Dear Beautiful Friends,
This really is a postscript from yesterday's post. According to Merriam-Webster Online, the definition of postscript is "a note or series of notes added at the end of a letter, article, or book: an additional fact or piece of information about a story that occurs after the main part."
Since publishing my last post, I've been pondering why these pictures with my little
sister have touched me so poignantly, and I have sort of figured it out. I think. To
try and explain....
I
have such a tenderness in my heart toward the sweet little one in the
photos ... and it pains me to say that I don't always feel that same tenderness in every day living. Not that I intentionally choose to be unlovely. But
sometimes I get so wrapped in my own affairs of life, I forget that
underneath the skin of the grown woman I know as my sister today, there
still beats the very same heart of that little girl with her eagerness and fascination, desires and longings.
And
today I feel this same tenderness goes for all my dear family ... and out beyond the
steps of my front door ... for every person in my life, people I know, and even those I sit behind at the stop light or zoom past on the
freeway. That little child inside all of us whose whole life was once before us -- eager, so eager for life -- the life that God meant for us to have, but in our up-side-down
world, we don't always get. For there isn't a-one of us who doesn't carry within our hearts those disappointments, heart
breaks, lack of encouragements, or opportunities that we felt sure would come our way.
And
my heart breaks -- even yesterday in the car coming back from my visit to
Mom's -- for every person whose heart is yanked by unlovely people, who
have never been given the Good News that Jesus came into the world --
God with us in the flesh -- to help us find those dreams, desires,
hopes, to heal our broken hearts, and to tell us what the deepest part of our
soul yearns and needs to hear:
"You I cherish ... You I love."
In
this Christmas season, I want my heart tenderized again by His love.
I need it tenderized. Where it has hardened as a result of my own pain or disappointment,
where I have forgotten that within each of us beats the heart of one who once
was -- still is -- that little girl or little lad ... innocent, perfect, beautiful. I want my heart tenderized so I can be
tenderhearted, forgiving others ... remembering we all carry scars.
I just really see that, in truth, the beautiful quote I had in yesterday's post might actually be a God Whisper to me for this Christmas Season. How sweet is that.
Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred,
and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit,
become a child again at Christmas-time.”
~ Laura Ingalls Wilder
and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit,
become a child again at Christmas-time.”
~ Laura Ingalls Wilder
I don't know if I've said what I wanted... or if it makes sense. But I hope that somewhere, between the lines, you will hear my heart and the beat of your own, and together our hearts will grow tender with love of kindred. And we'll go out and love the world. One person at a time. The person standing in front of us. Just like Mother Teresa used to. Like Jesus did and does.
Reach out. Take a hand. Smile. Sing. Laugh. Forgive.
With a gentle kiss atop thy heads,
Brenda
xox
Oh, it DOES make sense, Brenda. PERFECT sense. ♥
ReplyDeleteOh good, thank you, Rebecca!
DeleteI think Christmas is when we take the time to gather with, or think of family and friends and remember how blessed we are to have them in our lives.
ReplyDeleteA thoughtful post.
Merry Christmas.
Judith
Christmas really does open the heart for loved ones, doesn't it? More than any other time of the year. As you say, it's good to remember how blessed we are for our families and friends.
DeleteThanks so much, Judith!
I think I know what you mean Brenda. My little brother has lived in Hawaii for 25 years, haven't seen him much. We are living very different lives, and yet all I need to do is remember him as he was as my little brother, and there's a closeness there. And whenever we feel upset, angry, or hurt by people, it does seem to help to remember that they were once children, and all of us have inside of us a child that was once eager and excited, and sometimes broken and hurt. The pictures of you and your sister are sweet, and I can see why they are also very poignant. Blessings to you. Deborah
ReplyDeleteDeborah, You've said it so beautifully. I have family that lives far away and we don't see each other as much as I'd like, so it's nice to remember them when we were all little, as that does make me feel tender and close to them.
DeleteIt does make sense. Thank you for sharing your heart. Lots to think about here.
ReplyDeleteOh, it makes SO much sense. It is beautifully real, and very personally touches me. So much so, that I might dig out pictures of my own sister, with whom I did not share childhoods. It would be good, perhaps, to look at her as she once had been. She'd just turned 13 when I was born, so I never knew the little blonde with the curly hair and the sweet face that I saw in her darling babyish photos. Her life went on to take a very sad direction. She died 20 years ago, thankfully making peace with God before passing on. Thank you indeed for sharing your heart.
ReplyDelete