Perhaps it is part of getting older but also perhaps it is part of appreciating this phenomenal thing called life but with each passing day I find myself more and more amazed at the roller coaster of life. Like the old adage says, "if you have your health, you have everything." That is so very true.
I guess I was reminded of the precious commodity health really is as I listened to prayer requests at church last evening with some new, some seemingly endless with different issues of health of a person or family and I found myself in driving home thanking God for health, a good mind, a continuing drive to want to make a difference in the lives that intersect with mine, how blessed to have children, spouses and grand kids that are strong, vibrant and love each other; a treasure! Please know that I am certainly not writing this as a brag-o-gram but more a thank you note to God for the blessings on my life.
As this semester unfolds with nearly one hundred young minds, each time we come together or interface on an issue, I realize that this is my calling for I love it. Even when issues arise within the teams that have to be sorted out or a new team leader gets frustrated or angry about a team member and I get to invest myself into the "fix" of the matter; I love it. But the love comes less from the fix but more from the opportunity to teach this young leader through pointers, stories, coaching or exampling a way to find a solution to the issue for that is where lifelong learning is fertilized! I love that about about I get to do. Just this morning I had an email of thanks awaiting me from a student I had over a year ago now on the West Coast loving her new position with a major company. Her words were like honey when she spoke about realizing, now, the touch of the wisdom she gained in retrospect by the learning journey we shared. Wow!
However, I realize many that will read this, for them, life is not as enjoyable and rewarding. There is so much pain, agony, angst, frustration, worry, health issues, mental issues, family issues, siblings in prison, etc, etc, that slow or impede the true enjoyment of this phenomenal thing called life. Realizing I have former students residing in prison as I write this sickens more due to the bad choices made. In some way I take those bad choices very personally for I feel like I had the opportunity to touch that life in a way that would preclude the bad choices. But with bad choices come consequences and I have no issue with bad consequences for that is where the learning generates I believe.
Each of us are the result of many brushstrokes by many people we connect with on this journey of life. For each brushstroke delivers an image, a thought, a memory but all those brushstrokes on our unique, individual canvas are what makes us what and who we are. There have been so many that have touched my life through the years but then but a small handful that touched me deeply and forever. Those very special ones have created deeper trenches in my heart that now provide the real impetus to play that touch forward in the lives that intersect with mine in so many ways. Please take a moment as you read this and think about those few very special painters that have touched, colored and challenged your existence into what life really is for you. If you still can, take the opportunity today to say thank you from the depth of your heart for that touch!
This is the day that this Lord has made so let us rejoice and be glad ... straight from Scripture and so very, very true. None of us can know what this day will bring or hold in store. For some it will be joy yet for others another day of pain. For some it will be a mountaintop and for others the worst valley ever experienced. All I can say here at 0630 in Canton, OH with it still dark outside, whatever comes my way this day I will rejoice and be glad for this day is a gift which is true for each of us.
I will close with a song, a song that touches me every time I hear it or sing it. I will be singing this song at my church Sunday evening. It is entitled, I Then Shall Live, and as you watch this great song being sung, please appreciate this gift that only a Loving, Caring God could create and present us. Find a way to enjoy this day in a very special way. And thank you for the gift of your friendship!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUyZa2Zg0-8
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