What do you think of when you look at this picture? Take a minute or two and feel into it. Look at her gray and pink jacket, his arm around her, his rings, watch, and her sweet pigtails. First thought might be, oh so sweet! Go past that, look at it longer… This was a long life together, married in their 20s. They shared ups and downs, raising children, supporting one another. Those arms, you see, have hugged countless times.
Do you see the spiritual connection? Do you see the purpose of this life and think of your own? When we get to this juncture the only thing that matters is love and having each other. This couple passed away within a couple of months of each other, he was 92 and she was 89. They died with an abundance of love that cannot be denied. Herein lies the message and an answered prayer that I prayed fervently for the night before. The morning after my prayer, I had one of my little Aha! moments during my morning routine. As I thought of this lovely couple, I knew they were part of my answered prayer. I could only wonder about their history together. I asked myself, is worry a prayer more than love? Can we simply just trust that it’s all going to turn out okay in the end? Oh, that’s a big one, isn’t it? Especially when we are wondering about the mortgage payment, or experiencing multiple changes and loss in our lives.
Now, please look at the picture again. They made it together surrounded by a loving family and everything they could possibly need at this part of the journey. The “worry prayer” as a matter of fact doesn’t matter at all. We come here to love, things happen, life happens as the saying goes. I am going to quote Mother Teresa here, “I have found the paradox that if you love until it hurts there can be no more hurt only more love.” In a life we experience the good stuff like love, joy, peace, contentment, excitement, laughing so hard your face hurts (a personal favorite), deep sadness, anger, frustration, confusion and feelings like life is hard. We love and love and love finally there is no more hurt only more love. These feelings are a life lived. In the end, all the experiences—the sad and the happy—amounted to an abundance of love and more love as they both transitioned. It really is beautiful to think about the end of life with wisdom and knowledge; know that we will always have sadness and grieve many losses in a lifetime but that is part of a life lived too.
As I continued my morning I heard the words from my heart, God truly is in everything Nina. I thought of life struggles that I or my close family and friends have. I allowed myself to wander, and by that I mean open up my heart to the possibilities of the struggle and the message I was receiving from God and the Angels. God truly IS in everything, but you have to look and feel in order to do this more than a minute. I took a deep look at my life with my open heart, was worry my prayer last night? Maybe. Was I focused on love or more of what I “thought” I didn’t have? I realized I have so much love in my life. When we trust we receive abundance in all forms. In these times trust has to be a vigilant practice even on those days of sadness or frustration or even anger. Trusting that we are exactly where we are meant to be in these moments and we are taken care of with so much love!
Take a look at the picture one more time and think of your beautiful life up to this very moment. Look at your hands; how many have they touched and loved? Think of the sounds you have heard with your ears, the blessings of being able to hear and to be heard, the food you have tasted, and the lips you have kissed. Your eyes have experienced a multitude of sight, which has affected every part of this journey. We experience love through all our senses on the journey. Let this beautiful couple be your inspiration for a life well lived and surrounded in love. When that time comes for you one day, my hope is that you will be surrounded by love as more and more love envelops you on your journey home.
