By Joy Le Page Smith, MA, Board Certified Chaplain

As years slip by, do you feel you are accomplishing what you want in life?

 My next birthday will be here in a couple of days.  The numbers keep growing. Am I living my dream? And what is my dream?

Being a mother of sons who have grown into their destinies, being highly able to love–exceeding able to endure the challenges life rolls onto the screen for them–is one of the greatest accomplishments of  being here on Planet Earth. Being in a gainful marriage for 57 years . . . loving and serving together in adventuresome ways is another.

But the most challenging feat of all lies with seeking to live perpetually comfortable in my own skin. Am I enough? Have I done enough? Why can’t I live without making mistakes? Why, why, why . . .

I have always tried to look my best . . . and believe me, aging takes a whack at that! Big time. So, best laugh about what the mirror is trying to tell me!

Then I think, why did God create me? Probably His best hope is that I keep on loving and helping the ones I love get through this life. Sometimes, I am asked to keep loving while taking some “blows” undeserved. And, sometimes I am the sender of the “blows.” The other day I told my sister, “Don’t be so bossy.” Then I wondered, “How loving is that?”

Perhaps speaking honestly to one-another does more than to help clear the air of our souls. We can, at appropriate times, help each other see our blind spots. Still, I wonder how loving I came across with my sister during that moment.

While journaling, I often talk to God through writing questions then writing what I perceive to hear. Recently, I wrote, “Lord, what is the real purpose you foresaw for us humans when you went to so much trouble to create such a marvelous and beautiful place for us to live and breathe?”

I heard back, “To love and be loved.”

More came as I listened, but this part is for sharing: I am to know that for this time in life it is enough to just be who I am, doing what I enjoy doing—as long as it comes from the love of my heart. Perhaps the best of all we grandmas and grandpas do while still here is to simply  be a living, breathing example, exhibiting huge amounts of patience while dealing with gradual losses—both physically and mentally. After all, the brain shrinks a bit once we get into these higher numbers. There are some memory blips and focusing on ‘what to do next’ gets harder. These changes can be quite unnerving at times and it can be easy to lose our sense of worth. Plus, “Old pappy time” elbows in with the truth that the end is just around the bend.

Ultimately, within the aging process it is a time for opening our hearts more and more fully to God, talking to Him like He is our closest Pal. After all, God knows the “going” is getting tougher—even really tough at times. God is with us in this race against time; but He asks us not to make it a race.

“Cool your jets. Enjoy the time that’s left,” was heard while listening last week.

Why should we be afraid to listen to the Author of Love whose Holy Spirit abides and is with us everywhere we go?

“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).

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Healing-with-Joy.com — VIEW FREE– – Joy’s children’s book titled: The Little Mountain Goat Who Was Afraid of High Places.

Please know there are over a hundred helpful articles at Healing-with-Joy.com–FREE–for people who are struggling with varied difficulties. Find these along with this author’s four books.

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By Chaplain Joy Le Page Smith, MA

Feelings are a funny thing. And, for writers we have a lot of them. Chaplains, even more. My heart wants to live heavenward, but my feelings often seem more earth-bound.

Many in “home town USA,” know me as a chaplain at our local hospital. Mostly, a great feeling comes through seeing, first hand, that people respond well to knowing they are cared about. Sometimes I hear confessions, although I am totally surprised when this happens. Maybe it is the name tag a chaplain wears . . . which one man called “The God Tag.” Hardly. Just being a loving, listening presence is the best I can do.

The caricature, here, was done by an artist after someone at a party shared a few words about my work as a chaplain. He approached me and asked only a mere question or two, then put his pen to paper. Upon seeing his caricature, truth hit: I knew that as much as I wanted to be classy and polished, this stranger truly “got the picture.” I’m just a little person, needing training wheels, but also loved–thank God–accepted by many and tolerated by some.

After twenty years of doing chaplaincy at hospitals, hospice and Mohave County Jail, my heart is full of memories. I’ve grown to know myself better, and to comprehend more about life. The primary battle here on this turf seems to be: 1) not to judge others, 2) let go of prejudice, 3) forgive what hurts, and 4) grow in the ability to love . . . while hanging out with harmonious people, especially those with a sense of humor.

As much as I wish to be finished, I can see much in my very own human nature that is fallible and unfinished. Surely, this is common for us humans–and lies beneath much of the anxiety in daily life.

For sure, it is an ongoing pain to see people hurt one another, innocent or not. This is rugged mountainous territory emotionally–hard places to traverse.

The link extended below will open my children’s book. My hopes are for helping children meet obstacles on their early paths and grow courageous. The book actually holds potential to open a window of reality for adults, as well as for children. It portrays how to overcome what hurts and scares the “bejeebers” out of us.

https://healingwithjoy.blogspot.com/2018/10/the-little-mountain-goat-who-was-afraid.html

At www.healing-with-Joy extends many helps for people who know they, too, are not finished. Every entry is extended for use with family and friends, with only a request to please credit the site. Also, visit Healingwithjoy.blogspot.com–view her children’s book FREE titled the Little Mountain Goat Who Was Afraid of High Places.