Happy New Year! If you are reading this, thank you for reading. Thank you for caring about the things I care about. Thank you for the kind words and encouragement throughout the year.
Let’s make 2012 a year of growth, hope, happiness and memories of becoming the people we were created to be. Let’s encourage one another toward great work, great character and great achievements in 2012.
I look forward to seeing what the next 12 months hold for all of us!
Emily
Filed under Stuff I needed to get off my chest
A few weeks ago I attended an inter-faith Thanksgiving service where people from all over Indianapolis (of very different faiths) gathered to express gratitude together. We aren’t talking “inter-faith” as in Baptists and Methodists rubbing shoulders. We are talking about a gathering of Christians, Catholics, Muslims, Buddhists, Sikh, Jewish and Hindu people. How do people who worship so differently find a way to worship together?? I quickly found out.
The printed program contained English interpretations of the prayers and songs that were presented in other languages, so we didn’t feel completely lost during certain portions of the program. And I don’t mind telling you, there were moments when the various forms of worship pushed the envelope on my comfort zone. But in spite of the obvious differences, I was moved by the courageous effort being made in my city to create an opportunity for people of all kinds of faith to look one another in the eye, to celebrate our freedom and express gratitude. But mostly just to be civil and remember that we are all human beings who are simply trying to follow what we believe is right.
This powerful experience kept bringing one phrase to the forefront of my mind and heart – a phrase we use often around the holidays yet possibly forget to ponder fully. When the angels appeared to a group of shepherd on a hillside outside Bethlehem centuries ago, from their praise came the proclamation of “Peace on earth and goodwill toward men.” There could be no better outcome from Christ’s presence on earth! But it is going to take people of every faith and every walk of life being willing to place more emphasis on being kind than on being right.
There is freedom in knowing that our job as humans is not to be judges of one another. There is also freedom in knowing that Jesus loved people who didn’t have everything right. He had no choice. Not one of us is all right all the time. Who are we to do anything less than love people whose beliefs do not coincide with ours?
Peace doesn’t mean we don’t have strong belief systems. In fact, quite the opposite is true. Those who know Whom we serve and what we believe do not need to worry about what will happen to us if we listen to a Muslim’s earnest prayer for peace among nations, or a Buddhists’ desire for wisdom beyond his own.
I would like to think Peace on Earth is possible. It is hard to imagine that the world’s population could really rise above our differences and choose not to war over our differences. It is equally difficult to imagine that Heaven’s angels would proclaim an ideal that was not possible through the hope Christ’s presence has brought to the world.
What do you think? Is Peace on Earth possible?
Filed under Stuff I needed to get off my chest
With the coming of Thanksgiving and Christmas, I am reminded of so many individuals in my life who have lost friends, spouses and loved ones this year. Grieving while the world is celebrating can be so difficult. Being sensitive to our grieving friends and family members during the coming season is one of the best ways I know to extend Eternal Love to the people we care about. But how?
Here are a 5 essential things to keep in mind about your loved one’s grief (or your own):
1. Your loved one’s grief isn’t about you. They’ve lost someone precious and you can’t fix, control or minimize that. They miss their lost loved one badly, but it doesn’t mean your role in their life is any less valuable. Know that, and do not take their sadness as a slight against you.
2. Grief does not have a time limit. There is no magic moment when someone can be expected to “snap out” of grief – especially at the holidays. It is unrealistic to expect anyone to suddenly stop grieving at any point. There will be good days and bad days… and the bad days will keep happening for a long time. That’s okay. (Because it’s not about you, remember.)
3. Everyone grieves differently. Mourning is a process. No two people walk through loss in the same way. Comparing your loved one’s grief to anyone else’s process isn’t fair (and it won’t help).
4. Grief is healthy. The grieving process is an important way the heart reconciles itself to a profound loss. Skipping any steps in the process may have detrimental long-term effects on mental, spiritual and relationship health for years (even generations). Just because it doesn’t “feel good” doesn’t mean it isn’t a good, important process to walk.
5. The grief process reveals our healthiest (and least-healthy) relationships. Being sensitive, appropriate and unselfish during your loved one’s grief will strengthen your relationship forever. On the other hand, self-centered comments about how negatively you feel about your friend’s grief process are toxic to that person’s healing. Newsflash: If you are feeling jealous and needy because your loved one is grieving, don’t blame their grief. You may have your own issues to tackle while they are coping with their loss.
Jesus spoke specifically to the grieving in Matthew 5:4:
”God blesses those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.” – Jesus
I’ll leave you with the following quote from Margaret Brownley:
Dear Friend,
…The best thing you can do is listen to me and let me cry on your shoulder. Don’t be afraid to cry with me. Your tears will tell me how much you care. Please forgive me if I seem insensitive to your problems. I feel depleted and drained, like an empty vessel, with nothing left to give. Please let me express my feelings and talk about my memories. Feel free to share your own stories of my loved one with me. I need to hear them. Please understand why I must turn a deaf ear to criticism or tired clichés…”
Filed under Life, Relationships, Stuff I needed to get off my chest
You probably know by now that I am an extreme optimist. You have extreme athletes, extreme couponers, and me… the extreme optimist.
I’m not talking about living in denial that times are tough and that our world can be a dismal place. It’s just that I really, really believe there are treasures of all kinds available to those who are willing to look at life inside out, from a perspective of hope. How we think and what we believe about our circumstances affects everything about the way our lives play out, whether we like to admit it or not.
Years ago, saw a quote on a box of tea that I’ll never forget:
“It takes so little for bread and water to become tea and toast.”
At the time I found that quote I was feeling pretty sorry for myself. Scott and I were young, inexperienced at life and new at our jobs. We were paying our dues in so many ways. But this little idea really helped me look at our situation very differently. Instead of focusing on what we didn’t have, I began to think how we could maximize what we did have. I found that treasuring the little things led to a heart change, which invited other blessings and created a deep sense of contentment. Since that time, I have consciously tried to create proverbial ‘tea and toast’ out of life’s ‘bread and water’ experiences.
As recently as this week, I bought a gluten-free soup that really did not taste good. I was disappointed, but I hate wasting anything. At first I tried to choke it down. Then I remembered the “tea and toast” concept. So I put it on simmer and added some handfuls of carrots, chopped parsley and garlic salt and BOOM! That bland soup became a wonderful treat that I plan to make again soon!
I’d like to hear what ‘bread and water’ items in your life you have transformed (or would like to transform) into ‘tea and toast’ treasures. It’s such a perfect time of year to think about how we can all make the best of what is readily available to us!
Filed under Creativity, Life
