This morning when I woke, I read this quote and was moved again by these beautiful words of Ralph Waldow Emerson. I’m always inspired by these words. I’m writing for a second time about this beautiful quote, glorious words to inspire and give thoughts to how we live our lives. We should speak these words often to our children when they are young. Emerson wrote, “This is my wish for you: Comfort on difficult days, smiles when sadness intrudes, rainbows to follow the clouds, laughter to kiss your lips, sunsets to warm your heart, hugs when spirits sag, beauty for your eyes to see, friendships to brighten your being, faith so that you can believe, confidence for when you doubt, courage to know yourself, patience to accept the truth, love to complete your life.”

God will give us “comfort on difficult days” through our prayers and will lift the weight of our worries off our shoulders and put them on his. I’ve had some difficult days in my 69 years on earth and I finally accepted that through prayer and with God’s grace I could make it through the nightmares of grief. Psalm 23:4 states, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

“Smiles when sadness intrudes.” Those smiles come readily from family and friends and God’s rays of sunshine. I always, too, study the clouds and look for God’s promised “rainbow to follow the clouds.” Sometimes it takes prayer on blended knee to grasp a rainbow. Genisis 9:16 reads, “Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.”

“Laughter to kiss your lips.” I love those words and my lips are chapped from all the laughter in my life. My dearest friend and I can always find laughter, even in the darkness. Laughter is such a big part of our friendship. Laughter can truly nourish a friendship. Job 8:22 says, “God will fill the mouth with laughter and lips with shouts of joy.”

“Sunsets to warm your heart.” My heart is warmed and I feel God’s presence late afternoons as I watch the magnificent paintings of sunset by Mother Nature and her watercolors. I don’t understand how someone could watch the heavens at sunset and not believe God is watching over us.

“Hugs when your spirits sag….” Those wonderful tight hugs when someone you love wraps their arms around you. The warmth and love of human touch never fails to lift our spirits. Deuteronomy 33:27 reads, “The God of your fathers is your safe resting-place, and under you are his eternal arms…” That verse of scripture should make us feel the warmth of God’s grace and love. He does have the whole world in his hands.

“Beauty for our eyes to see” is all around us. We just have to slow down and take time to see the Earth’s wondrous beauty in nature. Psalm 19:1 reads, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” Thinking of the world and her beauty reminds me of the hymn For the Beauty of the Earth. The first stanza and refrain are — “For the beauty of the earth, for the glory of the skies, for the love which from our birth over and around us lies. Christ, our Lord, to you we raise this, our hymn of grateful praise.” Always enjoyed singing that hymn in the church choir.

“Wishes for friendships to brighten your being.” Friends are spiritual gifts from God and we need to nurture and cherish our friendships. God wants us to share our faith with our friends. I love these two verses from Proverbs — “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” “Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.”

“Faith so that you can believe.” Mark 9:23 states, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Faith is such an important element of the human existence. Faith gives meaning and purpose to life and gives us hope when days are full of darkness. Faith also teaches us forgiveness and acceptance of what comes in life. “Faith is the quiet calm before a storm. Faith is the anchor in a storm,” Kimberly Strain.

“Confidence for when you doubt.” Ever said, “Oh, my God, I can’t do this!!!” Well, we do and we did, with a deep breath and God’s help. Our belief that God walks besides us and buoys us up when we’re sinking gives us confidence to do things we feel incapable. He gives me courage for the dentist and gives us all strength to persevere through life’s challenges. I admit I feel weak in confidence but through prayer and God’s grace I manage to put one foot in front of the other and keep walking down this path of life. I never doubt God, though. I know he holds me up and walks with me till I can walk on my own. We never walk alone when we have faith in God’s grace.

“Courage to know yourself.” Do any of us really know ourselves. We’re stronger and wiser than we know. Emerson said, “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decided to be.” Even in the face of adversity God is a source of courage and strength. Joshua 1:9 states, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

We all need to be gracious and have “patience to accept the truth.” Sometimes the truth is so hard to understand but with God’s grace and our prayers we can accept the loses. There will always be situations in our lives we can’t change, things that are beyond our control. Life’s tribulations are painful but the acceptance of these trials gives us the power and strength to move forward.

I love his phrase, “love to complete your life.” I had a passionate love affair with my husband and I’m grateful for the 41 years of marriage we shared. My love for him is still strong and I know we’ll be reunited in heaven. My life is now complete with the love of my brothers and their families, my children and my grandchildren, and my faithful friends.

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson