Love, Death, and Family

What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others. (attributed)

- Pericles

Death is a peculiar thing. It makes one see what is around them,  It causes anger, sadness and questions. It can also bring a sense of understanding.

Family holds a dear spot to ones heart, mine especially. I often think of family members even if it those that I don't see all to often. Or scarcely. Our lives are intwined from the moment we are born weather we speak to each other or never knew each other had existed.

Family is a group of related individuals.

I write these things because I learned of the death of a cousin of mine Mackenzie Stuart. I have only met her once and it was probably close to ten years ago when we had a week long family reunion in Branson, Missouri. I believe we are third cousins. Yet family is family and I am deeply saddened by the loss of her to our family, I'm sure those who knew her best will speak wonderful things about her for a long time and those of us who didn't will cherish her memory through these other people. I hope those that were close to her take deep breaths as they expereience  the pain of losing someone they loved so much and fine encouragement to keep living day by day minute by minute.

Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi

Lord make me an instrument of Thy peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master; grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; for it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.


Tell the people you love you love them, love yourself, and love the things around you that might not seem worth loving.

I love the Lord and I love you.

Why

It is cold, and not helping how I feel today, I feel sadness. I just want to run away sometimes and never come back. Does anyone else ever feel this way?  Life shouldn't be like that, and I think if it comes to feeling like that I need to take a step back and analyze why I feel this way and what can be done to change it.

Happy day to all, I will make mine a better one.

New Year. New Day. New Hour.

The month of December flew by. It was great none the less to be with family and friends and celebrate the meaning of the season. I wish there were more holidays just so I could spend as much time as I could with all of them.

January has started off great, and I am excited and anxious to see what this year will hold for me.

 I know it is tradition for people to make goals for themselves for the New Year and I didn't want to have something that I would be likely to not do or stick with so I decided on this:

Being POSITIVE. I sometimes seem to dwell on the negative or be negative. That is my one goal I want to work on for this brand new year and carry with me throughout the rest of my life.

I have been reading a lot lately, and my current new read is The Bible. I don't know if anyone else feels this way when they read it, but my heart just feels so whole. I am excited, it gives me meaning and hope. I hope that makes sense, words can't honestly describe the feelings.


It's back to the grind tomorrow. :)