Will we forget?

There is a powerful song that appears as one of the very last tracks on the anniversary edition of Michael McLean's "The Forgotten Carols." It is a track that's easy to overlook if you stop after the more familiar songs. I'm glad I took the time to listen because its message touched me deeply.

 Perhaps one of the reasons it hit me with such power is that it addresses a failing I see in myself far too quickly it seems after the Christmas holiday ends - the tendency to forget the reason and the spirit of this blessed season.

 It isn't a conscious choice to forget. I have every intention to remember the baby in the manger who became the resurrected Savior of us all. Yet life goes on and as it does it becomes so easy for the miracle of that marvelous event to be buried beneath the burdens of every day life, drowned out by the cacophony of the world around us.

There's a line in the song that captures this so perfectly:

 "We'll have a hundred reasons why we have set aside 

The memories of this season when His spirit touched our lives."

 Yet even in the next line we are given a powerful reminder that even though we may forget Him for a moment that:

 "... He who came to save us for all eternity

Has not forgotten those who need His mercy to be free.

And though that number's greater than the sands upon the sea

 There is no time of year that He's forgotten you or me."

What a powerful reminder!

If you have time, I hope you'll take a moment to listen.

Perhaps we can all help each other remember the spirit of this season all year round.
Merry Christmas, my friends...wherever you are.

"Will We Forget?"

Michael McLean

The Forgotten Carols

A heart that's been closed may be opening tonight.

A soul that's been lost might believe it's been found.

But six months from now on a warm summer night,

Will we pause to remember this night in December

When we promised ourselves we'd keep this spirit all year round?

Will we forget the promise we resolutely made?

Will we forget to thank the Lord for all the gifts he gave?

We'll say it's human nature, but something seems amiss

When there is just one time of year reserved for nights like this.

And six months from now on a warm summer night,

Will any part of us remember this night in December

When we promised ourselves we'd keep this spirit all year round?

Will we forget the feelings, will we forget to sing?

Will we forget the Christ child came to give us everything?

We'll have a hundred reasons why we have set aside

These memories of this season when His spirit touched our lives.

But He who came to save us for all eternity

Has not forgotten those who need His mercy to be free.

And though that number's greater than the sands upon the sea

There is no time of year that He's forgotten you or me.

He has not forgotten us on any lonely night.

And He has not forgotten that our joy requires His light.

He has not forgotten those who are homeless as was He.

And He has not forgotten you; He's not forgotten me.

You only live once...

YOLO...

You only live once...

Usually that phrase is synonymous with actions that those speaking it would like to have excused. After all, if you only live once, then what does it matter the kind of actions you take? Something along the lines of "eat, drink, and be merry..."

Lately, however, I've been thinking of those words in another context. Like the ebb and flow of a river our lives constantly change from one moment of time to the next and we never know what exactly may be coming around the next bend or where the current may take us.

I think of a friend who is struggling with cancer and who has stared mortality in the face more than once especially recently.

My thoughts turn to another friend who, by the grace of God and the wonder of modern medical technology has survived numerous surgeries to try to give her back the life she had before tragic mistakes were made that nearly cost her her life and her family their wife and mother.

I ponder the passing of another friend who lost a battle with a debilitating disease that caused him to leave this world far too soon without ever knowing how much he would be truly missed.

Others I know have lost spouses, children, siblings, parents, and friends or have faced trials both seen and unseen that we may never know the full extent of. We are all on this "mortal coil" for a limited amount of time. What will we do with the time we have been given?

Will we spend our time chasing things of little value or will we take the time to treasure what we have? Will we share ourselves, our time, our talents with others and be a little more courageous or will we hold back out of fear or the chance of rejection? Will we be a little kinder, a little more patient, a little less judgmental even of ourselves? What will we do with our one life?

I don't know the answer to these questions for myself and I won't presume to guess the answer for others. All I know is that because I only have this one chance on the earth I need to try to make it the best that I can and do what I can to help others make their one life the best it can be as well.

 If we only live once we better live our lives well, hopefully making the world a little better than it would have been without us...

Unsettled...

Life strikes out
Pummeling my resistance
Unsettling my world
Leaving questions
Unanswered

Bloglovin

So... in order to give my legions (ha ha) of readers an opportunity to follow me in another format since Google Reader is disappearing, I've set up an account with Bloglovin. If you follow more than one of my blogs you'll probably see this post again since in order to "claim" my blog I need to create a post. Bear with me... :) I figure giving people options is good, right? :)

If you want to follow using Bloglovin click on the link below. :)

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

 And thanks for reading...

A road less traveled...

It has been said that the less traveled, long, and sometimes lonely roads make all the difference in life... 

I've found that is true...

I took a drive the other day and found myself on a deserted highway. 

 There was a time when this road was filled with cars traveling to far flung destinations. Journeys with a thousand stories attached to them. Then the winds of change and the ever turning wheels of progress decided that this pathway had fulfilled it's purpose. No longer would it carry the load of passing travelers. 

Now it sees only the few who are willing to venture off the beaten path, along the backroads and byways.

  

 I did not know where this road led. I simply followed it's worn path... 

Still, I knew no matter how filled with ruts and rocks it was, like all roads eventually it would lead me to it's destination. As I drove the dusty trail I thought how, at times, life is like this forgotten path. 

Sometimes we are taken down roads that seem to be filled with potholes and pitfalls. There are detours placed in our path and we wonder if we will ever find our way back. 

 Sometimes along our way we lose friends and loved ones and wish that we did not all have to travel this long road... And yet we do... 

Still...if we're lucky - along with the challenges and losses we may face along the way - we also gain new friends and loved ones - not to replace the old, for that is impossible - but to add more richness and depth to our journey. With our experiences we may also find courage and talents we never knew we had. Things we might never have known if it hadn't been for the pathway we were on. 

So,

I am grateful I took this less traveled road... 

grateful for the lessons it brought to mind...

grateful, in a way, for the twists and turns of my own life's journey...

As I was writing this post I found this song that captured much of what I felt as I drove along the long forgotten road... 

Long Road

   -Pearl Jam

And I wished for so long...

I cannot stay

All the precious moments...

Cannot stay

It's not like wings have fallen...

I cannot say

Without you something is missing...

I cannot say

Holding hands of daughters and sons

In their phase they're falling down

Down, down, down

I have wished for so long...

How I wish for you again

We all walk the long road

I cannot stay

There's no need to say goodbye

Oh, the friends and family...

All the memories going round

Round, round round...

I have wished for so long...

How I wished for you today

And the wind keeps rollin'

And the sky keeps turning grey

And the sun is setting

The sun will rise another day

I have wished for so long...

How I wish for you today

I have wished for so long...

How I wish for you today

Will I walk the long road?

We all walk the long road

No words...

Image by Amy Storms - found here.

I've found it difficult lately to add much to my blogs. 

I sit and watch the cursor - 

blink... 

blink...

blink....

It isn't because I have nothing to say, but rather that I'm not quite sure how - or even if - I should write. Would the words tumbling around in my head make sense if scattered across the page?  

And so I wait... 

I avoid writing about the depths of the things I feel...

I wonder if anyone really wants to read about the emotions that sometimes wash over me like unending waves pounding upon the beach. And even if they wanted to read it, should I write it?

These are questions I have no solutions for...

And so - for now -

 I have...

...no words... 

Lost...

You may have noticed that there is not a picture that goes along with this post...
There is a reason for that...
You see, a few weeks ago my computer decided to stop working and everything that was on the hard-drive was lost. Pictures, music, documents. Thousands of files that won't see the light of day again.

It got me thinking...how like that computer our lives are...

We take for granted that things will remain the same...people will never change, or leave, memories will never fade. We allow moments to slip away never to be captured again. We fail to treasure what we have when we have it and lose precious moments that won't return again.

The Test...

For after much tribulation...cometh the blessing.
- Doctrine and Covenants 103:12

It seems that no one is immune to the trials that are part of mortality. This has been a lesson that has been reinforced repeatedly over the past several months as I have watched those around me deal with sorrow, pain, illness, and loss of many kinds, and as I have dealt with those as well.

I was reminded again of the fragility of this temporal existence this weekend when I learned that a friend suffered the sudden loss of her sweetheart. Recently, another friend, in fact, an entire community lost a beloved member. Friends and family members have been ill. For others employment has been elusive. Still others deal with hearts that have been broken and struggle to hold on. The list could go on... In so many of these instances healing seems very far away.  I am left wondering at times where in all of these moments are the succor and mercy that are promised for those who seek it?

Then I remember that I am not alone in these thoughts or questions. Even the Savior who was perfect, who descended below all things, felt momentarily forsaken at the end of his mortal life as he cried, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?" He who lived and died for me was tested above anything you or I will ever be called to endure. And in the end he knew he had not been forsaken or forgotten and because he endured to the end and passed through it all there is hope.

Through the words of Jeffrey R. Holland, "Brothers and sisters, one of the great consolations...is that because Jesus walked such a long, lonely path utterly alone, we do not have to do so. His solitary journey brought great company for our little version of that path—the merciful care of our Father in Heaven, the unfailing companionship of this Beloved Son, the consummate gift of the Holy Ghost, angels in heaven, family members on both sides of the veil, prophets and apostles, teachers, leaders, friends. All of these and more have been given as companions for our mortal journey because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the Restoration of His gospel. Trumpeted from the summit of Calvary is the truth that we will never be left alone nor unaided, even if sometimes we may feel that we are. Truly the Redeemer of us all said: “I will not leave you comfortless: [My Father and] I will come to you [and abide with you]. (None Were With Him, General Conference - April 2009)

Because He passed the test, we can also. There is hope for all of us that after - indeed even during - the trial, we will be blessed. There is balm in Gilead. He will mourn with those who mourn and comfort those who stand in need of comfort. He will not leave us alone. Healing will come whether on this side of the veil or the next. "Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning." (Psalm 30:5)

I may not always understand why things happen the way they do. But there is comfort in knowing there is One who does.

The Test
Janice Kapp Perry

Tell me friend, why are you blind?

Why doesn't he who worked the miracles 

send light into your eyes

Tell me friend if you understand.

Why doesn't he with power to raise the dead

 Just make you whole again?

It would be so easy for him.

I watch you and in sorrow question why.

Then you my friend in perfect faith reply - 

Didn't he say he sent us to be tested?

Didn't he say the way would not be sure?

But didn't he say that we could live with him

Forever more, well and whole,

If we but patiently endure?

After the trial we will be blessed

But this life is the test.

Tell me friend, I see your pain.

Why when you pray in faith for healing 

Does the crippling thorn remain?

Help me see if you understand.

Why doesn't he who healed the lame man 

Come with healing in his wings?

It would be so easy for him. 

I watch you and in sorrow question why.

Then you my friend in perfect faith reply -

Didn't he say he sent us to be tested?

Didn't he say the way would not be sure?

But didn't he say that we could live with him 

Forever more, well and whole,

If we but patiently endure?

After the trial

We will be blessed.

But this life is the test.

Tell me love why must you die?

Why must your loved ones stand with empty arms

 And ask the question why?

Help me know so I can go on.

How when your love in faith sustain me,

Can the precious gift be gone?

From the depths of sorrow I cry.

Though pangs of grief within my soul arise,

The whisperings of the Spirit still my cries -

Didn't he say he sent us to be tested?

Didn't he say the way would not be sure?

But didn't he say we could live with him 

Forever more, well and whole,

If we but patiently endure?

After the trial we will be blessed.

But this life is the test.