Learning

I am in the midst of learning, right now.  Since moving to Colorado, we have been attending a wonderful church.  Each Sunday I learn something new, about me , about God, and even about my mother.  The pastors are great, but not because they are highly educated and notable speakers, but real men with a real love for God!  The church meets in a basketball gym, so it is not the "church".  The people are just like me.  They all want to be there and it shows!  So, last week I was trying to figure out why I can be unapproachable sometimes.  I am not exactly a lovable cuddly person.  Why???  I could ask God, why and wait for the answer and in the meantime try to figure it out, but the answer I got was why figure it out, embrace life however uncomfortable it is and REJOICE!  What a relief.  I don't want to figure that out.  Has it been easy...NO, but it is a work in progress.  I am a work in progress even at my age.  So many times things seem to be going wrong and that is the time to REJOICE!  There is much to be thankful for and to rejoice over.  I think my mother must have had her version of this.  The love of her life, my dad, died when she was so young.  She had to have a way to survive that grief.  In her grief, she rejoiced.  That is one lesson.

Another lesson came from church talking about radical love.  My mother certainly had that one.  We can all remember her saying, "just love them, then after that love them some more!"  I always heard that and I can see it more clearly than ever now.  She lived what she was reading and soaking up.  I was very concerned that I might remember her by the fearful lady that she was in the end, but that is not what is happening.  What is happening is that I am seeing her in every sermon, every daily reading, in the beauty of the mountains and some much more.  The most important thing is that I see her but mostly I see her Lord living through her.  Her actions and words and aura were a reflection of God.  What a great example, a real example.  So grateful to have been her daughter.

My other learning is for Jetta.  I am finally learning in earnest how to use my camera.  I am not just using the automatic setting, either!  I am learning to handle the camera in manual.  I still have more classes. but I am loving the opportunity to learn something new.  Hopefully i'll have some good pictures to show, soon.  In the meantime, here are a few.

Bird landing on the fence.

Just the dog and the windchime

Cool clouds

More learning to come.  And better pictures.