From The Rear View Mirror: Objects may appear larger than they really are

In The Rear View Mirror (Ten Years of Insights)
Joan Gilbert Rhoden
10-25-08

1999 - "Grandchildren are God's reward for not killing your children."

On September 22, my 3rd grandchild was born. You think they can't get better, but they do. Grandchildren are lights that come on when the dusk of age sets in. They're the twinkling stars in the darkness of night and the sunshine that greets each day. Only God could have thought up something as good as grandchildren.

2000 - "The sun will come out tomorrow." (Line from the song in "Annie")
The millennium was supposed to usher in all sorts of mayhem. Some prepared strategically for the apocalypse. But, it didn't happen. On January 1, 2000, the sun came up as usual, and life went on. I turned 50. (Pause for reflection) As my mother always attests, "Most of what we worry about never even happens".

2001 - "Life is the childhood of our immortality.” (Goethe)
On a whim, I started writing about my childhood. What started out as a few lines of script, intended to be a mere memory jog, turned into a full fledged manuscript. It was a very satisfying experience and some of the most fun I've had in years! Some people don’t even remember their childhood. Mine is tattooed on my heart.

2002 - "It is much easier to become a father than to be one." (Kent Nerburn)
My dad passed away on October 21. He left a hole in my soul. It still hurts, knowing that I don't miss him.

2003 - Children never leave home
My obstetrician must have overlooked a common procedure. The umbilical chord between my children and me remains in tact. Fact is, I think it has become irreparably attached to my heart. Botched delivery? You be the judge.

2004 - God is sovereign. He can do anything He pleases.
I hurt my back and found myself confined to a hospital bed. It was a wake-up call. My mobility and the future of my ability to function normally were suddenly in question. Life gets much more focused when you're on your back, incapacitated and needy. Never underestimate what God is willing to allow in order to get your attention.

2005 - "Happily ever after is not an inalienable right."
There are some things in life that we grow up to believe are rightfully ours: breath, life, love, happiness. We believe we are entitled to certain things, a certain way of life. But even our very breath is assigned by God, and happiness is as fleeting as a satisfying burp. True happiness is not external, nor is it linked to external variables. Happily ever after, while linked to fairy tales, is more accurately a spiritual term. "Heaven… is the ‘happily ever after’ for which we long." (jgr)

2006 - "The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable." (President James A. Garfield)
Some lessons take longer to learn than others. Lessons that take a long time to learn, by definition, are the most difficult to absorb. It confirms that there is some sort of natural resistance to the facts. Long term denial of the things you don't want to believe can leave you exhausted. The truth is the only antidote. Some lessons take a lifetime to sink in. The more I know, the less I understand. The less I understand, the more I have to rely on faith in God. You do the math.

2007 - "The rain falls on the just and the unjust." (Matthew 5:45b paraphrased)
Bad things happen to good people. It's a fact of life. I grew up believing differently, that right choices shielded a person from the consequences that wrong choices invite. But good people suffer right along with the people who have lived lives of excess and casual character. The difference is that doing right is the right thing to do: period. As Matthew Henry stated, " I would rather be robbed than be the robber."

2008 - The law of gravity is immutable and indiscriminate.
What goes up must come down: real estate, stock market… and all manner of body parts.

SUMMARY: "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain." -Unknown

SONG:
So Bring On The Rain (Jo Dee Messina)

Another day has almost come and gone
Can't imagine what else could go wrong
Sometimes I'd like to hide away somewhere and lock the door
A single battle lost but not the war,

Cause tomorrow's another day
And Im thirsty anyway
So bring on the rain

Its almost like the hard times circle round
A couple drops and they all start coming down
Yeah, I might feel defeated,
I might hang my head
I might be barely breathing
but I'm not dead

Tomorrows another day
And Im thirsty anyway
So bring on the rain

I'm not gonna let it get me down
I'm not gonna cry And
I'm not gonna lose any sleep tonight