Totally Unaware . . .

Totally unaware of the great joy it brings, a new life begins.  

Of all the joys that lighten suffering earth, what joy is welcomed like a newborn child? 

Dorothy L. Nolte

I am blessed with a nice collection of grandchildren but there has been a dry spell without a newborn for several years so it is with great anticipation, relief and joy that we were blessed by the safe arrival of a new healthy, precious grand daughter this week.  It was not without difficulty and long anxious days that her mother, our daughter, brought her into the world so it is with overwhelming gratitude and joy that we receive her.  There is so much of evil, ugly and profane in our time that this little bit of Heavenly light is a welcome bringer of hope and rejoicing.

Glen Yarborough was a popular folk singer when I was in college and one song he sang that has always stayed with me was, “One More Round.”   I have not been able to locate all the lyrics but it talked of God’s answer to dark times was to send a newborn baby, and the chorus asked:

 “One more round, mankind, will you make it? 

One more chance, mankind, will you take it?

Take it the way a child takes love.”

The knowledge that God can and does at times send angels to intervene for the benefit of mankind but he often sends Hope and Help in the form of a newborn baby with an appointed mission to turn the tide of history and lead the human heart to Him.  I don’t know the destiny or mission of our newest grand daughter but as all who come so soon, “trailing clouds of glory from God who is our home,” the miracle of her birth has already lightened our burdens and enriched our lives.  Thank you, Heavenly Father, for her safe arrival.

Don't Make Life Harder than it Needs to Be

The pessimist complains about the wind; 

the optimist expects it to change; 

the realist adjusts the sails.        

William Arthur Ward

Life is hard; and then you die.  I think it was from my father that I first heard that sentiment but my mother disputes some of my childhood memories and time has warped the misty past.  In any case, that statement of simple truth has stuck with me.  Life IS hard.  Hard is not bad-- God Himself  explained to Adam that He “cursed is the ground ‘for thy sake’  (Genesis 3:17), in other words, for our benefit.   A wise and LOVING Heavenly Father knows our growth comes only as we struggle to survive.  Muscles strengthen when strained to lift heavy weights.  So does our character.

That being said, it seems foolish to make things harder than necessary.  Yesterday in discussing a schedule conflict, someone vented their frustration at a third party who wasn’t accepting their responsibility to be to a meeting.   Time and emotional energy had been wasted trying to convince the other person to cooperate.   Rarely can we make people do what they ought to do and it is probably wise to do what WE can and leave them to the consequences that will come.   I recognize that we are all tied to others, especially those closest to us and their actions or inactions impact our lives but it is most difficult to drive the herd and we can’t force the outcome.  

Life is hard; but it is unnecessarily harder to take on tasks that rightfully are not ours.  Perhaps the best we can do is to do our own part and leave the rest alone.   Begging, nagging, and stewing over what is not in our control rarely brings the desired result and NEVER brings personal peace.   That’s what I am trying to remember as I continue my mortal journey.