boxing up

Today I helped a woman pack up her life. She has cancer and will soon go home. 

I went through her papers and photos. I decided what should be shredded and what should be kept. It was sobering. I found myself holding back the tears as I sat on the floor catching just a glimpse of her adventures and her life. It was so hard, realizing that we were helping her put her life in order. 

She has so much she still wants to do. She's worried about hurting feelings and treating the people around her with love as she deals with being very, very sick and leaving behind the life she loves here. Her body is starting to have to work much, much harder to do even the simple things like lift her hand to her mouth. Her attitude is the best, she's still laughing and enjoying the life she has. I hope I can be more like her in living and appreciating the life I have no matter what.

All week I've been thinking about her, praying for her, hoping for a last minute miracle. I have also done a lot of thinking. How life is so short, too short, too often. There's so much I want to do. That God has a plan for each of us. That it's the plan even when it seems like the plan has been abandoned and thrown to the wind. That I'd like to know more of the plan up front sometimes. And that life really is good even when it's not, and I would not trade this life for anything.

Above all I was thinking that I know she's in good hands. We all are. 

And I kept thinking about this quote:

God’s light is real. It is available to all! It gives life to all things. It has the power to soften the sting of the deepest wound. It can be a healing balm for the loneliness and sickness of our souls. In the furrows of despair, it can plant the seeds of a brighter hope. It can enlighten the deepest valleys of sorrow. It can illuminate the path before us and lead us through the darkest night into the promise of a new dawn.
 - Elder Uchtdorff, General Conference, April 2o13

thoughtful thursday: make these days memorable

i love this quote!

Do not let us speak of darker days;
Let us speak rather of sterner days.
These are not dark days; there are great days--
The greatest days our country has ever lived;
And we must all thank God that we have been allowed...
To play a part in making these days memorable
In the history of our race.
--Winston Churchill

i create

"Creativity is not something you wait for. It is something that waits for you. You must decide to be creative, not wait to be. You must challenge yourself. Pick up the brush. Grab hold of the camera. Start cooking the meal. Get to the workplace early. Propose the solution. Advance the idea. Become the answer."

I don't know who the author is of these thought provoking sentences.  It's stuck with me ever since a colleague, who sends daily emails with inspirational quotes, sent it to me. I copied and pasted it into a Word document, played around with the font and color, printed it, and stuck it up in my cubicle with my magnet that says, "Keep Calm and Boldly Go". I needed those words that day.

I've been feeling stuck in a funk lately, and very bored with work. Those words helped me start to look at what I create when I'm at work. They were the kick in the pants I needed.

I read somewhere else lately, that waiting around makes a person a consumer, who takes what they can get, instead of being a creator, who makes their own reality. I don't want to be a consumer. I want to contribute and create.

via here

I started a mental list of all the things I create in my life, and then started writing them down so I could remember them.

I create...

Beauty in my garden by taking care of the plants I put there and removing the weeds.

Smiles from people walk by looking at my garden. It's fun to sit and watch people coming and going.

Order at work by keeping on top of y projects and filing completed projects. (I really dislike filing, so this one is really hard for me to keep up on.)

Music when I sing and play the piano.

Warmth by crocheting hats and blankets.

Cleanliness when I clean up after myself and keep my house neat.

Friendships with people at work, in the neighborhood, at church, in line at CVS.

Love through service.

Laughter when listening to people share their funny stories or when I share my own.

Food. I enjoy cooking and making good things to eat and share with people.

Ideas by thinking about stuff and writing.

What do you create?