Do We Care?

“Don’t be interested only in your own life, but be interested in what concerns others too.”  Phil 2:4

As a mother of young children I found it so frustrating and hurtful when my children did not care or appreciate each other. It seemed as if they could only focus on what the other siblings had that they didn't have. We are so much like our children in that we too focus on the blessings of others instead of the blessings God has given to us. 

It's human nature to be blinded by the great gifts we receive each day when we see someone else receiving something more. As parents we try to bless each child but our children only see what they have not received. It's a terrible character flaw within all of us when we think only of ourselves. We need to be thankful for our blessings but also for the blessings of others. 

A picture taken on one of my many walks on the beach, March 2013.

Tomorrow’s Burdens

Don't Carry The Burdens Of Tomorrow

God broke our years into hours and days,
That hour by hour, day by day,
Just going on a little way,
We might be able, all along,
To keep quite strong.

Should all the weight of life be laid
Across our shoulders at just one place,
And the future, rife with woe and struggle,
Meet us face to face:
We could not go;
Our feet would stop, and so
God LAYS A LITTLE ON US EVERY DAY.

And never, I believe, in all life's way,
Will burdens bear so deep,
Or pathways lie so steep,
But we can go, if, by God's power,
We ONLY BEAR THE BURDEN OF THE HOUR.

I wish I knew who the author was for the above poem. If you do, please let me know!

Psalm 118:24 This is the day the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Strive to enjoy something about each day!

My husband was diagnosed, several years ago, with renal failure. It was a 9 year journey to doctors, hospitals, and dialysis clinics. His kidneys were so diseased that they removed them six months before they would find a kidney to match for a transplant. It was a difficult journey for us and our family! We celebrated his 70th birthday recently and I am thanking God for His goodness and grace. Below is a picture I took of him in Savannah, Georgia. He is enjoying a Latte at the park where they filmed Forest Gump sitting with a box of chocolates saying, "My mama always said ~ Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get."

Taking Time to Encourage Others in Spite of the Imperfections of Life

 II Cor. 1:4 Who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

Life's imperfections consist of health and emotional burdens like depression or anxiety, a heartache over some loss, death of a loved one or financial difficulties. Every sorrow and difficulty is common to every home. We all have problems and cares that can weigh us down. We don't all have wealth; but we all have burdens.

Many of us have been through things that uniquely qualify us to help others. We can help lift a burden for someone by listening, caring and encouraging. We don't always have the answers or the ability to change the circumstances but we do all have the ability to care. Some times it's just the ability to show we care that is enough to encourage another person to keep going when all seems lost.

This picture was taken when we visited Savannah in 2009.