Now Is Precious

Daily Prompts have returned to The Daily Post, and today’s prompt is:
Write about the most precious thing you’ve ever lost.

Time.

Time is the most precious thing I’ve ever lost.

I’m not referring to wasted time, although the time I’ve wasted is certainly precious too, and it’s gone forever.

“Lost wealth may be replaced by industry, lost knowledge by study, lost health by temperance or medicine, but lost time is gone forever.” Samuel Smiles

I’m referring to the precious loss of time with people I’ve loved who have passed on.

I lost precious years of time with my Mom, whose life ended as a young woman, after battling a deadly illness.

Time we could have spent together as I grew up.

Time I could have spent with her as an adult.

Time we could have spent together making many more memories than the few I have of her.

I lost precious years of time with my grandson, whose life spanned only a few weeks before it ended tragically.

Time I could have spent watching him grow up.

Time I could have spent watching him follow his dreams as a young man.

Time we could have spent together making many more memories than the few I have of him.

I lost precious years of time with my younger brother, whose life ended after a painful struggle with a terminal illness.

Time I could have spent watching him follow his dreams, going to his wedding, and holding his babies.

Time I could have spent encouraging him in his ministry, having family gatherings, and teasing each other about getting old.

Time we could have spent together making many more memories than I have of him.

As hard as it is to accept the loss of precious time with my Mom, grandson, and brother, I know the time was never mine to have with them in this life.

“To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, And a time to die;” Ecclesiastes 3:1-2a

We have no guarantee of time, and that makes all time precious because we never know when it will be up.

“Like as the waves make towards the pebbled shore,
So do our minutes hasten to their end.” William Shakespeare

I still miss my family and think of them often, but I hold on to the hope of seeing them again, when our time together will be eternal.

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me (Jesus) has everlasting life.” John 6:47 Parenthesis mine

“And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.”
1 John 2:25

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

Time goes by quickly. Yesterday is gone, tomorrow may not come.
Time is precious.

“You may delay, but time will not, and lost time is never found again.” Benjamin Franklin

“Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.” Carl Sandburg

“Lost, yesterday, somewhere between sunrise and sunset, two golden hours, each set with sixty diamond minutes. No reward is offered for they are gone forever.” Horace Mann

“Never leave that till to-morrow which you can do to-day.” Benjamin Franklin

Follow @learning2hear

Hunger And Hopelessness As Constant Companions

Participating in weekly photo challenges has been a great way for me to get back into blogging after missing so much in previous months, and it’s been fun to see what others are posting for the various challenges. In the interest of trying something new to jumpstart my writing again, I decided to try a writing challenge this week, and chose the 100 Word Challenge for Grown Ups from Julia’s Place. This is what I wrote for my first submission:

They hold their children close outside the shelter as the line becomes as long as the evening shadows. People in need of food and shelter now outnumber the resources available for them. But they still keep lining up night after night, hoping and praying to be part of the lucky number ushered inside for a hot meal and a warm cot. Most are loners, but lately couples and families have joined the evening ritual of waiting in these lines. And winter will bring the challenge of staying warm and dry in bitter cold and snow, with hunger and hopelessness as their constant companion.

Click the circle of words on the left to visit the blog hosting the challenge, Julia’s Place, and to read other submissions for the challenge. I’m looking forward to reading other submissions to this challenge!

Are you participating in any writing challenges? If so, which ones?

Excerpted from Julia’s Place: “The prompt this week is: … and winter will bring … As usual you have 100 words to add to these 4. Keep your pieces suitable for a PG certificate, link back to this post so others can join in…“

Detailed information about joining this writing challenge can be found here: What is 100WCGU?

***Updated: I realized too late that I should have given this a suitable title, rather than the name of the challenge.

Follow @learning2hear

Travel Theme: Couples

This week’s Travel Theme photo challenge from Ailsa at Where’s My Backpack? is Couples. Or “daring duos, perfect pairs, or terrible twins.” There’s a link to Ailsa’s blog at the end of this post.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

See Ailsa’s and other Travel Theme photos here, and consider adding your own Couples photos to the theme.
Follow @learning2hear

Weekly Photo Challenge: Silhouette

This week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is to “Share a picture of a Silhouette with everyone!”

The silhouettes of windmills tower over a silhouette of a treeline at the edge of a Midwestern field dusted with snow:

More submissions to this week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Silhouette

Follow @learning2hear

Photo Challenge: Thursday’s Windows – Week 5

My photos for this week’s Thursday’s Windows challenge are two views of one window; the second photo is a close-up of the design details. A link at the end of this post will take you to Sandra’s blog “By The Book“.

This is one of several windows in the chapel at Bellingrath Gardens in Mobile, Alabama. Each beautiful window has a different flower in the center, and the overall design reflects light in all directions, from inside lighting and from the sunlight shining through.

Sandra’s blog and more window photos are here: Thursday’s Windows

Follow @learning2hear

Travel Theme: On Display

Ailsa at Where’s My Backpack? has a weekly photo challenge of Travel Themes. This week the photo theme is On Display. As she said, “No matter where you go, there’s always something for sale somewhere. The items on display in local stores are often evocative of the flavours and aesthetics of the culture you’re in and make for really interesting photographs.”

My on display photos are from a little roadside store that offers all-natural fruit smoothies, a huge variety of home grown fruits and vegetables, fresh made jams, jellies, and breads, as well as gift items and plants. There is a tiny kitchen with an impressive menu selection, and an indoor dining area.

The first thing I noticed was how colorful everything was, it just invites you to take your time and browse. I really like the bottle tree, and all the plants.

The items displayed on the side of the red shed were also for sale, including the wreath and the pink Mandevilla plant climbing up to decorate it.

On the left of this next picture you can see the edge of a lemon tree, and there were other pots of small fruit trees in a little patio garden.

As soon as you approach the door to go inside you are greeted by this bright yellow Real Fruit Smoothie sign, and huge watermelons under a table that is loaded with a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. A large cooler is stocked with fruit smoothie combinations that are blended once your choice is made.

Everywhere you turn are tables or crates with fresh fruits and vegetables of all kinds, even some I didn’t recognize, like these long green things that look like giant green beans. If you like peanuts they have them freshly boiled, or raw to take home and boil or roast your own.

It was very close quarters inside that little place, with only fans to circulate the warm air mixed with smells of ripe fruit and food, and people bumping elbows as we squeezed past each other. But it was a friendly atmosphere, and even though we were all just passing through on a holiday weekend, it was almost like being in a familiar neighborhood market.

I’m sure you noticed the big “Boiled Peanuts” sign in the photo. Have you ever tried boiled peanuts? When I first saw someone eating them and asked what they were my reaction was, “Boiled what!?!” I wondered why anyone would want to boil peanuts and get them all soggy to eat them. I love roasted peanuts, but boiled just didn’t sound good at all. Once I tried them though, I was hooked! I like them so well that I’ve started making my own boiled peanuts.

See Ailsa’s and other Travel Theme photos here, and consider adding your own On Display photos to the theme.

Follow @learning2hear

Weekly Photo Challenge: Big

This week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is to “Share a picture which means BIG to you!” Details of my submissions are below each photo:

The big boxes of watermelons of just a few weeks ago have been replaced with these big boxes of pumpkins. It was unusual to be able to snap a photo of the pumpkin box without people gathered around it, lifting and shifting the pumpkins for just the right one. This box looks freshly stocked with a variety of pumpkins, both big and small.

I don’t play golf, unless putt-putt golf counts, but if I did, seeing this big golf ball sitting on its big tee at the entrance of a golf course would make me want to stop and tee off. I’m sure that’s the point of it being there.

If you live in the U.S. and do much traveling you’re probably familiar with Cracker Barrel restaurants, and the way they have all kinds of antique items hanging on the walls. It’s interesting to see the old advertisements, tools, and other odds and ends, or the old black and white photos of another era. I often recognize things that my grandparents had, or even something I had as a child. Some antiques interest me more than others, and I find sewing related items fascinating, whether it’s old sewing machines, or their various accessories.

When I saw this big display tin that was an antique sewing needle and bobbin dispenser I just had to get a picture of it. It was designed to dispense the needles, bobbin, or shuttle you needed after you dialed in your brand of machine. That seems like a great system, and would have taken the aggravation and guesswork out of buying the right needles and bobbins for your machine.

More submissions to this week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Big

Follow @learning2hear

Where Faith Begins

This inspiring hand-painted sign reminds all who pass by to remember the encouraging and timeless words of Psalm 46:10 and Isaiah 30:15. Psalm 46:10 is an invitation from God to take time to be still before Him; to remember Who He is, no matter what we’re facing or going through. To know that He is God, He is all-powerful and in control, regardless of how it may seem to us. Isaiah 30:15 instructs us that our deliverance comes from resting in Him, and being strengthened through quiet confidence in His ability to be victorious.

It also goes along with these inspiring quotes on faith. But although they’re inspiring, some have an “ouch!” factor that reminds us of what faith really consists of, and that the “food of faith” is not cotton candy!

Be assured, if you walk with Him and look to Him, and expect help from Him, He will never fail you. George Mueller

Faith is the assurance that the thing which God has said in His word is true, and that God will act according to what He has said in his word…
Faith is not a matter of impressions, nor of probabilities, nor of appearances. George Mueller

Faith is two empty hands held open to receive all of the Lord. Alan Redpath

If we desire our faith to be strengthened, we should not shrink from opportunities where our faith may be tried, and therefore, through trial,
be strengthened. George Mueller

To learn strong faith is to endure great trials. I have learned my faith by standing firm amid severe testings. George Mueller

Faith doesn’t wait until it understands; in that case it wouldn’t be faith.
Vance Havner

Faith does not operate in the realm of the possible. There is no glory for God in that which is humanly possible. Faith begins where man’s power ends. George Mueller

God delights to increase the faith of his children. We ought, instead of wanting no trials before victory, no exercise for patience, to be willing to take them from God’s hands as a means. Trials, obstacles, difficulties, and sometimes defeats, are the very food of faith. George Mueller (Emphasis mine)

Difficulties in life present us with opportunities to grow in our dependence on the One who gives us strength. Michael Minot

Return to the battle again, no longer trusting in the false and insufficient human resources which so foolishly we had taken into the battle, but now trusting in the limitless resources of our risen Lord. Alan Redpath

If the Lord fails me at this time, it will be the first time. George Mueller

Follow @learning2hear

Photo Challenge: Thursday’s Windows – Week 4

I’m posting two different, yet similar, photos of windows for this week’s Thursday’s Windows challenge on Sandra’s blog “By The Book“.  A link at the end of this post will take you to her blog. Both of my photos are types of transportation, and in each case they were no longer in use:

It was sad to see this antique Ford truck just parked in a barn wasting away, with its front window covered in grime, and a bird’s nest in a hole in its roof. Imagine the stories it could tell: of the day its original owner proudly drove it home from the dealership; of the roads it traveled taking people where they needed to go, and carrying whatever they loaded on its bed; and finally, how it ended up abandoned in a barn to gather dust and debris. I’ve seen trucks like this at antique car shows, all cleaned up and meticulously restored, and boasting a hefty price tag if they’re for sale.These two Amish buggies were parked by a roadside fruit and vegetable stand, along with some other items that were for sale. One has an actual front window made from Plexiglass, side mirrors, signalling lights, and is bigger; it looks newer too. The other one just has the hole where a front window would be, which would be a problem when driving in the rain or snow that is common in the Midwest. Both of them have smaller rectangular windows along the sides for the driver and passengers, and across the back. The two buggies are also different, yet similar, and were both crafted to serve a purpose for the owner’s lifestyle, traditions, and beliefs.In many areas it’s not uncommon to see Amish buggies pulled along by horses, or parked with the horses patiently waiting while their people shop or tend to business. It was odd to see the buggies parked here without the horses that would have pulled them, and I wondered about the history of these two horseless buggies. Imagine the stories they could tell: of families they carried to church or shopping; of children bundled up against the cold, snug and warm, wondering why people pointed and stared at them as they rode by; of impatient people in cars who honked their horns until they could pass on the road; and finally, how they ended up parked among odds and ends of other things for sale.

Sandra’s blog, details of her photo challenge, and more window photos here: Thursday’s Windows

Follow @learning2hear

Weekly Photo Challenge: Happy

This week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge is to “Share (many) pictures in a gallery which mean HAPPY to you!”

I haven’t experimented with using the gallery feature, so this is a good challenge for me to try a new (to me) WordPress feature. Creating the gallery was easy, choosing only 9 photos for this one was the hard part!

Among the things that mean happy to me are celebrating the birth of Christ at Christmas, and enjoying God’s beautiful creation by walking nature trails or visiting waterfalls. We found the Cross and “Thank You” carved into a large stone on a nature trail. The Poinsettia and candle scene was a table decoration at a family Christmas dinner; the small waterfall with the goldfish pond was manmade, but the other waterfalls are natural.

Click on any picture for a larger view or a slide show of the pictures.

More submissions to this week’s WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Happy

Follow @learning2hear