Color Restoration

I was sitting at my desk scanning some old photos before I placed them in my scrapbook. My scanner has a feature called 'color' restoration'. I keep it checked, figuring it is probably a good idea. On most of the photos, the difference is negligible. Some pictures simply become brighter, which is not always a feature I want. But there was one photo I scanned that made me examine the original and the restored copy.
It is a picture of my children's father, walking in the rain. It's a silly picture and one of my favorites because he is wearing blue shorts and cowboy boots and holding an umbrella. The sidewalk reflects the drops and you can tell it is late fall because the trees are almost bare, and there is an abundance of golden leaves on the ground.
I see all this in the original picture, which was probably taken in 1988. I can see the surrounding apartment buildings in the background, I can see the fading grass. It is a picture I took, and I remember it well. It is so familiar to me.
When I scanned it using the color restoration feature, I was taken aback. What I considered familiar, was in fact, faded. The restored photo brings out the brilliant green of the leaves that remain on the bushes. The bare trees stand out in deep contrast to the golden leaves. The sidewalk is a city slate grey, not the warm tan it appears to be in the original photo. Bill shorts are a bright blue, his t-shirt a contrasting yet equally bright red. The umbrella a sleek black, reflecting the silver raindrops.
How could I have forgotten the true nature of a picture I am so familiar with?
Time faded the beauty of the colors, blending them into soft yet almost lifeless shades of tan and yellows. And time faded my memory of what it was originally like.
So often, our relationships with our friends, our siblings, our spouses and even with our God are like that. Time fades the original beauty into something familiar, yet dull. We forget the beauty we once saw in the eyes of our newborn, or the brilliance that attracted us to our spouse. And we forget the way we once viewed our God. We become too familiar with what we suppose Him to be, and we are comfortable, but no longer impressed or moved by His beauty.
Scan your life today. Select the color restoration feature as you look at your friends, your family,and your God. See them with the eyes and the heart you once saw them with. Forget the wounds that hasten the fading process and open your eyes to the beauty, the brilliance, the wonder that is still there.

For a Purpose

This morning on my way into the office I caught the end of a conversation on the radio. I don't know what topic was being discussed, but what I heard was a confirmation to someting that has been stirring in my heart.

The speaker said "If you forget where you came from, you forget who you are. If you forget who you are, you won't learn the purpose that God has put you here for."

I believe that all of us are indeed placed on this earth for a purpose. None of us were created in vain or by accident. And everything that we have experienced and learned can be used in the fulfillment of this purpose. We are each a unique and a wonderful blend of beauty created by God. Together we make up a wonderful mosaic.

What is your purpose? Don't know what it is? Then maybe it's time to think about who you are.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Spring Cleaning

I started my spring cleaning this past weekend. During this manic phase of my housework, I take everything out of every closet and cabinet and drawer. The items I have decided to keep go back in some orderly fashion. The rest gets donated or thrown away.

It never ceases to amaze me how much 'stuff' I always manage to accumulate! I am not an avid shopper. Truthfully, I stay aways from malls as much as possible. I do a lot of my purchasing online, which helps keep the impulsivity factor at bay. There are no Point of Sale end caps when you're paying with Paypal. I also tend to be rather frugal. Frugal.. not cheap.. the difference being that I am willing to pay top dollar for a quality item that will enhance my life in some way. I always consider the trade off.

Other than my weekly trip to Walmart for groceries, I don't 'go shopping'. I know - the very thought of mall avoidance makes me anathema to many of my female friends....

So how it is that regardless of how frugal or conservative a shopper I have been, I always have stuff that needs to eliminated? I am looking forward to the day when money accumulates that quickly!

What it led me to think is how our minds are like those closets and cabinets. We accumulate stuff in our thought life that we don't need. Negative thoughts, anger, bitterness, worry, fear. Even though I try to be diligent and eliminate those things from my thoughts, they still take up residence. So I have determined that in addition to cleaning out the junk in my home, I will also clean out the junk in my thinking. I will examine what my mind ponders and only keep those thoughts that are positive and fruitful. Sounds easy doesn't it?

Have you ever started purging your closet and come across a dress that was once your favorite? It was expensive and you wore it often, but now it no longer fits you and is hopelessly dated. You haven't even worn it in four years. Yet, you decide to hold on to it because maybe someday you will lose the extra ten pounds, and hey! retro is in, isn't it? So instead of chucking it, you dust it off and put it back on the hanger.

Some of our thoughts are like that. We have become accustomed to having them. They may have once served a purpose. So we hold on to them. But they no longer fit our goals, and unless we shrink our goals, they never again will. They keep us bound to the past, and prevent us from pushing into the future. The longer we hold on to fruitless thinking, the harder it becomes to clear out the mind.

So I have determined to be ruthless in my spring cleaning. I will only keep those thoughts which are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy. (Philippians 4:8).

Let the sun shine and the creativity and love flow!

Only You

The great Spanish Cellist, Pablo Casals once said:

"Each second we live is a new and unique moment of the universe, a moment that will never be again. And what do we teach our children? We teach them that two and two make four, and that Paris is the capital of France. When will we also teach them what they are? We should say to each of them: Do you know what you are? You are a marvel. You are unique. In all the years that have passed, there has never been another child like you. Your legs, your arms, your clever fingers, the way you move. You may become a Shakespeare, a Michaelangelo, a Beethoven. You have the capacity for anything. Yes, you are a marvel. And when you grow up, can you then harm another who is, like you, a marvel? You must work, we must all work, to make the world worthy of its children.

There will always be times when you feel discouraged. I too have felt despair many times in my life, but I do not keep a chair for it; I will not entertain it. It is not allowed to eat from my plate. The reason is this: In my uttermost bones I know something, as do you. It is that there can be no despair when you remember why you came to Earth, who you serve, and who sent you here."

I love that saying. It reminds me that no matter how tired I am, how frustrated or defeated I may feel, there is still something I am here to do. When God created me - and you- He had a purpose in mind. We are not here by casual accident, but rather by primary intent. There are things that can only be done by you. If you don't do it, it will go undone, and the world will be emptier for its absence. You might think you have nothing great to contribute. Perhaps your life is filled with mundane activities. Laundy, dishes, cooking, filing papers, entering data. I have those things in my life too. Those are not the things that make the difference. They may pay the bills and literally put food on our table, but they can be done by someone else."But I am not an artist, musician or writer. I have nothing of lasting value to contribute."That is an absolute lie.

Let me share a story with you.When I was in Kindergarten, we had a snack time. Usually it was juice and cookies or chips. One day there was no fruit juice available. There was only root beer. No offense, but I cannot tolerate even the smell of root beer. I would have to be half way through the desert with no end in sight before I would think of trying to consume it. Blech! and yuck! are the two words that come to mind when I think of root beer. Got the picture? Problem was, there was nothing available but root beer for the Kindergarten class. My momma taught me right, so when I was served a cup of this vile liquid (sorry) I refused it with a polite, if very unhappy "No, thank you." The teacher's assistant asked why I didn't want it, and I told her, that I just could not drink it. I didn't ask for anything else. I don't know where she got it from, but that sweet lady brought me a cup of fruit juice and quietly whispered in my ear not to let any of the other children know I had it.

I don't remember her name, but I can still remember what she made me feel like. She probably never had her fifteen minutes of fame, but her kindness has been indelibly recorded in my heart. She made me feel important, unique and worthy of a kindness. No one else could have one that for me the way she did that day.So what can you contribute? How about a smile? Everyone's got one of those to share. Maybe you can compliment an overworked cashier, read to a child, pay for a stranger's lunch, let your husband know how much you admire him, tell your wife she is the best thing since sliced bread. Sing in the church choir, take photos, record your family history, donate blood.Most of all, find out what it is only you can contribute to the world. Then do it.