The big fluffy clouds are traveling slowly today, gathering for their afternoon stroll onto the horizon hoping Mother Nature will dress them in a colorful formal gown for the sunset pageant. The sky is robin egg blue, a slight breeze is singing the wind chimes. I’m sitting in the swing watching a few songbirds on the feeders. I’ve been to the dentist this morning — one crown, two implants, and a bridge to go. The stitches are out, thank goodness. Got to say, though, those stitches didn’t interfere with my seafood or key lime pie eating on my beach vacation.

Been reading my blogs from 2023 this afternoon, just too hot with a real feel of 106 degrees to sit in the swing and ponder. Ran across this quote — “Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things,” Robert Breault. We all take the everyday moments for granted and they are more special than the grand schemes of life. I love the ordinary little things in life and I’m very conscious of them, specially when I share them with my grandchildren. My granddaughter and I always have laughter in our conversations. She says my being born on April Fools Day makes me fun. She loves the stories of my grandmother escapades. I hope she’ll always have laughter in her life.

“Life can be a tightrope or a feather mattress.” That quote from Edith Wharton defines life so accurately. As we mature we make decisions that affect ourselves and ultimately our families. Sometimes we’re walking across a tightrope in life hoping we don’t fall off into eternity. We grasp for straws when we should be grasping for strength from God. We tie a knot in the rope and hold on while it unravels. Some of us only pray when we’re on the tightrope and then worry and wonder if God will hear our prayers. Praying is just like talking. Doesn’t take much when we lay our heads down at night to thank God for the day and its blessings. Want to land more often on that feather mattress when you fall off the tightrope? Pray and accept God’s answers. He’ll always catch you when you fall.

Another quote I pondered on this afternoon — “Without suffering, there is no happiness,” Thich Nhat Hanh. We all know life is not a bed of roses and we’re not promised that hardships won’t be a part of our life’s travels. God never said life would be easy but he did say he’d stay by our side in the darkness. Psalm 23:4 offers us comfort reading, “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.”

Hardships help us grow and help us appreciate the blessing in our lives. Suffering through hard times teaches us to see that life is worth living. The presence of happiness and the presence of suffering help us go forward in the direction of enjoying life. Happiness and fulfillment come from overcoming the hard times. We need to embrace the tough times and learn from them. We need to be content with what we have and with the circumstances of our lives. “Life itself is a privilege, but to live life to the fullest — well, that is a choice,” Andy Andrews.

“It’s not in the life, it’s in the living.” — Raheel Farooq