Never Again

This thought has been running through my head for a whole year, "never again".  It started Jan 13, 2017 when I turned 70,  never to be 69 again, never ever.  It was sobering milestone, one I had not looked forward to, yet without even asking me, there it was, I was 70 years old.  Now I seriously thought about lying and just continuing to say I was 69 but I am too much  of a realist to even joke about my age. 

There are several,  "never again's " in my life.  Never will I birth another child.   Never again will I sit down for a meal with my Mother this side of heaven. 

  Some "never again's" come without our consent, like aging.  Some  "never again's I have a choice in, such as I will never again ride a roller coaster, even if my Grandchildren beg me.  I have told my husband I am done flying 14 to 20 some hours to live in a foreign land. This one is hard because he would go back to Papua New Guinea in a heartbeat but I am done with that kind of long distant travel.  You are probably thinking, watch it Betty, don't say never  again on this one, God just might want you to serve overseas again.  Okay, okay, I will recant on this one. If my adult children take our grand children back over seas for a year or more I will do that crazy plane ride to see them.  Some "never again's" are conditional.

The "never again's" I love to dwell on are the ones God has left us with.  Never again will my sin be held against me, never again will Jesus have to die for the sins of the world.

Lets get back to this aging business.  This January 2018 turned 71 so I can safely say, "never again" will I be 70.  It actually made me shudder when I wrote that, how did I get to this place of being 71?

 Then I thought about a documentary on Clint Eastwood I watched the other day, he is 78 by the way and still making movies.  When asked  if he was ever going to make a number 6 , "Dirty Harry" movies and he said, Dirty Harry 6 will never happen.  Eastwood said, at 78 you 're pretty well drummed out of the police force by that age.  He is realistic about his age and that made my day. 

                                     What "never again" comes to your mind?

Perfect Love Song

                      
For me to be hooked on a secular song that is not country and not about the Lord does not happen often.  But, hooked I am on Ed Sheeran song, "Perfect".  It, in my opinion is the most romantic song I have heard since Elvis sang, I Can't Help Falling In Love With You or the Righteous Brother belted out, Unchained Melody.  In my day those two songs played constantly on the radio.  I spent my hard earned money, 50 cents an hour for cleaning house for my neighbor to buy  the 45's records so I could play them over and over and over.  It was not only the words but the melody that went with the words that drew me to those songs.   You might forget the words but you could hum the melody in your sleep.

I love that God is into romance, it scattered through out a few books of the bible.  The one that is a classic  is Song of Solomon.  Think about it, the very title tells us it's a song and the very  first chapter is full of romantic words.  There are songs written in Hebrew about Song of Solomon.  I am adding a link if you want to listen to a song in Hebrew taken right from Song of Solomon.  https://youtu.be/zFPMIVi90lc


Chuck Swindoll states it this way...From courtship to marriage to the assurance of love, Song of Solomon poetically presents a broad range of events and feelings in the days leading up to and during marriage, offering encouragement toward an enduring love amid the petty jealousies and fears sure to threaten even the strongest of relationships.

Ed Shaeean has recorded his song with many people but the one I like the best is with Andrea Bocelli.  There is something about hearing the words of a  song sung in a different language that adds a different dimension to it because the melody does not change.  If you have time,  scroll back on up to the top and take a listen to what I call, a cold chill song.  

 To put a Christian spin on this post what love song from the Lord would you pick, Jesus Loves Me or Amazing Grace?? This is where my country gospel bend kicks in,  for my favorite is, The Greatest Of All Miracles.   Now you pick, what is your favorite romantic song, secular and Christian ?

 

Everything matching...

Recently our grown daughter, Tara shared how she  was learning again not to put great store in material things.  God used her 8 year old daughter to help bring home a much needed lesson for all of us. 

Last year before Christmas our Tara broke down and bought matching stockings for her family with the letter of their first name embroidery on them and they weren't cheap.  She told me, Mom I just wanted something that matched instead of the hodge podge of stockings, each a different color, size and age. She ignored her family teasing her mercifully since they were happy with the old ones.  Seeing those matching stockings hanging up started the Christmas season off with a warm glow for Tara. Each one was perfect.  








Right after  she put them up  her 8 year old said, Mom how can you tell which T is for you, Tara and which is Dad's whose name is Tony.  That sweet 8 year old grand daughter thought, I will help them tell which is which by writing their names on them.  If you look close you will see on the top of the white T there is Tara name written in ink.  And Tony's has his name written on his also.  Ava Jo really did think she was helping her Mom and Dad.

But it sent Tara, our daughter through the roof since those  perfect matching stockings were very important to her.  As an MK, missionary kid she had to do with what ever was given to us and it did not always match which put a dream in Tara's heart. Her years as an MK  later turned into 14 years as a married women with three children in the jungles of Papua New Guinea where she once again lived with not much matching.  Honestly it's not much of a struggle when you live in a remote village where they have no stockings, one is easily contented with what ever.  But back home in the states where just about everyone putting up Christmas decoration galore usually with a theme it's very tempting to forget what is important.  It took her saying she was sorry to Ava Jo to restore  an important  relationship.   

By the time she told me about it she was able to laugh about  the error of her thinking.   Some lessons must be learned more than once and the ones that concern "stuff", no matter what that stuff is have everything to do with our hearts.  The week Tara told me this story was a week into the worst fires in California history.  So many lost all their "stuff", everything except their lives.  We put such store on what we own as if we really own it, not realizing it owns us and that comes home when it's gone or destroyed in some way.  

I understand Tara's battle.  Even when we have stuff the push to buy more and more seems to leave us senseless and our checking accounts empty.  I know she will not go out and buy more to replace the two stocking Ava Jo wrote on.  In fact they will be the reminders to not put much store into  "stuff " here, someone could write on it.  😊

               Happy New Year