Category: Gratitude

Take Heart!

Yet another time God places exactly what I need right in my path. So beautiful!

While the entire country has been quieted and people all over are staying healthy at home, it seems like my professional and personal life has ramped up to be busier than ever before. There aren’t enough hours in my days lately. I am beyond grateful for this, but often it makes this little blog of mine have to take a back seat.

As so often happens, when I am looking for the words I want to say, God places them right in front of me in the most beautiful ways. This morning, it’s a song. Please consider this my love note to you today and always. AND if you need to send a love note to someone, by all means share this.

God Bless you!

Love, Bobbe

 

 

From the Angels:

The angels know that you’re busy, with many Earthly demands on your time. They want to help you with your responsibilities through the process of balance. Whenever our schedules become disproportionate, our energy drops. Lowered energy creates the illusion that there isn’t enough time in the day, so a vicious cycle of time limitation ensues.

Your angels ask you to add regular doses of meditation, exercise, and play to your days. They know that balancing your life between, work, play, spirituality, exercise, and relationships helps you to grow and feel joy. If you feel overwhelmed by your responsibilities, don’t hesitate to ask God and your angels to lift your burden.

The angels guide you to immerse yourself in beautiful music. Music lifts your spirit above earthbound concerns and elevates your thoughts to Divine Love.

You have angels with you who want to help you through the healing properties of music. They ask you to add more music into your life. They guide you to play soft background music while you dress, work, and play. They also ask you to whistles and sing more often.

You may have your very own musical gifts. Have you felt guided lately to comprise a song, participate in a musical play, join a singing groups or band, or play an instrument? These inner nudges may be coming from your angels, who can see your God-given gifts. They know that your musical talents will help others. So, they ask you to be an Earth angel by expressing your gifts of song and melody.

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Spending time alone in nature is important for you. Even five minutes in a garden is healing for you right now.

Interact with nature more often, every day if possible. Your angels and the nature angels are helping you discover and give your gifts to the world. Help them to help you by spending more time in nature.

You are extra sensitive to energies and emotions right now. Honor yourself and your feelings.

Sensitivity is a beautiful and powerful gift, and there’s no such things as being “too sensitive”. Your sensitivity helps you know the truth about situations and people, and it’s important for you to trust and follow these hunches, intuitions, and impressions. Spend some time alone in nature to further develop your sensitivity. Avoid harsh situations and chemicals. Ask heaven for help in choosing life-affirming foods, beverages, companions and activities. Know that its safe for you to feel deep emotions, as they’re a part of your sensitivity. Visualize yourself sealed in beautiful bluish-white light. This light dissolves lower energies, transmuting them into love.

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Today’s Prayer:

Oh my Jesus,

It is true that in this world we DO have trouble and lots of it. It’s very easy to see only the darkness. It is very easy to fall into despair. We are separated from one another; isolated from our friends and loved ones; worried about staying well; afraid for those who aren’t. I could continue but you know exactly what’s in my heart.

Today I want to ask you to keep reminding us that you HAVE overcome the world and this pandemic will be healed by your capable hands.

The other night I laid my head upon your knee and as you stroked my forehead you told me that “all will be as it should” and I believe.

Lord Jesus, help us all to be your instruments. Though it may seem as though our hands are tied, may we be reminded that it’s an illusion. There are always things to be done in order to show our love for one another.

Thank you for protecting our loved ones and for your unending presence in our lives.

We love you and we pray in your name.

Amen

 

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 
 
For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 
 
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
 
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
 

This Too Shall Pass. Tomorrow’s a Brighter Day.

It is said and it is true that it’s the little things in life that carry us through. God doesn’t always speak from the mountain top…

If you have been following along with these blogs lately, you may already realize that when you keep yourself open to signs, symbols and messages from above, they appear in sometimes vast numbers.

Having felt like crap for a couple of days and knowing that I needed to lean into my faith more than usual, Palm Sunday night I was up off and on silently singing the “Our Father” (It’s my go-to thing to do when my brain will not turn off.) In between my pitch perfect renditions (ha ha), I was talking to Jesus; telling Him my troubles, asking His help, and also thanking him for my Blessings. I told Him that I knew tomorrow would be a brighter day and I promised to continue to try to do my little bit of good wherever possible.

The next morning I got in the car and headed off to work. One of the cool parts of my church job is that I get to be the first (and sometimes only) person to receive special donations sent in for special reasons. Monday the first envelope I opened was from someone I hadn’t heard of before. Inside was a sizable check with a hand-written note attached. “Please make sure this is used to help someone in need at this time.” Of course I cried. What a beautiful thing to do. The second envelope I opened was yet another designated donation. This one had instructions that it is to go to help pay for the meals my husband and I are creating for people who are isolated at home. More happy tears.

To be honest when I finished opening the daily mail, I was so giddy with joy I felt like dancing. The spirit of love and charity is alive and very well in the world right at this moment and thank you, Jesus, I get to experience it first hand nearly every day.

That afternoon I got in the car and when I flipped on the radio, the song that was playing was saying these exact words, “It’s gonna be a brighter day.” I couldn’t tell you the artist, the station, or the tune, but I heard those words and my heart smiled. Indeed.

I had been dreading having to stop at the store, but I forced myself to do it anyway. The was no line and very few people. As I pushed my cart along the isle, a house flag stopped me in my tracks. “Enjoy the little things”, it said, and beneath the words were beautiful, happy flowers in vases. I grabbed it and threw it in my cart. I don’t own a flag pole. This is going on my front door.

Enjoy

Later on the way home I passed a sign out in front of a closed restaurant. It said, “This too Shall Pass.” I know the owner put this up because of the pandemic, but I also know God intended me to see it when I did. I don’t have a lot of memories of my Mom teaching me profound things in life but this phrase is one she did teach me early on and it’s one I have used as a mantra forever.

It is true that “This too shall pass”. While we are waiting, let us all be open to the serendipitous signs that are out there serving as tiny cheers from beyond. We will get through this. We are not alone.

 

From The Angels:

You are going through a time of rapid spiritual growth. Enjoy the process!

During this time, you might feel a mixture of many feelings: confusion, excitement, fear, and wonder. You love your renewed connection with the Divine, and you wish you could read, study, learn, or meditate on a full time basis. Simultaneously, though, you may worry about the implications that your spiritual studies will have on the rest of your life. What impact will your new spiritual pursuits have on your job, marriage, or friendships? These worries create a fear that may erode the enjoyment your spiritual studies bring you.

Surrender these fears to God, dearest one! Trust hat you are supported, loved, and guided each moment. Don’t worry about how your future will blend with your spiritual growth! Trust that the same Power that brought you to your spiritual spiritual path will also take care of everything else for you. After all, this Power supports all of the planets in the sky. It will surely support you perfectly, too.

You are in communication with your angels, and the messages that you are receiving are very real indeed. Trust them.

This message is validation from your angels that you really are hearing them. You have been receiving repetitive messages through your feelings, dreams, visions, inner voice, or knowingness. Are you listening and trusting these messages? Are you following them?

If you get an. Inclination to call someone, o somewhere, or read something,, it’s important to follow this guidance. Your angels ask you to give all your Danube’s or worries. About Divine. Guidance to them. Know that you truly are communication with heaven, and enjoy the conversations!

You have all of the Power of your Creator within you! All the power of Divine love, wisdom, and intelligence is available to you. You have the spiritual power to see angels and the future. You have intellectual power to tap in to the universal wisdom of the One Mind. You have emotional power to empathize with others, and physical power that is truly unlimited.

The angels ask you to give them any fears you may have connected with being a powerful person. Your angels see a quiet and beautiful aspect of your true power, stemming from the only power in the universe: Divine Love. Allow yourself to shine with this radiant love so that your true power can radiate out into the world in miraculous ways.

Today’s Prayer:

Dearest Lord,

Thank you that in the midst of all of this fear and uncertainty, the signs of your love still shine through. Although it’s easy to turn a blind eye and to dwell in feelings of boredom and fear, you help us to look up and to recognize love can and still does shine bright in the world.

Help us all to shine where we are planted -to do our little bits of good wherever we can. Help us to take care of one another, which is what you have always taught us.

Thank you for your love,

Amen.

Lyrics to “A Brighter Day” by Kirk Franklin

When I close my eyes and think of you
And reminisce on all the things you do
I can't imagine my life without you
It's like paradise now I know that it's real (um)
It's a mystery for someone 
to give their life just for me
What you did on calvary
Makes me wanna love you more

[Chorus]
I never knew I could be so happy
And I never knew I'd be so secure because of your love
Life has brand new meaning
It's gonna be a brighter day, brighter day

Never thought that I would smile again
I never thought the dark clouds would end
Never thought the dark clouds would end
Never thought that I could have a friend
That would keep me never leave me alone (um)
Jesus you're my everything
The only one that makes my heart sing (heart sing)
Now I know what real love means
It's everlasting, lasting.

[Chorus]

Nothing can compare to the joy ya bring an ever lasting love affair
Jesus my life will never will be same I found someone who truly cares

Click here to be taken to yesterday's message

Counting Your Blessings. Day Three.

Remembering that each day has its own Blessings attached.

Praise the Lord, who carries our burdens day after day; he is the God who saves us. Psalms 68:19 GNB

In the late nineties I used to host a very large weekly group chat that developed as a result of my then website, Trinity Angels. The site was all about -you guessed it- angels, and I posted something there just about every day. One evening during the group chat while discussing God’s Blessings, I got the idea of creating a “Blessing Box”.

Our Blessings Box was an actual box that I filled with a few meaningful (to me) items. The idea was that all of these items, including the box, were filled with my energy, love and prayers and when sent out, each recipient could add his/her energy, love and prayers to it too. While the box was in a person’s home, they were to pray for the special intentions of the people on the list. It would stay in place for one week and then would the be sent to another person on the list.

I invited people to sign up to be on the shipping list for the box; then I placed the list inside along with a diary and a pretty pen. Before mailing it out to the first person, I wrote my prayer for the people who would receive it next and included the simple instructions: 

  1. Keep the box in a prominent place in your home for one week and when you pass it, pray for the people who may receive it next.
  2. Take one item from the box to keep and replace it with something of your choosing.
  3. Write your prayers and reflections in the diary.
  4. Mail it off to another person (of your choosing) on the list.
  5. The last person who receives the box, mails it back to me.

Thirty years later I can still feel the joy that little project brought to all of us. It took half a year to make its way back to me, but when it did, the diary was full of the most loving sentiments, prayers and experience stories! Every single person had something profoundly beautiful happen as a result of the box. And they had added the most beautiful things too: dried petals from a Wedding bouquet, holy cards, old photos, feathers, crystals, Rosaries, even a gold angel pendant. The list is vast. New names had been added to the list as well, so after I included a new diary and some other items, I sent it on its way again. After some time, we lost track of it and it never returned, but to me, the project was a complete success. Thirty years later I still get weepy remembering that project.

Why did it work? First, because when I received the idea in my heart, I acted on it. Second and more importantly: because we infused that box with love and love, my friends, creates miraculous things.

We’re all in this pandemic together and it’s hard, but every day still comes with it’s Blessings. God is still speaking into our hearts. Making a Blessings box might not be the greatest thing to do at the present time, but I am willing to bet we can find other ways to share our love and Blessings with one another.

Go on. Give it a go. What ideas and inspiration are making themselves known to you?

From the Angels:

*Keep in mind that if this angel message speaks to you, it is absolutely meant for you today.

Pay attention to new thoughts and ideas that come to you. They are seeds of magnificent co-creations with God.

God speaks to you through your thoughts, and the angels want you to notice and follow the ideas you have recently received. These are answers to prayers for guidance, so please don’t count them as mere imagination.

The angels seek to give you confidence that you are just as capable as any other child of God. That is because all wonderful ideas originate from the one Divine mind of God. Since God is omnipresent, meaning everywhere, God is within you. So, God’s mind continuously expresses new thoughts and ideas right inside your mind.

The angels want you to know you have extra blessings around you right now. Perhaps you have recently experienced some challenges, or maybe you are currently seeking some extra help. Either way, the angels surround you now with more Divine love than ever. Additional angels are with you, giving you an added cushion of light and love.

Sometimes you may feel as if God and the angels have abandoned you. They are not gone and they cannot leave you ever. It is only your fear that makes us blind and mute to the presence of our angels. Yet your angels can lift away your fears if you will ask and then let them. You are truly blessed and very, very loved by God and the angels.

Today’s prayer:

Dearest Lord,

We know You are continually speaking into our hearts. Sometimes, especially right now during this frightening time in the world, we have trouble tuning in and hearing. Please help us to recognize your voice and when You offer us an idea, help us to act on it. Perhaps in addition to our prayers, you want us to write letters or make phone calls or even go out on the street to wave at strangers to make them smile. Whatever it is, please help us to discern that when it’s a loving thought, it’s definitely You and it’s definitely within our power to act on it.

Please dear Jesus be with those who are lonely, frightened, confused, financially burdened, isolated and/or sick. Heal them all and help those of us who are able bodied and well to have follow through on checking on those who may have special needs. Help us remember and honor that now is not the time to be embarrassed of our emotions or intentions. Instead, we know it’s time to rise up and be your instruments in whatever capacity we can.

Lord also be with those and give extra strength to those who are working tirelessly throughout this pandemic whose professions are too numerous to name.

Thank you, Dear Lord, for the Blessings of each day. One of the many Blessings of mine today is that the sun in shining. Stores may not have exactly what we need, but they have plenty to meet our needs and for this Blessing, I am grateful. Thank you too, that because of technology, most of us are able to feel a little closer to one another.

In your Son Jesus name I pray.

Amen.

Click here to be taken to yesterday’s messages and prayers.

 

 

Blue Swallowtail Blessings

I can’t make this stuff up!

Usually while I’m having my cup of morning coffee, I am thinking about what I’d like to write about for the day. Because I’ve been contemplating starting this blog up again for a very long time, I have a lot of draft versions of blogs I’ve begun but not finished. So this morning without really thinking a great deal, I remembered a piece I wrote long ago entitled, “Metamorphosis”. I thought briefly about reprinting it, because this is how I”m currently feeling, but as soon as the thought entered my mind I decided not to. I’m trying not to go back in time to reprint blogs of days gone by. Besides this, I think of that blog as something to be posted during the Spring, because that’s when nature is re-birthing itself.

I finished my coffee, then pulled out my prayer journal. I sat for a moment, then wrote a few thoughts and ended with a five item gratitude list. One of the items I listed was this blog and how I am really enjoying writing on a regular basis. I’m thankful to God that I am able to express myself in this way and even happier when my words touch another person’s heart. Then I decided today would be the day I post my gratitude and invite others to do the same.

As usual, the drive to work brought more contemplation and my regular internal dialogue with heaven. I was expressing my gratitude for Charlie’s mother, for my mother, for my relationship with Mary, the Blessed Mother of Jesus, who is Mother to us all. I didn’t really verbalize it but that “Metamorphosis” blog was still in the back of my heart. Again, I think this is what I am feeling lately, so it makes sense for it to be there in my heart.

I pulled into the parking lot at work where I saw two of my favorite people, so I hopped out and chatted a bit. Afterward I walked around the corner towards the door. From out of nowhere appeared a beautiful little Blue Swallowtail butterfly! She did circles around and around me and I squealed like a child with sheer joy! First of all, butterflies have always been special to me, but blues ones? They are my sign from the Blessed Mother! Hoping to get a photo, I dropped my bags just as she was flying off. I called to her (What? Did you expect me NOT to tell her to wait?) She actually landed and let me take this video! Look how CLOSE she let me get!

Then she posed for this photo! She wants you all to know how much you are loved, even when you aren’t feeling like it.

I walked through the door to my office knowing my first instinct was right. Someone out there needs to read about the journey to the cocoon. I could hardly wait to get home to deliver it!

Metamorphosis

I am no fan of the caterpillar.

Funny, as children we joyfully grab them from the pavement, talk to them, pet them, let them crawl on us and even try to keep them in jars. Forty years later the mere site of one gives me the heebie jeebies. Gross!

Last week after watching hundreds of these slinky silken beings travel across my deck and front porch-each of them in search of a safe haven in which to transform- I had an epiphany.

Maybe as children we intrinsically recognize the caterpillar as part of our own selves. I can remember feeling a certain empathy for these creatures, which is probably why I used to pick them up and carry them across the parking lot, assuring them a safe journey to the woods. I didn’t want to see a single one meet an untimely and squishy death.

Today I ponder the fact that we are all a part of the caterpillar and vice versa. In a sense we are all trying to make our way across the asphalt jungle of life, trying to get to a place where we can finally feel free enough to release our inner beauty. I look back on my own life and recognize there have been a lot of little kid hands lifting me up and carrying me when I didn’t feel I could make it across the lot on my own.

Over the weekend I saw a caterpillar making his way up my front door. I didn’t stop long enough to see where he was trying to go, nor did I really care. I was busy with my list of tasks for the day. A little later on, after I’d been in and out a few more times, I noticed something interesting. He’d spun his cocoon and gone into his chrysalis right on my doorbell button! What a fitting symbol for me at this time in my life.

The butterfly has been a personal sign of mine for many years (I’m sure I am not alone in this). Throughout my life I’ve had many experiences of cocooning, hiding myself away from the rest of the world, spun into my own little nest, trying to transform and emerge anew. Maybe this is why I recoil when I see a caterpillar. Eek, bluck, and gross. Sometimes it’s not easy remembering the journey to the cocoon, even when we have already transformed into butterflies.

That caterpillar deliberately placed himself on my doorbell so I would see him every day and be reminded that I am Blessed beyond comprehension. In just a short while, he will emerge a transformed being to fly off and begin anew. In much the same manner, I will be opening the door to a new and wonderful life as well.

The doorbell? Well of course you do know that “every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings”? (Couldn’t resist that one, sorry. Cough.)

The butterfly is a universal symbol for the transformation of life. It is a symbol of great joy and great change. But most importantly, butterflies remind us that the power of metamorphosis is always within our reach.

May you find a caterpillar at your front door very soon!

My Dearest Lord:

What an incredible day this has been! From the depths of who I am, I thank you. I am still in total awe about the very unexpected beautiful butterfly who absolutely made my entire day!

Today I lift my prayers to you for anyone out there who needs to feel Your presence and love. I know there are those who are still tightly wrapped within their cocoons, perhaps feeling lost, hurt, afraid or lonely. Let them know that they are in my heart and that I wish to share my faith and love with them.  You are the great Universal healer. Please grant them courage to break free and emerge anew. 

Thank you for enabling me to see the beauty in this life and for allowing me the grace to finally accept the things I cannot change and to blossom where I can…and to remember… I always can.

I love you.

“For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20

Bittersweet Blessings.

I count myself as pretty Blessed among my friends and family because although my parents are in their upper 80’s, they are both still here and both in reasonably good health. There are times when they might need assistance doing certain things and when the occasion arises, I like to try to help. Having had a rocky relationship with them “back in the day” and even sometimes in the present; I still want to do what I can for them while they are here.

Sometimes I am asked why I do it and my response is simple, “They aren’t going to be here much longer. I want to know I did my best to love them well while they are here.”

Yesterday my Dad needed some help getting to the new location of the Driver’s License Bureau. It happens to be in my neighborhood, so I offered to drive him. Then we received word that one of my parent’s old dear friends had passed and that the celebration of his life would be held yesterday at the country club where our family practically lived my entire life. I knew Dad wouldn’t feel comfortable going by himself, so I offered to drop by and take him to both places.

Bear in mind I really am a creature of habit and practically a social recluse. Charlie and I have carved out a peaceful routine that works for us. We laugh at ourselves frequently for excitedly making plans to go somewhere new or to some social event and then at the very last second we look at each other, shrug our shoulders and say, “Naaaaaaah. I don’t reaaaaaaally wanna go, do you?” Nope. And then we stay home. (99.5% of the time, this is the exact scenario.)

The prospect of having to make small talk makes me recoil with intimidation, so I was sort of dreading going to the Country Club. Add to this the fact that I knew I would be seeing people who hadn’t seen me in almost forty years. I have been over weight off and on for a lot of years and whenever I think about seeing people from my past I become very insecure. (Translation: I used to have a very high level of confidence regarding my appearance! In fact, one might argue correctly that long ago my entire sense of self was wrapped up in the package of my outward appearance.)

All morning long I wrestled with the same feelings of dread that a person goes through when he/she is about to take and important test. Then I arrived to pick up my Dad at 3:00 PM.

This is a memory I won’t forget. After I had been there for a few minutes talking with my Mom, my Dad appeared all dressed to go. The man is 87 years old, yet when he stepped into the room, he was styled from head to toe looking as modern as any other person on the planet right down to his socks! He and my Mom giggled telling me that she had recently bought the pants he was wearing and hadn’t realized she was picking up, “the skinny leg” variety. It looked so good on Dad it made my heart smile. (My Dad has fought getting old his entire life. At almost 88 next month, it persists.) I was struck by how adorable he looked. It made me feel so good. He was dressed up to go out with ME, regardless of the occasion. (Sniffle. So sweet. I wish I had taken a photo, but that memory will stay with me forever more.)

Our trip to the License Bureau went off without a hitch and soon enough we were walking across the parking lot of the country club. This was a walk both of us had taken separately and collectively hundreds of thousands of times. This time, however, my Dad reached for my hand and we walked up the stairs together to pay respects to a dear friend and his family. It was a bittersweet feeling. This was a place that was a second home to us from birth until my early thirties. My Dad spent nearly every day there playing golf. (He reminded me on the trip over there that he and his buddies used to play on New Year”s Eve no matter what the weather.) I spent my youth in the pool and at the snack bar and then when my daughter was born, we were there together daily during the summers. This is the place we celebrated every special occasion; birthdays, weddings, Anniversary’s, Funerals, out of town guests, and of course, the Kentucky Derby and Breeders Cup!

We were both unprepared for the wash of feelings that hit us at the door. The first thing I noticed was a giant portrait of my Dad’s old good friend, Pee Wee Reese. Dad and I walked over to it and then noticed they had created an entire area dedicated to him. It was fun looking at the art and then peering out the window to see the pool area that had meant so much to me. Then we walked through the archway into the bar to pay our respects the family. The son of my Dad’s friend is a person I ran in the same circles with in high school and his wife graduated with me. It was so good to see them both and to hug them and just spend a few moments together. Looking around, it didn’t take long for Dad and I to come to the unspoken realization that he wouldn’t be seeing many of his old friends. They have all passed on or are in too ill health to socialize.

Trying to take the focus off of that fact, I took his hand and suggested we sneak around the club to see what it was like now. And so we did. What we found were a few changes named for other passed on men who were his best golfing buddies. We stopped in the bar and searched the wall for the plaque with his name on it for when he was the 1980 Club Champion. When I found it, I couldn’t help but reflect that in 1980 I was a Sophomore; probably the same year I started actively socializing in high school.

How did we get here, so far along in life? Gosh, it’s gone by so fast.

We took a few more steps out to the veranda to watch the golfers coming in. I knew Dad was probably remembering all of the times he’d played that course. The screaming elephant in both of our hearts was knowing he would not be playing that course again and that this is a place now predicated by the words, “used to”. I don’t have adequate words to paint what was in our hearts at that moment. I just have gratitude that we experienced it together.

On the way out we ran into two more of my high school friends and I got to hug their necks and say hello. Then I hugged my friend, who’d just lost his father and I told him from my heart, that I love him and although the occasion absolutely sucked, I was so happy to see he and his wife. I meant that. His Dad was important to me and by proxy, that made me always think of him as “brother”. I told him that too. It came out easily.

The drive home was filled with small talk and memories of days gone by. As he was getting out of the car, my Dad took my hand, and with tears in his eyes and told me how much it meant to him that I had suggested we go and that I took the time to come pick him up and Chauffeur him to and from. He said he was glad we were present there, “together”. I was too.

Having worked together for over thirty years, my Dad and I haven’t always seen eye to eye. There was even a time when we didn’t speak to or see one another for three years. Though it was emotionally hard, I count this day as a Supreme Blessing. I cried all the way home thanking God that love honestly does transcend all.

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PS- That photo up there was taken when I was just twenty years old. Dad and I were in San Diego attending a business meeting.

My Dear Lord,

Things pass so quickly here on this earth. While we are busy going about the tasks of our daily lives, please help us to remember to look up and to savor where we are in life. Far too often things happen in a flash and then we are left looking back lamenting and wishing we’d stopped before it was too late. Help us to cultivate the relationships we may be taking for granted and to communicate our feelings to those who may not realize how important they are to us. 

Thank you for allowing me precious time with my parents. Help us all to make the time to go the extra mile for our precious loved ones, even when to do so, requires supreme effort and extra energy. The are always unexpected Blessings there.

Thank you for the life you have given me. Thank you for the dear friends I’ve made along the way. Thank you for helping me speak the words that have long been hidden in my heart.

May we all be better vessels of your love and light today and always.

Amen

“Let all that you do be done in love.”  1 Corinthians 16:14

Journey to the Cocoon

Today I ponder the fact that we are all a part of the caterpillar and vice versa. In a sense we are all trying to make our way across the asphalt jungle of life, trying to get to a place where we can finally feel free enough to release our inner beauty.

writer

What seems like a hundred years ago I used to be one of the top bloggers at MySpace (back when MySpace) was popular. (Stop laughing.) Like clockwork, I began every morning at the computer taking dictation from my heart. I wrote from my soul, with passion, about anything and everything. Nothing was off-limits. It came to me very easily.

Lately I’ve been traveling around other people’s blogs and have found a few that really speak to me on a heart level. Most of them are written about real-life struggles with depression, addiction, family issues and the like. Most of them are about sweet people trying to fight their way back (or towards) a healthier way of life. I can relate on so many levels. This is a worthy fight that I feel continually part of.

I admire the people who are able to write from the place of brutal honesty. It seems like I have been spinning my wheels trying to get back to that place for a long time. Somewhere along the line I’ve become guarded with my expression of what’s inside me. I really want that to end. I want to be able to write like I used to write. I want to rid myself of anything that is currently in my way.

Okay a little side note here: The moment I typed that last sentence, “I want to rid myself of anything that is currently in my way.”, a box popped up on my screen that actually said, “Bill W. is in need of catering this weekend.” Don’t A.A. people say something like, “Are you friends with Bill W?” Ha Ha. (So funny how the Universe works. Looks like I’ll be ridding myself of my evening cocktail come Monday.)

This morning for no apparent reason I decided to go visit an old blog of mine and this is what popped up. I think the Universe wants me to post it for my new blogger friends who are working on themselves. It’s for me too, because I seem to be a constant work in progress!

Metamorphosis

I am no fan of the caterpillar.

Funny, as children we joyfully grab them from the pavement, talk to them, pet them, let them crawl on us and even try to keep them in jars.  Thirty years later the mere site of one gives me the heebie jeebies.  Gross!

Last week after watching hundreds of these slinky silken beings travel across my deck and front porch-each of them in search of a safe haven in which to transform- I had an epiphany.

Maybe as children we intrinsically recognize the caterpillar as part of our own selves.  I can remember feeling a certain empathy for these creatures, which is probably why I used to pick them up and carry them across the parking lot, assuring them a safe journey to the woods.  I didn’t want to see a single one meet an untimely and squishy death.

Today I ponder the fact that we are all a part of the caterpillar and vice versa.  In a sense we are all trying to make our way across the asphalt jungle of life, trying to get to a place where we can finally feel free enough to release our inner beauty.  I look back on my own life and recognize there have been a lot of little kid hands lifting me up and carrying me when I didn’t feel I could make it across the lot on my own.

Over the weekend I saw a caterpillar making his way up my front door.  I didn’t stop long enough to see where he was trying to go, nor did I really care.  I was busy with my list of tasks for the day.  A little later on, after I’d been in and out a few more times, I noticed something interesting.  He’d spun his cocoon and gone into his chrysalis right on my doorbell button!  What a fitting symbol for me at this time in my life.

The butterfly has been a personal sign of mine for many years (I’m sure I am not alone in this).  Throughout my life I’ve had many experiences of cocooning, hiding myself away from the rest of the world, spun into my own little nest, trying to transform and emerge anew.  Maybe this is why I recoil when I see a caterpillar. Eek, bluck, and gross. Sometimes it’s not easy remembering the journey to the cocoon, even when we have all ready transformed into butterflies.

That caterpillar deliberately placed himself on my doorbell so I would see him every day and be reminded that I am Blessed beyond comprehension.  In just a short while, he will emerge a transformed being to fly off and begin anew.  In much the same manner, I will be opening the door to a new and wonderful life as well.

The door bell?  Well of course you do know that “every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings”?  (Couldn’t resist that one, sorry)

The butterfly is a universal symbol for the transformation of life.   It is a symbol of great joy and great change.

butterfly on flowers

But most importantly, butterflies remind us that the power of metamorphosis is always within our reach.

May you find a caterpillar at your front door very soon!
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