Family Ties and Fine Porcelain

For many of us there comes a time when our friends scatter, and there is that inescapable feeling of abandonment. We sometimes use the term fair-weather friend in reference to people like that, but whatever we chooses to call them, I don't believe most individuals intentionally mean to cause pain in doing this. So let's be honest; it just happens. And when it does, it is very comforting that our family is there to help replace the hurt with uplifting support and acceptance. When circumstances seems to turn against us, family ties undergird us with all we need to get back to joy:

Love.

It is true that not all of us have this kind of support when we need it most because we just don't have any family. While this situation does exist I believe that God provides alternatives. I have had the honor of being a surrogate family member, and it was one of the highest honors of my life. If you ever find yourself in any situation that provides you that privilege, take it. You being offered to that person, as a form of family, in love, by Love ItSelf is a beautiful thing.

Mr. Glynn

I have written about my dear friend Mr. Glynn Luckie Mosley who recently died. His wife Opal collected porcelain figurines, and he went to the ends of the earth in search of the ones she would ask him to find for her. One or two were exquisite and some weren't even very expensive. They just couldn't be shipped from where they originated.

He Went Anyway.

I observed many similar acts of devotion, and when she died he gracefully allowed me into his then very private and isolated world, and he stole my heart. I weep as I write remembering I got to say, see-ya-later to one of my best friends. When I was told he would not respond as the result of a coma he suddenly fell into from a simple stint procedure, I walked in the room and he began to try and talk to me. He reached for me... I got to hug him, and it was the last time I got to do that. He died the next morning.

What's Next?

My friends, it is a different time we live in. People are moving in and out of each other's lives at record speeds. Some say it's another sign of change. What I know is that for every friend that leaves you, there is another waiting to enter your life and take you to the next level. If you're really lucky this new friend may turn out to be the one you've been looking for your whole life.

Ponder It. Things Change.

So when change enters your life, make the effort to greet it like an old friend. Don't resist; that just creates repetition of circumstances. Instead receive it like a gift, maybe a fine porcelain figurine. Exquisite in craftsmanship, breathtaking to behold as the hands that created it must have surely known that it was to be this way :)

God bless those without family ties, as well as those friends who stand and remain no matter what may come. And God bless us all as we continue on in our journey of discovery. Don't fight the things you can't control. Just roll with it Baby. Rest in the beingness of it all, and quit trying to do so much. Do what you can, but let the rest go. There is freedom in that. I love you!

Peace for your weekend, spend it with your family and friends. And may you always have Love in your life. Love is real.

jb