Some Days are Just Hard

Some days are just hard. 

There are hard messages to give, hard decisions to make, hard messages to receive, hard changes occur and hard realizations break through into our consciousness.

Some days it is hard to be mindful and too much time is spent second guessing, regretting, filled with fear of the future and imposing upon ourselves helplessness.

Today is just such day.

As grandparents some of us are approaching retirement, other are retired, some are challenged to provide support to elderly parents while supporting children with childcare of their grandchildren, some of challenged with loss of physical abilities and disease.

Some days are just hard.

Some days you just want to raise your voice to the sky and scream at the top of your lungs, stop the change can I just have 1 week, hell 1 day where nothing goes wrong where nothing changes, a week that I can rest.

Some days are just hard.

I know that the desire to collapse into yourself at these times and push everyone away is not helpful, nor is indulging in other self destructive pursuits. 

So I drive myself to talk to my life partner, go for a walk, mediate and pray.  

And some days are just hard!

What do you do to get through hard days?

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

Swans in Winter

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

Camera Beats Boredom

As promised here is the first of what we hope will be many post of our grandchildren's photography as we build their confidence in this art form.  

The follow series of images have been entitled

 'I'm Bored' 

~ Ruth ~

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016twosnydergirls

Creativity is Play

For most people, creativity is a serious business.  They forget the telling phrase 'the play of ideas' and think that they need to knuckle down and work more.  Often, the reverse is true.  They need to play.  ~ Julia Cameron

All human beings are creative, we have adapted and survived through creativity.  And nothing reduces us to a state of abject fear and embarrassment more than the fear of having to be creative or once having been successful we fear we can do nothing will be as good.

Some where along our development we determine that there are those who are creative, and those who are not.  We have relegated creativity to a commodity that requires a monetary value to be a success and that you are only as good as your last creative success everything else is just pretending.

Children play creatively when on Christmas morning the box that the toys came in is the focus of their play rather than the toys designed to direct their play in a specific creative direction.

Creativity does not want to be directed, it wants to run free, to play, to explore and become something new without monetary value it is just creativity.

When our children are playing and being creative let’s be mindful that there are no right or wrongs, grass can be pink, sky can be green.  Let’s protect them as long as we can from understanding their creative process as a commodity to be either ashamed of or celebrated for what should be play - Creativity.

And for ourselves, well start to play with creativity do something creative every day, from the meals you make, to the doodling you do at your desk. 

Play with creativity, befriend it and have fun together.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

Love Is The Test Of Our Faith

Jeremiah knew himself unworthy of God's call "Then said I, Ah, Lord Jehovah! behold, I know not how to speak; for I am a child." 

And in response God named Jeremiah his prophet, "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee, and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee; I have appointed thee a prophet unto the nations."

God knew us before we knew ourselves!  Each of us has been sent to travel through a human life time, to live our lives through love and in doing so spread peace throughout the world.

God's peace, a peace that goes far beyond the absence of war.  Peace that turns the world’s order upside down, where weakness is strength and the value of a human being is not defined by status or bank balance rather it is in what we are prepared to sacrifice out of love - love of God, love of family, love of others, love of creation and last love of self

We are no more unworthy of God's call to service than Jeremiah of the old testament and like Jeremiah God will place upon our hearts and lips all that is required of us to live through love, as we travel through our human lives.

Know this that Love is test of our faith in God's call to service.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2016 twosnydergirls

Lectionary Readings: Jeremiah 1:4-10, Psalm 71:1-6, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, Luke 4:21-30