North Please

There is no place to go but up, is always a better thought to embrace than why bother. 

 

There are just some images you can never get out of your head.  A strange man holding a cardboard sign which read, NORTH PLEASE, is one such depiction for me.

To fully explain, I must back up about a year.  About once a month, as part of my old job, my work partner and I would drive our box truck on road trips out of state.  So, last winter we were given a job that required us to drive on the highway approximately four hours one way.   Consequently, my partner and I would stop halfway at a rest facility to take a bathroom break.

On this particular trip, it was quite frigid as I got out of the truck.  It was then that I saw an odd man appearing to be in his twenties, sitting on a bench in plain view of all who walked by to visit the restrooms. He was dressed in worn out clothes and was holding a cardboard sign reading NORTH PLEASE.

  

As I passed by, he said nothing, I said nothing.  He reminded me of a modern day hitchhiker, someone who struck me as mysterious and someone who seemed a little dodgy. To pick up a stranger at rest facility is not only risky, but was prohibited by company rules, so I kept moving.  However, that sign with his simple request, NORTH PLEASE, stayed with me.

What would happen, as we approach a new year, if we tried to be more positive and looked up more, and went north instead of south with our attitudes.  It is a far better alternative than being disgruntled while looking down, and playing the woe is me card.  Being positive doesn’t fix everything, but it can make our journey in life much more enjoyable.

North please, is not just a destination, but can be a very gratifying state of mind.

Swavel     

Most Costly

Some phrases bear repeating, just simply because they do.

It just isn’t truly Christmas for me, till I sing, IN EXCELIS DEO.

This catchy phrase is from the Christmas hymn, Angels We Have Heard on High.  It is a song that I have sung since I was a child and in my late teens was taught by my choir director to sing it as In Ex-SHELL-is Deo.  Still do it to this day.  But, for all the heartwarming memories, I never really knew much more than it just sounded really majestic to sing this glorious old tune.

So, now I decided to dig deeper and find out what In Excelis Deo really does means.  According to dictionary.com, the origin is Latin and literally means Glory to God in the Highest and the English version is Glory be to God on High.  This makes sense because it sounds like a profoundly moving declaration that angels would proclaim about the Almighty God. 

With that being said, allow me to give you my take that I just recently discovered about In Excelsis Deo.  About a year ago I heard Angels We Have Heard on High, sung by the group, Mercy Me. Halfway through the song they sung a new verse that went like this.  How could Heaven’s heart not break, on the day that you (Jesus) came.  Salvation’s reason to celebrate, on the day that you (Jesus) came.

I get it now.  God gave up His Son, Jesus, something most costly, given as a gift to all mankind, so that we all might truly live.  Well, at least so we could all have the opportunity to do so.  An act that must have hurt God deeply to do so.

So, now when I hear In Excelsis Deo, it reminds me that angels were proclaiming with joy and sadness how great our God truly is and how much He loves us.

The most costly gifts, the ones given from the heart, are always the best.

Swavel

Pleather Gloves

During the Christmas season, often gifts from the heart are replaced by lofty expectations.

Every year it happens.  At this holiday time of year, we often try to do too much.  Run here, run there, do this, do that.  And we can find ourselves questioning our own motives.  Did we get the right gift?  Did we spend enough?  Did we spend evenly on the ones we love?  Will they even use it?  We often end up second guessing ourselves and are left feeling dismayed.

This whole gift giving season dilemma reminds me of a story.  Several Christmas seasons ago, my wife and I were listening to the radio when a commercial for winter gloves came on the station.  This happened to trigger my wife’s memory of a touching story our neighbor lady once told her that made me stop and think.

Many years ago, our neighbor’s husband pastored a local church.  On one particular Christmas they decided to get a reasonably priced gift for a certain man in their congregation.  So, they bought him a pair of pleather gloves.  When they presented him the Christmas gloves he began to cry because he had never received a Christmas gift before in his life.  That one small act of kindness meant that he mattered.

This story prompted me to think outside my comfort zone while I was doing some Christmas shopping, the same year I heard about the pleather gloves.  It was a particularly frigid day and I was about to enter a department store, when I saw two men collecting money for the Salvation Army.  I declined and went about my business, but it bothered me.  Consequently, on the way out I decided to get them both a cup of coffee.  Jesus had mentioned once that when you give a cup of cold water to those in need you are in essence giving it to Him. So, I thought under the circumstances a hot cup of Joe would do just fine. 

 

The point is, that during this festive holiday season, we should strongly consider making room for kindness.  We all should take a chance and take the time to go out of our way to do something kind for someone we may or may not know.  Just think, don’t be like the innkeeper who had no room at his Inn for the baby Jesus and his family.  Instead, always make occasion for kindness.

Pleather gloves may mean very little for many of us, but to someone with cold hands they mean the world.

Swavel

Once, when...

 

 

To relive the past for a brief moment is fine, but to remain there can only damage the present.

Sometimes, the past is best left there, only to be dialed up when needed.

A month or so ago, I went back to my old Junior High School for a parent-teacher conference.  It was for my daughter who is now in eighth grade.  That got me to thinking.

*Once, when I was in the eighth grade, I felt like a loser.  Often, it just seemed like the other kids were smarter, better looking and far cooler.  Now, I hardly remember their names, feel sorry for them when I hear of some of their plights, and could care less of what they once thought of me.

*Once, when I was far younger, I used to play flag football on Thanksgiving morning, running around like a lunatic in the cold and mud.  Now, on Thanksgiving mornings I sit inside in my warm living room and watch the National Dog Show with my family and try not to nod off.

*Once, when my two eldest children were very young, I remember them fondly sitting around the Thanksgiving dinner table.   Now, I enjoy sharing turkey as well with my two younger daughters, realizing times change and to enjoy now as well.  Youth is fleeting; love endures forever. 

*Once, when I needed to find employment fourteen years ago, I became an exterminator for about five years and then left it.  Now, I am back to killing bugs again, kind of feeling like Marty Mc Fly in BACK TO THE FUTURE, but feeling very grateful for a job.

*Once, when I was in high school, I thought cool Nike canvas sneakers, like everyone else had, would save me from being a nerd.  Sadly, although my sneakers were sort of cool, the rest of me still happened to be a nerd.

The truth is that yesterday is history, it happened good or bad. So, take what you can from yesterday and keep moving forward finding out what new and exciting discoveries now can offer.  

Once, when....always gives way to what is; the question is will we go with it?

Swavel

Let Go

 

Though much is taken, much remains- Ulysses 

There are just some things that you don’t outgrow, like that sick feeling in the pit of your stomach.  

A few weeks ago, I was told that I was being let go at work.  I had known it could happen, but like so many of us, I just hoped it wouldn’t happen.  In my case, it was just a business decision to cut costs, nothing personal. However, when I was told my services were no longer needed I got that terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. 

Funny thing is that I thought I would feel nothing but mere elation to know the bumpy ride was over.  However, instead I felt melancholy, like I was no longer wanted or needed.  Emotions are a strange thing, try as you might, they cannot be controlled.

You can say or sing, like Elsa from Frozen, LET IT GO, but in reality it isn’t that easy.  However, facing uncertainty is a part of life.  Feelings fade and one must take a deep breath and keep moving forward, despite the hurt and uncertainty. 

Another way to counteract adversity is to sail your ship in positivity.  Which happens to be a favorite quote of mine taken from the movie, Alexander’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day.  This also happens to remind me of the last birthday card my grandfather bought for me on my thirteenth birthday, weeks before he died.  Strangely enough, on the front of the card it had a picture of fishing boats leaving a harbor. 

The encouragement that I take from that card and phrase is that despite the difficult weather I must leave the dock and venture out into the unknown. 

To let go and move forward is always the better option than to stand pat and remain bitter.

Swavel