Scattered Thoughts From A Maryland Cottage

Scattered Thoughts From A Maryland Cottage
The Yin and Yang of Thankfulness
Showing posts with label honor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label honor. Show all posts

Sunday, April 28, 2013

The Flowers In My Life's Garden


The flowers in my life's garden are my family and friends.
I know I speak of them often. But I continue to learn new lessons in Life and I pass them on as a token of my love and appreciation to the people that bless my days. Not just any old Monday when come home tired and want to blah, blah, blah on the phone. Not a month from now when we're still saying "we need to set a date to get together". 
But at a time when I'm struck down after a surgery and truly need help. 
In March I had both knees replaced and I have to admit - I'm an impatient patient! 

I was house bound, stuck in bed for hours on end and four walls did not suit me well. Pain medication had the side effect of making me cry at the change of a tv channel and I did not like it. My son Todd would talk to me with humor and patience and I will be forever grateful for those calls. My cousin Linda came to visit and as my sister of the heart, just said and gabbed with me about summer coming and the beach. Our favorite time together.
Friends called, send cards, texted, emailed. Neighbors stopped in. My sweet son Matt and his wife Connie sent me the most beautiful scarf from Thailand. My Mom called every day and gave me pep talks about the patience of healing. I prayed alone, I prayed holding the hands of some very good friends. 
Not one of my friends hesitated when it came to offering a ride to the doctor's. Yogurt arrived, fruit appeared in the refrig., flowers bloomed all over!
Finally, I'll get to the point....
What I learned in this time of healing, when I had to depend on others so very much, was true friendship. Selfless friendship. The kind that will always make me endeavor to be a better person in a deeper more meaningful way to others. Because it wasn't about what was easy for them, it was what they could do for me. 
They laid in bed with me and watched tv because I couldn't get up and down the stairs. They flipped through magazines or read next to me to take up a lonely hour of my day. One even helped me off the darn toilet when my two legs wouldn't seem to cooperate at the same time!  My kids brought Easter dinner to the house, cleaned up and left a huge feeling of  "I love you Mom" behind.
And this is just a drop in the bucket as to how blessed I feel about the beautiful people in 
my Life's garden of 
friendship!   Mom* Jennifer

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Thankful Thoughts This Veteran's Day

God Bless America
My Grandfather served in WW I Army
My Father in WW II Army
My Grandmother WW II Army
My Aunt WW II Navy
Land That I Love
Two Uncles WW II Marines
Two Uncles WW II Army
My Uncle Korean War Marines
My Country Tis Of Thee
Two Friends Viet Nam Air Force Marines
One Friend Viet Nam Marines
My Cousin Viet Nam War Marines
My Son the Iraq War Army
My Friend Currently Serves In The Marines 5 tours
Sweet Land Of Liberty

I dream of giving birth to a child who will ask, "Mother, what was war?" ~Eve Merriam

"Freedom is never free." -Author Unknown


As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them. ~John Fitzgerald Kennedy


O Lord, today I thank You for our veterans, for their willingness to risk all so that our nation might dwell in peace and safety. May they find the honor and recognition they truly deserve. I pray that You will heal the physical, spiritual, and psychological wounds some of these veterans have suffered. Bring a lasting peace to those who mourn the loss of comrades. Help them to find Your love and mercy, so that they may cope with the actions they may have had to take while they served our country. Make them realize that the rules of engagement in war do not always follow the laws of Christianity, but give them solace by Your scripture passages that show them that sometimes battle is necessary for the common good. Amen.