{"id":594,"date":"2008-12-15T07:44:37","date_gmt":"2008-12-15T11:44:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/?p=594"},"modified":"2008-12-15T07:44:37","modified_gmt":"2008-12-15T11:44:37","slug":"why-are-you-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/?p=594","title":{"rendered":"Why are YOU Here?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many of us – at least those around here – live our lives in relative peace.\u00c2\u00a0 We have enough food, a nice enough home, a car or some other reliable means of transportation,\u00c2\u00a0 we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t worry too much about our safety and walk about life daily in relative security, and we are …\u00c2\u00a0 well … just blessed. \u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Often, the only thing we worry about day in and day out is when something didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t go our way or we had a disagreement with our loved ones. \u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Yep …\u00c2\u00a0 truly blessed … I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d say – considering the world situations we see and hear about these days. \u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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So think, for just a moment, why are we really here?\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Why are we in the very place we are in, while we are reading this, instead of some other place where – if you dare walk outside – you could be shot or beaten just for the sake of it? Why aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t we the ones who don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have food on our table and have to depend on someone dropping food from an airplane to survive? \u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Life isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t quite that black and white because there are life situations that cause even our closest neighbor grief and pain.\u00c2\u00a0 There is heartbreak. There is illness. There is daily hurt – none of which should be minimalized.\u00c2\u00a0 There are crosses to bear even here…just different kinds.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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I was recently talking to a dear friend who has a mother who is extremely unhappy and lonely.\u00c2\u00a0 Both the mother and the daughter have lovely homes and are financially stable.\u00c2\u00a0 The daughter lives in the same town as her mother and she reaps much of the negative, degrading, unhappy comments the mother throws her way almost daily.\u00c2\u00a0 The mother has isolated herself to a point where she has no friends. \u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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As a single working woman the daughter is at the point where she doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t want to be around her mother.\u00c2\u00a0 She loves her, but it comes with such a price that she can hardly bear to be near.\u00c2\u00a0 Their Sunday ritual of going to church together has even become a nightmare.\u00c2\u00a0 The mother wants them to travel together. Knowing the disagreements and negative atmosphere will get in their way of having a good time the daughter refuses to take the mother on a trip. \u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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I suspect the mother is depressed.\u00c2\u00a0 I suspect she is lonely.\u00c2\u00a0 I know the mother needs help but refuses to talk with anyone who might offer relief and peace.\u00c2\u00a0 I have even suggested that to the mother and she has agreed she is depressed but is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153shaking herself out of it.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Her religious beliefs keep her from suicide…but she is living a daily struggle.\u00c2\u00a0 She even speaks badly of me to her mother suggesting that I have shortcomings in many areas of my life. \u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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This is a very sad situation.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not always easy to listen to this but I care deeply for my friend and listen as well as possible.\u00c2\u00a0 One day she talked – non stop – for over half an hour about her mother.\u00c2\u00a0 She finally stopped and said \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Oh my, I just rambled on way too long about this! How are you?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d \u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Bless her. \u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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There are reasons we are in situations we find ourselves in.\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe we are the change agent.\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe we are the friend or the relative that can help bring change in a positive way.\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe we are the one thing that keeps someone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s life sane.\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe we are the ray of hope for someone.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Maybe, maybe, life is just a little bigger than our challenges. \u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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My wish for you today<\/strong> is that you think about your situations and resolve to be a part of the solution…not part of the problem.\u00c2\u00a0 Reach to your resources whether they be religious, medical, or just a friend.\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe then, you will find the peace and meaning in life.\u00c2\u00a0 Dare to reach beyond yourself to make a difference in the world.\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe that is one of the reasons you are here?\u00c2\u00a0 Life is too short not to take a chance to make things better. Just make sure you take care of yourself while you do it. \u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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~ Joellen<\/span><\/p>\n

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Many of us – at least those around here – live our lives in relative peace.\u00c2\u00a0 We have enough food, a nice enough home, a car or some other reliable means of transportation,\u00c2\u00a0 we don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t worry too much about our safety and walk about life daily in relative security, and we are …\u00c2\u00a0 well … […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33,11,45,40,31,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aging-parents","category-conflicts","category-love","category-medical","category-releationships-general","category-serving-others"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594","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=594"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/reflectionsfromacountrygirl.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}