Have you ever....

Have you ever sat back and looked at someone you love and felt that you were holding them back?
Have you ever Believed with all your heart and soul that though you have always meant well and been very supportive, you should have done something more ?
Have you ever felt responsible that the person you love so much seems so far away from accomplishing the one thing that makes their dreams come true?
Have you ever closed your eyes and looked deeply inside yourself and asked how come what is important to you isnt that important to others?
Have you ever looked at your life and realized that it isnt anything that you thought it would be ?
Have you ever seen the disappointment in the eyes of the person you love and know that nothing you can do or say will make it go away ?

Have you ever looked into the eyes of your children and seen pure love ?
Have you ever watched how your child approaches a project or idea and seen the tiny adult inside them?
Have you ever taken one moment and watched the clouds in the sky ?
Have you ever imagined yourself somewhere other than where you are now?
Have you ever raced outside and had a waterballoon fight with your kids?
Have you ever looked into the eyes of your spouse and seen all the reasons you fell
in love with them ?

Have you ever taken the time to say I love you to all the people in your family?
Have you ever taken a moment to smile at a stranger ?

Have you ever Thanked God with everything that you are and could be for everything good and bad that has happened in your life and meant it ?

Have you ever...................

Our Mockingbird Family

In the front of our house, we have a line of bushes that covers the front windows and a tree that grows near the front porch. Towards the upper part of the tree is a nest that was built four years ago by a pair of mockingbirds and each year they return and lay their eggs. Once the babies are old enough to leave the nest but not yet ready to fly, they use the bushes in the front of the house as a good place to hide and move around. It is something we look forward to each year. My cats love it when the little baby birds are in the bushes because it gives them something to stare at and I think imagine a tasty buffet as they are looking through the windows.

Anyway, this year is no exception and the pair has layed their eggs and they have hatched within the last week and a half. When we are outside, we like to watch the adult mockingbirds feeding their young and listening to the babies as they anxiously await their yummy array of bugs. The adult mockingbirds seem used to us and they will sometimes land in front of us to nab a beetle or bug in the driveway.

Yesterday, my son left with his friends and went to Stone Mountain and my daughter was entertaining herself with games on my computer. I decided to walk outside as I could hear the distant rumble of thunder.

In the distance was an omnious group of storm clouds and the wind had picked up outside. I sat in my driveway watching the adult mockingbirds taking turns catching bugs in the front yard and feeding their young. I love listening to the baby birds and am amazed at how often the adult birds are flying away and coming back to feed their young.

Once it started sprinkling I moved to the front porch to watch the baby birds and see if I could count how many were in the nest. The best I can see is five baby mockingbirds. The adult mockingbirds did not seem bothered that I was on the porch and continued their routine of catching the bugs and feeding the babies.

The storm clouds moved in quickly and it started pouring rain. I watched as one of the adult mockingbirds flew to the nest and carefully covered the little babies to shield them from the hard pouring rain.

I stayed on the porch for awhile and got to thinking about how special it is to be able to witness this protection and love from a mockingbird to her young. Some people believe that animals dont have feelings or souls. That everything that they do is a part of their nature. They live and die and that it is the end of it. I choose to disagree because I believe that God created everything and in doing so all living creatures were given a soul. The book of Genesis is pretty clear about this.
In watching how this mockingbird protected her young, it made me think about how there are people in this life that dont have that kind of natural instinct when it comes to caring for their young. Let's face it, being a parent means having heart and wisdom. It means that we sacrifice ourselves sometimes to protect what is so dear to us and that we protect our young in all situations that put them in peril.
Just like the baby birds will sometime leave the nest and move to the bushes in the front of the house, our children will move forward in different points in their lives. I am realizing how much my children are growing up now and needing a little more wiggle room. On Friday, my husband and I went to my daughter's field day at school. I have gone to her field day every year that she had been in school and havent missed a year yet. Kait is in the 4th grade now and when we went there, she was busy with her friends and trying to keep up with them. It used to be that she didnt want to leave my side but now she is running around with her friends and I realized that she is growing up a lot more.
My son is in the 6th grade . The past two nights he has been at a friends house and been out and about doing things with them.
I look at it as now my baby birds are in the bushes now and they are moving towards the day when they will fly away. Yes, they still have a ways to go before that happens but they are learning to stretch their wings a little bit now.

Just a thought

Tonite I was watching the show " The secret millionaire". What an amazing show that is. It amazes me that people with that kind of money don't really think about how many people live in this world. I watch them having to give up their normal lifestyle for a week and listen to how they say they take for granted what they have. I see the difference they make in peoples lives.I wish that I could make a difference like that in peoples lives. If I were a millionaire I think I would.
I don't know if you have ever just done a basic search on the internet and see the numbers of people who are asking for help. I have and sometimes when I feel like I am getting kicked in the teeth, I remember what some of their stories are like. People who are so affected by the economy today. People asking for help so that their kids don't miss out on Santa coming this year.
We all need to remember to be thankful for all the things we do have. We need to be thankful that we have families and that they are full of love and hope and dreams. No matter how rough we think we have it, there is always going to be someone out there who is worse than us. We need to take the time to send them a little prayer.