Life Lessons & Light

 

In 1977 I went to a singles conference. One of the motivational speakers, Lucile Johnson was an exciting, upbeat, vibrant speaker. As I read her books and listen to her tapes, they take me back to that turbulent time in my life. In her book, Sunny Side Up, she tells of an event in Robert Louis Stevenson’s book, “Records of a Family of Engineers.”

In the story a ship is caught in a raging storm. “The passengers were terrified. They went below for safety as the boat pitched and tossed. But they were convinced they would all drown. A seaman had lashed himself to the wheel to keep from being washed overboard. One desperate passenger crawled on his hands and knees to the Pilot’s Station to talk to the captain. When he finally arrived, and looked up at the seaman. The seaman seamed to smile at him. The passenger, no longer terrified, crawled back to the rest of the passengers shouting with joy. “We will not drown, we are going to be safe. The captain is smiling.”

Lucille Johnson goes on to say, “So it is with our lives. Storms have their place, but they always pass. The buffeting of storms in our lives can bring about personal integrity if we weather the storm with courage and optimism. We could not easily develop courage and integrity if there were only blue skies and sunshine in our lives. But the secret of happy living in the midst of the storm is to hold fast to our belief that the sunshine will return. That makes the dark skies bearable.”

“As we come to understand that Jesus Christ is the Light of the World, we will increase our faith in Him and become a light to others. Christ testified of His role as “the true light that lighteth every man [and woman] that cometh into the world” and asked that we “hold up His light that it may shine unto the world” (March 2014 Ensign Magazine)

I know without a doubt that faith in my Heavenly Father has helped me through the deaths of a spouse, parents, and a child. It has helped me cope with a painful lingering chronic illness. Opportunities to serve others have taught me many different talents to enrich my life and the lives of others.

Mrs. Johnson continues, “ I believe that life is a demanding school. We spend a brief time in this school. There are necessary lessons that only this earth school can teach. It is foolish to attend such a specialized university, to pay the high tuition that is required, and then skip out on the classes, burn the textbooks, or flunk the tests on purpose because we don’t like the weather.”

Spring is coming. Go celebrate!

Reminiscing

The last stitch was in.

Untidy threads were trimmed.

I sat by the fireside looking at the latest offering to the gods of quilting,

The urgency to finish sated… for the moment.

Closing my eyes momentarily in weariness, I leaned back in the overstuffed chair stretched my aching arthritic fingers and looked around my domain.

Hope sat quietly in her little chair by my side, while I told her about the quilt, strips of the golds and greens; blues and reds; the black of night; the warming sun; the memories of that golden week in West Virginia.

Evergreen branches -Green fingers reaching out to grab the unwary walker

Sycamores dropping leaves of tan and red, white strips of bark dangling, slipping silently to the ground

Bears hiding in darkened corners filling up for the long hibernation...

Raccoons racing through the golden leaves hunting, hunting….

Small red deer peering through baring branches, looking warily

Hunters hiding, sneaking, trailing…

Gold, tan, black, red; colors of the autumn life in the Shenandoah mountains

And Figaro, fat, and lazy sauntering towards the cabin porch for a nap

In the sun.

The Ugly Quilt

In the back of the room, in a dusty corner sat the box, forlorn and nearly full.

This was the ugly quilt block box. When a guild member made a test block or two and didn’t like the results she could donate it to the box. I’ve seen some strange blocks in that box; satins mixed with burlap, sequins and sparkly flecks, ribbons and lace. What were they thinking? The pretty ones had seams coming loose. Stretched triangles, and odd sizes also helped a block make it into the box. One poor thing was made of left over pajamas. One child that year must have had flying pigs while her brother the blue and orange plaid. But the red satin tricot?; My oh my, mama!

I often pawed my way through the box looking for adventure.

I enjoy quilting, but I’ve never gotten good enough to win a prize at the quilt show, well maybe an honorable mention for effort. The year I finally got a second place ribbon was because I told them I was blind. My brain only registers the view of one eye at a time, flipping back and forth without any consideration of what I was trying to look at. You can imagine what my seams looked like!

I decided to try an experiment.. I would blindly make a quilt. I piled thirty-two blocks on my cutting table according to size but not looking at color or pattern. I began sewing strips, willy-nilly not caring about color or pattern, just size. When my strips were done, I combined them wherever they would fit.

I grabbed a length of cotton from the third drawer down in the blond dresser. These were the one-yard pieces. This was for the borders—hummm gold and black mini checks, she must be blind I heard a voice whisper.

I have to stop playing blind now to quilt my quilt. I had an older friend years ago that was blind and still quilted but did it by hand. Her work was beautiful. She could feel the seams with her fingers to follow with her stitches. Using my sewing machine I would have to let it just do the work as I closed one eye and pulled the fabric through. The binding will be dark, black or blue, maybe brown to calm down my crazy pattern.

Now I just need a happy child, ones who loves color, and crazy ladies to tuck my quilt around. For after all—

Love is blind.

army of cranes

 

One

Two three,

One two three

Cranes

On the march

Off

They go

Through the snow

Out

 By the trees.

Cackling

In high pitch

Gaggling too

I live in the

Woods

Kind of zoo

One

Two three

One two three

Cranes are in flight

Finding

A roost for a

Cold

Winter night

What A Day!

Ahh February,

A favorite and strange little month

I remember when I was growing up It would snow in the mornings and be warm and sunny in the afternoons. Blue sunny skies and sweater weather abounded.

It was a paradigm     of contradictions

What is your favorite day in February? Valentines day? Groundhog day? Washington or Lincolns birthday? Did you know that someone has collected a day to celebrate for every day of the year?

Some I thought worth mentioning for February are:

3. Laugh and grow rich day

7 Wave All you Fingers at Your Neighbor Day

7 Send a Card to a Friend Day

15 National Gum Drop Day

16 Do a Grouch a Favor Day

17 Random Acts of Kindness Day

26 National Pistachio Day - it's a nutty day!

26 Tell a Fairy Tale Day

February is also the month the seed catalogs come out making you anxious to get out in the snow and garden.

In the bible we read,

“What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? …

As we come to understand that Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd, our desire increases to follow His example and serve those in need. Jesus said: “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. … And I lay down my life for the sheep” John (10:14,15) Because of Christ’s Atonement, none of us will ever be so lost that we cannot find our way home (see Luke 15)).

President Thomas H Monson said, “Ours is the responsibility to care for the flock. … May we each step up to serve.” 

February’s special days give us a chance to think about people in our lives and give them a friendly cheer

Hurry! Hurry!

I always liked February.

Fury little creatures

Poking out of the ground

Looking for sun;

The quiet stillness in the air;

The sun shining

In spite of the cold;

Plants buried in the snow

All straining,

Waiting,

Anticipating

Spring

cake

 

Cake

Clouds.

Grey,

Loaded with rain,

Filled the sky

That January day.

A drop

Escaped,

Fell to earth

Into a mother’s heart.

God smiled.

A daughter born

Loved forever.

Who needs cake?

SETTING GOALS

In his first Presidency Message for January 2014, ENSIGN Magazine, “The Best Time To Plant a Tree,” President Dieter f. Uchtdorf writes,

“In ancient Rome, Janus was the god of beginnings. He was often depicted with two faces—one looking back on the past, the other looking forward to the future. Some languages name the month of January after him because the beginning of the year was a time for reflection as well as planning.

Thousands of years later, many cultures throughout the world carry on a tradition of making resolutions for the New Year. Of course, making resolutions is easy—keeping them is a different thing altogether.

One man who had made a long list of New Year’s resolutions felt pretty good about his progress. He thought to himself, “So far, I’ve stuck to my diet, I haven’t lost my temper, I’ve kept to my budget, and I haven’t once complained about the neighbor’s dog. But today is January 2 and the alarm just went off and it’s time I got out of bed. It’s going to take a miracle to keep my streak going.”

In January 2013 I decided to celebrate 13 by doing 13 things in 13 areas. As I looked back at my list I didn’t do too badly. Packing and unpacking 13 boxes and cleaning out 13 drawers or closets was easy since we moved from Virginia to New Mexico. Moving slowed my ability to make 13 quilts and I only finished six and three halves. I am well on my way to making 13 new friends.

But one area sadly I did not even come close to accomplishing.- doing 13 acts of service. Surely this would have been the most important of my resolutions to fulfill.

So I guess my resolution for 2014 is to continue.

President Uchtdorf went on to say,

 “There is something incredibly hopeful about a fresh start. I suppose at one time or another we have all wanted to start again with a clean slate….

One thing we need to remember when it comes to setting goals is this: We almost certainly will fail—at least in the short term. But rather than be discouraged, we can be empowered because this understanding removes the pressure of being perfect right now. It acknowledges from the beginning that at one time or another, we may fall short. Knowing this up front takes away much of the surprise and discouragement of failure.

When we approach our goals this way, failure doesn’t have to limit us. Remember, even if we fail to reach our ultimate, desired destination right away, we will have made progress along the road that will lead to it.

And that matters—it means a lot.

Even though we might fall short of our finish line, just continuing the journey will make us greater than we were before.

Become Your Best Self—Starting Now

President Uchtdorf teaches that “personal goals can bring out the best in us.” Consider setting some goals in two or three areas of your life, such as physical health, spiritual health, and friendships, for example. What successes would you like to have in these areas this year? As you prayerfully think of some goals, make sure they are attainable but will require you to grow. In your journal, describe your goals in detail so that you will be able to see your progress when a year passes.”

Have a great 2014