Ezekiel's Blessing

"The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. " Ezekiel in the Old Testament
My grandson, Bryan, had this verse on his "My Space" page. I was struck by the application of it to how Briggs and I are feeling lately. We are in no way "righteous" but we do try to do good most of the time. Life has such great burdens to bear and it is sometimes those who are closest to you that cause you the trouble. That is what makes it so much harder. You love all your family and when one member becomes a serious worry in your life, you can in no way reject them or step away like you could if it was an acquaintance, friend or some stranger. You are tied to your family members for eternity and their welefare will always be a concern to you no matter what they might do. The verse says, "Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother's keeper and the finder of lost children." As we deal with the aftermath of our daughter's accident and all the situations leading up to it, along with nursing her back to health, we have to have the attitude that we are her keeper and the finder of her lost soul. Patience in this process is needed and necessary and that is what is so hard to have. If it were not for scriptures like these and the knowledge of the Gospel, I think that it would be so much harder.
In the meantime, we look forward to her recovery, and the blessing of some happy times ahead.
Maybe not immediately, but soon. I hope!

The Journey is Worth Taking by Ro

I am posting this because it is much like me and perhaps some of you too.

I have the annoying habit of wanting everything to be over with right now.
When I am washing the dishes, I am anxious to get the job finished so that I can move onto the next thing on my list. When I take my shower, I am thinking about what I will do at work that day. When I am standing at my closet, I wish I was already dressed. When I am drying my hair, I get slightly bothered that it isn’t drying fast enough. When I am shopping for purses, I become anxious that I have not located the perfect one yet as I move from store to store.
I am constantly looking further on. I fail to see where I am. I rarely stop and sink into the moment with an, “Ahhhhhh… this is life!”
I am pushing, pushing, pushing ahead. Where is the end of the path? Is it over that hill? No? Perhaps, the next one then… Not there, either? Maybe it will be past that clump of trees.
Occasionally, it occurs to me to stop and look around me. The spirit calls, “See the beauty around you? Recognize the love that you have? Do you get it? You are already blessed. You don’t need to have more or go further to feel blessed.”
I love those moments of clarity. They are the moments of sheer joy that sparkle in the sun like cut class in a window. When I remember them, I hold each one close and I try to recreate the moment again.
And then, I begin walking along my life’s path once more, realizing the journey that I am on is what it is all about and I will arrive at my destination far too soon.Challenge for today: Stop, look and find a moment of joy to shimmer in your window.
- Ro

Credit for this is to Ro Paxson http://www.scrapgirls.com/