Tag: writerthoughts

The Mortality of a Birthday

July 29, 2024 / Chiara

I recently celebrated a birthday. Yay! Happy birthday to me! It wasn’t one of those BIG numbers either, but it was still a number. When I was younger I looked at people my age as old. And, to some extent, I’m what society would consider “middle-aged”. Psychology Today even defines midlife as “the central period of a person’s life from approximately age 40 to age 65.” Now, I don’t feel I need to tell you how old I am, so don’t go thinking I’m going to spill that information. Plus, I’ve heard asking a woman her age is not polite.

At any rate, I do have to admit that as I get older, the thought of dying and death seems more of a reality than when I was twenty years old. Some people don’t live to see forty and others pass away before getting a chance to retire at sixty-five, or even later these days. It may sound morbid, but I can’t help realizing my mortality. I won’t live forever and frankly, I don’t want to.

We also have heard the phrase, “Time doesn’t stop for no one”. It doesn’t and that’s a fact. However, life will stop for each one of us at some point. We’re like a Timex watch that ticks until the battery dies. We have a battery of life in our bodies. When it’s our specific time to go, that’s when we go. Our lives are truly in God’s hands.

All in all, I’m grateful and blessed to be alive at my age. I’m learning not to take for granted my health, my mind, my muscles, my brain, and my heart. Our body is an important temple. And speaking of temples…

In 1 Corinthians 6:19 of the Bible, the Apostle Paul tells us… “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?”

So, what does “… we are not of our own mean?” Well, according to Genesis 1:27, we are made in the likeness of God, which therefore suggests we come from God. It’s true. Here’s the scripture verse: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

In 1 Corinthians 3:16, it tells us this, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” Does God’s Spirit dwell in you?

I’ve been pondering many questions lately: Have I lived purposefully? Is there more to accomplish on earth? Have I been taking care of my temple the right way? Are there more stories for me to write, or am I done? How will I live the remaining years of my life? Or better yet, how will I live my life in the next two weeks? I could go on and on.

I know what you’re thinking, all these questions on mortality from celebrating a birthday? Come on, forget about it. Live your life. Do what pleases you. Yes, yes, I’ve heard all those remarks. The truth is, I don’t want to leave anything unfinished while living because there is so much work to do and that’s doing the work God calls me to do. What that looks like is none of your concern because you should have your own calling.

Have you thought about your mortality lately? Maybe you should because time stops for no one.

Until next time…

Be well. Be safe. Be happy!

Dear Younger Me

May 25, 2023 / Chiara

I’ve spent a good amount of my life doubting my decisions and often living in a hesitancy to failure. Now that I’m older, have much gray hair that I color every seven weeks, and have experienced things, I wish I had had someone tell it to me straight and be truthful. It is why I’ve taken a moment to accumulate nuggets of wisdom to pass along to my children, as if I was talking to my younger self because if tomorrow never comes, then I know I have spoken my truth today.

Dear Younger Me,

I know I can’t go back in time. But if I could have sent you a message, a note, spoken to you in a dream, I’d tell you these words:

Practice makes progress, not perfect because when you practice something long enough, you are really making progress. Perfection is not a mass finality, but rather an individualized, personal goal.
Gentle words, gentle play.Thru calmness, comes clarity.The best conversations are with myself.Don’t put words in the air that don’t belong there.Pain always follows the wanting.Get in front of the problem.

Fight the problem, not the people.
There are simple answers to difficult questions.
Turn your fear into a friend, not a foe.The decisions you make today affect you five years from now.Limit distractions. Stay on course.Don’t live for anything; stand for something.If you don’t stand for anything, you’ll truly fall for everything.Friends are people of passage. Find your people.You can only grow where you plant good seeds.

Grow where you are planted. And if you get replanted over and over again, dig your roots, and keep growing.
Don’t be a troublemaker, be a truth seeker.I’m temporarily closed…. forever. (Love the oxymoron)
I need God to pour into me so I can push out the overflow to others.Some questions have no answers.Love is love, but love is better when you love in truth.Love is love when it is done in truth.It’s how you overcome; not how you succumb.You either die suffering or suffer in dying!Test everything. Discern all.Everything good that comes out of me is from God, Everything bad in me, is from me.Lord, direct me to move out of the way, so You can make a way.Some people don’t want to make peace with you, rather they want a piece of you.Forgiveness is really for you to let go.The hardest people to love and pray for are the ones who persecute you.Rather than scold or talk badly about a person, pray blessings over them.You can’t control the passing on of generational curses, but you can stop them from being activated in your family.Wisdom, revelation and knowledge of Him, Jesus Christ is far better than all the education of the world.Be friendly with everyone, doesn’t mean you have to be what they are.It’s okay to feel that you don’t belong. It means you are growing in maturity. Put away your childish behavior and grow up.Not everyone is going to like you.Don’t stress about fitting in when God made you to stand out. Be separate from the culture.You’ll always going to have people jealous of you.Your biggest enemies are usually the ones closest to you.Family is blood. You can’t change that. But toxic blood often resides within the family. Get it out! Cast it out of your life!
If you don’t love in truth, it isn’t love.Stop appeasing those who keep using you.If someone doesn’t like you, no matter what you do, it won’t change their dislike of you. It’s because they’re threatened by you.Friends and family don’t always want you to succeed.No one friend can be your everything. Have many different friends with different interests.

Dream.

Be a risk-taker, not a regret-maker.

Pay someone’s bill.

Dress up for no reason and go to the grocery store.

Wear lipstick just to go for a walk.

Rather than watch a movie, turn on the television and watch cartoons.

Dance in front of your mirror.

Sing!

Work. It will teach you responsibility.

Learn to manage your money.

Go out to dinner alone every once in a while.

Love yourself.

Love God and love people.

Read. Read everything.

Get into God’s Word. Really read the Bible. IT IS a blueprint for living this earthly life.

Fretting and worrying all the time is really overrated.

Really watch a sunrise and a sunset.

Sleeping enough does help.

And it’s true. Never grocery shop when you’re hungry.

Never make big decisions when you’ve been drinking, are tired, or hungry.

Be true to yourself because no one is going to do it for you.

To be continued…

NOTE: This blog post was inspired by the song, “Dear Younger Me” by MercyMe. Check out the video here.

The Lady Under The Tree

September 9, 2021 / Chiara

For two weeks straight at approximately 7:44 am as I drove my daughters to school, I’d see this figure sitting cross-legged under a large tree. I didn’t notice at first because we’re constantly running late courtesy of my preteen, and I sped down the side streets to get to school on time. It’s my younger daughter who sees the most interesting things from the backseat. One time, it was a yellow cat sitting on the roof of a Ford F150, yes, she knows her automobiles thanks to her daddy, and another time she noticed an elderly gentleman drinking coffee on his front porch, and recently, she saw a teenage boy climbing out of his second-story window. Hmm, I guess sitting in the backseat has its perks.

Out of the blue one morning, she pointed, “Mommy, look at the lady sitting under that tree.”

I glanced to my left and there she was. It was a woman and she looked like a statue. The sun was streaming through the trees and it cast a long shadow across a dewy field of grass. It was an image to behold. So serene, that a calming sensation came over me. Cross-legged with one hand resting under her chin, she could easily be asleep. I felt jealous because this figure appeared to be free of worries and without hurry to-do lists.

The next day and the next few days were the same. Every morning as we got ready to leave, I looked forward to seeing this female sitting comfortably under a tree. Our car rides to school were exciting. My girls and I would make bets on who would see her first, and we spent time guessing as to what she was doing there, and what she was thinking or praying about.

Well, it’s been a week now and we haven’t seen the woman under the tree. I feel anxious, jumpy, and concerned. The girls are also worried.

My younger daughter said this morning, “Maybe she found another tree to sit under.”

I scratched my head. “I don’t know, honey.”

My preteen responded, “Maybe it’s a hologram?”

Was it a figment of our imagination? Only time will tell. Maybe she was an angel guarding our drive to school? If that’s the case, I’d like to see her every single day!

I’ve often read that angels show up in different forms. For now, the tree stands tall, barren of a figure. I won’t give up, though. Each morning, I’ll imagine God’s hedge of protection on my girls as they go to school. I’ll even make it a point to treasure that warmth I experienced in my heart. Yeah, that’s what I’ll do. The grace of that knowledge should be enough.