Sunday, February 04, 2007
LEARNING BY EXAMPLE.....
There is a place called Suffering…..where not many choose to go….but at some point each of us will be asked to bear the suffering of others…and in due time we will have to bear our own.
Suffering is strangely a great teacher. We are made uniquely different and so our suffering is uniquely different. It is geared to make an impact on us as well as to those around us.
I have been in great company to observe suffering and strength. The people in my life have shown me many times how to react to tragedy, to loss, to disappointment and to failure. I have seen widows whose conduct was exemplary in the loss of their husbands. We can all learn by example.
My maternal grandmother was widowed early…..her resolve was to raise her children and give them a good education. She was hard working and prudent….she never knew what welfare or Social Security was. She made the long walk into town to clean the parsonage of her pastor when she was a lot older than many of the women in the church. She found a way to be useful after the children were gone, and she didn’t let her age become a handicap. We can all learn by example.
I had great teachers in my aunts and my mother as well as many women who have passed through my life. I saw many different problems, each handled with the same courage and strength. I learned compassion at an early age. Seeing animals hurt or killed made me very sad. I was a kid who always wanted everything to come “all right” and did everything I could to help. I don’t say that from pride but from the words my aunt Mary told me one time. She was talking about my childhood and that was her assessment. I cared about others at an early age. We can all learn by example.
If you are blessed with good health and long life it is most surely going to follow that you will suffer many losses. How you stand up to them is how you will handle them when you are the target. I have lived long enough to see the best stand up to the worst……and I have seen the worst stand up to the best. Your defining moment is how you act upon the final chapter of your life. We can all learn by example.
Will your life be taken from you or will you give it away? I have found the people who are least concerned about dying are the ones who gave their life for others all along the way. Giving your life up begins a long time before the final breath. It is yesterday, today and tomorrow.
We can all learn by example………..
Until the next time, I am,
Essentially Esther
Suffering is strangely a great teacher. We are made uniquely different and so our suffering is uniquely different. It is geared to make an impact on us as well as to those around us.
I have been in great company to observe suffering and strength. The people in my life have shown me many times how to react to tragedy, to loss, to disappointment and to failure. I have seen widows whose conduct was exemplary in the loss of their husbands. We can all learn by example.
My maternal grandmother was widowed early…..her resolve was to raise her children and give them a good education. She was hard working and prudent….she never knew what welfare or Social Security was. She made the long walk into town to clean the parsonage of her pastor when she was a lot older than many of the women in the church. She found a way to be useful after the children were gone, and she didn’t let her age become a handicap. We can all learn by example.
I had great teachers in my aunts and my mother as well as many women who have passed through my life. I saw many different problems, each handled with the same courage and strength. I learned compassion at an early age. Seeing animals hurt or killed made me very sad. I was a kid who always wanted everything to come “all right” and did everything I could to help. I don’t say that from pride but from the words my aunt Mary told me one time. She was talking about my childhood and that was her assessment. I cared about others at an early age. We can all learn by example.
If you are blessed with good health and long life it is most surely going to follow that you will suffer many losses. How you stand up to them is how you will handle them when you are the target. I have lived long enough to see the best stand up to the worst……and I have seen the worst stand up to the best. Your defining moment is how you act upon the final chapter of your life. We can all learn by example.
Will your life be taken from you or will you give it away? I have found the people who are least concerned about dying are the ones who gave their life for others all along the way. Giving your life up begins a long time before the final breath. It is yesterday, today and tomorrow.
We can all learn by example………..
Until the next time, I am,
Essentially Esther
