My Take
DiVoran Lites
On my way home from my walk I met one of the neighbors, Chuck, who had helped another neighbor remove the tree that fell on our house during Hurricane Charlie. Chuck was walking very slowly
allowing his ancient dog to saunter and sniff all he wanted. We spoke as we passed. When I got to the curve in the trail where I leave it, I stopped to make a note of something. There I heard a forlorn meowing from the bushes. It had to be a lost domestic cat. It was. Chuck’s cat big male tiger kitty.
“Your cat is here.” I yelled. He started back and I went back on the trail to meet him. He wasn’t going anywhere and I was on my way home so we turned around and sauntered back toward the neighborhood. The cat came out and twined around Chuck’s ankles.
“He follows us out here, but he doesn’t like to go too far.” Chuck said. We started slowly making our way back into the neighborhood. I told him I’d been walking past his house since his kids were small. The first time I ever saw them they had run out of the house with no clothes on—just little kids being free and happy. Chuck now had all the time in the world to talk to me. His major kid rearing days were about over. They’re off to college next year. He and his wife have been excellent parents. I’ve heard swimming parties from behind their privacy fence, I’ve seen the family coming home from camping, and watched as boy scouts gathered for projects.
When we got to Chuck’s house right off the trail. I said goodbye and Chuck took his dog over to greet a weenie dog they knew and his master.
I felt so blessed to walk with him, pet the cat, greet the dog, and hear about the kids. How wonderful to have watched a family rear good, happy kids who will become ordinary fine Americans and hopefully rear theirs kids the same. How great that this young man, who probably is quite busy during the week, had all the time in the world for an old dog, an old lady, and a cat who clearly adores him.
Behold how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in one neighborhood where people get along and kids can grow up in safety and in love. Paraphrase of Psalm 133.1
We are all hurting, all struggling in some way. Some of us hide our pain better than others and it is easy to get wrapped up in our struggles, causing us to stop seeing the world beyond our own circumstances. A few months ago I was drowning in my own pain both physical and emotional. I lost two people that I loved dearly and nearly lost a third who, only by the grace of God, made it through a very serious illness. By the end of the month I was exhausted so when a friend asked if I wanted to go to a 
but every song seemed to have been written just for me. Three songs in particular stuck with me, the words jolting me out of the spiritual sleep I’d fallen into during the month of trials: Thrive, Dreamer, and All You Ever Wanted. I went home that night and slept better than I had in weeks.
Bill’s having fun too. He calls each night and gives me a report of his day’s doings and plans for the next day. It’s cooler in California than it is here, he layers his long sleeved shirt and his jacket. He’s taking notes for his blogs, so we can look forward to hearing all about his adventures.
man performed a song that really touched me. He used those words, but he inserted a couple of words that touched me deeply. He sang “Be still – my child – and know that I am God.” It certainly made that verse very personal to me. It reminded me, again, that I am, indeed, a child of God’s, and that He loves me greatly. I had known all that, ever since I had given Him my heart, but sometimes I just needed to be reminded of it. God certainly got my attention with my diagnosis!
Old Things R New 