In The Overall Scheme of Things~

Painting "April Showers" by Fred Lisaius

Some say promises are made to be broken. I hope that’s true because I’ve broken a few of them lately. The most important one is to you, my blogger friends. I said I’d be back to wrap up the ending of my recent trip to Florida, and I haven’t done that. I apologize. My only excuse is, to put it simply, “Life” got in the way!

Those of you who read me all the time know that my favorite saying is, “Live in the moment." I really try to do that. I suppose that is why – as much as I enjoyed the time with my friend – I realize that it is now the past; today beckons. There is much to be done!

That doesn’t mean I’ll ever forget those four days; they will always be “special memories.” I will smile when I think of them. But they will not consume my thoughts or my life forever.

~~~

My husband and I visited a friend in the hospital yesterday. He and his wife have occupied the pew behind us in church every Sunday for several years and we have grown very fond of them! In recent months, we’ve watched as he quickly went from getting around very well, to barely moving, with the help of his wife. Everyone who knows this couple has noticed how fast the change took place. It seemed he went from an energetic, older man to a dependent “old” man in a very short time!

A few weeks ago, when he couldn’t get out of bed one morning, his wife called for help and he was taken to a hospital. Tests were immediately performed and it was discovered that he had a brain tumor the size of a hen egg! Surgery was scheduled and the tumor removed. We are overjoyed and very thankful that it was not malignant!

Our friend has been in the hospital twenty-two days and is scheduled to go home tomorrow. The family is delighted! Weeks of therapy have brought him back to the person we met a few years ago. He is actually picking up his feet to walk instead of shuffling along as he had been doing for months.

A story like this one puts things into perspective for all of us, doesn’t it? We learn what is really important. It’s not the piddling everyday occurrences that make our lives worthwhile. It’s family. It’s friends. It’s love. It’s making someone happy. It’s not fretting over trivial things. It’s making the most of the time we have. It’s enjoying each moment to the fullest.

Think about it!