How To Be Happy: Sew Simple

Behold, what I have seen to be good and fitting is to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all the toil with which one toils under the sun the few days of his life that God has given him, for this is his lot" (Ecc. 5:18).

I used to love to sew. That is after I pinned the pattern and before I had to rip out seams. Picking the pattern, the material and seeing the dress form under my hands delighted me.

Oh, I could also do without the finishing.

Then one day it hit me. Why did I like sewing? Half of it I despised. I made the decision--to find joy in the minutiae of it. I strove to

lay it out perfectly. I sang as I ripped stitches and strove to make my finish work as fine as the broad strokes. Thus today's Scripture.

To enjoy life, we must:

1. Find joy in the little things. Is it too cold? Look at the glittering frost, note it's beauty.
2. Love our job. Some of us do "traditionally" great things--teach, nurse, police, protect. Others pull a lever, drive a truck, cash out customers. What's good in our job? It pays the rent or we get to work on the road away from the idiots in the office or we can chat with a wide variety of weirdos. Each job brings us joy.
3. Enjoy our sustenance. We have homes. Maybe not million dollar ones with hardwood floors. But they keep us warmer than the elements. We have food. Steak may be too pricey, but who doesn't love pasta?
4. Be grateful. We live. We feel the warmth of carpet on our toes, the embrace of a child, the fellowship of believers, the taste of olives, the kiss of a spouse, the sight of a sunrise, the touch of a breeze. We have electric, heat, water from a tap, vehicles, shelter.
5. Fellowship is our Maker. Even those of us who know Him, fear our death. But in the end, eternity will wipe away all our tears--and if we truly know God, our moments here on earth are finer.

For what are you grateful?

In Death We Find Life

     After 92 years full of giving and loving and caring, my husband's Uncle Neil passed away. He was a man who knew his own mind right until the end--sometimes to our own chagrin. For example--he had to be hospitalized in Potsdam--not Massena--he refused to have a will, yet took meticulous care that his funeral was taken care of, and will be laid out in a flannel shirt--so he'll be comfortable for eternity. We watched him fail for nearly a year, and watching him become increasingly helpless hurt almost more than his passing.
     Tomorrow the McClain clan will gather at Hammill Funeral Home to say good-bye. Yet, there's a sense of celebration. My Neil has found old pictures of his family in their youth to share--times when they looked gawky or the fashions really needed to rethink themselves. Unc Neil's niece and nephews and great-nephew will travel long distances to say their final farewell--and these are distances they traveled for Unc Neil when he could still appreciate them.
      Over the past year, we've shared tales of Unc Neil's strengths, his character and his foibles. We've been blessed with neighbors who looked at Unc Neil more as their father than a man who lived down the road.
     We'll gather and cry--the family together. Then we'll share a meal and in that time, strengthen the bonds that make the McClain group the family of character (or characters) they are. We will rejoice in our lives and the memory of one that touched us all.
     How significant that Unc Neil died on Maundy Thursday--and will be laid to rest over the Easter weekend. I can't help but think of another man whose death brought life.
     Have you found joy in dying?