The Bible Says Life is But a Vapor....

"The wind is blowing forward, forward and forward.  Out of this day, into the next, out of this week, into the following one, and from this year into another.  Try as we might to hold onto the sycamores, and whatever familiar landscapes surround us, gradually we lose our grip and are swept forward into a river of tomorrows."
                                                                                                          -----Herb Benham, The Bakersfield Californian


The Bible says that life is but a vapor...


Today is my birthday. Born on June 26, 1947, Cedars of Lebanon Hospital, Hollywood, California. It's not a particularly happy day.  With Robby's death and all of the emotion that has preceded today,  I don't have much room in my heart for celebration.  Life does go on, people will continue to go about their daily lives.  Babies will be born and others will pass - continuing the circle of life.

The Bible says that life is but a vapor...  

I look back over my life and think I've done so little with the talents I have been given and it makes me sad. The last ten years have gone by so quickly that, if I survive ten more years, the time will be here before I realize it.    But my life is not yet over, and I have the gift of time to make someone happier, make someone laugh, ease someones pain.  It's within me to do these things.  I can begin to paint again, enjoy the things I used to love doing with my hands.  I want to put my toes in the sand, listen to the ocean, plant flowers, enjoy the smell of the earth while getting my hands dirty in the garden soil, listen to music, watch my grandchildren and great-grand children grow and mature.

The Bible says that life is but a vapor...

The time I have remaining to me - to enjoy or to dread - the choice is mine.


"...whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow.  For what is your life?  It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.."    James 4:14

I'm So Tired...

I am so tired of this world; where cheaters cheat and liars lie and killers kill - all without conscience; where politicians and dictators are interchangeable; where children bleed and parents run; where parents die and children don't care; where up is down and down is up and the world has shifted on it's axis, literally.

I'm so tired of this world; where good is bad, bad is good, and everything is spinning wildly out of control; where the good are made sport of and the wicked endorsed; my head is exploding because of the madness spinning through the atmosphere; life is not valued, we do not take care of our own but flock to tend to the wounds of strangers; what once was valuable is now scorned; what is filthy and rotten is now wildly delightful; the sins of the fathers will be visited about the children in the form of money spent that is not earned and can not be repaid.

The heavens are heavy with the grief of many who are slain by zealots; where tears and blood run intermingled in the streets; the earth is groaning and mercy is forgotten and grace is unknown.

I'm so tired....

It Comes andGoes

I'm happy that I haven't felt the need to post here in ten months. I've been up and down, and like the tide, depression pulls and tugs at you. I was at a low point a few nights ago and chose to post about it on Echoes, when I should've posted here. My whole decision to have two blogs was based on the fact that I wanted to keep the other blog lighter in scope.

Today is a better day. I knew it would be.

Life - Take it or Leave it

I can't believe it's almost been nine months since I last posted here. Life was fairly smooth there for a time; not very many bumps in the road. That came to a screeching halt on 11/20/08. We are now statistics of the economic slowdown. My hubman was laid off - now we have no insurance or income. All the paperwork has been filed for unemployment and SSI, so we're just waiting for that first check to come. It was so kind of his employer to do this right before the holidays - at least they waited until he was able to collect SSI.

Scared? Yeah. I finally got to the point where my meds were keeping me on the right track and now... I don't know what to do. All I know is - tomorrow is our 30th anniversary, we love each other and God is in control. That will do for now!

Spinning Out of Control...

I have come to the conclusion that my mind is like some kind of cosmic playground designed by Stephen King. My thoughts go 'round and 'round like a carousel going in constant circles, up and down on a horse with glass eyes. My ears echo with loud music performed by the Phantom of the Opera on an gigantic pipe organ, which hurts my ears and overwhelms the senses.

The teeter-totter goes up and down, up and down, up and down; the swings propel me forward then back again; the slide has steep steps, a quick descent; relief but then I realize I must climb the steps once again to merit the ride down; the merry-go-round goes out of control and when I manage to make it stop, I cannot stand upright but go stumbling off like a drunken sot. I run in the sand, fall and skin my knees and go barefoot on the sweet green grass, only to step in dog poop.

My mind is like being in the eye of the hurricane; calm - then suddenly a spinning vortex of all sorts of things that have been caught in the voracious wind. Thoughts spin and twist out of control, while trying to latch onto something solid, redeemable and trustworthy.

I am reminded of Sisyphus, pushing that enormous rock up the hill only to have it slide back down. Poor Sisyphus, an eternity of pushing and dodging; having hope that maybe, just maybe, one more try and that stone will fly down the other side of the mountain, and Sisyphus will no longer be a slave to his burden.

That's how my thoughts are: heavy, complicated and usually barreling back at me. Will I ever be able to conquer this fragmentation of thought?

Isolation

Why is it that you can be meandering around in your head having a wonderful time and, all of a sudden the meandering turns into mindless hatred. I hate this place I find myself "living" in. I've kept a stiff upper lip for my husband's sake and now, it's his turn.

Today, I fixed a wonderful dinner - one of my best ever. I fixed a cake for dessert and had everything ready all at once, which in itself is a challenge. Cooking has been a challenge and I don't cook like this often, so it was a big deal to me. I was cleaning up and wanted to dispose of some grease and couldn't find a container as the trash had already been taken out.

I've been cleaning out the "bird room" for the 100th time, trying to find space and had collected a few bags of paper trash, so I very carefully poured the grease into the bag and carted it outside to the trash. Yeah, it dripped all the way.

Now, the carpet, including the greatly hated kitchen carpet (carpet from Hell) and as I reached for the Resolve, I began to cry. I want my old place back. I HATE THIS PLACE. I know, I've gone through the repetoire of how much worse off I could be and I know that in my brain but for right now, in this time and space, in my heart - I HATE IT HERE!

I can't keep things clean because of the wear and tear - carpet in the bathrooms, the place is so dated and I still have boxes stacked around because I don't know wtf to do with them. I've thrown out, sold, and given away so much crap and I still am inundated with more than I can handle.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was a fairly popular kid in school. I had a good amount of friends and always had something going on the weekends. I was good in sports and if you remember the diabolical way kids chose one another for teams I was usually the captain or first one chosen. Now, I know how the fat, ugly kids felt. (BTW, I always tried to befriend them or choose someone who I knew wouldn't get chosen, even if it meant our team had a lesser chance of winning - I have always considered people's feelings to my own detriment.)

I feel really stupid about this but it seems as though certain friends of mine have decided I'm not important to them and I have to watch the fun progress without me, even while making comments of support and trying to be involved. I want to drop out and just stay away. I feel the horrible way I used to feel at work when everyone around me was laughing and having a good time and I was the one picking up all the telephone calls coming in.

Why do I feel as if I don't fit in anywhere??? I haven't felt this isolated in some time. My girls hardly ever call - we never do anything together (part of this is my fault because of my "bi-polarness." Somedays I'm up for stuff and other days I don't feel like leaving the house. So they can hardly be blamed for not calling. I'm never angry, just not very involved.)

But I felt safe here on the blogs, developing friends with whom I can be anonymous, people who I thought really cared for me and now I'm feeling as if it's just anpother cosmic joke.

I am going to publish this because it's how I feel right now. I'm having one big helluva pity party and feeling socially left out. Tomorrow, I may feel the same way or my mood may swing again back to the right direction. Who knows - and who the hell cares.

"I Believe in Love"

"I BELIEVE IN LOVE"

How long will my prayers seem unanswered?

Is there still faith in me to reach the end?

I'm feeling doubt - I'm losing faith;

But giving up would cost me everything.

So I'll stand in the pain and silence,

And I'll speak to the dark night;

I believe in the sun even when it's not shining,

I believe in love even when I don't feel it,

And I believe in God even when He is silent....

And I, I believe!

Though I can't see my stories ending,

That doesn't mean the dark night has no end;

It's only here that I find faith,

And learn to trust the one who writes my days;

So I'll stand in the pain and silence,

And I'll speak to the dark night.
I believe in the sun even when it's not shining;

I believe in love even when I don't feel it,

And I believe in God even when He is silent...

And I, I believe.

No dark can consume Light;

No death greater than this life.

We are not forgotten,

Hope is found when we say

Even when He is silent.

I believe in the sun even when it's not shining;

I believe in love even when I don't feel it,

And I believe in God even when He is silent.

And I, I believe.

----Barlow Girl

I "borrowed this from Mel, who, without a doubt, has one of the strongest testimonies I've read in a long time. Her beloved was killed in Iraq - they were yet to be married. She has attended weddings of friends who just "don't get it." Her hurt and pain have not left her without the one greatest blessing of mankind: HOPE.