A Grandmothers Heart to be remembered

Life is interesting. It’s amazing with all its twists and turns; its storms and winds and sun shining days.

As one ages; the lessons that one has learned seep into the consciousness in a way like never before.

When we are young, we want to hurry and grow up to that ripe age of 18, then 21, then 30. Then one day, on this amazing journey we start to look back at those ages and wonder, where have the years gone?

Those years as we approach our 50’s then 60’s etc.; we remember things differently. Our children grow up and start their own lives and their own friendships; their own circles and bonds. We don’t quite know when it happened but suddenly, it hits us that they don’t need us anymore… not like they used to.

How many times have we said, I can’t wait until you are grown and on your own? Now the time is here. They are off to college or leaving home with room rates, moving into their first apartment, their own job and now they live life, by those internal lessons plans that they have been taught, by you the parents, their friends, teachers, music and tv idols; their neighborhood, their church or non church relationships.

And suddenly, there’s this hole in your gut. You never noticed it before. But suddenly this hollow feeling swells and tears form in your eyes. Suddenly, this sadness is overwhelming. It’s finally hit your consciousness that my baby is not a baby anymore. I have to “let go” and if I am a believer, it really is time to “let God.”

You find that you have survived this experience with your own children, now, (if you are so blessed to see them grow up to adulthood); come the grandchildren. Your own children will now know what you went through with them. Funny how that is, should life continue, your children will come to know what you came to know years ago. You come to know that they truly are a part of you. It’s hard to let go of the reins. This is surprising even to you. After all, you lived for this day, when they would grow up and move out of the house and start taking responsibility for themselves. Until now, it never dawned on us that taking care of them was the “joy” of our lives. We lived for them, taught them, served them and guided them as best we knew how to become their own person. Now the time has arrived.

Children grow up and move away to a life of their own, and it is us, the parents, grandparents which must accept that fact. After all our own lives are changing everyday. As we age, we gain insight as to what is important and what is not. We are more in tune to happiness and sadness. We yearn for that family tie in a way that we never have before, but knowing all to well that it is slipping slowly away and one day, it will be gone altogether except for the memories.

There comes a time in each senior citizens’ life where we become the spectators of an age that has past us. We can only hope that we have imparted good will and good examples for our young to follow. We move on now with our new experiences and baggage.

Some of us age gracefully, some not so graceful. Some of us experience more physical ailments than others, some of us withdraw and stop living life in the active lane. Some of us join senior centers to keep us engaged and encouraged. Some end up in nursing facilities, and some with relatives, but either way, life is not the same anymore. We long for the days gone by.

But, since we can’t go back, at least not physically, we have but one hope… look toward tomorrow for it is just one step closer to eternity. We pray that our loved ones will remember us kindly and keep us on their radar. For as we go into this new place where many others have gone before, we don’t quite know what to expect but we do know that we want to stay connected to those we love.

To all our loved ones… don’t let us slip away, find time for us, for one day, should you continue to live, you will be where we are and you will want what we want and that is to stay connected to those you love, to those you have raised and cared for. Live your life but keep a place in it for us. Consider it as sowing seeds for your date with destiny.

By: Marci Tilghman Bryant

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7957444

Do you ever find yourself wishing you were further ahead than where you are right now? Do you have unfulfilled aspirations and goals? I have found that just wishing and hoping things will change is not enough… you must make a commitment to make things change.

CHANGE is not always welcomed with open arms because it requires effort. Many of us grow tired and weary because life has a way of heaping more on us than we can bear at times. But still, if our dreams don’t die on the vine, we still have the chance to make them happen. It can happen when we change our “minds” regarding “growth”. Contemplating “change” for some, may also be a little scarry. While we might not be totally happy with our current circumstances, at least they are what is familiar to us. As human beings, we tend to want to stick with the “known”, what’s comfortable. But that is not always the best place for us to be. So I offer you a challenge.

Stretch your mind today. Decide in your mind that you will move from this present place and move forward to your desired place. Speak what you want out loud. Write down on paper what you want. Read it out loud. Let yourself hear you speak your aspirations. Once your mind grabs it and accepts it, it will not go backward. You will move forward. Make a commitment to yourself to grow away from yesterday. Today is new and fresh and filled with possibilities. Do one thing different today than you have ever done before. Make sure that it is in keeping with where you are trying to go in your life. For example, if you don’t like to read, make a commitment to find a subject that you are interested in and dedicate yourself to reading one paragraph or article a day about that subject for 30 consecutive days. It won’t be easy at first but it will get better as each day passes. Reward yourself at the end of each day that you stick with the commitment. You decide the reward, after all you do know for the most part what motivates you. Keep in mind that… Tomorrow is just out of sight but it is within reach. And if by God’s grace we reach tomorrow, with “growing” as part of our decision today, we will be further along than we are now, when tomorrow comes. Commit to growth. It is the best way out of a stagnant place!

Today is a great day to began your journey toward change. Meet the challenge. Check out our website at: https://www.findyourplc.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8203685

Women like “US”! Who are we? Who dares to be in this elect group of women we call “US”? We are the uncompromising, the unstoppable, the uniquely qualified sisters! We are sisters comprised of all nations, tongues, nationalities & creeds.

We are uncompromising for we have been through storm after storm after storm. Our storms have involved family, friends, associates, belief systems, career, self doubt, abuse, responsibility, others expectations of us, overwork etc. We have conformed, compromised, refused, fought back, we have cried, gave in, tried to ignore, complained, silently endured, and we have just often times made mistakes in how we handled what came our way. But we have learned that we are not the “mistake”, we are not the enemy of our souls. We have learned that we can overcome and move past the obstacles that stand in our way. We dare not repeat our mistakes, unless, we want more of the same negative outcomes. We do not! We have learned not be the victim, by facing the challenges and doing what we can to improve the situation.

We are unstoppable. Time has shown us our strength. We may slow down, we may even fall down, but with our last ounce of strength, fueled by determination that has been birthed within us, we hold on until we can get back up again. The Lord is our anchor and God is at the controls. We have learned that He alone knows what we each can bare and will let nothing more than that arrive on our path. So we just keep on going, keep on moving forward because that is what women like us… do!

We are uniquely qualified to see error, to hear error, to feel error, to smell error, to refuse to taste error over and over again. Yesterday we bought the lies and half truths because we were not secure enough in ourselves to see past the illusions that come to us dressed as the opposite sex; dressed up as the dream job, the friend, the dream come true, the dream deal of a lifetime. Our senses have been heightened & sharpened and it now takes more than flattering words; hype and the dangling carrot to pull us off onto a wrong path to travel in a wrong direction. We are now ready for the challenges that come our way. We have matured. We have learned. We have become to know who we are and we believe what the Word of God says about us. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. We are the head and not the tail. We have beauty instead of ashes. We have hope so we don’t have to live as if we are hopeless. We have the power to get wealth. We are not alone on this journey called life, because we have learned that when we experience weakness, it is in that moment we really are at our strongest, because our true partner is the spirit of the living God. We are not outcasts. We are a member of the royal priesthood. We are the salt of the earth. We know who we are. We know to whom we belong. We belong to that grand society called “US”, we are uncompromising, unstoppable, and uniquely qualified, sisters. We own ourselves. We own our decisions and our path. We are women like US!

Dr Marci Tilghman Bryant is passionate about helping others to succeed. Her years of training in ministry as a teacher and Life Coach, has prepared her to help others pursue their goals and dreams. She is a motivational speaker both nationally and internationally. Feel free to visit her website at https://www.findyourplc.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8419182