For Today

remember that in the midst of all your pain and heartache, you are surrounded by beauty, the wonder of Creation, art, music, culture, the sounds of laughter and love, of whispered hopes and celebration, of new life and transformation, of reconciliation and forgiveness. - Exerpt from "The Shack" by William P. Young

Today I was on Facebook when I happened upon a quiz that wanted you to put down 5 things you wanted to see gone forever. I wrote mine down but what caught my eye was 5 things I liked. I didn't even have to think about it. I typed them all in and sent it to my page. Then I went back to my homepage and started to catch up on what other people were writing for the day. This piece from a good friend seemed to jump at me. Why? Well my 5 things were 'knowing God; my family; my friends; country living and little children'. Don't you think they are covered in this excerpt? I was so excited. I have this book and I enjoyed it but now I believe I will re-read it. There is so much truth in these few lines but we don't think of it. We certainly don't live it. How many of us live in surroundings that we take for granted? I love this place where my daughter lives. A lake in front of her home and one behind. Flocks and flocks of geese visiting, children playing in the pool across the street. Trees and flowers, the beautiful sky above, wonderful rich green grass under our feet. It's all beautiful. Live in the city? Surrounded by buildings? Then look at them. At the architecture, the windows. Even these homes here, I can picture the owners; when they were being built, looking at every space with excitement as they spoke of what was going where. To us it may be just a house but to them it was their dream. I wrote on one of my profiles that I have a passion for all God put here for us. And since I do, I can see beauty in everything. I am so thankful I don't live in a blackened clouded world. I have a friend and former classmate on FB; Bob Grodin. He loves critters. Talks about them a lot. He sees the beauty in their lives and tells the rest of us about it. It's wonderful. Thanks, Bobby, for sharing. I know we have rough times, tough times, sometimes bad times but let's not overshadow all the good and the beauty with it. That was a lesson I had to learn because I've had a lot of rough, tough and mostly bad times. But I always say, I would rather have them than someone else who may not be able to handle it.
The last thing I want to say before I end is this: My children, sisters, my nieces and my nephews are more important to me than anyone. I have had the privilege of watching them grow and laugh and enjoy life. I am so proud of all of them and I love them more than they will ever know. They are life to me.
If you get a chance to read the book "The Shack", do so. It's certainly different but what you can learn from it is priceless!!