{"id":567,"date":"2008-10-15T04:51:37","date_gmt":"2008-10-15T08:51:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/?p=567"},"modified":"2008-10-15T09:59:24","modified_gmt":"2008-10-15T13:59:24","slug":"a-gps-system-for-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/?p=567","title":{"rendered":"A GPS System for Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I was out with friends last night for a bite to eat and some good conversation.\u00c2\u00a0 There were five of us.\u00c2\u00a0 It occurred to me when I was sitting there that these folks stepped in and out of my life at different times and for different reasons over the past ten years\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6one stepped back in as recently as a month ago.\u00c2\u00a0 All of them are great people and have various talents and interests.\u00c2\u00a0 All of them, like me, have weaknesses and vulnerabilities that come and go, too. \u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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We got on the subject of the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Funky Winkerbean\u00e2\u20ac\u009d cartoon Sunday in the paper.\u00c2\u00a0 Two guys are working on a speaker system\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6one talking\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6says he thinks a great deal about the old days lately\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.he missed the days when everything was bright and shiny\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6\u00e2\u20ac\u009dthen one day the road you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re following suddenly turns and you find yourself somewhere you never planned to be.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d He finishes off his cartoon by saying\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.\u00e2\u20ac\u009dwhat I need is a GPS system for life.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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One of our group really connected with that cartoon so much that he cut it out of the paper and put it on the frig. He said the cartoonist must have had a similar experience to him.<\/span><\/p>\n

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I got hold of that cartoon after I got home last night.\u00c2\u00a0 Looking at it more closely, I noticed a website called – lisaslegacyfund.org. I discovered the cartoonist had someone in his life that had cancer\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6and he wanted to share that experience with others.\u00c2\u00a0 On the site, he encourages others to connect with the Ireland Cancer Center – a place that played a big part in\u00c2\u00a0Lisa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Story – The Other Shoe.\u00c2\u00a0<\/em>The cartoonist said that – through this book – he has been able to process his grief in a very personal and meaningful way. He said that, indeed, it has even made him a better writer.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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I suspect many of us have a story to tell about a loved one now gone.\u00c2\u00a0 We talked about how a Spartanburg couple – both married for the second time after losing spouses to cancer – have pictures of both the husband and wife in their home in a place of honor.\u00c2\u00a0 It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a blended family and those pictures represent the places they all have in their hearts for their deceased loved ones as well as the hopes they have for their children to embrace the memories as they grow and thrive into adulthood.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a special circumstance that allows those two blended families to savor the past and embrace the future together. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a tribute to them that they have been able to appreciate the past and still go on to find meaning and joy in life after the pain of losing a soul mate. \u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Yes, there are many of us that experience these life lessons – much earlier than we wanted to – granted.\u00c2\u00a0 Even though we know death is a big part of life\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6when it comes sooner than we want it to\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6and anytime is too soon for most of us\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6then it takes us back a little in our joys of living and makes us realize that we have little control over things\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6really.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Last night – when we left the restaurant – we noticed a magnificent full moon in a clear, crisp sky\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6.guiding the way for those in the dark night\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6a GPS system from mother nature.<\/span><\/p>\n

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I suspect there are many GPS systems out there for us to grab hold of to find our way.\u00c2\u00a0 Our friends guide us, sometimes pull us, and other times carry us. Sometimes our family and our faith does the same.\u00c2\u00a0 Even mother nature offers a few surprises that, indeed, hope is there for all of us to be happy in ourselves and in others we enjoy being with.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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My wish for you today<\/em><\/strong>\u00c2\u00a0is that, if and when you find yourself dealing with the loss of a loved one, you search for comfort and strength within yourself, through your friends and family, and through your faith.\u00c2\u00a0 Find support in the simple things and embrace the love, laughter and comfort of those who care deeply for you.\u00c2\u00a0 You never have to go it alone. \u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span>\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was out with friends last night for a bite to eat and some good conversation.\u00c2\u00a0 There were five of us.\u00c2\u00a0 It occurred to me when I was sitting there that these folks stepped in and out of my life at different times and for different reasons over the past ten years\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6one stepped back in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,19,22,37,27,31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-death","category-religion","category-friendship","category-illness","category-living-life-to-the-fullest","category-releationships-general"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/567\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}