Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Broken Dishes, Peer Pressure & Christmas Cheer!


Hey, Ya'll!
Hope this post finds everyone in bloggyland enjoying
the approach of the holidays...
Ooops!
They're here!

Just In Case
In case like me, real life is pressing in on you...
{the nerve}
I thought I would trudge along with you and share some thoughts...
I have a hodge-podge of thoughts bubbling around...
I am going to attempt to arrange them in a useful manner...
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You may relate to some.
If you don't, well,
thanks for being a good sport?
DON'T Worry!
By the end, I hope to have us all
looking up, looking ahead, and enjoying today!

Recently, when helping me in the kitchen,
my honey dropped and broke my youngest's plate.
It was from a set made for a child.
He had been given this as a small child, maybe 1 1/2 yrs old.
He is almost 15 now.


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STOP!
Because I have been VERY aware he is growing up (which is a good thing),
and I have been just a tad bit moody of late,
no, mmm... emotional is a better word
{is this a 40s thing or something? I do NOT like it!:) }
I cried...Booo-hoo!
why?
That plate respresented his childhood,
the last vestiges dist-appearing!
Right before my very eyes!
STOP!
And like Lot's wife (whom I have never had ANY patience for btw),
{In case you don't remember her claim to fame, she was given an opportunity to miraculously escape from destruction, complete with visible, tangible angelic assistance,
The catch...Don't look back!
What did she do?
You guessed it!
"But Lot's wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt." Genesis 19:26.}
I find myself looking backward a lot lately.
Not healthy!
Second guessing choices.
Wondering...


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For instance...
Remember my post about Christmas Trees?
Well, this is the first year,
NO children wanted to come put on ornaments...
Yikes!
I actually saved 4 colored bells for the youngest
to place on the tree at his convenience...


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Ever so winsomely explaining how
he had never not wanted to initiate the whole process...
And it just wouldn't be the same without him putting something up
*sniff*
He very cordially and galantly accepted them.
They are laying next to his computer...
Some 4 days later!


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In the midst of it all, {and really the biggest catalyst}...
is much teen angst...


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My heart aches for the world that young people have to navigate through nowdays.
Being in that state of transition...
leaving the security of childhood behind,
going through the period of akwardness
which we can all fondly {not} remember,
is now fraught with so many more potholes and pitfalls
than we had to deal with.


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It's a lot trickier.
As a young person today, you don't just have voices asking you
what you want to be when you get older
{I NEVER could answer that},
but you have lots more voices telling you what you are,
what you can't be,
that you are a "wannabe" this or that...
trying to pigeon-hole you into a suitable category,
until you finally yield and pick one...
{how limiting...how frustrating to behold}.
Being a think-and-live-outside-the-box-girl myself,
this is probably my biggest concern...
NO PIGEON-HOLING
FOR MY KIDS, PLEASE!
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What you greatly desire,
is that the young people you hold dear,
will tune out the static from the media,
the crowds on line,
and surrounding them...
and listen to the still, small voice of the Lord...


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And
it would also be nice if they did not have that mmm...
"loverly" attitude of...
talking to the hand...
It reallllllly would!
I'm just saying, Ya'll!


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What I love about the broken plate,
{we already know what I hate about it}
is that it also reminds me of how there IS beauty
which comes from the broken pieces,
it's the only way you can make stained glass.
Think about it.
As adults, parents, aunts, uncles, grandparents, teachers, we know by now,
that some of the best stuff came from our mistakes.
Thank you, LORD! :)
Give the regrets, the broken pieces, the lost innocence to God.
Trust Him to make beauty out of it all.
It's Christmas, Ya'll!
Don't get stuck looking backwards!


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Don't cry over spilt milk {or broken plates!}.
Rejoice once again in the hope we have as we trust, as we pray, as we dance!

10 comments:

luvmy4sons said...

Amen dear sister. I hear ya. It is so easy to go there. But we must look up. Not looking behind, but looking ahead I press onward for the upward calling of God in Christ Jesus! Big hug dear sister. Do no weary in well doing for you shall reap a harvest in due season if you faint not...as far s the teens go...that is the verse I hold onto! Much love comin' at ya. Thanks for the post. It did my body good!

Cecily R said...

That whole looking backward thing is a killer, isn't it! At the same time though, I have to remind myself not to look too far ahead either, but to appreciate the here and now, especially with the kids.

Thanks Maria, for another great post!

Hey it's Amy Benson said...

I feel your pain about the plate... I would have cried too! My "baby" turned 18 recently, and I still can't believe it! Time flies. I enjoyed reading your thought provoking post. Have a great day! :)
<3, Amy in AZ

heidi @ ggip said...

Great post. It always is a lot more fun for several people to be involved with Christmas tree decorating, but seldom are many adults interested in doing this...

Sharon Brumfield said...

We will be celebrating with an 18 year old this year.
I will be doing some looking back I now. I have started already.
I just want him to enjoy time with family like in the past.
I will remember this post during this time.

She Rose Up said...

Leslie, Thanks loads! That's a good one for it! & you are right, my head knows, it's my heart though! Thanks for the love, girl, same to you!

Cecily, Yes, it is, I'v never been one for it (except I did go through this with my oldest also, in a diff fashion - {they all leave their own footprints}!) AND you know what else? I have got to thank you for what you said about looking too far forward! THAT's what's REALLY getting to me, and I didn't even realize until I read your comment! You know, like you said the WORRY (yukky word that) comes when we look too far down the road...

1 day at a time! :) 1 week, etc.
THANKS, CEC!

Hey Amy! Aww! Your baby! I'm right behind you! Thanks!

Hey, Heidi! Yes, my husband did come in just to admire and tinker around (he just wanted to make sure that there weren't going to be water works, bc my voice got warrbly!)I will be better prepared for it next year...I will make a new tradition or somehow bribe them with food (pie) after Thanksgiving dinner next year...shhhh! Don't tell anyone!


Sharon, I know what you mean...I just have to look back at the kind of person I was at that age, and my husband...and see how far God has brought us, in spite of ourselves! What He did for us, He will do for them...they will not forget the good things they have learned in our homes... It is necessary that they DESIRE independance, in order to be willing to do the hard work that comes with it. Flip side of it, is that they must become a little numb to us or they will not be able to tear themselves away...as pleasant as that sounds in theory, it would not be an attractive trait! LOL!

I like the scripture that says something like take the good and leave the bad...that is the one I need to hold onto right now!

Thanks you all! Ya'll are great!
Maria

Knit-Wit said...

Having our little tag-a-long in the house certainly helps with the "kids are growing up too fast" stage. The rest are all teens (or almost teens) and she is a cute, adorable, enjoying Christmas for the first time 3 year old.

She Rose Up said...

Yes! What a blessing! Hey, I can't resist puntastic humor! (though I should!) She really IS a little bundle of JOY! Ha!

Myra said...

I hope you have a wonderful Christmas. Thank you for your advice.... I needed it!

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What Does it Mean Anyway? "Free to Fly"...

Well, it's like this: Here are some of the Webster's Dictionary definitions of Free: a : having the legal and political rights of a citizen b : enjoying civil and political liberty c : enjoying political independence or freedom from outside domination d : enjoying personal freedom : not subject to the control or domination of another2 a : not determined by anything beyond its own nature or being : choosing or capable of choosing for itself...having a scope not restricted by qualification 7 a : not obstructed, restricted, or impeded ...Now, here are some of the Webster's Dictionary definitions of Fly:1 a : to move in or pass through the air with wings b : to move through the air or before the wind or through outer space c : to float, wave, or soar in the air ... a : to take flight ...6 : to work successfully ...Examples which apply from Websters: fly high : to be elated - fly in the face of or fly in the teeth of : to stand or act forthrightly or brazenly in defiance or contradiction of

What does this mean in my life? This means that in life we are meant to be free. While historically mankind has not always enjoyed the opportunity to fully appreciate what that means, we are so indescribably fortunate as to live in a time of the greatest spiritual, physical, financial and political freedom ever known. Freedom doesn't come cheap, nor does it come easy. But the best things in life don't come that way do they? As I write this I am struck by how this sounds like a political statement, and for me this is much more of a spiritual thing, but, same goes for that (political that is). Freedom doesn't come easy. And it's worth whatever fight you have to make to overcome in your life in order to live a life that succeeds. Now the questions is - what is success for you? What is your standard? In my mind what is needed is a definite target - because you can't hit and maintain a moving target. A stable, rock-solid, anchor with no variable, yet multi-faceted. Something pure, just and worthy. If you look at any web page of news you can see that our society is certainly lacking in this area. What a great time to live as a rebel! Nowadays to be a rebel, all you have to do is be willing to engage in the battle of life, while anchored to Christ!