A couple of years ago, I wrote about the different seasons and times in our lives.  As Solomon said long ago, there is a time for everything in our lives.   At that time, I was commenting on the passing of one of my aunts, my dad’s youngest sister and how, while it may be a time of mourning in our lives, I believe it was a time of dancing as my grandmother welcomed another of her ten children into heaven.

     I’ve been away from this blog for a while, the longest time ever since beginning  back in 2008.  First there was the celebration of Easter, my birthday and five years cancer-free, all spent in South Carolina, visiting my daughter Meghan. It was awesome, a weekend in Charleston, Easter Sunday on the beach, fabulous meals in historic restaurants, then a week as a guest in Meghan’s home. During that time, I was still in my Spring semester of school, more challenges along the way, including a technological failure that was fairly stressful being a thousand miles from my home computer with critical homework due. 

     Back here at the Homestead, that semester rolled on to completion, not the usual two A’s , but two B’s, in two very challenging courses. While not overjoyed with two B’s, it beats the daylights out of two C’s or D’s 🙂   I encountered unknown technical challenges with this blog site, only recently resolved,  made some changes  on the business side of my life, piano lessons for the spring were completed and I decided  not to attend summer school, the first time in three years that I skipped summer classes.  I needed a break, as those who know me up close and personal will attest; the time had come to lighten up a bit.  It’s been a good summer, once it finally arrived. 

     But the seasons in the title don’t refer to calendar seasons.  It has been both a time to mourn and a time to dance, as is typical of all of our lives. The annual reunion with high-school friends was fabulous, a Cowgirl theme this year, love and laughter and new memories made, while old memories were shared and indeed, it was a time to dance. The time to mourn came with the passing of two our group’s mothers, followed immediately by the passing of an old friend’s 29 year-old daughter. That’s been a tough one, as the young woman was precious not only to me, but as a big sister to my girls. We’ve spent good time on our memories, even in the time to mourn was a time to laugh as we’ve shared favorite stories about this special friend.
      That  is life on planet Earth, life in this fallen world; one minute filled with joy beyond measure and next with sorrow beyond compare.  My message today?  Love with all your heart and let those special people know for sure how much you care.  Love unconditionally, as we are loved by our Heavenly Father, not for what anyone does, rather for who they are.  Spread grace as you go, show the compassionate face of Jesus to those who may be desperately in need.    And dance, take time to dance even in the face of sadness.     À bientôt.