America's Next President

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Thankfully

October 18 - October 24, 2009

This has been a hard week for me emotionally. To say I've ridden the emotional roller-coaster would be an understatement of ginormous proportion. In ruminating on some of the current events of the past week, both in my personal life and the lives of people I dearly love, as well as some of the headline news items, I’ve been reminded, once again, how very precious life is, and how often we take life, and the lives of people we love, for granted. Life doesn’t come to us wrapped in pretty paper or tied with a bow, but it is still a gift.

The tragedy of this past week where the body of a 7 year-old little girl was found in a landfill in Georgia nearly broke my heart. The fact that there were 150 registered sex offenders living within a 5 mile radius of where this child walked home from school each day is a stunning, mind-boggling statistic and testimony that this is NOT the world I grew up in as a kid. We’re NOT in Kansas anymore! There weren’t any wicked people in Kansas, if you remember the story of The Wizard of Oz. I saw the mother of that 7 year-old girl on a news clip. As any mother would, she hopes that the murderer is caught and that he gets the death penalty. If anyone is deserving of the death penalty, it is someone who sees children merely as prey...something to be ravaged and thrown away as refuse. Thank you, Rowe v. Wade!!! When we go so far as to devalue life, even a life that hasn’t been born yet, why should we then be surprised that evil predators would prey on children? It is incomprehensible to me that most people do not see the correlation of violent crimes enacted against children as a result of our own disregard of life.

Another tragedy this week where there has been an arrest of a 15 year-old in the murder of the 9 year-old girl whose body was found 2 days after she was reported as missing. I want to cry when I hear news stories like this.

Then, on Friday night, October 23, a few teenagers and their friends had gone to Taco Bell at the drive-thru. A white man approaches them; the lower portion of his face is wrapped up and he’s holding a gun. He asks them first if they have any drugs. When the kids answered ‘’No,’’ he then demands their wallets (of the two older boys). All together they had less than $80. The man then tells them, ‘’Let this be a lesson to you.’’ I get that cold, clammy feeling all over my skin and my stomach churns every time I think about the ‘’What If’s’’ that could have happened. Then I am flooded with thankfulness that it wasn’t as bad as it could have been! I am thankful that they are okay, even though they were scared. I hope this will be a lesson that they learn in being wary, more watchful of the people around them; to be more careful. Though how you can be ‘’more’’ careful at a drive-thru, I cannot fathom.

It’s ironic that the people we love the most are the ones we often take for granted. I know there’s a concept of ‘’tough’’ love, but there is just something wrong when we are more considerate, kind, gentle, and loving to people we don’t know than those we love more than life itself. It’s easier to apologize to people you don’t know than to apologize to someone we know we wronged. We tend to give complete strangers the benefit of the doubt, but oh, no....not those whom we know love us. We think we can treat them anyway we choose and we know they’ll take it because we have that bond of relationship. Why can’t we see that those we hold to such high standards are people too? Our family, friends, and loved ones are people who aren’t perfect; people who make mistakes; people who have emotions and react just like we do sometimes? 

God doesn't give you the people you want...He gives you the people you NEED...to help you, to hurt you, to leave you, to love you and to make you into the person you were meant to be. Although I can’t wrap my finite mind around the fact that even the bad things that happen in our lives are allowed by an infinite God to draw us closer to Him. There has to be some purpose to it all; it’s not just a random act of whimsy.

‘’You can kiss your family and friends good-bye and put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach, because you do not just live in a world but a world lives in you.’’ ~Frederick Buechner “The Telling Truth”

I want to live every minute with the people I love the most; I want to cherish even the mundane things as priceless treasures, knowing that each person is truly unique, one-of-a-kind and that their input in the weft and weave of the fabric of my life adds a brighter touch of color here and there; a note of harmony in this Song of Life; a word of encouragement and a strength to lean on when I am weary of all life hurls my way. When I’m gone, I want those whom I love to reflect on my life and see that I’ve left footprints in the sands of time for them to follow on their own personal journey to God. Hopefully, they will see that, although I haven’t told them how to live their lives, and they've to made their own mistakes (as we all do), that I did point them in the right direction. What more can any one ask? Wouldn’t that be my greatest achievement...my crowning glory?

Profoundly thankful for God’s protection this weekend, and for loved ones, both far and near,

~Starla

Things Money Can’t Buy

I was pondering, as I often do, about the complexities of life…in particular the things that are often overlooked or taken for granted. In this instance I was thinking about wealth vs. riches….or money in particular (which I do not have an over-abundance of at any given time) and the things that money can’t buy.

Money can buy material possessions…no doubt about that. However, money can’t buy contentment or satisfaction with those possessions. I’ve found that the more people buy, the more they tend to want.

Money can buy, to a certain extent, reputation…or at least give you a reputation for being someone “with money.” Money can’t buy character. A person’s character is much more important that reputation. Reputation is what people “think” you are, whereas, character is WHO you are.

Money can buy a pedigree dog, cat, or allow you to adopt a child. Money can’t buy the love, or even the respect, of a cat, dog, or child. Those have to be earned.

Money can buy you a scholarship, but money can’t buy you an “education.” Education is learning in action…and has to be earned by studiously applying oneself to acquiring knowledge.

Money can make you a popular person, but money can’t buy you a true friend. True friends are few and far between and are often those people who have seen us at our worst and who love us in spite of our faults…or maybe because of our faults…by that I mean that they know we aren’t perfect…we’re just like them…prone to failure and disappointment, but they know who we are on our good days and our bad days, and they love us anyway. I read recently that “The best antique is an old friend.” That is a very profound statement. I can count on one hand the “best” friends I’ve ever had. I can honestly say that although life has led us down different paths, and we’ve become different people from who we were as children and teenagers, when I’m with my friends again, it’s just like we’ve never been apart because we have a common history…a past we can reflect on and remember.

Money can buy a really nice, expensive house…but money doesn’t make a house a home. A home is a place where all are accepted, welcomed, and loved…a place that is lived in…a place of comfort and security…a sanctuary comprised of what is our most prized possessions….those that we love…our families.

Money can buy musical instruments, but money can’t buy talent or make you a renowned musician.

Money can buy expensive sports equipment, but money can’t buy coordination and skill in athletic ability.

Money can buy oils, paint, and canvas, but money can’t make one an artist of great masterpieces.

Money can buy you a Bible, but you can’t buy your way to Heaven. It is a gift offered freely to all.

Money can buy lots of things, but I’ve found that there is a lot more that money CAN’T buy: Money can’t buy trust….it can’t buy faithfulness….it can’t buy commitment; it can’t buy courage, or honor.

Money can’t buy the hugs or laughter of a child…money can’t buy the vibrant colors of a rainbow…or the smell of the air after rain.

Money can’t buy good health or true beauty….that beauty which is more than just “skin” deep.

Money can’t buy so many things, yet we spend our lives earning money to afford that which money does buy…the temporal possessions…and we overlook, or neglect, those rare priceless treasures that money just can’t buy.

I consider myself to be a woman of wealth…not of financial means, but in the people who adorn and enrich my life on a daily basis. My family, each a priceless, one-of-a-kind, treasure…. though imperfect and dysfunctional as all families are….my friends of long years, and those I’ve known only for a little while…they each and every one bless me in ways that money can’t buy…could never buy…not in a million years.

In closing, I hope I’ve given you something to think about. What are you investing your life in? That which money can buy? Or those truly priceless things that money CAN’T buy?

Til next time,

~*Starr*~

I Believe

I believe...

A Birth Certificate shows that we were born; A Death Certificate shows that we died; Pictures show that we lived!

I believe - That just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other. And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do.

I believe - That we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.

I believe - That no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.

I believe - That true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance.

I believe – The same goes for true love.

I believe - That you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.

I believe - That it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.

I believe - That you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.

I believe - That you can keep going long after you think you can't.

I believe - That we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.

I believe - That either you control your attitude or it controls you.

I believe - That heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.

I believe - That money is a lousy way of keeping score.

I believe - That my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.

I believe - That sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down will be the ones to help you get back up.

I believe - That sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I believe - That maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.

I believe - That it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others.

I believe – That most of the time you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I believe - That no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.

I believe - That our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.

I believe - That you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life. Forever.

I believe - Two people can look at the exact same thing and see something totally different.

I believe - That your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.

I believe - That even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you - you will find the strength to help.

I believe - That credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.

I believe - That the people you care about most in life are taken from you too soon.

I believe - The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

I believe…...

~Starr