Skip to main content

Ring the Bell





Angela recently finished radiation treatments, a medical war against breast cancer, a battle she hadn't anticipated this time last year. At the end of agonizing months she was able to ring the bell, signifying victory. She stood strong and proud and rang it. I imagine tears in her eyes for winning the battle, for relief that the treatments were over, and that her pain would ease soon. Facebook friends cheered her on from all over the world.

 My daughter chose a wedding gown and was invited to ring the bell.

 Wait....what?

 Ring the bell for shopping?

 Welcome to America: 2018 

 Where we are rewarded for menial tasks. 
Where we make a much bigger deal out of finding a wedding dress than we should.
Where we have to make everyone feel important about everything.

 Honestly, I was embarrassed when the salesgirl asked my daughter if she wanted to ring the bell. Yes, she found a dress to be married in. To wear for about four hours. It took forty-five minutes for the decision to be made. It wasn't life altering. I've actually shopped for groceries longer than it took her to find a dress and no one asked me to ring a bell when I found just the right bag of apples.

 We are destroying our young people. They are growing up with an inflated sense of ego, of thinking the world owes them something, and they don't know how to deal with disappointment.

 Yes.

 I'm going there.

 We've all watched the disappointed throngs whine and protest and generally act like toddlers because they didn't like the outcome of the latest presidential election. Guess what? Every election year there are people who are disappointed and life. goes. on. The sun still rises and sets. There is still reason to enjoy each day. Life isn't about everything being comfortable. It's in the discomfort that we grow. It's in the disappointment that we learn how to make the best of any situation. 

 Having the ability to solve problems is part of life, and you can't figure it out if you're not facing the problems that come across your path.

 Trials build character. Trials increase our faith. Trials push us to do things we wouldn't do otherwise.

 Do you crumble when a trial comes your way? Angela may have initially felt her spirit crumble when she was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, but the warrior within rose and she fought each day, determined to come out stronger. She ended the year in a race. In an actual race. I wouldn't even do that. 

 If anyone deserved to ring a bell it was her. I'm not sure I've ever done anything worthy of ringing a bell. 

 How about you? 

 Let's determine to finish strong. This life is the only one we have, let's live it well and when we cross the line and take our first breath on the other side, let's make it our goal to hear those words we ache for, "Well done...."

 That's when I plan to ring the bell. 




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Front Row Seat

  If you've been around me any length of time, you'll know I love having a front row seat when possible. Church. Concerts. Comedy shows. Auctions. I want to be front and center, where the action is, so I don't get distracted and miss something. I want to be part of the event and front is where it's at.  Lately I've had a front row seat to some things that I wish I could unsee. My mother's Alzheimer's diagnosis and the last year and a half of watching her slow and steady decline into a world of unknowns has taken a toll.  I tend to hold every emotion inside. Always have. I've learned -these past fifteen months or so- that this is bad for my health. Stress levels are impacting how I feel. Palpitations, and a diagnosis of "harmless" PACs, have left me trying to manage this stress. It's gotten easier but, I'll admit, I still have things shoved down inside. And then along came CDH. A diagnosis I'd not heard of before it was given to...
Post a Comment
Read more

Selling items on Craigslist and common scams

I'm selling a couple of things on Craigslist. I've done this a few times before and always, the first interested parties I hear from are scammers. This time in my listing I specified that I will not take money orders and asked that scammers not contact me. Here's the first interested party that I heard from: mr robins journeycristina@gmail.com Is it still available for sale... I replied: Yes it is. Here's the second contact from the first interested party. Note that the name of the sender and the email of the sender are different than the ones from the first contact: Clyde Wright fisherr.mattyy@gmail.com Hello, Thanks for the swift response, just to let you know that am okay with the condition and price of the item, am ready for its purchase and my form of payment will be by sending you Check via UPS next day delivery. I'll be responsible for the pick-up and the pick up money will be included in your payment to avoid delay and to enable pick up company to s...
28 comments
Read more

It's Not A Blessing if you Had to Sin to Get it

Pretty strong words but also very true. I once heard a man say his girlfriend was, "A gift from God."  Except she wasn't because she was still married to someone else. Glenn wiggled in and turned her head and snatched her away from her husband and children. How dare he think God had anything to do with that. He doesn't work that way. If you want His blessings then you need to walk closely with Him. He will never bless sin. He can't. He is unable to. Sin is what separates us from God.  Glenn may think he is living a blessed life as he runs on emotions and feelings but nothing like this will prosper. In the end it will lead to destruction.  It already has. The family he destroyed will never be the same. 
5 comments
Read more