Good morning…
“So much has been given to me I have not time to ponder over that which has been denied.” These words, penned by Helen Keller, touch me deeply. They remind me of a sentence I emailed this week to a grieving friend: “I am hoping the lovely, precious, beautiful memories serve to sustain you in your darkest hours. Savoring what was and what currently is, the simple nuances of what is true and lasting, this art of savoring does our souls so much more good than obsessing about things that will never be.”
She emailed back: “Thanks Sue for continuing to send thoughtful notes. Your words are wise — memories versus what could have been or should be. It is the most difficult to train your mind and heart in this regard. Difficult to stay focused and not feel cheated. But you can’t live there.”
I replied: “Camping out when you need to on the feeling of being cheated is an important part of the grieving process, but you are wise to realize that building your permanent home there would be no good for anyone, you, your family, your friends. Visiting that emotion is essential to healing, but making it your main place of residence would steal joy from your present and from your future. Training our minds on God’s eternal ways is most difficult because it goes against our human craving to understand, to control, to keep close all those we love. Just as you do not know the way and path of the wind or how the bones are formed in the womb of a pregnant woman, even so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things (Ecclesiastes 11:5, AMP).”
Finally, believers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right and confirmed by God’s word, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace, whatever is admirable and of good repute; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think continually on these things [center your mind on them, and implant them in your heart] (Philippians 4:8, AMP).
…Sue…
