Persistent Pansies

My containers filled with pansies are teaching me a lesson about persistence this spring. Like so many things in life, they started healthy and full of promise. I remember when we planted them last fall when there was a nip in the air and the days were getting shorter. Since those hardy plants are known for being tough, I just knew we would be rewarded with purple, yellow, and blue flowers all winter long. I didn't count on the Polar Vortex and nights of single digit temperatures, followed by inches of snow and ice. My frozen and battered flowers stayed hunkered down in their containers and produced only a few pitiful small blossoms. 

“Those early bloomers look dead,” I told my late bloomer husband. I just knew we would have to dig up the plants and redo the flower containers if we hoped for any spring color. My pansies had other ideas and must have adopted the motto: “Hope spring eternal in the human breast.” (Alexander Pope–An Essay on Man)  As soon as the first few days of 60 degree sunshine warmed those hibernating plants, they raised their heads and started to grow again. Now I am awarded with an abundance of colorful flowers with happy faces that provide color and joy to my front porch and back deck.

 

The persistence of my pansies is not just about the flowers, but a picture of life. Our days start out so full of hope and promise, but seem to be sabotaged by difficulties and challenges that knock us down for a while. Broken relationships, chronic illnesses, job loss, financial difficulties, prodigal children, and family deaths intrude and we find it difficult to raise our heads and bloom.

The expectation of our time is for a quick and easy fix to our latest dilemma. Chris Tiegreen in one of his devotional books wrote that we live in a “microwave world.”  Today we could add we live in a “Google world” that provides us fast answers to everything.  (Did you know the Internet celebrated its 25^th anniversary this week? How did we ever live without it?)  The challenge of our day is to learn persistence and perseverance in the midst of difficulties with no fast fix.  The Bible admonishes us in Romans 12:12 “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” Good advice for me to follow and share with my fellow readers. 

I really like the way comedian Jim Carrey put it:,“Flowers don't worry about how they're going to bloom. They just open up and turn toward the light and that makes them beautiful.”

Climate Change Reflections

February was definitely a month of climate change in Georgia. First we had SnowJam 2014 when every interstate and side road in Greater Atlanta area was locked up in a massive traffic snarl. And snarling is exactly what people did as they spent hours and even nights in their cars. The salting trucks couldn’t even get around the mess. Two weeks later IceJam 2014 closed down schools, offices, and stores. Everyone had to stay home until the ice melted. 

As soon as we defrosted, Charles headed to Ottawa, Canada for a wind tunnel test. Now that was one cold and snow packed city. But he dressed for it and actually enjoyed seeing all the ice sculptures in the park across from his hotel.

Less than one week later, we spotted a gorgeous pink Eastern Redbud on the road to our office. It only took a few days— with temperatures in the 20’s to temps in the 60’s— and that tree burst into full bloom.

I have a real issue with the climate change scientists who declare that humankind is solely responsible for warming up our planet to the point where catastrophe is awaiting around the corner. During the coldest winter in decades, people have been left helpless before the onslaught of plunging temperatures and mounting snow. I choose to believe that the natural forces put in place by our Creator are the deciding factor when it comes to climate change. Yes, we should all be responsible citizens and not pollute the air and water, but we don’t need to destroy jobs and our economy to do it.

To all my friends and family in the northeast and other colder climates, I know you are so over winter and are counting the days until March 21-the first official day of spring. In the meantime we have March 9 and the return of Daylight Savings Time. How did that get here so fast? I much prefer more daylight in the morning and less at night. But, once again, nobody asked my opinion.

 

I defer to the wise words found in the Bible. Genesis 8:22 says it all. "As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease."  

Stay bundled up and look forward to warmer days ahead.

The Importance of Milestones

A friend recently shared with me the following quote from baseball great Satchel Paige:

 “How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?”

Since I've just celebrated a milestone birthday, I decided to ponder that question. I concluded that since I wouldn't have known then, what I know now—this is my best age. I've had the opportunity to do many wonderful things in my life, but nothing compares to the peace I feel today of being comfortable in my own skin. That doesn't mean that there isn't room for improvement—there definitely is. There are many lessons I've learned over the years that contribute to my contentment at this stage of life. But there are areas of life that I want to work on in the next decade. And they all start with the letter “C.” With help from the definitions found in Dictionary.com and the New International Version of the Bible, here is my list:

•   Courage - To face difficulty without fear, and to not flinch in the midst of criticism.

I don’t want to be debilitated by my fears, but I want to face them and overcome them. I am reminded of the Bible verse in 1 John 4:18 “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear…”  To me, this means I should not rely on my own strength when faced with life’s challenges, but on the perfect love of God. 

            

 •   Compassion – To deeply feel for someone dealing with misfortune, with a strong desire to help their suffering.

It’s all too human to turn a blind eye to human suffering and to think its someone else’s problem and not mine. I want my eyes to be open and to be aware of those persons whose lives I can impact. Gal. 6:2 “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

•   Creativity – To be inspired to generate new ideas and ways of expressing myself.

I am finding that in my “older years” I have more time to dream, be creative, and share those thoughts with others. If the Lord gives me time and the ability, there is an historical novel deep down inside waiting to be written.  “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

•   Connectedness – To develop new relationships and nurture existing ones with friends, family, and acquaintances. 

I want to see each person as having been placed in my life for a reason and a season. “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help.” Ecclesiastes 4:9–12.   It’s my goal to connect and be connected with as many interesting and inspiring people as possible.

Please comment below if you would like to join me on my journey.

Make Friends with a Book

Joseph Brodsky—named United States Poet Laureate in 1991—wrote, “There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.”  Brodsky was speaking from personal experience since he was raised in Russia during the Stalin era and was not allowed the freedom to distribute his writings.

A post on Facebook called “Surprising Book Facts” gives the following statistics:

• 33% of high school graduates never read another book during their lives.
• 70% of US adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years.
• 42% of college grads never read another book after college.
• 80% of US families did not buy or read a book last year.

Do you think that explains why graduation rates and test scores are at an all-time low?

Contrast those stats with another article I saw on the Internet with the headline Sandvoort, Guyana. The closest library to this South American village was a long two mile walk away. Most school age children had never read a book and the teachers used the “chalk and talk” method for their teaching. In a village where most families can barely afford toothpaste, the desire for learning is so great that villagers are using sweat equity to build a local library. Everyone is pitching in by donating their spare time to construct the building, shelve donated books, and cook meals for the workers. The children in that village will now be exposed to a whole new world of opportunities through their reading. 

I know the ways we receive information in the U.S. is changing due to the technology revolution, but we need to encourage our families to read. All authors, including me, want to know that people will read the words that we are inspired to write. An unknown author has said, “A good book on your shelf is a friend that turns its back on you and remains a friend.”  So pick up a good book and read.

ere’s a suggestion:  Born Three Times-A New Life, A New Liver, A New Love.

http://www.amazon.com/Born-Three-Times-Life-Liver/dp/1462403875/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1390853072&sr=1-1&keywords=Born+Three+Times

My Canadian Connection

My sister, Audrey, has served as our family historian and genealogist for many years.  I recently received from her a voluminous stack of documents that record her work researching the origins of our family back to the mid 1600’s and mid 1700’s.  What a fascinating read to discover all those who lived and died on my mother’s and father’s sides of the family. It is a record of hard working, industrious men and women who struggled through life with a lot fewer resources than I have today. Many dealt with the same health issues that I have had and it makes me grateful for the blessings of modern medicine. Neither my sister nor I would be alive today if we had lived in “the good old days.” Many had a strong faith in God that allowed them to survive and thrive in spite of life’s circumstances and I am the inheritor of that legacy.

My family tree on both sides has been traced back to Canada. I was raised in a small town close to the Canadian border in upstate New York. When my ancestors moved there, New York was not yet a state and the lands were populated by the Mohawk Indians. France and the Catholic Church controlled the Canadian provinces. The need for arable farm land and timber drove my ancestors from French controlled lands into what would become The North Country of upstate New York. The bitter cold winters and short growing season presented many challenges to be overcome in order to survive in that area.

I moved from that area further south in New York State when I was six years old to the Rochester, New York area near Lake Ontario across from Toronto, Canada. This past year, my oldest son, Stuart, accepted a position with the Bank of Montreal, with headquarters in Toronto. I visited his family before Christmas and was reminded again of my Canadian roots. Yes, the Polar Vortex is alive and well in Canada, but Toronto stays somewhat warmer than much of the country because it is on Lake Ontario. Nevertheless, it was very cold, windy, and snowy, and a true test of character every time we walked to the subway station or to a store. My granddaughter, Marcella, helped me navigate the icy streets. I borrowed a coat from my daughter-in-law so I wouldn’t turn into a Popsicle and promptly ordered a “puffer” coat to have for future visits. I hope to visit next time in July so that I can enjoy the brief, but beautiful Canadian summer.

We’ve all heard the saying “What goes around, comes around.” I can truly say that my life that began with strong Canadian roots has come full circle. 

Read more about my growing up years near the Canadian border in my memoir, Born Three Times-A New Life, A New Liver, A New Love. It is available in soft cover and Kindle formats at Amazon.com:   http://www.amazon.com/Born-Three-Times-Life-Liver-ebook/dp/B00A3UBK9C/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1389722852&sr=1-1&keywords=Born+Three+Times

A Clean Slate

ü  A new Word document  

ü  A blank calendar

ü  A fresh blog post

ü  An empty journal or diary

ü  An unopened flash drive

All waiting to be filled with words, dates, memories, and files—A New Year filled with choices, actions, resolutions, goals, and efforts.
  
Like you, I ask myself, “What will 2014 bring and what will I do during the next 365 days?” According to my calculation that is 8,760 hours; 525,600 minutes; 31,536,000 seconds. If I sleep one-third of my allotted hours, the remaining 5,840 hours or 16 hours each day await my imprint.

Some of those hours will be filled with office work, housework, food prep, and unexpected interruptions. Quantity time with my husband, family, and friends will be a priority as well as quality time with God through prayer, church attendance, and service to others. 

I start a new year with a clean slate when it comes to my writing. Writing 24 blogs in 2014 is daunting when I have an idea for only one. Most of my blog topics come to me from events or circumstances in my life. I  always look for a good quote or inspiration from an article or spot on TV. So far I have written 40 blogs with the self-imposed deadline of two each month. When you read and comment, I am encouraged to keep on posting.

My big project for the year is writing Charles’ life story. He has already given me pages of memories that I will massage and rework into a memoir that will be an inspiration to many. Like it was for me, writing his life story is a time of reflection on many events—some of which he would prefer not to relive. However writing my memoir, Born Three Times­­­­–A New Life, A New Liver, A New Love, proved to be a very therapeutic experience.

You, too, have a story to tell and I encourage you to take the time to find a way to record your memories for your future generations. It would be a good way to use some of your time in 2014 to bless other people. 

Let's fill our clean slates in 2014 with words and actions that will honor God and bless others along the way. As Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Write it on your heart that every day is the best day of the year.”

Happy New Year

Frieda Dixon

Too Two Late Bloomers

 

An Orange Grove Parable

Spiritual insight can come from many places this time of year. Mine came in early November when Charles and I were heading home from our Florida vacation. The billboard on I-75 displayed pictures of beautiful citrus fruit with the invitation to take the next exit and pick your own. We are always eager to try something different so we followed the signs to a weather worn barn with green fruit displayed in bins. I was really surprised not to see orange colored navels and tangerines, and yellow grapefruit. The proprietor assured us that the displayed fruit was ripe, and that it only turns orange or yellow when exposed to cold temperatures, or sprayed with ethylene gas. I was not convinced, so we grabbed a ten pound mesh bag to fill on our own. We were given a word of caution, “You can pick fruit from any tree in the orchard, except the ones wrapped in crime scene tape.” 

We trekked into the orchard to find the low hanging fruit. Sure enough most of it was green, but a few tangerines and oranges looked better than the others and gave way when we gave them a gentle tug. Then we saw them, orange trees wrapped in yellow crime scene tape and covered with orange fruit. Those trees must have been exposed to cold air or gassed in anticipation of being sent to market. Like a little kid, I couldn’t stay away from those trees. I wanted to fill up my mesh bag with that fruit. With the proprietor's warning ringing in my ears, I dutifully continued to pull green fruit, but kept looking at the forbidden orange fruit in the middle of the orchard. 
 
Back on the road, it hit me. The account in Genesis of the first sin possibly took place in a fruit orchard. We all know the story of how Adam and Eve were told by God they could eat of any tree in the garden, except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in the middle of the garden. God warned Adam if you eat of the forbidden fruit, you will die. And we know the rest of the story. Eve listed to the serpent, ignored God’s warning, and ate of the forbidden tree—then gave the fruit to Adam. The first sin entered into the world and people have been dealing with their sinful nature ever since.

Over two thousand years ago, God took on the form of a human baby, and came into our world for one purpose—to die in our place as the perfect sacrifice for our sinful nature. We can be forgiven of our sins and receive eternal life if we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. That is the real reason for the Christmas season and something to celebrate all year long.

Have a blessed Christmas.