Creating in Faith - Loss and purpose

At some point in your life you will experience loss.

 

I have been finding in my 40’s that there is an increase in people I know who have either passed or have illnesses with very serious prognosis.  You never imaging yourself to be in that position, can’t prepare for it and when it comes it leaves a hole that seems impossible to fill.   

Almost 20 years after my father passed I still have dreams about him in totally new situations. In the beginning the dreams would be of him during his illness.  As the dreams progressed he would get stronger until one dream he was lifting a wardrobe and I asked him if he could be more careful because of the illness, he laughed and told me he was fine.  In my most recent dream he came to my mum’s home and had a friend with him.  He was dressed really smart and looked like the picture I have of him in his younger days.  

 On waking I realised the friend he had with him was my mum when she was a young woman. 

The loss of a loved one takes time to come to terms with, the intense pain softens, you carry on, but you never forget.  I still think about my first son who passed at 3 days old, he would have been 23 now and I often wonder what he would have been doing now, thinking about all that he could have achieved with his life.  

While we can’t bring back those we have lost we can celebrate their lives, we rejoice at the lives they touched the impact they had on this world and we look to our own lives and hope that we too can make an impact on the lives of others and be the blessing we were called to be.   

I imagined as I got older I would be sharing more times of laughter with tales of grandchildren and aching joints, alongside the creative adventures with my good friend Barbara who I had known since I was 16 and who passed in 2011 and is so dearly missed.  

 From time to time I dwell on the shared experiences, and conversations we had about our journey as artists, the love she gave to her family and the love she shared with others.

 me and Barbara in our early 20's

Ecclesiastes tells us that there is a time for everything and everything in its season: 

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot, 

a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

As we draw close to the end of the year, let us make a decision to live our lives on purpose.  Take hold of 2013 and aim to make an impact on your own life and that of others.  Whilst we will continue over the years at some point to suffer loss, let us hold on to the blessings that each individual life shared with us and celebrate their memories with joy, and let us live our lives to the full and not take one more day for granted.

  He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power...Isaiah 40:29

Come join the group - Creating in Faith, show us how you will be incorporating the words and scriptures and reflections in your art this week.  Step out and be a blessing and you will also be blessed!

A Friend Remembered

It doesn't feel like a year since my friend Barbara passed - 

Sunday 25th March 2011. 

 It's amazing how quickly the time passes.  I remember exactly what I was doing the day I heard, and sometimes not thinking about it makes it seem unreal and you hope will wake up from a dream....

Life is so fragile, we don't know when our time will be up, but we can make the most of today, be an inspiration, a blessing, make the seemingly impossible possible, and make the most of those dreams.  We also have to treasure the relationships we share with those we love!

  

All things are possible. As we step out in faith on a daily basis to make a difference we see how we can be better than we were the day before.  My prayers go out to the family and I know that Barbara would be proud of them, they have all continued to be an inspiration and a blessing.  

Here is Samara, Chanel and Jordan (Good News)
being a blessing with their voices...

Good News Worship Ident 2 from OH TV on Vimeo.

Fruit

He is like a tree planted by streams of water;

which yeilds its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. 

Whatever he does prospers..

Psalm 1:3

Artwork - Barbara Noel

We said our final farewell to my friend and fellow artist Barbara Noel on Monday, as we celebrated her life at her 'Home Going Service' and I wrote a tribute to her in my post Friendship, it was a moving day, and a blessing to be part of it.  I thought about the impact she had made in many peoples lives and this reminded me of the fruit that we are called to produce in our own lives.

The fruit of the spirit is..love, joy, peace, patience,

kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control....

Galatians 5:22

What is it that you are labouring over, what fruit are you producing, what are you doing to impact those around us?....I have a plum tree in my garden and come August, I am expecting that we will get plums, not potatoes, oranges or tomatoes.  For every flower that appears.....

 - once fallen, a fruit should be in place.

Whatever we do there are certain results that are guaranteed, if we encourage our children and speak positive words into their lives we hope that they will grow up with confidence and secure in who they are..  Take stock and look at what you are currently doing in your life.  Can you clearly see what the fruit of your labour will be.  Does it need some extra nourishment, water, etc and are there any areas that need to be cut back in order to bring a bigger crop, this might take the shape of a course to learn a new art techniques or sharing your art techniques with a disadvantaged group, you could get up that extra half hour to be a blessing to someone, or get some exercise to avoid potential illnesses such as high blood pressure or diabetes.....  Would you spend time raising funds for a charity or a homeless shelter on Christmas day?  Make sure that the time you invest enables the results you are looking for to be achieved.....Is your fruit recognisable?

It has definitely been a challenge writing for the A-Z April Blogging challenge and  I am also doing the challenge on my other blog Amanda Trought Art, with a whole different set of words but I have been blessed as I steadily make my way through the alphabet.  I know you will be blessed as you make your way around to the blogs of the other participants on the challenge.