Dear Reader:

The older I get the more I realize how true this statement is: “Life is a beautiful struggle.” The harder we have to fight to maintain life the more beautiful it becomes. It starts to manifest itself through the little things in life we so often overlook in our daily rush to get “some where.”

This “beautiful” struggle doesn’t stop with just man…every living creation of God stays in a continuous struggle with life throughout its existence on earth.

As I walk through my garden I can imagine what the plants would be telling me if they could talk…some would nod at me, quite courteously, to let me know they are doing just fine…during this heat wave…while others would say something like: “We get it…you’re trying to save on your water bill…you actually believed the weathermen when they said that the chances of rain were higher than usual today…but hey, get over it, it didn’t happen…turn on the sprinkler system PLEASE! We’re dying of thirst here!”

THRIVING:

STRUGGLING:

We are just like my (flower) “children” in the garden. Different obstacles in life are more difficult for some than others…but along this same thought…another set of obstacles (that might throw others off track) are easily soared over by still another group.

We all have different levels of tolerance for different problems that come our way: whether medical, marital, professional, or personal. Like the plants in the garden…it is the people who have established a personal relationship with God who seem to be able to dig deeper (when life’s challenges come our way) to find the living waters that sustain them through the struggles of life.

These people are the same ones, who realize no matter the extent of the problem that  lies ahead, life is well worth the fight…and we fight for the little things in life. Things like:

…The first cup of coffee in the morning as we watch the sun come up, the voices of children laughing at the school bus stop, the first time your child or grandchild makes contact with the baseball and actually lands on first base, the first dandelion given to mothers and grandmothers by toddlers (” I have a flower for you”) the first phone call by a grandchild who tells you “I ouv ou.” (You never delete that phone call…no matter how old the child grows.)

Every day life can be a struggle but it is in the struggle that the love of life grows…if it were all too easy…too many perfect sunny days, all A’s on your child’s report card year after year, no teenage car accidents, or crushed hearts over first loves to console…no storms to upset the calm waters…no broken limbs or medical emergencies…it would be to easy to take life for granted. We would grow listless and bored.

We would never feel the need to turn to anyone beside ourselves for there would be no cloudy days in our lives. God wants us to turn to Him when life gets hard…to let Him hold our hand, and show us the path to inner strength and peace through our loving relationship with Him.

So until tomorrow….Life is a daily struggle…but more importantly…it is a beautiful one…well worth the fight. And once victorious… Two hands go up in exultation.

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

* I picked up Eva Cate last evening…she is spending the week with me to go Vacation Bible School which starts today…she inspected all the fairy homes in the garden…then decided the two fairies should live together so they wouldn’t be lonely…she left a cookie for them to eat before their night flight and then built a fairy village inside using materials from inside the wreath on the center table in the Happy Room…a village where a fairy Rabbit rules the fairies. Imagination at its best!