the resilience of life

I have spent the last few days puttering around my gardens and yard. I have been blessed to finally have the acreage I need and, like an artist, I see a blank canvas. I pore through magazines looking for ideas to implement as well as watch any gardening shows that air on TV just to glean ideas. I have to keep telling myself that I am also the artist and that I can do whatever I like!

As I have been putzing about, I have noticed that, despite laying down weed fabric to prevent weeds from popping through my rock gardens, weeds pop through anyway. Even with heavy river pebbles on top of that fabric, weeds pop through. My landlord decided to spray for weeds last year (which broke my heart as I actually DO Love Creeping Charlie and clover---it's for the bees, after all!) weeds have popped up again this year. As I trimmed around my trees this morning, I pondered this, of how what we call weeds can be so strong, so resilient.

Have you ever noticed how a tiny blade of grass or a periwinkel can grow through a crack in a much used sidewalk--and still thrive?

So it is with us humans as well. There are some for whom life beats down, battering an already fragile soul. There are others, however, that withstand the onslaught. Day after day, year after year. Despite troubles, they stand firm with a smile. Oh yes, they also feel pain, but they don't allow the pain to dictate their lives.

We are all responsible for the choices we make. So what if you've had a rotten childhood? So have I. Many of us don't escape without some scratches here and there. For others, it may have been something worse: living in poverty, being abused, or worse. Yet that smile appears, they are standing upright and go on. Yet I hear from those who've said that because they had a "rotten childhood," they feel it is a talisman they must carry forever. "Because mom and dad divorced, I am bitter/angry/horrified..." you fill in the blank. They are angry all of the time. They may even say how they "hate people" all because of something that occurred long ago. My mother was that way. Right to the end. Her mother was the same. It was a sad legacy that I certainly wanted no part of. As I grew up, I learned to watch my words and actions, making efforts to stay in the moment, not in the past. People in the here and now don't need negativity, they all have issues of their own. Have you ever been witness to maybe a friend or co-worker who, day after day, when asked how they are, will give you a litany of troubles that, by the time they are finished, have you feeling as if a boulder is sitting on your shoulders? Life is too short for this!

So how can one develop a resilient attitude? By looking around you and being grateful for what you currently have. Even if you live in a shack by the river, be grateful that you have a roof that protects you from the rain. So what if all you have to eat is soup? Be thankful that your belly is full! Had a rotten childhood? You grew up, right? So many children don't even live to see adulthood worldwide for reasons of war, poverty and disease.

 You have the ability to look back over your life and make that effort to be an example of good for others. By being bitter, you are also being selfish. Yes, you read that right. You are selfishly ruining another's day with your negative attitude! You probably also refuse to do good for anyone if you saw they were in need. I guarantee you, it's is almost impossible to remain negative when you have extended yourself in love towards another person. Downright impossible, in fact! Because that good, warm, fuzzy feeling extends from your toes to the ends of your hair! You'll want to embrace life, just because you have seen what good can do for others.

Whenever I see a tiny bud of life poking through a crack in the sidewalk, it gives me hope...as well as a reason to smile. I see that stem of life...and am grateful that God uses those tiny leaves to communicate with us that if a stem of grass or a flower can grow where others tread, and flourish...then so can we! I am reminded of Mark 12:3 "The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” Many people who feel as if Life has let them down are really letting themselves down and in the process, also letting down their neighbor as well as God. If you loved YOURSELF...meaning, to have self esteem, (not so much vanity...primping and preening with cosmetics and surgery to look good) you would never want anything bad to happen to you. Like a precious jewel, you would make sure you are cared for. Then that attitude will naturally spread to others. Care for them, be grateful for them, do for them...and in the process of serving others, you will have served God. A Trifrecta! How can one be bitter when they have just served God? How can you not see that service to another is the most beautiful cosmetic in the world? It isn't doing hours of exercise or dieting or makeup or any of those things that TV has us believing will "make us beautiful!" It is loving ourselves, loving our neighbors and loving God.

Mother Teresa...one of the most beautiful people I have seen, next to Pope John Paul 2 and now, Pope Francis. In fact, Francis positively GLOWS....he looks so much younger now, three years after he was made a pope, than before. Many have said that before he was made pope, he looked destined to meet his Maker...then something wonderful happened: he has offered himself in service towards all! In the process, he now shines before all! Matthew 5:16: "In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."

Be resilient. Yes, life is hard for everyone. and maybe harder for many than others. But do not allow life to beat you down! Get back up...be that Light for others to see...be a beacon of hope!
Amen