Thursday, January 23, 2014

HAVE A COOKIE...


 
 
"People spend time worrying about things
they think they have to have
and lose perception of what they do have. 
You can have all the money and material things you want. 
If you're not here to enjoy them, what good do they do?"
Eric Davis
 
Do you worry about material things?  It's easy to fall into that trap...difficult to escape, right? 
 
I suppose it's easy to look back and see what's taken place in life...have I made mistakes?  Okay, here's my personal take on looking back.
 
For sure I've made a ton of really bad mistakes...you know about some of them; some you don't and that's okay for this moment in time.  Surprisingly enough...I've made some good decisions...and they count for a lot...to me anyway!
 
I've really never wanted much...neither has M but he's always been a hard worker, good provider with lots of integrity...the integrity part is awesome!  Trust me, we never made a lot of money or had palatial homes, etc.  But...we were always content with what we had in life...materially speaking.
 
Initially he was a 'butcher'...yeah, a butcher in his dad's grocery store.  He worked six days a week...church on Sunday morning and cleaning the store Sunday afternoons!  Down the line we mustered enough cash to open a gas station...later on we sold it.  Moving on, he and his dad were in the hardware business...at another juncture M was a roughneck in West Texas working 7 days a week until he decided that was not the life he wanted for us!  Last and certainly not least, he was a 'weekend warrior' in the National Guard.  We were making ends meet but we had no quality family time...zip!
 
Something was really bothering us...what good were we doing?  We were existing and we remained happy...making the best of it...but what good was it doing?  Again as a family we weren't able to enjoy what we had materially...a big bother!
 
God surely had something in mind...for an opportunity presented itself at an opportune time.  A new beginning?  You think?  Yes indeed...something totally foreign to us...at the time we didn't realize just how foreign our lives would be!
 
There was opposition from some quarters but M and I (as one) decided to take the opportunity presented for a military career/life...it was undoubtedly one ofthe wisest decision we ever made as a couple, really awesome!
 
Oh, I know...you're probably thinking about all those months and years we were apart as a family; Michael was either in the midst of a battle or maintaining the presence of the United States in foreign countries.  Not everyone would understand...but it simply worked for us...God saw to it. 
 
You see, He was preparing us for something special...a work we'd never dreamed of.  A mission field everywhere we moved; from Oklahoma to Virginia, to Greece, to Holland, Germany.  For just Michael...Viet Nam, Ethiopia & Kansas.  I've covered this territory for you before...so you get the picture, we were nomadic and multi-cultured.
 
  
“The art of life is to live in the present moment,
and to make that moment as perfect as we can
by the realization that we are the instruments
and expression of God Himself.”
Wayne Dyer
 
We learned to 'live in the present moment'...and I made it my job to make those moments as perfect as possible!  When Michael was away?  No cell phones?  Not yet.  Letters...we wrote letters, letters full of life.  Those zillions of words conveyed moment by moment...cheers along with the tears!  They made it real...and it was.
 
Now...today...we're old and as you know...every day we live, we're getting older...imagine that.  Not too old for China though...who'd have thought it?  Well, God Himself made that possible...we were simply His instruments.  And even though we're not physically working in China these days...we're the pens writing His e-mail love letters...super!
 
Fast forward to this week; Michael had good news.  One of his doctors told him how others really would envy him and wish they had one or two of M's problems...we all laughed...he told M not to stew...leave the worrying to the doctors and enjoy living.  M responded with 'well, I do want to live 'til I die'...really...oh yeah!
 
Tell you what...if we have a moment that might get unpleasant?
We'll  just eat a cookie...or two!  Cheers! 
 
From my heart...to yours,
Vasca

3 comments:

  1. From a friend:
    I really enjoyed reading this, Vasca...as I do all of them. And learned some things about the two of you that I did not know;
    Mike being a butcher at one point and your owning a gas station.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Love your thoughts about living in the moment and making every day count.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I did find your blog. I'm on Word Press and it didn't give me your blog name. A cookie at anytime is a good thing!

    ReplyDelete