It’s what’s inside of you that makes a difference …

Elegiac grief: Sorrow of watching someone abandon their truest self. A mourning for the love and connection that might have been. A grief wrapped in beauty, for something quietly lost to time.

I read a story years ago, in which the heroine ‘followed’ her husband from old living quarters to a new abode and reminisced on the sense of liberty she felt. A fiction story, yet she described the lives many live today.

James 4:13 “Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain: 14) Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.”

The fictional heroine described the life in between where she had been and where she would be as a nebulous life, a time that held no commitments, no daily duties, and no challenges.

Some people live their lives traveling, such as over-the-road drivers. They may have a house and family base, but their lives go from city to city on a regular basis, only touching home occasionally.

Another case would be our military. The soldier has their deployment, often for months away from home. Over the road drivers and the military examples are choices, but at times, many adults don’t leave home, yet aren’t connected to their community.

Connection is the key. The story is told of a favorite football player, Leroy by name. The fans loved Leroy, and for a good reason: he was the best player on the team. Leroy could catch, he could throw, and he could even run.

It was desperate times in the second half of the football game. The team needed a good goal, and the cry went up from the fans, “Give Leroy the ball.” Indeed, in the first play, Leroy received the ball only to be sacked within seconds. This play happened again, yet the fans still had faith in Leroy’s ability. Another attempt, and the fans are still insisting, “Give Leroy the ball.” After being pulled out from under the pile of football players again, Leroy stood up and shouted back, “Leroy don’t want the ball.”

I fear there are many of our fellow citizens who are like Leroy. Hopefully, they show up to their jobs every day, go home, and call it done. Sixty years ago, for my junior year in high school, only my mother (a single parent) and one other parent family showed up for parent—teacher conference. And that is normal for many things.

My husband used to attend the local school board meetings. Usually, there was maybe one other parent in attendance, unless there was something that raised the community ire. No one shows up for those meetings, or city council meetings, or any number of such meetings.

People are good at complaining. The rumbling is heard about taxes, rules, and regulations, but no one was paying attention, and the items were slipped in without discussion or debate.

Matthew 5:13) “Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted… 14) Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. 16) Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

There are sly dogs who say that Christians have no business in public or political arenas. Some may honestly fall for that idea, but that isn’t true.

Christians are supposed to be the salt and light. If we don’t show up, we won’t be either. As Christians shrink from taking part in community life and decisions, secular (without God) ideas become more dominant and widespread. Suddenly, we find ourselves in a world governed by unchristian laws, and that doesn’t end well.

When I hear statements against Christians and their principles in society, I wonder who has a problem with “Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not murder. Thou shalt not covet …”

Who has a problem with that? Keep an eye on that person. They have a lot of problems, and you don’t want to be part of their problems.

I’ve heard the phrase “Fake it until you make it.” And it’s an interesting concept. My consideration of the term is that even if you have your doubts about the Christian faith, it’s still the best option to be found. That a person ought to give it a fair chance until it proves itself. It will prove itself if given that fair venture. An honest application will make us more honest people.

It is only too easy to become distracted, and that is what our leaders want. When we aren’t paying attention, the school board, the town council, our elected officials, all of these entities operate with impunity. What they decide becomes law or ordinance, and everyone is surprised since no one paid attention.

Our government benefits profusely from people pretending that it takes two paychecks to pay the bills. That is a shocking statement because, of course, life is expensive. However, please don’t tell me we have less money than families did during the Depression era.

During World War II, many single women became empowered, and putting that genie back in the bottle wasn’t going to happen. The government also found that with two paychecks, they had more money to play with, and families were now “too busy making ends meet,” which gave the government more freedom from scrutiny.

Now we find ourselves in a world where the politicians suck the taxpayer dry, also stealing from the common citizen not only their money, but their rights as well. We’re so harried with the everyday demands of our lives that nobody stops to challenge the status quo. We’re too busy even if we do notice.

James 4:15 “For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that. 16) But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil. 17) Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

The post For such a time as this… first appeared on Donevy Westphal.

I Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” (1 Peter 5:8-9)

I must be a sucker for stories. My Facebook feed would feed me stories all day long. They range from WWII stories, of the holocaust, soldiers, their battles, acts of bravery, and trials. But the stories aren’t isolated to one time period or one subject; they cover a whole spectrum of lives.

No matter, as the saying goes, ‘everyone has a story.’ And it’s true, but the story of how well people survived doesn’t always end as we would expect.

“And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty years: few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage.” (Genesis 47:9)

When sitting at the door of his tent as a young man, before his mother, Rebekah, came to him and engaged him in their act of deception, did Jacob ever envision how his life would end?

After the hullabaloo of the deception came about, when Rebekah told her favorite son to:

“Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother to Haran; And tarry with him a few days, until thy brother’s fury turn away; Until thy brother’s anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou hast done to him: then I will send, and fetch thee from thence: why should I be deprived also of you both in one day?” (Genesis 27:43-45)

Did she imagine that the few days would turn into years, and she would never see her son again? In many ways, it must have been a bitter, heart-wrenching situation. I don’t remember ever reading where or when Rebekah died.

Some choices have consequences we undoubtedly never foresee.

“I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking as servants upon the earth.” (Ecclesiastes 10:7)

Life happens. We rise every day and write our story. Courageously challenging the windmills of life. Humans are, as far as we know, the only being that has the capacity to look forward into the future, and to reason a choice.

“I have been young, and now am old …” (Psalms 37:25)

I often think of that verse with a sigh. Much of what I’ve seen in life causes me to shake my head in wonder. Some of the wonder is amazement at good, and some of it is just in unbelief. And it isn’t only because I have children. There is much good and generosity, as well as evil and stinginess, around us.

Like a light shines brighter in darkness, uncommon courage stands out in our world. However, a common, ordinary life can be an act of courage that goes unnoticed when carried out day after day. When a person does the right thing (morally) day by day, because it’s their daily habit, others accept it as normal.

People reminisce about the ancient way of making a contract with a person’s word and a handshake. “That just doesn’t happen anymore,” people say. It doesn’t happen often, for sure.

I’ve heard it called “Having the courage of your convictions.” And that’s a hard path to walk. It has always been a difficult calling, even, and maybe especially, among the Christ followers. The Apostles weren’t the only ones crucified and persecuted for following Jesus.

There are days and times when the only thing a believer can do is take it to God in prayer, lay it before him, and courageously leave it there.

Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34) Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

The post Courage Isn’t Always Loud first appeared on Donevy Westphal.

(1 Corinthians 15:24-25) 24)“Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25) For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.”

“He had fought and defeated every enemy except … the relentless passage of time.”

This excerpt, taken from an article written about Winston Churchill, reminds us how fickle people are. Anyone who is a history buff, especially of WWII, knows the crucial part Churchill played in those times.

Yet like many things, time changes and moves on. Churchill became Prime Minister in 1940, and his voice rallied the English people throughout the war.

In 1945, the war became history. His enemies jubilantly watched as the benefactors of Churchill’s strength during the hard-fought war forgot his service and voted him out.

The relentless passage of time. That sounds forboding and final. There are many individuals who define the time in which they live.

“And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise, also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.” (Luke 22:19-20)

Remembrance. We are told to remember the Lord’s sacrifice. And what does that mean for us?

I read a story, supposedly true, about a historical figure. Who it was, I’ve forgotten. However, the story runs that there were two sons, the older of whom the mother doted on. For her, the sun rose and set on that older son.

But the older boy died of a childhood disease, and the mother became ill with her grief. The younger boy, wanting to comfort his mother, began wearing his older brother’s clothing, adapting his brother’s mannerisms, in short, trying to transform himself into what his older brother had been.

No matter how the story ended, the truth is that no one can take the place of someone else. We are all unique individuals, with our own unique mannerisms.

When we look for people to pattern our lives after, what do we look for? There are many examples of people being role models. A role model as an inspiration, not trying to take someone’s place.

“Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1).

“Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12-14)

The problem with role models is choosing someone who will make a good life and someone with good morals.

The Apostle Paul described himself as “I press toward the mark for the prize…”  Reaching toward perfection, using Christ Jesus as his role model.

Being alive gives everyone the possibility of also being a role model. Choosing to be a moral, righteous person gives us the spotlight as a good role model. As much as Paul reached toward the perfection of Jesus, he encouraged people of his era, as well as people of today, to press toward the high calling of God.

It is not essential to be important, wealthy, or in authority. It is needful to do the right thing.

Non-essential means not necessary, or disposable. People are not disposable, however, in these times, society easily confuses worth (and maybe essential) with what a person can do. A child is a potential necessity. We look at a child as a future contributor to society. If that child is handicapped, their potential diminishes in the eyes of the world, but not in God’s eyes.

An older person, say a retired man or woman, is at the other end of the spectrum. They have used up much of their potential, in perspective. Yet, what is God’s view of life and being essential?

God doesn’t gauge ‘essential people’ by how hard they work. He doesn’t judge people by the job they do or how famous they are. You may be an NFL star and get paid the big bucks, but in God’s estimation, you are not more essential than a quiet janitor or someone working a 9-to-5 job.

The important part is found in the words of Jesus, “If ye love me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15).

The post The Relentless Passage of Time first appeared on Donevy Westphal.

In life, there is nothing so sure as change. Sometimes it comes slowly, sometimes it comes like an avalanche. Sometimes it’s welcome, sometimes it’s not so wanted—Earth, the journey of a lifetime.

No truer words were ever spoken than the words of my daughter around the year 1999. “Mom,” she said, “It’s a good thing you have Benjamin, or you’d be an empty-nester in a year.”

We often hear about the ‘empty nest’ problem. It is portrayed as affecting mothers the most. Men have their work away from the home life, but it affects them as well, watching their fledgling flock stand on the precipice, readying for flight into the unknown.

So, once the shock of the empty nest syndrome came to light, it could not be unseen. At that point, I must have set to work trying to hold back the hands of time.

Funny how it didn’t raise its spectrum with the older three children. They came back and forth after their graduation, but eventually got their feet under them.

We still had three younger folks, but life sped up in the blink of an eye.

Our feisty fifth child enlisted, and in the spring of the year, he left for boot camp. That autumn, with the new school year, his absence hit me like a ton of sand. I couldn’t get back into our school work, I just couldn’t. The two partners in crime that remained and I wandered our small acreage. We trimmed trees and puttered all the way into January of the next year.

We had to get into our schoolwork by then; the next partner in crime had a few months before his graduation. I had procrastinated far too long, and I discovered that the dawn would come just as certainly as the night. If puttering all autumn wouldn’t change number five’s absence, ignoring the next phase wouldn’t change number six from leaving either. I could not stop the next dear child from leaving us behind.

No matter what we try, the outcome doesn’t change. Time runs through our fingers like sunshine through the cracks in the wall. Just like the Norman Rockwell painting of the son leaving home for higher education, the son is watching eagerly for the train. The father is sitting, dejected and resigned. And without a backward glance, the son is gone.

The first four children found their feet, but remained important parts of our lives. The young man in the military’s time and purpose wouldn’t be his own for at least four years.

The sixth child disappeared, swallowed almost whole, somewhere we weren’t welcome.

As the saying goes, “Time and tide wait for no man.” Life kept moving. We wake up, and there’s another day, and another, and another, and so forth.

“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man; But the end thereof are the ways of death.” (Proverbs 14:12)

My daughter’s words came to fruition. We still had Benjamin, and what a blessing that, and he, have been. Perhaps there should have been another sibling or two between those last two sons in order to provide Buddy with friends, but there weren’t.

The youngest had the best and worst of two worlds. He didn’t have to compete with anyone else for attention. Although, that did mean, as one Avon lady, who had only one child told me, “When Dylan leaves his belongings out on the floor, and tries to tell me he didn’t do it?” she said, “I just look at him and say, ‘Look, there’s only your dad and I and you here, and I can tell you who it wasn’t.’”

The news reporter read the statistics about teenage pregnancies, and I responded to how shocking that number was. My husband chuckled, and his answer caught me completely by surprise when he reminded me that I, too, had been a pregnant teenager.

We married at eighteen. By the time I had our first child, I had turned nineteen, but that is still a teenager. Yes, I did grow up with my children.

Someone asked me recently if I regretted having children. Life teaches us many things, and children taught me how to love. No, I don’t regret having children, and I don’t regret having seven children.

Each child is a unique being that requires careful cultivation.

“Train up a child in the way he should go, And even when he is old he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)

When we hear or read that Proverb, too often we don’t understand it. It is natural for husbands and wives to have children. When that occurs, we incorporate our offspring into our busy lives and just continue merrily down the road. We don’t understand what train up a child means.

Each child has their own lane, and it takes much prayer to find what and how we should be working with the separate individual.

The takeaway I started with is, as young people, we do grow with our children. As human beings, we don’t usually see the end when we begin.

Before marriage, I knew I wanted something more solid than what I had as a child. I struggled, not having the answer for a firm foundation. God seemed to have the best plan in town. Yet, often it felt like I walked in thick, dense fog. I needed a much finer focus than what I had. Studying the scriptures and trying to follow what I read often got compromised by a busy life.

A few weeks ago, my youngest son and I were sharing an event in our lives from perhaps fifteen years ago. We could have been embarrassed by our naivete, but we weren’t then, and we aren’t now. In passing, I laughed and said, “Oh, yes, we were young once.”

And that’s the way we were.

“I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” (Psalms 37:25)

We were young once (a tribute)

   Not long ago.

Some of us were heroes

Some were just ‘joes’.

We traveled to many places,

Saw many sites.

We were young once,

…Not long ago.

The Beaches of Normandy,

The Battle of the Bulge,

Battle of Midway in the Pacific

Iwo Jima, and places horrific.

We marched, bled, and died,

In places we never knew.

A place on a map,

As we fought through.

Many fell there in those strange lands,

Many still lie there, and

They never came home.

Korea, Nam, and other countries,

rolled round.

Still, names on a map that some of us found.

The world is a smaller place,

In these days.

And we remember, and we forget~

We were young once,

Not long ago.

Donevy Westphal, February, 20, 2026

The post And Then There Were Three first appeared on Donevy Westphal.

Goes on forever—our story— I pledge to tell my story—to share my experiences—with authenticity and without apology. I know that in telling my story, I can provide others with the gifts of hope, wisdom, and joy.

My story is part of a long story. I am a part of a whole, which contains my predecessors, and eventually, those who are part of me that come after.

In the words of a song, ‘We will tell the story of how we overcame’. Some days we overcome, both the good days and the not-so-good days, and blend our voices with the throng.

“And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.” (Acts 9:5)

“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” (James 5:16)

On the surface, these two scriptures may not appear to have much in common, but in my life, they do.

I’m sure to some people I may appear perfect (I write that tongue in cheek).  However, I have practiced the first scripture too many times. Saul (who came to be known as the Apostle Paul) was on his way, with threatening and slaughter against the new sect. He had papers to arrest any of those ‘people of the way’.

Saul is coming close to Damascus, his goal, when Jesus appears to him and delivers the message, “I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.”

There are often many questions that will go unanswered in scripture. We know that one of the criteria for an apostle is that they had to know Jesus. In an era punctuated by John the Baptizer, then Jesus of Nazareth, was the road to Damascus Saul’s first encounter?

I believe the first we know of Saul/Paul was in the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7:58. We’ll have to leave it with that knowledge, and not get bogged down in senseless questionings, but after this journey, Paul never seemed to look back.

I haven’t looked back, but unlike Paul, I still find myself kicking against the pricks or goads of life. I don’t look back to a life of sin, but I have to guard against a life of Eve.

The old joke comes to mind here. The one about why didn’t God make woman first? Because he didn’t want advice. What makes that so funny is that it is too true. And that is my problem.

Do I really believe that God needs my advice? Not really, but I’m a writer. I have a story to fit my perspective. Of course, God doesn’t need me to write the story, and he sees from a different view.

So, when things don’t go the way I see my story going, I become like most people. Instead of realizing I’m not in charge and not acknowledging the sovereignty of God, I kick against the goads or the brick wall of life.

There are a number of philosophical comebacks, such as “When God closes a door, wait until he opens the next one.” Or at least stop kicking on the closed door. And it is true that we often look so longingly at the door we wanted, we often miss a better door that is open.

I usually call those new doors, “Plan B … ”, but not until I argue for a while. At the end of the journey, we can look back and admit our way wasn’t the best.

Paul would not think that his arrest and imprisonment were good. He had missionary journeys to accomplish, or we might say, places to go, things to do. Being an unwilling captive cramped his style, but how many books did he write during this period of time? He also preached to many, including the Pratoreun guard, when he was in Rome.

Philippians 1: (12) “Now I would have you know, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the progress of the gospel; (13) so that my bonds became manifest in Christ throughout the whole praetorian guard, and to all the rest; (14) and that most of the brethren in the Lord, being confident through my bonds, are more abundantly bold to speak the word of God without fear.” (Philippians 1:12-14)

Often, I find myself reacting like my youngest son, who was perhaps in second grade, while doing a grammar lesson. He’s sitting at the kitchen table with his books and papers as I’m working at the stove and sink. Suddenly, he starts crying, kicking, and as we say, ‘pitching a fit’, “I can’t do this! I can’t do this!” and he’s wailing away. Just as suddenly as he started, he stops with a sigh. “Oh, I can too, I just don’t want to.”

In many ways, that’s me. Sometimes I don’t want to, some days I don’t see another open door, or another way. I don’t always have the answer, but instead of fighting God, I need to slow down and listen. Most of us admit we don’t pray enough, or we don’t feel we have an effective prayer life. Those are times to work on our prayer lives.

“And in like manner the Spirit also helpeth our infirmity: for we know not how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered;” (Romans 8:26)

The post Only one thing … first appeared on Donevy Westphal.

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)

It is written that Roman generals had a trusted servant, who, as the crowds cheered for the conquering hero, would whisper to them, ‘Memento mori’ as a reminder perhaps that fame was fleeting, but especially that life was limited.

“The Stoics used Memento Mori—Latin for ‘remember you must die—to invigorate life, and to create priority and meaning. They treated each day as a gift, and reminded themselves constantly not waste any time in the day on the trivial and vain.” Via Historical Diaries~

Memento mori, memento vivere, translates to ‘remember you must die, remember to live.’

Indeed, as we dash through life making choices, the question is whose advice do we listen to? In some areas, there are no moral choices exactly, but—

Even if there is no moral right or wrong choice, the question is, does this advance my life in the direction of my goal, and ultimately, are my goals in the direction I want?

The word ‘secular’ means without God. Our public education today is labeled secular for a reason. Our society of today is leaning more and more toward the secular, and we wonder what’s wrong with it. There is a correlation here.

As more people lean toward ‘without God’, it becomes more amazing when people do make morally good choices.

Someone returns a lost wallet, money, credit cards, and all to the owner. Or a person goes the extra mile to help a stranger. Things that were more common a century ago.

A famous John Adams quote stated, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious People. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other”. This was written in an Oct. 11, 1798, address to the Massachusetts Militia.

This explains partly why we seem to acquire more and more ‘laws’. This sentiment emphasizes that the US government relies on a virtuous, law-abiding citizenry to prevent the breakdown of law. The breakdown of our religious community is why we need more laws to rein in an increasingly morally bankrupt society.

I believe in Jehovah God, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God. And as I’ve told people, I know decidedly I am not God, you are not God, and no other person is God.

The conversation (not mine) goes somewhat like this: “Back in the day, missionaries showed up and wanted to study. I just stood back and said, alright, what I’m looking for is a religion that has Apostles and prophets. –Oh, good, they say to me, we have those. Hmm, she thinks, I’m sure they won’t have the other things I’m looking for. I say to them, I’m also looking for Temples … We have those as well. –She’s flabbergasted. Two of the things she’s looking for. And third, I don’t believe in paid preachers. We have that too, they smile and, apparently, she’s sold.”

There is a joke in our family that goes like, “Why didn’t God make Eve first? Because he didn’t want advice.”

The problem with the conversation above is that God still isn’t asking for advice. Since when do we go to God and say, here’s what I want?

 “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32)

Jesus says, “Continue in my word …” he doesn’t say make up your own rules and then tell me what you want. For the record, we do have apostles and prophets, and they are on the record—Peter, Andrew, James… We do have temples: “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16)

And it is an abomination not to pay a laborer for their work, so we don’t feel it is wrong to pay the preacher. “For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.” (1 Timothy 5:18)

Remember, you are mortal. We will live only once here, prepare for eternity. No amount of fame or applause will make up for a life poorly lived.

Living life without God will not end well. Do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do. Follow Jesus’ teaching, keep his commandments, and do not follow your heart except when it follows Jesus.  

“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

The post Who Would Speak? first appeared on Donevy Westphal.

John 14:1) “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2) In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.”

Life is a gift. Animals seem to know this instinctively. Humans, on the other hand, often struggle to understand it that way.

Although I’m far from the years when my family was considered ‘horse people’, like the saying, “You can take the boy off the farm, but you can’t take the farm out of the boy.” I still like watching a good horse race, and one of the best races is from the movie about Secretariat, the 1973 Triple Crown winner.

Anyone who knows much about the big red horse, Secretariat, will also know about his groom, Eddie Sweat. There are pictures and stories about the two of them from the time Secretariat was a weanling until he went into retirement.

My writing today was triggered by an article interviewing Eddie Sweat, and the day Secretariat left for retirement. A heartrending read, the article details that, as a groom, Eddie wasn’t included in the retirement plan. As an adult, we know some things are more than difficult. No matter how much our mind knows or accepts a situation, that doesn’t mean our heart isn’t broken.

“I didn’t go with him,” Eddie Sweat said decades later, his voice still carrying the weight of that separation like a wound that never quite healed.”

The article continues as Eddie details that day as Secretariat left for Claiborne Farms in Kentucky, leaving Eddie behind.

“He (Secretariat) turned and looked at me once—just once, but it was enough. Like he knew what was happening, like he understood this was goodbye in a way that maybe I hadn’t fully accepted yet. Like he was saying, ‘It’s alright, Eddie,’ giving me permission to let him go even though neither of us wanted it.”

Many things happen in life. Few of those things ask what we want. Yet saying goodbye is part of life.

There are days when I question everything, even at this late day in my life. Often, I find myself agreeing with the 102-year-old woman, who, in an interview, told the questioner: “I think God put me here and has forgotten where he put me … that’s why I’m still here.”

Well, I wouldn’t really ascribe that to God, but as I tell people on occasion, “Who am I, and what do I know?”

The best we can do is let God run the world … including the weather. And perhaps we should celebrate, no matter where we find ourselves. When life becomes difficult, we need to look for the blessings. Reading scriptures, allowing God to speak to us through His Word. Occasionally, articles of inspiration come our way, or maybe other people may give us a smile or helpful thoughts, and of course, prayer.

Never allow our wants to overshadow how blessed we are. As the song says, “Count your blessings, see what God hath done …”

“Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4)

“I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.” (Philippians 4:12)

And, like the phrase, “On a tombstone, it isn’t the beginning date, nor the end date that matters. It’s the dash in between.” Life isn’t only about the goodbye.

We all know that there will be a goodbye. Sadly, too few prepare for the goodbye by living a purposeful life.

I’ve heard the illustration of a man many years ago, who wore a sandwich sign. On the front of the board, he had written: “A fool for Christ.”

Of course, those who saw it sarcastically chuckled at the advertisement. Some probably wondered why you would declare yourself a fool. In a sandwich board, there is the caveat of the back board, and on this sandwich board, the man had the simple question, “Whose fool are you?”

2 Corinthians 11:1) “Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. 16) I say again, Let no man think me a fool; if otherwise, yet as a fool receive me, that I may boast myself a little. 19) For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise. 23) Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) …”

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Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. (John 14:27)

“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why,” is a famous saying attributed to Mark Twain.

Birth begins life, and discovering your purpose (“why”) gives it meaning. Many people seek the why, but don’t look in the correct spot. Even if they search for their meaning, they don’t put it into a proper setting. They leave God out of their search. Christians need to acknowledge that God has a purpose for each life. We are to “be fruitful and multiply.” We can do that as families, and also to “as you go, teach and make disciples of people through the gospel of Christ.

 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:” (Matthew 28:19)

Finding our purpose? Where do we look? In research, I come across stories as I strive to understand background for my books. Facebook, sometimes annoyingly, picks up on this and sends me ‘historical tales’.

These Facebook stories range from ancient cultures, inhabitants of the wild West, World War I and II, and other historical figures. One story, for instance, Maria Beasley, in 1878, at 42 years of age, began her career of inventing… Some articles champion heroic women, and their struggles, some soldiers, spies, and most of them are people against the odds of overcoming or becoming successful.

Many triumph over circumstances, some becoming well-known. Others performed heroic war deeds, only to return home from battles to live quietly. No one ever knowing what they accomplished in the war, until perhaps some historian finds their name ‘recorded’ in archives.

They come from humble school teachers, lawyers, farm boys, and most were ordinary people not seeking fame.

The encouraging stories that show up in my feed carry with them various lessons. Often, those lessons, as in the first example (Maria Beasley), show the idea that people can be successful at all sorts of different ages and circumstances.

Maria Beasley, at the late age of 42, turned from being a seamstress to being an inventor. Milton Hershey, after several attempts to make a go of a candy factory, at age 43 became wildly successful, or such as Margaret Haughery.

Margaret’s parents died in 1835, after only a few months in the United States, leaving her as an orphan at 6 years old. An Irish Catholic, she was put to work immediately, and by eleven, she worked in a laundry, supporting herself entirely.

She never learned to read or write. Margaret became wealthy through a number of enterprises. After her laundry days, she started a small dairy, then branched out into a bakery, eventually supporting orphanages in New Orleans, as well as the homeless and the poor of the city.

These and many other examples show people overcoming insurmountable odds stacked against them. None of them had a common factor, other than perseverance and hard work.

“His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” (Matthew 25:23)

In the movie It’s A Wonderful Life, George Bailey, from the time he’s a young boy, dreamed of traveling around the world and seeing the sights.

His life happens in a series of events. As the story progresses, each event leaves George stuck with the family business, never allowing him to do what he wanted. Almost everyone knows the storyline. Others make names for themselves, becoming heroes or successful in other ways. George could never leave the small town, and it left him feeling like a failure, but …

What makes a person a success or a failure? Is it riches or fame that we count as achievement? No, there isn’t only one thing that counts as success.

In George’s case, in the end, doing what needs to be done as it needs to be done is what sets him apart. Doing good for others, helping the helpless, became his achievement. In my Facebook stories, many a war hero, when asked what they did during the war, answered, “Just did my job.” No fanfare, no boasting or seeking fame. No matter if they had saved a few lives or many lives, or the battle, or half the war, they were just doing what they felt like they should do.

Choosing to follow God’s path is always right. At times, we get confused. We may believe that doing great things is the only life that counts. In our minds, we know better. We know more often than not, it’s the small things done on an ordinary day-to-day basis that matter the most.

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:” (Matthew 7:13)

What do you care about? That’s not the same question as what makes you happy. It could be a passion or a talent. It could be something a person is curious about or any number of things.

We should care about family and friends. We should care about doing the right thing and being a good moral person.

What matters is building on God’s foundation for building a life. Just doing our job, filling God’s space in our lives with God. Everyone’s story is different.

“Therefore, when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.” (Matthew 6:2-4)

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Reading in the Old Testament prophets, it’s impossible to escape how wicked those Israelites were. They didn’t follow God, they had deceitful hearts. Even when they looked like they were following the path that was laid out for them during the day, at night, and in their hearts they followed the same path their fathers had followed.

And here we go, somewhere over the rainbow, as we caper down the yellow brick road, what are we thinking?

Isaiah 59:1 “Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: 2) But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. 3) For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. 4) None calleth for justice, nor any pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity.”

What we are thinking is “shame on those hypocritical Israelites, those two-faced children of Abraham.”

This time of the year I see snarky posts that say, “Santa’s been looking at your posts and he’s going to get you a dictionary and a grammar book for Christmas.” Insinuating the current generations don’t know how to spell, and their grammar is in the tank. There’s another meme that I can’t remember word for word, but it has something to do with Santa bringing them clothes to cover their nakedness.

I’ve noticed both of these predicaments in our world. Jereremiah 6:15 “Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? nay, they were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore they shall fall among them that fall: at the time that I visit them they shall be cast down, saith the LORD.”

Jeremiah repeated the same prophesy in Jeremiah 8:12, Jehovah was so moved by their iniquity.

Another meme I’ve seen lately along those lines is, “After reading Paul’s letters to the early Christians, I think if he saw the state of our churches, we’d be receiving letters.”

These are just snarky, sarcastic jabs. Most of us snort and think, yeah, I know several people that applies to … and that’s because it always applies to someone else somewhere out there.

When I was younger, I knew the answers and the solutions. Like the young, unmarried, childless person who had all the answers to how to raise children, I could tell others something.

Now that I’ve aged, I have the answers, but no words. There are ideas, but no way to be productive with them. It isn’t any one problem that you can put a finger on. I think we’ve lost our way. It isn’t just that we can’t see the forest for the trees. I think we are sitting in the bushes and can’t even see the trees.

Is it that we’ve become, if not comfortable, very close to it, and we now accept things that are not good to be normal?

There are labels for most everything anymore. Labels like racist, homophobe, Islamaphobe, misogynist, pro-life, right-wing conservative, or left-wing liberal, and the list of labels is infinite.

Act 11:26 “And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.”

And there you have it. For the first few years Christians were just a sect of the Jews, an offshoot of Judaism, then they earned their new name.

So, back to where we were. Christians are supposed to embody the teachings of Christ. To reflect him.

What would it look like to reflect Christ? I saw a post a week or so ago that stated Jesus never spoke hateful words. On the surface, we would say God is love, and Jesus is also. But hang on, what do we mean by Jesus never spoke hateful words?

We do know he did call the Pharisees and Sadducees unpleasant things.

He was truthful, but the rulers weren’t happy with his words, and of course, to them, the words were hateful. So hateful that they crucified him.

Looking around at our current culture of Christians, what do we see, and does it reflect Christ? It does not reflect Christianity. Very seldom does any culture reflect the teachings of our Lord. We have so many opinions on what the reflection of Christ would look like. From the idea that God is love, and since that’s true, Jesus would never make people ‘feel’ bad. True, we do come to Jesus ‘just as we are’, but that’s so Jesus can turn us into who we should be.

Therein lies the problem. After two thousand years, what did Jesus look like? And what should we look like? Some people point to the woman taken in adultery, and they say, see his compassion. Or the classic thief on the cross that so many want to be saved like.

“Jesus accepts everyone …” Hmm, the thief suddenly appears on the cross, and Jesus speaks forgiveness, but what does that mean? It means the power is in Jesus. He still had the power to forgive sins, the same as he had during his preaching ministry.

No one knows anything about that thief. He was familiar with Jesus, as we can know since he knew Jesus had done nothing amiss. Some say he wasn’t baptized, but they don’t know that. Many were baptized by John and even further, by Jesus. The thief confessed he and the other thief deserved their punishment, but that means he’d fallen on hard times, maybe.

There are so many other examples of who Jesus is, and who we should be. Make no mistake, I don’t have all the answers. Some days I don’t have any answers, but I do believe, as it’s written, God does still tell us we all need to do some soul searching.

Ephesians 5:14 “Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. 15) See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16) Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

17) Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.”

Job 19:25 “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: 26) And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: 27) Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.”

The post Uncomfortable Ideas first appeared on Donevy Westphal.

“To crush under his feet all the prisoners of the earth,” Lamentations 3:34

Lamentations 5:19 “Thou, O LORD, remainest for ever; thy throne from generation to generation. 20) “Wherefore dost thou forget us for ever, and forsake us so long time? 21) Turn thou us unto thee, O LORD, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old. 22) But thou hast utterly rejected us; thou art very wroth against us.”

There is a song called “Prisoners” by John Denver, and the refrain is: “It’s a hard life, livin’ when you’re lonely …” The scene in the story switches between a young mother and her current life. Apparently, she and her baby are living with her mother and grandfather.

The other perspective is from her husband, a prisoner of war. This would have been most likely during the Vietnam War, and he wanted to go home. The final refrain is “bring me and the other boys home.”

In the words used to describe the song: the song relates the hardships of his (the prisoner’s) love, Josie, who is a prisoner of her circumstances as a single mother in poverty, and her lack of opportunity. Coupled with ‘her mama keeps the baby’ and ‘grandpa rambles on’, the poignant ethos of the song resonates.

The song is a reflection on loneliness, longing, and separation, using metaphors of isolation and a “long way home” to convey the emotional weight of their situations.

The song draws comparisons about the chains we wear. Some bondage is obvious, and other bindings aren’t physical. Some people are held hostage by themselves.

The Vietnam War became unpopular, and many of the soldiers were castigated for taking part in something they had no power over and had no real desire to participate in. Nonetheless, they served honorably, risking their lives. In many cases, they left themselves in a foreign country, and if they returned from war, that person didn’t resemble the soul that had gone to war.

We aren’t told how this song is resolved in this case, of course, this story is a conglomerate of stories. People who serve, people waiting at home, the hardships both parties endure.

WWII research is in its own way poignant. It highlights the idea about weak men and our society today. It’s part of how we’ve come to this juncture on this road.

On December 7, 1941, America was attacked and found itself at war. Like ants raging from an ant hill, men, young and some older, lined up and signed up to defend this country. They didn’t know exactly what that would entail, but when duty called, they answered.

We can look back and see how it threw life as it had been known into the wind, and replaced it with an unknown future. Farm boys, city boys, rich and poor boys went through basic training and found themselves heading for ‘over there.’

Battles were to come, Wake Island, the Doolittle Raid, Midway, Guadalcanal … the list is long, and were hard fought and even harder won. Life changed, and people changed, and after long last Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945, in Reims, France, and on May 9, 1945, in Berlin. Japan surrendered on September 2, 1945, marking V-J Day.

No matter how young the boy was when he entered the military, by the end of WWII, he became a man who carried a past. And it also became “a hard life livin’ when you’re lonely.”

War is never pretty. It’s described as “mud, blood, fighting, dying, pain, and sacrifice, and more.” And soldiers brought back those memories. During the war, they made decisions under hard situations. Suddenly, the war is over, and they are adjusting to life in a peacetime scenario.

There came the great divide between returning battle-hardened soldiers, who were not understood, and people on the home front who had a whole different lived perspective.

They may or may not have been prisoners of war literally, but there are different ways to be a prisoner of war.

This topic could follow the returning soldiers trying to reunite with their wives and families. Wives who need to relearn teamwork after years of coping in a semi-single environment.

This gave rise to the seeds of feminism in our culture. In some ways, in some instances, it looked easier to give up the marriage and move on.

Years ago, in my Bible reading, I came across the scripture describing God’s people on this earth, as ‘prisoners of the earth’ as in Lamentations 3:34. Or as in Zecariah 9:12 “Turn you to the strong hold, ye prisoners of hope: even to day do I declare that I will render double unto thee;”

John Denver’s song ‘Prisoners’ points out that humans have invisible chains that keep us captive. Some of those chains are addictions and habits, good or bad. Some are memories that trap or prevent people from moving forward. Perhaps an emotional weight that every individual carries. People who are prisoners of themselves. Prisoners who want to go home, but they don’t have a home to go to, or don’t know what home they are looking for.

In a true sense, we all fit those descriptions. Wanting to find a home … Indeed, as wanderers of this wilderness called earth, we are looking for our way home to God the Father.

John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

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