This Thing Called "Age"

Age.

There’s no neutrality in this word.
No indifference.
No middle ground.
Either you hate it or you embrace it.
Even putting down your age in
innocent-looking official forms
is not neutral
--it can either open windows or close doors.

Age can limit a person,
Or become a passport to freedom.

It can gain one credibility,
Or it can make one a lightweight.

It can be a source of contention,
Or be the tie that binds.

It can make one sophisticated
Or soaking wet behind the ears.

It can be covered up with a lie,
Or declared out loud with pride.

It can make one reckless and brave,
Or scare one witless.

It can prove a point,
Or disprove some prejudice.

It can be a subject of ridicule,
Or trigger an amazed gasp.

It can be a goldmine for jokes
Or a can of worms.

It can be embraced eagerly,
Or fought against tooth and nail.

It can be a rude shock
Or a pleasant surprise.

What of you,
what do you think of age?

Whatever you think of it,
this is just to let you know: it’s my birthday
(says the attention-deficient blogger)

So, I guess you know where I stand
in the emotional pendulum on this subject matter.

This Day in Paradise

This day in Paradise
new feet are treading through
high halls of gold

This day in Paradise
new legs are striding over jewelled fields in which
the diamond
is considered ordinary.

This day in Paradise
new eyes have glimpsed the deep fire ready
to flame the stale earth pure.

This day in Paradise
new blood, the rose-red juice that gushed at Golgotha
now ripples and races down the pure veins
of a recently arrived beloved.

This day in Paradise
a new heart pounds in praise
a new body, shaped by sacrifice.

This day in Paradise
the daunting dart of death
has no point
no place
and no meaning.
And whilst we mourn and weep
through these human hours
this day in Paradise
the blazing embrace
between Saviour and Son,
goes on, and on, and on.

- By Stewart Henderson in A Giant's Scrapbook.

A Reassuring Vision

Sharing with you one of my favorite stain glass images...something to reflect on for Lent, maybe?


Click on image to enlarge

Grace Within You

"I fell in love when I was 17…
with God.
A foolish girl with romantic notions
about the life of a religious,
but my love was passionate.

Over the years my feelings have changed.
He’s disappointed me.
Ignored me.
We’ve settled into a life of peaceful indifference.
The old husband and wife who sit side by side on the sofa,
but rarely speak. He knows I’ll never leave Him.
This is my duty.

But when love and duty are one,
then grace is within you."

-The Mother Superior in "The Painted Veil"

I Just Might Strike Twice!

I was tagged gazillions of months ago by Lazarus on "What Type of Weather Are You?" but only just now got around to doing it. The fact that I am suffering from Blogger's Block helps fill the blog silence somehow...(blame it on too much reading assignments!)

So, anyway, here goes:
1. Below is my profile...

You Are Lightning

Beautiful yet dangerous People will stop and watch you when you appear Even though you're capable of random violence You are best known for: your power Your dominant state: performing

What Type of Weather Are You?

2. Contradict/Consent to the Result
I was actually quite surprised with the results--makes me out like a really frightening person, after all, who wants to be hit by lightning? But come to think of it, I DO have a temper which I manage to curb most of the time, though not a hundred percent of the time...

3. Share a Practical Weather Tip...
If you are in the Philippines, walking under a light drizzle is nice--but doing the same thing in the UK is NOT a good idea...BRRRR...!

4...and a Life-Giving Weather Quote
I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismograph.-Ken Kesey

5. Tag 5 people...
Hmm...unlike lightning, I have been too slow in responding to this tag so I wonder if everyone else in my blogroll has done it. Anyway, whoever wants to do it, feel free!!

Thanks for the tag, Lazarus!!

Do You Look Like Your Passport Photo?

“43 years of living out of a suitcase.”

Among other things, this was how the life of a couple who served God all over the world, was described.

And you would think that having their life described as 43 years of living out of suitcase, they would look much worse than their passport photos!

But they don’t. In fact, they look the exact opposite—that is, they looked like they’ve been living very well in a nice comfy house all their lives. The harsh realities of life that usually show in people’s faces left no marks in theirs. There was nothing in them that gives off a sense of rootlessness or unsettledness. They seem to be people who knew who they were, where they've been, what they’ve done, where they’re at and where they’re going.

Wow.

I’ve lived out of a suitcase for a significant number of years myself—and there are certainly times when I definitely feel like (and, I'm sure, look like) my passport photo! I can’t quite say that like this couple, I have no feeling of unsettledness and rootlessness. Many times I still feel that sense of what’s next--with which I would respond with either an “oh, no!” or an “oh, joy!” Hopefully, more often with the latter than the former.

But then again, I’ve obviously experienced less than what they've been through—or less than what God has put them through to get to where they are at this point in their lives.

I guess too, that there is this matter of attitude and choice on how to take what life dishes out to you. And one thing that life seems to be dishing out to me in heaps is air mileage (and no business class upgrade to show for it!)

Not something my environment-conscious friends will be happy about—polluting the world with my “carbon footprints.”

Carbon footprints aside, I will just make a commitment to myself to choose not to look my passport photo.

And hopefully, after x number of years of living out of a suitcase—and a pink one at that—I can, not only choose to look gazillion times better than my passport photo (through natural means, thank you)—but feel just as good, too!