Musings and Marvelings on my Jesus Journey

Let us give thanks...... Let us give thanks for family we love, Let us give thanks for all gifts from above, Let us give thanks for friends who are there, Let us give thanks for the privilege of prayer, Let us give thanks for the birds in the air, Let us give thanks we can travel up there, Let us give thanks we can see places created, Let us give thanks we are full, satiated, Let us give thanks when the day is long, Let us give thanks when you don't sense a song, Let us give thanks when things get in the way, Let us give thanks for each precious new day, Let us give thanks for the sun in the sky, Let us give thanks when we wonder why, Let us give thanks when it rains or it shines, Let us give thanks when the little one whines, Let us give thanks for the clerk at the store, Let us give thanks when someone opens a door, Let us give thanks for the people we meet, Let us give thanks for the folks on our street, Let us give thanks for the things that we have, Let us give thanks we have

  I am musing about.... Relatability Ability Being able to relate to someone is a gift. Being able to make someone feel safe in your presence, to feel known and understood is....well, a wonderful ability.  Relatability Ability! Something we all desire!    It is difficult to relate when you have never really been there. When you have not experienced that situation that you are trying to experience emotionally with another. We can try to understand. Can try to put ourselves into another person's shoes, to be empathetic. But there is nothing like really being there ourselves. I remember when I was working as a nurse in a Dr.'s office before I had kids. I would ask the patient who was pregnant about how she was feeling. When a patient would describe her fatigue or her morning sickness, I would express to the patient that it sounded awful, hard. But it was not until I became pregnant myself that I was able to truly empathize. Suddenly I knew just how awful and hard it really was! So

  I am musing about..... DINGS!  (and Notifications) Those distracting, engaging "dings" that have a way of pulling us in. If you are like me and you keep your cell phone pretty close by, you know what I am talking about (and if you are not, well....good for you:), but you might not be able to relate to this post.) But for many of us, our brains have become accustomed to a particular sound, a notification that will rouse us from whatever we are doing, distract us and pull us in to check it out. Who texted me? Who emailed me? Who left a Whatsapp? I am a relational person. I love to connect. Especially with family! My Whatsapp account is my lifeline in many ways to the kids and grands who live far away. I love love it when I get a video, a pic or a fun message. It is a way of connecting. So, I rationalize. I am "connecting". I am "relating". But I am also being distracted and at times I slip into decreased productivity thanks to technology. It is something t