Romans 8:28: “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
I recently viewed Phil Robertson’s celebration of life ceremony. I was profoundly moved by his service for numerous reasons. However, the primary reason is that his legacy was grounded in truth. It is all too common for us to attend funerals where inaccuracies are presented about the deceased, either to enhance their reputation or to detract from it. During such moments, the atmosphere becomes laden with an unsettling heaviness, creating a sensation that the spirits are lingering, unable to transition peacefully.
In my family, we experienced the loss of a relative, and their offspring spent years proclaiming to anyone willing to listen that they represented their deceased parent’s legacy. Unbeknownst to them, many were laughing and speaking disparagingly about the parent, as their shortcomings were significant. And what was even more chilling was their behavior as they embraced their parents’ deceitful legacy as their own.
During my observation of Phil’s funeral, I arrived at the conclusion that it is not the deceased whom I fear, but rather the living individuals who perpetuate deception that instill a sense of apprehension within me. Consequently, I have chosen to forgo a traditional funeral in favor of a brief graveside service. My intention is to protect my children from the deception of those I have spent years shielding them against. I do not wish for my children to find themselves embroiled in disputes over possessions they did not earn and were only bequeathed to them upon my passing. It is my belief that my life should signify more than mere financial gain. I desire for them to understand that the time I dedicated to self-improvement, so I could become a better person and mother, is what truly matters, as I could not have achieved either without the guidance of Christ. And! This is what I witnessed at Phil’s services.
PRAYER
Father God, I humbly ask that you sweep over the souls who follow you and desire to follow you. Amen
As my sister celebrated her birthday this year she was and is unquestionably delighted to turn 50. I on the other hand did not look forwards to turning another year older. Yet my 52 birthday was creeping closely and did manage to arrive on scheduled. My birthday is never late! Honestly, I really wish after I had turned 30 my birthday would come around once every 10 years.
It appears my regretful and wounded soul continues to look for the life that was lost so long ago.
My person questions all of life’s ambitions, my life’s ambitions, to a point where I’m silently asking the following: What makes the aging graceful and ready to grow older and old? What makes the aging mean and bitter as they do grow older and old? And what will I become as I age and my physical beauty continues to fade? Will I be a sweet old woman that has few regrets? Or will I become an old bag of bitter bones that is mean because I failed to live my life to its fullest?
Truthfully, I would say at this point I am becoming by default ‘an old bag of bitter bones that is mean because I failed to live my life to its fullest.’
Are you shocked at my brutal conclusion of my self awareness examination? Are you shocked that I can be as truthful about what I inwardly harbor? Don’t be shocked because there are other’s just like me. Perhaps you are like me. Maybe you are worse than me. But it is never too late for us to change the course of our lives as long as we continue to breathe hope.
At this moment my beloved Colorado is under flood watch. Because of flooding many of the smaller cities and towns have been force to evacuate. Lives are being uprooted by force of nature and people have to take shelter of safety in unfamiliar places. Uncertainty about the course of their lives looms over the evacuees’ heads as they wait for the storm to subside.
After carefully watching video footage of flooding areas in Colorado I have come to the conclusion, it is the amount of life’s storms and their surges that determines if we will age gracefully or bitter.
And regrettably sometimes our personal lives from beginning to end are under flood watch or in the eye of the storm.
At least my life is consistently under storm watch; and often my poor choices continue to place me in the midst of raging floods. And, since, I didn’t know how to swim to safety I have found myself spiritually and emotionally drowning over and over again. As a result, I regret a few things I have done, moreover, my biggest regrets are the things I failed and continue to fail to do; therefore, for me aging is a big reminder how I wasted my talents and my life.
With remorse I must write, my life [outside of my children] was squandered on people and things that could not validate my existence. In a nutshell, I confess, I spent the majority of my life looking for validation from people who had never been validated themselves. So when I turned 50 I felt life was over for me. I felt nothing about me depicted a life of success and that included the children I dearly love.
But as I continue on this journey we call life, every day I am reminded people age 50 and over that are living wonderful lives with little to no regrets. And Lillie McCloud is one of those people. She is an amazing singer. She has an amazing outlook about her life. She does not regret putting her singing career on hold to raise her children. At the age of 54 she feels now is her time to fulfill her dream. I just love her confidence during her X Factor audition. She selected the right song. She wore the right outfit. Her persona said what she stated “I’m here to win” as she sang Cece Winans’ song “Alabaster Box.” Everything about Lillie says age 50 is where it’s at! Check her out:
Black Women Have It Going On 