Quotable Casandra, Part II

(From one day in my journal, November 15, 2011)

I was feeling particularly quotable today.

Today I dipped my cup in the pool of contentment. Tomorrow I’m jumping in.

Things must exist first in our minds before manifesting in our lives.

After my mother-in-law hemmed my work pants for my new job, I said, “I have pants...and I’m prepared to use them.”

I’ve been complaining about the same issues for years. They’ve been like an iceberg. Did the iceberg just move?

I said to my husband:  “I have something exciting to tell you. I bounced up the stairs today and sang the Smurf song “La la la-la la la” for three seconds.” My husband looked as if to ask “And?”  “That’s it!” I said.  My spouse still looked confused.  I explained, “I was worry-free for 3 seconds. Tomorrow I’m shooting for 4.”

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I’ve been looking for contentment all of my life.  Is it possible I‘ve found it?

My hair has gone through periods of trauma, just like me. I secretly wondered, when my hair was healthy again, I might be healthy too.  My hair looks sleek and shiny today. Watch out world!

I go to bed happy. Is it possible to wake up happy too? I keep waiting for it to stick, like in “The Groundhog Day” movie.

The dance of healing:  we take two steps forward and one step back.  I won’t expect perfection in the journey of healing.

Hungry at the Feast?

Happy Holidays! I must admit, I’m feeling a little stressed. My husband lost his job. As a result, I’ve gone back to work full-time which is more difficult due to my fibromyalgia. I’m dealing with a bully of my special needs daughter. I’m wondering if my husband will find a job in the next month before I need to buy more meds, a couple of which cost $2000 without insurance. I feel like I have a lot on my plate. Speaking of plates…

Tonight, I took one of my children to our local all-you-can-eat buffet, called Chuck-a-Rama. That name always makes me giggle. I think of it as              Upchuck-a-Rama. My youngest children call it Chuck-a-Grandma.  We arrived at rush hour for buffets. We had to wait outside in single digits cold. We were happy to get inside and wait even longer. As we stood in line, we watched the people who had already made it “in.” We were hungry in line but the people inside walked happy and satisfied around the buffet with plates full of delights, picking and choosing to their heart’s content.  Finally, it was our turn to get our own plates and select our favorite delights. I especially love the monkey bread with gooey cinnamon bread and white icing. I enjoy looking at the endless array of beverages and combining my own concoction. I’m not going to tell you how many desserts I sampled.  Whereas I was hungry, now I was completely and utterly full. My mind wandered back to my analogy of long ago called “Hungry at the Feast?” I’d like to share it with you now.

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Imagine this, you’ve traveled far and have been “figuratively” hungry for so long. You have trials, troubles, and afflictions which weigh you down and cause you to physically and spiritually hunger for something better.  You walk hungry your entire life but you hear of this amazing feast where you will never hunger again. "Blessed are they who do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled" (Matt. 5:6.)  I believe this feast is with God and you can enter "without money and without price" (Isaiah 55:1.)  I've thought of the feast after this life but it could be sooner. At the beginning of the feast, you might complain about how long you’ve been hungry. But when you’re full with no expectation of hunger again, do you need to complain about all the time you were hungry or afflicted?  Just like me complaining about all the time to wait in line for a buffet when I’m in the buffet and I’m full.

Do some of us in this life not realize we're in a line to the greatest buffet of all time, the buffet of God? We complain without realizing our needs will be met in a most amazing way, soon. This analogy gives me hope of my own trials and troubles vanishing away and of all of my needs being met at a later date.  I mean, who can still be hungry at the feast? I’m still working on complaining less but I know God understands.  Seasons Greetings!  Or, should I say Seasons Eatings? May you be filled physically and spiritually with the light and love of this holiday season.

The Story of Your Life

Imagine this…your friend comes across the perfect story and suggests you should read it. Not only does the book have a perfect fairy tale ending but it is completely predictable. Whatever the hero or heroine wants, he or she gets. No pain, no disappointments, no twists and turns, no difficulties, and no frustration. Just smooth sailing and a life of ease. He or she doesn’t even have to count calories or exercise to have a perfect physique. Doesn’t that sound like the perfect life? If you could choose it, would you?

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I might say “no,” but in the back of my mind, I’m saying “Yes. That’s the life for me.” I mean, I complain enough about my challenges and trials. It would seem that I would choose a life of ease over a life of difficulty. But what truly makes for a good story? Is it perfection and predictability? Good stories have an engaging plot and character development.  Even the fairy tales have seemingly insurmountable trials and surprising twists and turns. Fairytales and most stories have a happy ending. The heroine rises above her trials, adapts to the twists and turns and ends up a stronger person. Is your life like a good story? I’m afraid mine is. On my blog, I say that my life has been far more interesting than I ever wanted.

Since you are the hero or heroine of your story, what are you up to in your story right now? Are you making your story more interesting? Is your character developing and are you overcoming your obstacles? Recently, I was praying about a trial with which I am struggling, and I asked God if the trial could be taken away from me.  God gently chided, “Am I done with you yet?” I had to say “No.” I suppose my life is meant to be even more interesting. God isn’t done with my story. Don’t despair if your story is full of difficulty. It may be a wild ride, but may our stories all end with “Happily Ever After.”