collectible shop.  The bookshop is my favorite...  Many interesting titles come my way so I have an opportunity to indulge my reading habit... actually my cup runneth over!

I keep track of what I read so I don't read the same book over again too many times.  After all, my brain already has information overload which means I often forget what I have read in the past.

Here is the list of books I have read so far this year.

http://photographsfromthepast.com/booklist/booklist13.html

You'll find some links for books read in other years on the same page.  They might be of interest to you...

Done did my taxes!!!!!

I finished my taxes!!!  A week early!!!  I am usually a last minute person when it comes to filling out all the forms.  I actually start early by taking inventory of my book shop sometime in February every year so it's not like I'm being a slouch...  But there is so much to figure up and my energy level is lagging a bit.  Anyhow, it's done and ready to mail out tomorrow.  I can heave a sigh of relief!

I still have my State taxes to fill out but that is a piece of cake compared to the federal.

Jimmy is always advising me to have a professional do my taxes, but I would rather do them myself because I understand my bookkeeping methods.  Maybe when I am old and decrepit and my brain is mush, I will take his advice. But for now...


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The Body of Christ... The Blood of Christ

Yesterday, Frances and I went to our Cathedral for the annual Chrism Mass.  We attend this Mass every year because we bring back the holy oils to our parish.

This Mass is heavily attended by Catholics from near and far; and even though we arrive an hour early, we still end up having to sit in folding chairs in the rear of the church along with all the other people who had arrived when we did.  Actually, we are fortunate to find seats together.

At Communion time, four priests come to the rear of the church, two on each side, to distribute the Body and Blood of Christ to us folks who are seated there.  Despite having to move around the folding chairs and a large holy water font, everything goes quite smoothly.

"The Body of Christ"...  "The Blood of Christ"...  words said many times as we process toward the priests to receive and then return to our seats.  As I reached my chair and sat down, I closed my eyes and tried to be silent inside so I could hear the Lord speak; but "The Body of Christ"...  "The Blood of Christ"... continued to echo into the quietness of my mind...

I think about all the people who were receiving this great Gift...  They were receiving what I had just received...  They were hearing again and again those same words that Frances and I were listening to now.  Whether rich or poor, whether Black or Hispanic or Asian or Caucasian, whether priest or deacon or bishop or lay person, it didn't matter.  What was important, was that we become what we eat...  WE are to be Christ's Body and Blood in this world and in this time.  We are the ones the Lord works through as we live our lives as best we can according to His Will.

Lord, give us the grace and strength we need to follow You.  To love and serve You. To continue to receive You into our hearts and souls and minds forever...   With joy......      

I'm somebody's Valentine!

Isn't this lovely?  It is a 1982 Westmoreland Glass Jack-in-the-Pulpit vase with hand painted roses; and it is signed and dated.  And it is mine!

While I was in my shop the other day, my buddy, Randy, came along: "Here I am again, showing up like a bad penny!  Will you be my Valentine even though I'm a day late?"

"Of course I will!" I replied.  Randy is a guy who stops by and chats with me every time he comes to the flea market.  This man is a treasure trove of trivia and is very interesting to talk to.  He knows a little bit about all kinds of things and I learn something new every time we chat.  This time he is holding a bag of something as he sits down in my extra chair.

Even though he is past retirement age, Randy is still working just for the heck of it.  He is a local mechanic and on the side, he buys, rebuilds and sells some of the great old cars from the past.  And if that isn't enough, he haunts all the outdoor flea markets and yard sales and comes up with some of the most unique finds you can imagine from ruby glass which he loves, to jewelry, to all kinds of unusual decorative items.

Randy is a real free spirit and he makes lots of friends wherever he goes.  I bet he's been all over the country at one time or another.  I think he was married once upon a time...  Now he lives in harmony with his brother and sister on some land with a house where each have their own space.

Randy gives away much of what he buys.  He will see something he likes, bargains the price down and buys it.  Then he will often come to my shop and show me what his latest find is.  He knows I am interested in these beautiful vintage or antique oddities.  "You know, I think C----- would like this.  I think I'll give it to her for her birthday."  Or, "My sister will like this...  I'll shine it up and give it to her and surprise her."

One meets so many interesting people in a flea market.  From vendors to customers to lookers...  All you need is to make sure you place an extra chair in your shop so folks can sit down and relax for a few minutes.  You just need to be inviting and let them know they are welcome to stay a while.  I have people who come back again and again just to sit awhile and have someone listen to them... lonely people, hurting people among them.

So today, Randy has come to surprise ME and to give ME a present!  He opens up the bag and hands me my gift.  What a delight!  It is a gorgeous vase and the hand painted roses are perfect!  It is surely from his ruby glass collection.  Yes, indeed, "I am happy to be your Valentine..." and I give him a big hug!

Perplexed, Bothered and Bewildered!

I'm not sure what's going on sometimes.  I'm not seeing everything.  I'm not hearing everything.  I looked up the word, "perplexed" and discovered this picture.  It appealed to me immediately!

Look at the frown she has...  It reminded me of something from the past:  "Turn a frown upside down."  This was the original motto of a group of parents, of which I was one... who set up an organization to help parents of children with cancer.  Back in the early 1970's, this group of parents were meeting monthly to support each other in dealing with their children's dreadful diagnosis and to help those whose children had died.  At some point these parents, with the encouragement of the physicians at the local teaching hospital who cared for these children, decided to raise funds to assist other families and to aid the continuing research to find a cure for childhood cancer.  My husband became the first president of this new group.

As the years have gone by, the small organization we parents started has become a successful foundation.  I am amazed at its growth.  It has been able to branch out in many directions.  Ideas that were just dreams for us have become realities.  The focus of the group changed a bit over the years because increasingly, children with cancer and leukemia were living much longer and many have apparently been cured.  This is great news, for in the early days, a diagnosis of childhood cancer was a death sentence.  So today, for many many families, the frown has turned upside down.

It has been a long time since I was part of this organization.  After spending many years as part of a pediatric cancer team, counselling the families of these children, playing with these children and of being present to parents during long nights as they watched their children go through the final stages of their disease, it became time to move on...  

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My goodness, it is interesting what direction this blog article took.  This is not what I intended to write about.  But guess what?  Don't you know that turning a frown upside down makes it a SMILE!     




Image: "Perplexed" by Vida Khadem, 2008