ADVENT QUOTE….

Posted on December 2, 2012 by Virginia

For the First Sunday in Advent (& to kick off Virginia The Blogger’s -post-something-each-day of Advent challenge : )  here’s a quote to munch on as you dash about this December Sunday…

Joyful heart from christmascard (2)

“BLESSED IS THE SEASON WHICH ENGAGES THE WHOLE WORLD IN A CONSPIRACY OF LOVE.”  (Hamilton Wright Mabi)

In our town of Williamsburg, there’s a huge Grand Illumination celebration this evening – white candles lit in every window, cannons, fifes & drums & TONS OF PEOPLE (passing through downtown this morning i sighted lots of folks already assembled for pre-illumination holiday fun!)

Sometimes we get So Very Busy during Advent with the holiday season we forget to be Conspirators of Love.

As crowds shove & push to see the festivities, remember to Do Your Part conspiring.

…. BE THE LOVE…

grace, peace & Conspirators

Virginia : )

 

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DECEMBER 1st : WORLD AIDS DAY…(wake up World!)

Posted on December 1, 2012 by Virginia

Yes, it’s December 1st already…& once again the world remembers the millions of children, women, fathers, sons, husbands, teachers, mothers, brothers who have died & are dying of HIV/AIDS.  We need more than just a World AIDS Day  each year to highlight this devastating disease (altho for sure it’s helpful to take a day for events around the world to keep raising awareness!!)  –after living in Africa, i pray every day for the victims of AIDS there & so many other places..

Please take a moment to read my blog on this from last year:

(click this link: Wake up World – It’s AIDS Day)

… and then rem401px-Red_Ribbon.svgember to pray & act & do what you can do raise awareness…

EVERY DAY that you can..

 

grace, peace & AIDS Awareness

Virginia

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…on Emergency Room visits & Pain Management…

Posted on November 28, 2012 by Virginia

So, Virginia the Blogger has been M.I.A. the past few weeks due to Extenuating Circumstances, Holidays (cooking trumps blogging : ) & Other Issues…

But, hey, I’m back… just in time for merrily attacking Advent, but more on that later.

Someone famous once said, “Pain & suffering are inevitable, misery is optional.”  In my case, I inevitably crash into pain on a regular basis.  The challenge remains how to let (or not let) The Pain maim us inside when outside we are hurting, sometimes off-the-charts-BAD. Misery can be a choice.

It seems like pain is always a matter of Bad Timing. I’d rather give it No Time At All, but  unfortunately pain is part of the life deal & we have to deal with it. As nasty pain gremlins greedily chisel away at our insides, wounding us not just in body but also in mind & spirit, pain can pound our hearts to bits & make our minds mush.

Onto ‘Extenuating Circumstances…”

Two weeks ago while getting ready for church (!) a massive wave of pain immobilized my forward momentum. ‘Twas excruciating, but my brother & I had planned to see the new James Bond movie that afternoon (’tis often a bit complicated getting ‘coverage’ for the Savvy Saints, but we’d plotted ahead for Opening Weekend!) Not going to church meant No James Bond, so I hobbled painfully into my car & prayed all the way there. Clutching my side entering church, I hoped God noticed the extra effort. (As it became evident that the pain was getting worse, I hope God didn’t notice my bent-over wobbly early exit after communion.)

…Fast forward several hours of Urgent Care, a nite of even more pain & a whole day spent in the Emergency Room with my sister Shere: it turns out not to be a Hernia as originally diagnosed but an Internal Abdominal Muscle Pull.

yeah, right.

Given 5+ kidney stone episodes the past 2 years (Va’s internal kidney stone manufacturing plant did not get the memo to cease production, mysteriously churning them out even after giving up salty things that I adore eating), past neck fusion surgery (very sharp nerve pain), a fractured back from falling down a flight of stairs 20+ years ago (my parents call me ‘Calamity Ginny’ for good reason) that led to years of back challenges (like someone is literally stabbing me in the back & twisting the knife?)  + multiple ankle fractures, knee surgery (etc) I would say my pain threshold is kinda high.

That Sunday nite the pain MADE ME CRY. (Kidney stones make me very sick & want to scream, but not cry.)  This felt like an iron claw was pinching my side with needles around to my back.  AUGH.

After running various tests that ruled out the Bad Stuff (strangulated hernia) & finding Other Issues (more for Virginia the Medical Detective to take up with her other docs), the ER doc gave his diagnosis.

Pulled Muscle. huh? To my disheveled disbelief, he added, “sometimes as you get older, these things happen.” You step a certain way. BLAM. Suddenly, you can’t move.

(I really wanted to Blam Him over the head for that ‘getting older’ comment, but the nurse helpfully said she’d seen grown men writhing on the floor crying from the pain of these pulls, thus saving that truly tactful doc potential head injuries!)

Two weeks of bedrest, heat, pills… with Thanksgiving between… arranging Help to turn my Papa (as a bedfast quad we turn him every 4 hrs or so) … & it STILL HURTS.

Bah Humbug.

ok, so not as bad as the ‘it’s hard to move’ first week. But… how annoying.

How unexpectedly ANNOYING.

OK, so I am very grateful it wasn’t something that required surgery (amen & amen on that one for answered prayers) but I am just so tired of the pain scene. As a dedicated Mercy Groupie, I get it – “LORD PLEASE HAVE MERCY, MERCY, MERCY ON ME.. on  us, on everyone…”  and I already ask God every day for Grace (in extra doses.)

I wish i could say that this pain has drawn me closer to God & all that, but you know what? during heating pad sessions I finished Season 7 of “Deep Space Nine” & watched a huge pile of movies (when there’s time, for sure a bunch of those will go into the Movie List Page above & maybe even a few will get blog-estate here.)

…& TRIED TO BE NICE TO OTHERS even when the pain made me grumpy (Bonus Points to the Heavenly Grace Connection…)

…& prayed for the Beanheads in the Middle East botching things up in Gaza & Israel (even dopey on pain meds my heart cried for the senseless violence there, my scribbled out blog rant will have to be toned sown before circulation!)

…& Gave Thanks. Even in pain, things could be worse… & so many others have it so  much worse. There’s the issue of perspective – ‘in all things’ – there are so many things to be thankful for: family, friends, pain meds, heating pads, Grace, Mercy, Joy in special packages (like Amazon Gift cards from my concerned brother, special edible treats from my sister, cards, calls, LOVE & prayers from so many.  : )

…. & laughed (a sure cure: watching Yes Minister, Everybody Loves Raymond & reading Lois McMaster Bujold’s latest Vorkosigan adventure on my new Kindle White,  a very nice giftie from my Very Nice into-new-gadgets brother : )

So, yes, suffering & pain are inevitable, but I decided not to choose misery in this latest episode of annoying PAIN.  yes, I WAS MISERABLE a wee bit, but that’s when prayer really helps. For real. Try it. God does hear(!)  Altho we may have pain meds for physical pain – THANK YOU LORD – there’s also Healing Grace for wounded hearts available from Heavenly Dispensers.

JUST ASK!

(now must get back to the Heating Pad as have overdone ‘sitting-at-the-computer’ & the PAIN IS RAGING, yet again.)

bah, BAH HUMBUG.

“God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience,

but shouts in our pains:

Pain is God’s megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” C.S. Lewis

 

grace, peace & Pain Management

  Virginia : )

 

p.s. Advent is coming & I am plotting to ‘post-something-a-day’ like Lent. For the record, it might be a photo, quote or something Very (VERY) Short(!)

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Wednesday photographs: …lookin’ around on rainy days…

Posted on November 14, 2012 by Virginia

So yesterday was cold, dark & stormy in these parts… yet our fall leaves were just BURSTING with color – yellows cascading around reds, orange limbs peeking out between… it seemed like Tolkien’s Lothlorien.  Dark sky & rain, but bright colors above & below (lots of leaves pummeled to the ground provided a beauteous fall carpet.)

Yucky day, but lovely if you looked around…

Of course, i forgot to take pictures (!) but today decided to share these taken in Italy a few years ago (same idea, driving around on a cold & rainy November day in the Veneto region of Italy – but i did have my camera handy!  :  )

The thing is, my travel buddies & i could have stayed snuggled up in the lovely villa where we were staying (designed by the amazing architect, Palladio) but even in the rain, Italy is, well, ITALY… there’s beauty to find, cappuccinos to enjoy &…THE FOOD(!)

We had one of the best-est meals of our entire 3 week journey that day, a delightful culinary treasure found on a village road winding around the  hills outside Este – they were preparing for a visit from the Regional Governor & Other Important Personages the next day, but the talented chef produced a gloriously beautiful luncheon for us ( So Incredibly Yummy) & introduced us to her family…

It was a Grand Experience all together, but i digress…

(if you are ever in the Veneto Region of Italy, be sure to find Caffe Breda, a real treat!)

ahhh, The Leaves.  Just like yesterday – God’s Heavenly Paintbrushes busy, busy.

(This is another cool place to visit if you’re near Vicenza – the folks i stayed with were all Palladio groupies, so go figure we visited many places he designed – even in the rain!)

…about The Rain – my sister sent me a wonderful card last week with this quote:

“LIFE ISN’T ABOUT WAITING FOR THE STORM TO PASS.
 IT’S ABOUT LEARNING TO DANCE IN THE RAIN.”
(Vivian Greene)

I think part of learning to dance in the rain is learning to Look Around: you never know what you might find. (If you look for beauty, you might just find it! even in the rain…)

Saw this quote today from C.S. Lewis that is also kinda challenging:

“A proud man is always looking down on things & people; and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you.” 

(in case you don’t ‘get it’ – look harder & see the dovebirds on the chimney – there’s love snuggling above!)

So,  i’m throwing down the gauntlet to Look Around on dark, cold, rainy days (or snowy days in some parts – altho for real, you might need to stay in if it’s Piling On – i am a southerner & we don’t Do Snow; if there’s an inch everything shuts down!)

Look around… & learn how to dance in the rain (or snow, with your snowsuits on!)

When it rains in your life & storms knock out your internal electricity.  Get moving. Plug in your back-up generators. When they blow? Do the battery dance … until you get re-connected to the  Power Grid – there’s a limitless-Heavenly Supply:  Beauty, Joy, Grace, Peace, Mercy & Love… all there, if you look Above.

…& methinks that learning to dance in the cold rain is a mite easier if you’re warm inside.

We ended our cold, wet day driving about the Veneto with the Best-est Hot Chocolate of our trip at a cafe in Este (that is Saying Something as we also visited Vienna where their Hot Chocolate is Really Something!) This was like a cross between hot chocolate & hot pudding. Deeeeelightfully, decadently DEEEEELICIOUS … & oh, how it warmed our hearts (& tummies.)

It might be raining (or snowing) … but Look Around – there’s Beauty to Be Found.  Joy lurks around that next corner…(look UP, not down… altho a beauteous fall carpet of cascading colors may abound if you look down closely!)

… and Love? It’s up Above & all around you (if you’re dating a Beanhead or married to one, just take note there are All Kinds of Love & God’s kind Never Fails.)

grace, peace & Lookin’ Around (on rainy days)

    Virginia :  )

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…stormy weather…

Posted on October 29, 2012 by Virginia

As Hurricane Sandy crashes upon the East Coast & mixes with a Northeaster, some folks are calling this the storm of the century – certainly one of the most potentially devastating storms we have seen in my lifetime. (We have weathered quite a few living in a coastal community & environs..)

So far in Virginia (the state!) Sandy has battered our beaches & flooded neighborhoods in low lying areas, but we are in that ‘wait-&-see’ mode until she hits land later tonight up north.  My prayers go out to the people in New Jersey, New York, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, DC, our Eastern Shore  & all those who will endure the brunt of the storm.

day after Irene-fallen-tree-missed-my-room-by-inches (photo courtesy of Dwight Woodward)

Hurricanes are taken seriously around the Woodward Home in Williamsburg, Virginia.

When I lived at home for grad school in 1999, we were eating breakfast at the kitchen table (Papa was still getting up in his wheelchair an hour each day then) –  KABLAAAM(!)  Hurricane Floyd hit – literally- when a gigantic tree in our yard crashed onto our house & then my car (parked three times to avoid such an occurrence.)  My brother & I ran out in the pouring rain to rescue my music CDs & soaked study papers, but Floyd smashed my poor car totally into smithereens.

God is Good (all the time!) Altho the tree severely damaged the whole right side of our roof/attic, if it had fallen a few feet to the left, it would have hit us in the kitchen where lots of windows could have morphed into dangerous glass-missiles.  Did i mention we were eating breakfast? In the kitchen?

I remember our neighbor rushed over to help (Tim Hogan also came later to help hoist Papa into the center hallway of the house where we all sat huddled for the worst part of the storm – the tree fell well before the gale winds started kicking up!)   & Papa’s friends braved the elements to check on us … & then helped get rid of the Big Tree On Top of The House.

After Hurricane Floyd, neighbors rowed up & down our 4-feet-water deep street for several days… two homes had to be totally rebuilt & several of my classmates in other parts of town had to find new places to live.

More storms later… last year we weathered Hurricane Irene.  Lots of tornado-ish whooshing winds ferociously attacked everything & rain, rain, RAIN poured down. The electricity went out for most of Williamsburg for 3 days to 3 weeks for those in outlying environs.

The thing is, my older brother, Dean, & his wife, Lynn, & my niece, Jessey, came up from Virginia Beach (where Irene was supposed to be Very Bad) to stay with us during the storm (we have a super-duper generator to keep Papa’s hospital beds powered up & keep us going.) Turned out their neighborhood only lost power for an hour, but we were out for 4 days & the devastation around our town was huge.

Now, more on that fallen tree pictured above.  As Irene whooshed late into the night (sounding like mini-tornadoes), I was sitting in my room in my jammies (sleep hard to come by) when – CRASH – (ok, so i was texting my sister greatly relieved that she & my nieces had made it through the storm driving home from a wedding in Richmond)..

– crash, CRASH!… It sounded major.

Looking out my window i could see nothing in the dark but tree branches up close & personal.  Thankfully my room seemed to still be intact, but @6:15a.m. the next morning my niece & i trekked outside to assess the damage.

Did i mention my Papa had just come home from a pneumonia-induced hospital stay? ‘Twas quite hot & we needed to turn on the AC to cool him down, but alas, a very large tree fell right on the AC/Heat pumps.  (literally missed my room by INCHES, altho it grabbed an expensive section of gutter. Room vs. Gutters? a no-brainer big Thank You to God for merciful falling trees…)

Just as Jessey & I tried to figure out how to move a big tree a gazillion times bigger than us off the pumps, our neighbor Tim Hogan turned up (@ 6:30…) & promptly toted his chainsaw over to help us out. Voila: huge tree carefully moved off pumps & AC for Papa.

Good Neighbors… Love in aAtion. (Tim’s wife Laurin regularly brings over home-baked bread that tastes like manna from Heaven – in fact, she just brought a loaf over today! We treasure every morsel in our grateful hearts & delighted tummies.  :  )

So… we do take storms seriously around here.  We have prepared for Sandy (yard stuff moved inside, enough water for a week, full bath-tub, batteries checked, electronics charged, food stored up, generator good-to-go)… & of course, we are praying. lots. (especially for the folks in New Jersey)

But we’re not afraid.

Storms like Hurricane Sandy happen.  We can prepare, but storms are rather unpredictable… & often devastating.

We are not in control. We can only control our responses (& our prayers are with all the Emergency Teams on the ready!)

Just like in life, sometimes  major storms take us unaware & knock us down flat. SPLAT! We fall on our faces (or our tushis, depending upon the direction of the devastation.)

Here’s a previous post i wrote about what to do when the Surf starts Gettin’ Rough (click here to read.)

It’s very important during life’s storms that our foundations are secure. Not built on sand that washes away when the first 20 mile-per-hour winds hit…(& shallow roots like our early Floyd-toppled-tree)  but built on Solid Rock that stands secure in the face of life’s devastating 100 mph+ winds.

Storms happen.

Faith is a choice.   A solid foundation to keep us with the grace of God in the loving arms of God – no Matter What Happens.  We are Not Alone.

Loved ones, family, friends, neighbors — gifts from God to help us through our storms.

… and GOD IS WITH US.

“Be strong & of good courage. Be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you, whithersoever you go.”  Joshua 1:9

grace, peace & stormy weather

Virginia : )

p.s. the electricity just went out & our generator kicked in, so must sign off before internet goes down.  Pls, to my friends around the globe, pray for us the next few days!!!  Mercy is Very Good & grace & HELP TO THOSE WHO WILL NEED IT DESPERATELY after the storm hits land tonight.

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PAPA TURNS 82!!!!!

Posted on October 25, 2012 by Virginia

Today is my Papa’s birthday.  Hmmn, that’s nice (you may think) – a birthday, whoopie. But celebrating my Papa’s birthday is  kinda a Big Deal, cause each day around here life (especially his) is a gift.

Way back in 1980 (a long time ago) the Mayo Clinic docs diagnosed Papa with Multiple Sclerosis. As he moved from a cane to an Amigo-drive-yourself cart, to a large wheelchair, to total bedfast living the past 10+ years, it turns out he actually has a rare quadriplegia disorder that caused his paralysis from the neck down.

He can’t move anything except his head & his mouth, which he uses often to write zillions of words using voice-activated computer software for his books & blog (click to check it out here)… (& click here to learn more about him in a past blog from me …)

The thing is, my Papa was quite athletic in his day (he played high school football outside Pittsburgh where football is HUGE.) When we were little, he was into running – 5 miles every day in his flashy jogging suit emblazoned with “Temple Maintenance” on the back.  In the winter my younger brother & I counted Papa’s laps as he ran up & down the boardwalk by the beach where we grew up.

Getting hit over the head with a disease & loss of mobility & ability was definitely hard – but my Papa, well, he kept on keeping on, by the grace Of God. As he continues keeping on even though he is in pain 24/7.

The docs didn’t think he’d make 70 (most quads don’t) but there is so much for Papa To Do (people to meet, books & blogs to write) that each day we celebrate the gift of life as Papa continues to bloom as a Rose in the Rubble of the disease around him. So, he’s a masculine rose (!) handsomely emanating joy-filled aromas around the thorns that bind his body – but not his spirit.

“Dick rocks!” (as the young interns he mentors claim.)

So here’s a Birthday Prayer…

Oh Lord,  as we celebrate 82 years for Papa today

we want to say a Big THANK YOU for the Gift of Life …

… and FOR…

… Your Love in Papa, shared in so many ways

… Your Grace in Papa, to face many challenging days

… Your Peace in Papa (most of the time!)

… Your Joy in Papa that despite pain rises sublime

… Your Wisdom in Papa, the Whole Word for the Whole World

     (the truths in Your Holy Scriptures  so boldly unfurled!)

Oh Lord, we thank you for Papa, his life

… (& for giving him such a dear Wife!)..

Please bless him this day, this week, this year

As we hold the 4 Secrets he says about You so dear:

I’m not, but He is.
And I am in Him, and He is in me.

I can’t, but He can.
And I am in Him, and He is in me.

I don’t want to, but He wants to.
And I am in Him, and He is in me.

I didn’t, but He did.
Because I was in Him and He was in me.

Thank YOU, Oh Lord, for being Papa’s Guide

–  always &  forever intertwined –

Vines & Branches, fruit-filled blooms

Thank YOU for the Rose of his life amidst Rubble

that has NOT spelled doom & gloom –

but Joy in Jesus, Your Son

All battles won.

AMEN.

 

So Papa, as you turn 82

Don’t take any time out to Be Blue.

Instead, believe this, ‘cause ‘tis True:

WE LOVE YOU!!!

HaPpY HaPpY BIRTHDAY PAPA…

grace, peace & Birthday Hugs

 Virginia :  )
YOUR GRATEFUL DAUGHTER

 

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15 October: St. Teresa of Avila …

Posted on October 16, 2012 by Virginia

yesterday i missed posting something about one of my most favorite, awesomely AMAZING saints – Teresa of Avila, or Teresa of Jesus as she is known throughout the world (she was so madly, passionately in Love with Him that title seems Very Appropriate!!)

Last year i actually made a post before midnight (click here to read why i really like Saint Teresa..) but yesterday turned out Rather Busy in these parts, so today here are a few words to munch on from this great woman of faith & Doctor of the Church…

“Let nothing trouble you,
Let nothing scare you,
All is fleeting,
God alone is unchanging.
Patience
Everything obtains.
He who possesses God
Nothing wants.
God alone suffices.”

“Myself surrendered and given,
The exchange is this:
My Beloved is for me,
And I am for my Beloved.”

“Christ has no body now, but yours.
No hands, no feet on earth, but yours.
Yours are the eyes through which
Christ looks compassion into the world.
Yours are the feet
with which Christ walks to do good.
Yours are the hands
with which Christ blesses the world.”

Oh Beauty exceeding
All other beauties!
Paining, but You wound not
Free of pain You destroy
The love of creatures

Oh, knot that binds
Two so different,
Why do You become unbound
For when held fast You strengthen
Making injuries seem good.

Bind the one without being
With being unending;
Finish, without finishing,
Love, without having to love,
Magnify our nothingness.

Saint Teresa of Avila
(1515-1582)

(*Quotes taken primarily from “The Prayers of St. Teresa of Avila” compiled by Thomas Alvarez, O.C.D.)

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04 October – Saint Francis “Canticle of the Sun”

Posted on October 4, 2012 by Virginia

Today we celebrate the life of Saint Francis of Assisi, an incredible man of God who lived a Very Long Time ago yet still has such a Huge Impact on us today – through the amazing Franciscans carrying on his legacy serving the poorest of the poor all around the world (www.franciscansinternational.org) & his love of Creation & our amazing Creator (along with many other issues, like being instruments of God’s peace et all : )

Since i, uh, shared Saint Francis’ prayer for peace last year, here’s a hymn he wrote about our Creator & the creation all around us….

Canticle of the Sun

Most high, all powerful, all good Lord!
All praise is yours, all glory, all honor, and all blessing.

To you, alone, Most High, do they belong.
No mortal lips are worthy to pronounce Your name.

Be praised, my Lord, through all your creatures,
especially through my lord Brother Sun,
who brings the day; and you give light through him.
And he is beautiful and radiant in all his splendor!
Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.

Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars;
in the heavens You have made them bright, precious and beautiful.

Be praised, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air,
and clouds and storms, and all the weather,
through which you give your creatures sustenance.

Be praised, My Lord, through Sister Water;
she is very useful, and humble, and precious, and pure.

Be praised, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
through whom you brighten the night.
He is beautiful and cheerful, and powerful and strong.

Be praised, my Lord, through our sister Mother Earth,
who feeds us and rules us,
and produces various fruits with colored flowers and herbs.

Be praised, my Lord, through those who forgive for love of you;
through those who endure sickness and trial.

Happy those who endure in peace,
for by You, Most High, they will be crowned.

Be praised, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death,
from whose embrace no living person can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin!
Happy those she finds doing Your most holy will.

The second death can do no harm to them.

Praise and bless my Lord, and give thanks,
and serve him with great humility.

Saint Francis of Assisi

grace,  peace & Sonshine

     Virginia :  )

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…on smiling when your heart is breaking…

Posted on September 23, 2012 by Virginia

Virginia the Blogger has been busy the past few weeks pulling Extra TLC duty for her precious Mama who is suffering from Excruciating Pain (the nerve kind that totally wipes you out.) Usually my feisty Mama zooms around in her wheelchair (‘tis often hard to catch up.) Occasionally she needs a ‘Be Nice to Her Knees day’ (ice-packs inclusive with her loving daughter to assist.) But now she needs help with Everything: getting up, getting down (carefully), getting around, & getting to those pain meds on time.

…& your Blitzed-Out Bi-Pap Breathing Machine Night Monitor is up at all hours not just for Papa, but for Mama, too. 🙂   (yaddi dadi dah – Zombies of the World Unite!@!) Zombie Virginia wrote the following last week &, well, not much time to format pics, so here you have it, a few rough edged thoughts on smiling & PAIN MANAGEMENT.

It’s hard to smile when you’re in pain. I know my last post of Mother Teresa quotes focused on smiling (reminder to self: SMILE! : )  Methinks she knew something about pain (of all shapes & sizes..)

That’s fine, you may say, Mother Teresa is a SAINT (!!) she got that smile thing going with extra Heavenly Graces.

But in the depths of sleep-deprivation doldrums, neck pain, kidney stones, pain in general (broken hearts inclusive), when even the deepest, darkest vat of chocolate will not take the pain away (altho as a temporary fix it can lift spirits a little!) how (the heck) is it possible to smile?

(& that I should want to? smile? exactly, you gotta’ be kidding..)

Physical pain is, well, PAIN (note the capital ‘P.’) It hurts! Unfortunately Calamity Virginia knows a bit too much about this kind: back pain from falling down a flight of stairs 20+ years ago, ankle pain from fracturing both ankles (multiple times), nerve pain from misbehaving neck discs (pre-&-post surgery), pain from misbehaving knees post-post surgery & more recent kidney stone pain (busy internal factory manufacture rate = TOOO HIGH..)

Then there’s pain of the heart – from the loss of a loved one, or a broken heart when a loved one turns out to be a Beanhead (or Beanheadette.)  It hurts, sometimes much worse than physical pain.

There’s pain we suffer for others – the pain of helplessness when facing daunting odds (disease, bleak opportunity horizons, poverty, conflicts.) More heart hurt(s.)

Stuff happens!  or not.. it’s also painful when our hopes, dreams & aspirations are dashed to dust… or when we wait.. and wait… & God doesn’t seem to hear our VERY fervent prayers (the ones we pray on our knees?)

Sometimes when life is hard smiles are miles away from our hearts & joy, well joy seems like an intangible impossibility (for REAL!) Our hurt is just Too Big. Our pain is Too Deep. Joy seems overrated. No sunshine squeaks through our dark clouds of pain.

But God is bigger than our pain. His love goes deeper than the darkest drain in our hearts. Not in some sentimental sappy way – but, for REAL. God is with you. And Me. And those who are hurting. The warmth of His sunshine lifts our spirits (ok, so sometimes God doesn’t take the pain away – it’s still there: PAIN … but His Heavenly Sunshine dissipates dark pain clouds with grace to COPE WITH THE PAIN.)

As you face whatever pain (literally) is lurking about your life (& heart), ask for God’s grace to help you cope.

It’s simple:  GOD PLEASE HELP ME! MORE GRACE NEEDED TO COPE.

…it may take awhile, but as you feel the Smile of His Love for you (even amidst those excruciating pain bursts)… your heart can smile in faith-filled assurance that He WILL PROVIDE the grace & gumption to face the next minute, hour, day of pain, even if it is a bit messy.

Love, afterall, is a messy business (triple diaper changes, ‘hanging in there’ when our loved ones mess up, tending our precious ones battling disease… losing those dear to us…) just as life can sometimes be messy.

As God loves us in OUR messes – so too, we can love others in & through their messes… (first letting our own broken hearts open for business again, maybe after a little mending? the ‘please help me, heal me, oh Lord kind?’)

In the dark harshness of life, God softens our hearts with His Light.  Believe it (or not) even when we’re in pain (& life is A Mess) He shines through us.

Maybe we can’t save the world (the whole world, anyway), but we can do our part to share a little Light – make that special meal, clean up that mess, share that advocacy piece (for peace!), give a little extra from our safety stash, Try Not to be So Grumpy to our loved ones (or co-workers) when those pain bursts hit high decibels (or tireditis hits new lows) Sometimes the best way to help others is to first Take A Nap!

… & Smile.  It’s a good place to start

(It’s amazing if you smile at soldiers, a smile that says God loves you? even pointing that uzi at me? sometimes they get distracted why they’re pointing the uzi in the 1st place – & put down their guns … so it worked a few times for Virginia the Relief & Development Worker in Conflict Zones…other times ‘twas good to seriously frown & … PRAY LIKE CRAZY! : )

… or even smile in the grocery line? When you’ve been waiting for eons (Wal Mart comes to mind… grrrrr.) Those grocery line workers could use a little smile amidst their challenging jobs & the other grumpy people in line? Maybe they’re in lots of pain (or maybe they’re just RUDE…whatever… saying a little prayer for them can’t hurt.)

We CAN smile in the knowledge that God loves us in our pain. Yep. That’s a twister when we’re busy asking “why God? Why me?” (…& revving up Mercy, Mercy prayers when kidney stone or heart pain hits) … but if we stop & listen a little (‘tis hard when pain pounds out most everything in us)

…When our hearts are breaking & our bodies are wracked with pain…

(crying bucket loads, trying not to drown!)

… our spirits don’t need to be weighed down with frowns…

… we can REST in the knowledge that GOD LOVES US…

…God loves YOU…

…God loves ME…

…we can (try) to love each other…

…(or at least smile)…

 

 “I am only one but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something; and though I cannot do everything, whatever I can do, I will do, so help me God.”   Edward Everett

grace, peace & Pain Management

Virginia : )

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quotes & photos: Mother Teresa & peace-full smiles : )

Posted on September 9, 2012 by Virginia

Since these Wednesday photos are finally making it to cyberspace on SUNDAY,  here’s a little inspiration from Mother Teresa to contemplate as as a new week begins…

“The Good News is that God still loves the world through you.  You are God’s Good News.  You are God’s love in action.  Each time anyone comes in contact with us, they must become different and better people because of having met us.  We must radiate God’s love.”   (Mother Teresa) 

These busy business professors in Indonesia are on their way back to their uni after training a group of enterprising women entrepreneurs … very successfully, i may add, as i heard & saw the results of their training that lifted women (& their children) out of urban poverty through successful business initiatives…  Lots to smile about!!!

“Let us not use bombs and guns to overcome the world.  Let us use love and compassion.  Peace begins with a smile – smile five times a day at someone you don’t really want to smile at at all – do it for peace.  So let us radiate the peace of God and so light His light and extinguish in the world and in the hearts of all men all hatred and love for power.”  (Mother Teresa)

“Let us always meet each other with a smile… for a smile is the beginning of love.”   (Mother Teresa)

“…Today if we have no peace it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other – that man, that woman, that child is my brother or my sister… If everyone could see the image of God in his neighbor, do you think we would still need tanks and generals? …

Joy shows from the eyes; it appears when one speaks and walks.  It cannot be kept closed inside us. It reacts outside.  When people find in your eyes that habitual happiness, they will understand that they are the beloved children of God…”    (Mother Teresa)

“Joy is prayer; joy is strength; joy is love; joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.”   (Mother Teresa)

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta  (August 26, 1910 – September 5, 1997)

grace, peace & sunday smiles

Virginia : )

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