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As I grow older, I have discovered "living" has a way of weaving unexpected twists and turns in my life.  There are those mountain top experiences filled with overwhelming joy and hope. I have discovered that many times mountain top experiences are followed by a descent to the valley below. Walking through the valley can be lined with heartaches, disappointment, pain, and isolation.  Although I am never sure what lies ahead of me as I travel through life, the mountain tops, and the valleys, I am certain that I do not travel alone.  Whether up on the mountain top or in the valley below, there is a rhythm, a heartbeat and melody that runs through all life.  The Creator and the created.  Be still, listen, watch closely and you will see it and feel it surrounding you. 

 

I have been reading a book by Sharon W. Betters and Susan Hunt, "Aging With Grace." I have been reminded while reading this book of this fact, that more days are behind me than are ahead of me.  I understand I have no control on the number of days I have left; however, I do have control of how I decide to live during these last days or years granted to me by God.   "When we put down the pen, stop trying to write our story or the stories of others, and wholeheartedly trust the author of our story to write his gospel story on our lives, we begin to see the mundane and the miserable moments as essential sentences that eventually become a majestic story of grace, because the plot of dirt where we die is also the place where we flourish."  

 

The Creator and the created.  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the water. Silence, stillness. Then God said, "Let there be light; and there was light! In my mind's eye I see the darkness, feel the stillness that surrounds me, I hear the voice of authority, deep and commanding, God speaks, and the darkness is shattered, and light is born. A melody of sights and sounds. 

 

I love music, it fills my soul with peace and wonder.  I can get lost in the sounds of the soft cords of a piano, the pounding sound and excitement of an orchestra or marching band.  Music can bring me to laughter and a smile, or it can usher me to tears. It can move me to dance, or it can hush my soul as I sit in silence while the lyrics whisper to my heart.  

 

Music, melody, notes on a page. It brings me comfort to know that the Lord knows me intimately. He knows the melody, the notes, the lyrics of my life. Psalm 139 tells me that God knows my words before I speak, He knows my heart, He knew me before I was born, in verse 11 David writes," I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night- but even in the darkness I cannot hide from you." In the valley of hurt and despair I remember God charts the path ahead of me, that every moment He knows where I am, the darkness cannot swallow me, and this brings me comfort. 

 

I have come to know this truth, God uses the hard moments, the difficult times in my life to grow me, nothing is ever wasted.  I have also come to understand and recognize God calls others to walk beside me, traveling companions, each designed with a specific purpose. It could be a conversation with a friend or someone directing me to see a hard truth or hold me accountable for an action or comment made in haste. What a wonderful gift from God, family, friends, traveling companions.

 

Reflecting on the book "Aging With Grace" I discovered that I have been too busy writing my own story. I have had pen in hand, writing what I think I should do, what I believe God wants me to do. It is time to put down my pen, let go of the "I" and to trust the Author of my story, to write my story.  To put self aside, be humble, be still, and allow Him to write the rest of the story of my life. To flourish where I am planted, to live each moment, the mundane and difficult, to share my story as a reflection of the majestic story of God's grace. 

 

I must admit to you it takes me days, often weeks to write my blog. I begin with a thought in my mind and where I think I need to go, however, often, where I began is often the ending of my blog. I began this blog about a month ago with these words from Ecclesiastes chapter 3, There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under heaven. A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest....

 

Flourish where you are planted, put down the pen and allow the Creator of the created to write the story of your life and you will find freedom. 

 

Cheryl Thornsbrough

President, Co-Founder 

Her House 

 

 

Quote: Aging With Grace 

             by Sharon W Betters & Susan Hunt





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