Bubbles Pop Reflection #17

 Bubbles Pop

We have a lot of fun playing with bubbles with our kids. When we were recently having fun creating a big bubble mountain with three kids, it was necessary to calm them down when one just couldn't resist popping some bubbles. I kept reiterating, that we all know "Bubbles pop" and that it's going to happen anyway. I hope in some way this will sink in as a life lesson to not sweat the small stuff. 

The older I get, it is natural to think about our own bubble of life popping. One day we will no longer exist on earth. There are always things that we still want to do but the longer we are blessed to live, the harder it is to do some things. We have to adjust our bubble of life to enjoy the moments we have.

Sometimes I think about when I am no longer here. I don't want my loved ones to experience that hurt that we all know. I think the worst part about dying is for the living who loved us. I am blessed that I know there are some who do love me more than a little and my empathetic rabbit trail mind thinks about how it will be for them when I am gone. I have found myself in tears thinking about that. I shed the tears already, so you don't have to. If only that could be the case...perhaps that's a road I should not go down.

I can only tell anyone who loses a loved one, that you know your loved one would be honored that your love was so deep that you are hurting so now, but they don't want you to be hurting or to stay sad. This is life, we come and go, we hold on to and we let go. Letting go is hard but there are always memories to cling to and to lift us up. For Christians, we know that this is not the end and we will meet again. It really is a happy ending meeting God, having a new unimaginable home and then reuniting with loved ones. What a party! So, crying for loved ones who have moved on to heaven is almost silly, almost. Crying for ourselves left behind is natural. "Doing" helps with healing. When the pain is heavy, do something in memory of a loved one to help yourself heal and to honor them. I think I'll take my own advice today and do something in memory of someone I miss. Maybe it will be blowing bubbles toward heaven. Unlike bubbles that pop, love lives on forever. 

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."

Matthew 5:4

Layers of Life

When I saw this, I thought that this is like life--it comes in layers, layers of brightness and happiness, dark times, good times all layered upon each other making our pattern of life. If we could see the ripples of our life, I think this is how it could look. I thought this was beautiful and although we don't like it, we have to take the good and the bad and look at the beauty and good in the whole picture. In the end, it makes a beautiful life. 

Moving Forward

When your heart is heavy

And life’s fog is thick

And the way, unclear

With no answer to the “whys?” of life,

Tears can cleanse the soul but

Weeping, standing is stagnant.

The fog and darkness remain.

Take one step into the fog

Step by step you will see through tears

Glimpses of the path before you.

The future is vague

You may have mountains to climb

Or ditches to avoid

But God is there

Clearing the fog one step at a time,

Until one day when the time is right,

You will find a sunrise just for you,

A new day, a new bright beginning,

One that can only be found

By moving forward through the fog.

Introduction

When I was young, we used to vacation at Cape Cod off season every year. The beach we stayed at was sandy but parts also contained many small rocks. I spent hours walking the beach, during day looking for the rare piece of sea glass and often settling for pretty pebbles. At night I looked up to the stars and moon and listened to the crashing waves.

My Dad taught me how to skim stones. He instructed me to find the flattest stone that I could find and he would demonstrate how to use the whole arm to fling the stone making it skip several times across the top of the ocean.

I was pleased when I could get it to skip at all. Three or four times was a miracle. I just couldn't master the art. I would often relinquish the treasured flat rocks to Dad to just see him skim the rock so that it bounced many more times than I ever dreamed that I could do.

We are each like those rocks, precious pebbles tossed out into the water of life. Whether we touch down and make ripples along the way, which most of us do, or we just land once, there are still ripples--ripples that extend out far beyond our inner circle of life and touch people. Everyone touches someone in some way, whether it be good or bad.

My hope here is to touch you, hopefully in a good way, to share thoughts on life and living. We are each a special gemstone, one of a kind. May you be prancing across life's waters and may your ripples touch many hearts. Until my next post, know you are unique and loved.