Month: May 2010

I’ve spent the last two weeks caught up in the hoopla of my son’s graduation. Hard to believe the strapping young man who now towers over me was born seventeen years ago. Where does the time go?

I couldn’t help but think about all that’s happened in my life since my son’s birth. Happiness ebbs and flows. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to the events that mold us. In the past seventeen years I moved five times, twice across the country; I lost a child and fought depression; I gave birth to a daughter; my mom battled breast cancer and won; my brother disowned his family; aunts, uncles and cousins have passed away while nieces and nephews have been born.

Life’s not easy. My pastor’s recent teaching on Ecclesiastes has shown this to me in a new light. We can rack our brains trying to figure out what buttons to push in order to have a good life. What’s the secret formula? What products do I need to use or what car do I need to drive in order to be happy? What can I do to keep anything bad from happening to me or my family? The truth is there is no button. There’s nothing we can do or say, buy or use, that will give us the perfect life. Just in the last few months we’ve seen celebrities who seemed to have it all throw it away in search of something more.

I’ve made it my goal this year to live a better life. Not one of monetary success or fame, but one where the things I do and say matter more. I have to admit, I’m not doing the best job of it. I’ve let life sidetrack me. But watching my son cross the stage to receive his diploma the other night has spurred my desire again. I saw this young man my husband and I’d raised beaming with pride (and relief!) at his accomplishment and I wanted that joy for myself. What new skill can I learn this year? What fear can I overcome? What goal can I set and see attained? Just like the characters in one of my favorite movies, Second Hand Lions, when my time on earth is done I want people to think that I LIVED! I’m making plans my friends! I’ll let you know what happens!

This week I’d like to tell you about one of the most inspirational people in my life, my mother. I won’t divulge her age on the internet but I will say she’s experienced more in her lifetime than most people I know.

Raised in London, England she lived through WWII while just a young girl. Sent away from her family to escape the bombs she spent five years living with strangers in the country. She married my father, started a family and ran a store by the time she was twenty-one.  Nine years later she and my father sailed with their two children and a steamer trunk to America hoping to make a better life.

She raised four children. She helped my dad start and run his own elevator company. She survived the death of her husband at the age of sixty and won her own battle with breast cancer at seventy. Nothing seems to keep her down.

 My mom has stayed positive through some of the hardest battles imaginable. She’s one tough cookie but she’s also got a heart of gold. When life starts getting her down she finds a way to pick herself up again. If she can’t find a friend to lean on she reaches out and makes a new one.  She inspires me to make the most of whatever life gives me to deal with, good or bad. Thanks mom! I love you!

Is there anyone out there who hasn’t seen the video of Susan Boyle’s audition for “Britain’s Got Talent” at least once? I have to admit to watching it several times over the course of a week last year and shedding a tear just about every time.

She strutted out on that stage and declared her wish to be a singing star like Elaine Paige, a household name in England. The camera panned the audience and we saw them smirking in disbelief. But then she opened her mouth and the most glorious voice came out of the most unlikely singer.

She went on to captivate the world even though she didn’t win the competition.She dreamed her dream and had the courage to pursue it. I long for that kind of courage. Do you know the most often repeated commandment in the Bible is “Do not fear?” Sometimes a little caution is called for but often I’m guilty of letting fear stop me even trying. It’s my goal this year to take more chances. Step out of the boat and not look at the waves around me but walk on the water toward the only one who can keep me afloat.  Care to join me?