On this Monday following Easter, I am revisiting some of my old blogs.
The emergence of spring in the air and the “drive” to get some spring cleaning done has me reflecting on life and its purpose.
Some of my newer followers may not have seen this thoughtful post. Please click below and contemplate with me this idea: via Be Led, Not Driven
Swan Song has the connotation
Of the last performance here –
The last time you will finish something –
A time to bow out and cheer.
This swan on the water is singing
To the tune of something new –
A day to appreciate the river –
Swim freely and enjoy the view.
We may stay in the freezing river
And sing our song to the Montana sky,
Or we may head off to Switzerland
Sing to grape-covered Alps way up high.
We may go to the market in Spain,
See the display of candy – amazing!
Or sing our Swan Song to friends
Whose life-times are closing and changing.
Today I went to a Memorial Service
For five friends whose earth-life had ended.
Their lives were lived to the fullest,
But their last tune was poorly attended.
As I sang of the Old Rugged Cross,
And heard what a friend in Jesus we find,
I reflected on the Swan Songs of these
Who lived long lives, impactful, and kind.
They outlived their dearest earthly friends,
And they spent their last years in a bed
Where gentle caregivers loved them.
They’d have preferred to be home instead.
They’ve taken their stories and sweet songs
To their heavenly home – so don’t cry.
Just celebrate their lives lived in love,
And remember their Lights in the sky.
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Each star that sparkles in the brilliant night
Is a reminder of one of these friends.
They lived lives of service; their stories don’t stop;
They’ll keep shining on us ’til eternity ends.
Whose lives are you remembering today?
Look up this evening… see their Lights blinking bright
as you remember their lives and legacy.
God bless them… and you … and have a good night!
Photo by Hristo Fidanov on Pexels.com
The Purpose Driven Life
I have an affection for Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Life. It has so many words of wisdom – and it helped me as I was trying to define my purpose for living. I had recently suffered a burst appendix and had almost died. Prayer, God’s grace, a skillful ambulance driver, and a careful surgeon gave me back my life. I looked earnestly for clues about how I might live purposely for God to thank Him for my survival.
This book of Daily Inspirations is a complement to The Purpose Driven Life. I used it as a devotional and as a journal, writing in the margins and at the top and bottom of the pages each day.
Soul Feast
But recently I read a quote by Marjorie J. Thompson in her book, Soul Feast.
Thompson wrote, “I admit I do not care for the language of ‘driven-ness’ in recently popular books and seminars…” She went on to explain “… it is significant that the Bible likens us to sheep, not cattle.”
My Haiku
Giving overtime thought to Marjorie J. Thompson’s quote I wrote the following Haiku:
Live from a posture
Of profound trust and deep love
Be sheep, not cattle
Deep Conversation
My husband and I had a deep conversation about life and death, purpose and the difference between being led and being driven. When I am weary, Jesus leads me beside still waters. He refreshes my soul.
Photo by James Wheeler on Pexels.com
Cowboys here in Montana drive their cattle to the next pasture and farmers in Switzerland drive their cows in the springtime up to fresh grass from the lower meadows where the beautiful animals have spent the winters.
Photo by Krivec Ales on Pexels.com
But Bob’s point as my hubby discussed the difference between being driven and led, was that cattlemen drive their cattle for the same reason shepherds lead their sheep. They have their best interests at heart. (Well, they may be driving them to market!)
There is a connotation to the word “driven” in our American culture. It seems to imply push-push-push, a relentless effort toward getting to the top.
Hope for the Flowers
I was reminded of a book for adults and others (including caterpillars who can read) titled, Hope for the Flowers, by Trina Paulus. It was copyrighted in 1973, but it is as pertinent today as it was then (and it still is available on Amazon.com).
As I recall the story, the caterpillars in this clever little tale are climbing over the top of each other, creating a “caterpillar pillar.” One little creeper is on the outside edge, getting tired of the climb, wondering if it’s worth it. She asks a fellow climber as she looks at the daunting distance to the top, “What’s up there, anyway?”
“Just other caterpillars pushing each other off so they can be on top,” her climbing companion explained as one of the fuzzy creatures came tumbling down and crashed to the ground.
(How sad, huh? I am fascinated by these wonderful creations and their metamorphosis.)
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
Right about then the disillusioned climber caught the eye of a beautiful butterfly cruising by. “Climb on down,” he encouraged. “Spin yourself a chrysalis, rest inside, and eventually you will emerge a butterfly like I did. Then you can join me.”
(Of course those quotes are from my memory, not the actual book. I loaned it out to someone…. don’t remember who… but I have ordered a new one. Hope for the Flowers is a terrific book to have on hand as a reminder of my journey!)
Moving Down the Administrative Ladder
I discovered this beautiful, child-like, but profound, paperback when I was working as a curriculum coordinator in the district office at a school district in central California. My office was waaay too far from the children. I had been an elementary teacher for over 20 years and the principal of a K-6 school with over a thousand students for nearly a decade. The “caterpillar pillar” (that ambitious climb to greater “success”) led me to the district office. I knew after only about three weeks that it was not where I belonged.
I stuck it out for two years. Did the best job I knew how. Wore at least a half a dozen hats (Federal Programs director, language arts and music coordinator, in-service leader for new teachers, mentor for new principals, etc.) I learned a lot, and am glad I did it,but generally, I was not happy. My love & my gift was teaching children and helping “my staff” grow to be their best selves. I loved the interaction with the students, the teachers, and the parents.
As I climbed back down the “pillar” and announced that I was going back UP to the classroom (as soon as I rested a year and earned my butterfly wings), I was told, “What are you doing? That’s the wrong direction!”
Some warned, “You can’t go back down! People will think you’ve been demoted!”
“Yes, I can,” I insisted. I slid into my chrysalis, listened to The Voice of Reason and Transformation, rested, and devoted more time to my family, myself and my God.
I emerged a happy butterfly and was led back UP to a group of first graders. At the end of that year I led them on to second grade. What joy! I still hear from some of those children twenty years later. Several of them are my Facebook friends!
Best move I ever made!!
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
The Voice
Contemplative time
Creates vessels of vision
Hear the “still small voice”
.
Let God fill you up
with new creativity
Receive fresh insight
.
I encourage you
To let contemplative time
Be a microphone
.
Let unstructured time
Be a transformative time
Listen to The Voice!
Take time to rest.
Build your chrysalis.
Listen to your heart.
Find your True Purpose!
You may want to consider getting Rick Warren’s, The Purpose Driven Life,
and the accompanying inspirational/journal:
and look for Hope for the Flowers. It’s out there…
Be Led, Not Driven
Change is inevitable
Change is challenging
Resist or embrace?
May as well embrace
To resist change is futile
Change is inevitable
This is my grandson, Chris. I told you I would write more about him. He has been the center of life for Bob and our family since he arrived in the USA from Switzerland last Thanksgiving. When you first met him (if you have been following my blog), this is what he looked like:
See the change?
And when you first met that pup he has under the blanket in his lap up there, this is what TazE looked like:
Well, he is so covered up in that first picture up there, you can’t really see the gray in his face and the change in his body, can you? But, trust me… now at age 8 1/2, he has changed from that frisky guy you see there. Here’s a current one that shows you what I’m talking about:
Yes, change is inevitable! And it can be scary. And it can be very exciting. But it does not do any good to resist it. Much of change is healthy and invigorating. It’ll happen whether you bid it or not. May as well plan for it!
When our grandson came last year, he knew he was in for a year of changes. He had the courage to fly into a new life here – with new opportunities – different in countless ways from his life in Sierre, Switzerland.
Today we are driving in Montana snow (really came down yesterday… and more is expected today) from Ennis to Anaconda. It’s about a two hour drive. We will stay overnight there, hoping to find a place that will allow pets. TazE will go with us.
We are taking Chris to the Job Corps in Anaconda. He will check in at 8:00 AM tomorrow morning. He has qualified (US citizen between the age of 16-24 with a clean record who is interested in training in one of 7 manual labor areas that are deemed understaffed by the Federal Government) and has been accepted into the program.
We took a tour there in December and we were wonderfully impressed with the site, the program, the facilities, the instructors, the equipment, the ambience, and the students. About 200 young people are there. More than 75% of them are from out-of-state. Chris will be the first who was born and raised in another country. (Our daughter is his mom… and as such, Chris has dual USA-Swiss citizenship).
There are 4 dorms, 3 for men and 1 for women (that’s the ratio of the students). Not surprising since the trades they are learning include:
Chris will have a month to explore the various options and then he will select the one he wishes to concentrate on. Each student is self-paced. The training could take as little as three months and as much as a year, depending on prior experience, work ethic, skill, etc.
Stay tuned. I am sure our grandson is in for changes he cannot even imagine at this time.
We are excited for him.
Aren’t you glad to know our Federal Government is supporting this kind of internship/apprenticeship program for young people?
I think Christmas caroling is a lost art. Do you carol?
When I told Chris, my 23 year old Swiss grandson, that we were going caroling, he asked, “What’s that?”
I responded, “Do you know what carols are?”
Keep in mind that his language in Switzerland is French (even though with his mom – our daughter – he speaks English at home).
“No.”
“It’s Christmas songs,” I explained. “We’re going to sing them at the Christmas stroll.”
Of course, that was a new concept for him, too.
“But I don’t know your Christmas songs.”
Not letting him off the hook, I explained, “We have books.”
“Who will we sing to?”
I told him about our annual custom of going door to door in neighborhoods or singing on the sidewalks downtown, going in and out of stores. He thought that was pretty strange!
“We’d probably get arrested if we did that in my town,” he puzzled.
Did he go?
You bet!
Did he enjoy it?
Of course!
And the frosting on the cake was seeing the front page of our local newspaper a few days later:
How did you kickoff your Christmas season?
Day #22 of my A – Z series of “What Makes Me Happy?”
VACATIONS
Time off from routines
And a change of scenery
Are good for the soul
Photo by Anand Dandekar on Pexels.com
And for the body!
Photo by icon0.com on Pexels.com
A change of menu
Foods that taste and look different
Good for the spirit
New places to climb
To take routine off your mind
Are good for the heart
Family and friends
Sharing stories and good wine
Make life much more fine
Vacations mean fun
With our son and daughter, too
What is fun for you?
I love my bloggers
Who take a break to come read
You encourage me
Vacations are great
They make me happy, and yet
There’s no place like home.
What’s the”V” word that makes you happy?
(Victory for courageous women…. that was my hubby’s answer!)
Searching sanity?
Insanity everywhere?
Where are you looking?
.
Eureka! I found
Sanity at my doorstep.
Enter here with joy.
Okay, so I don’t look quite sane, right? But I love SnapChat and all the weird ways it makes me look and sound. I love getting SnapChats from our daughter DeDe in Switzerland and our #2 daughter, Laina, who’s across the continent in Maryland.
Here I am at 30 degrees and freezing while they are in the 80s and sweating! It’s insane!! But the sanity of love ❤️ exchanged in the insanity of SnapChat brings joy inside my home.
Do you do SnapChat? Do you have Joyful exchanges with friends and family across the world? It’s a great way to shut out the crap that flows out there and let love fill your heart and home.
Try it!
Extended Family and Friends
What makes Switzerland so special? Besides the scenery, the cows, cheese, chocolate, watches and banks, Switzerland is special for the same reason ANYplace is special to me: the people! We have made many friends during these twenty-one years of traveling there every other year. Each time we go, we have the opportunity to make new friends! What a blessing it is to enjoy the country as family members … rather than simply being tourists!
Our daughter, DeAna, her husband, Andre’, and our three grandsons are the nucleus of our family there, but the relationship didn’t start with them. It began with Andre’s first cousin, Christian Zufferey, who was our AFS exchange student in 1981-82 in central California. AFS has a symbol… a heart-shaped world globe. It’s motto has something to do with changing the shape of our world, one person at a time. That’s what student exchange programs are all about. I am so glad that we were inspired to bring foreign students into our home when our kids were high-school aged. What a difference it has made in our family!
Andre’ wasn’t the first one who got the ball rolling, however. My mom’s oldest sister, Evelyn, married a Swiss way back in the early 1930s. It was Uncle Hans who caused us to want to invite a Swiss kid to come and live with us. Even though Christian was not the German-Swiss yodler that I anticipated, he captured our hearts and gave us an appreciation of the French-Swiss culture that has lasted a life-time.
Swiss Fondue – Mmmm
After his return to Sierre, we were invited to go there and spend a Christmas with his family. As an impressionable, romantic high school freshman, DeAna fell in love with their suave and humorous first cousin, Andre’. At the same time, we fell in love with Christian’s sister, Sylviane (Syli), and invited her to live with us in California for a year when she finished school. After DeAna graduated from high school, she lived for a year with the Zufferey family. Not surprising, the romance between her and Andre’ picked up where it left off. At the year’s end, Andre’ Solioz returned to California with DeDe. The rest is history. What a fairytale!
De and Andre’
Now, when we visit the Solioz family, of course we spend time also with the Zuffereys. Christian’s mom (Marcelle) and Andre’s mother (Denise) are sisters. Denise and her husband, Marin, are wonderful friends who always welcome us to their home when we visit. Marin is suffering this year with emphezyma, so we had to limit our talking time with him. How I wish we could speak French to communicate more easily with him! I imagine that working to understand Bob’s pantomiming is exhausting.
Denise and Marin Solioz – De’s angelic in-laws
(Our prayers are with Marin during this difficult time in his life)
Marcelle’s husband, Antoine, died tragically of a blood clot that traveled to his heart several years ago. Marcelle is a gracious hostess – and we always enjoy seeing her in her lovely home.
Marcelle and me in her living room
Christian has three children (aged 18 to 22) and Sylviane has five children ranging in age from 15 to 23. We were able to spend a Friday afternoon with Syli in her apartment in Sion and a weekend with Christian in the chalet in Arnouvaz that has been in his partner’s family for three generations. It was built by Celia’s grandfather and great-uncle in 1892.
Bob, Syli, and Jan in her Sion apartment
ZuZu and Celia’s chalet above Crans-Montana, Valais in Arnouvaz
The extended family also includes several cousins. One very special one is Chantal Fornier who lived with us as a recent high school graduate in the early 1990s. She was such a blessing in our lives at that time because she has the gift of love and compassion for the elderly. I am eternally grateful to her. My dad was not well at that time, and she was so very kind to him. And she is grateful to us – because through that experience, she found her calling. Chantal works in the Nursing Home in Sierre and continues to spread her gentle kindness to the elderly.
Marie and Chantal Fornier with Bob and me
Our circle of Swiss friends spread to include a couple of De’s girlfriends this year. Perky and fit, a soul-sister for sure, Kad Giromini invited us to her home for dinner one night.
DeDe and her Swiss soul-sister, Kad
Another Chantal (a new friend of De’s) and her husband, Pierre-Andre’, invited us to their home when we returned from a week-long trip to Spain. We had a delicious barbecue in their backyard with this phenomenal view:
The view from Chantal’s backyard
Our two oldest grandsons, Mike and Nick, made it possible to add their girlfriends to the circle of our new Swiss friends. They treated us to lunch in Sierre on our second day there. I posted their photos on Parts One and Two of these blog stories. After lunch, Nick walked through the fountains in the street display. He is such a character! Yes, it is the people of Switzerland that make it so special…
Nick – walking through the water fountains in Sierre
Stay tuned for Part Four, “A Time to Celebrate” and Part Five – “A Week in Spain”
Family Time
The best part of being in Switzerland is the Family Time. Yes, it’s a wonderful place to “have to visit!” We have gone every other year since 1991 when our daughter, DeAna, and her Swiss-born husband, Andre’, moved back to his hometown of Sierre. They were pregnant at the time with our first grandchild. Of course, we had to go as soon as Mikey emerged! You will find a picture of Mike with his girlfriend, Sophie, in Part One of Our Trip to Switzerland. Mike and his girlfriend, Sophie, are so suited for one another! Keep him in prayer, though, he applied for an apprenticeship that he did not get. So now, his future employment is in limbo. Pray the perfect job opportunity emerges for our #1 Grandson.
Going back to 1993, two years after Mike’s birth, pregnant with our second grandchild, De prepared for a little girl. I traveled alone to be there to spend a week with “Melanie,” taking a suitcase full of pink things with me. Humph! “She” didn’t come as planned! Finally, the day before I was scheduled to leave to return to California, the doctors went in and pulled out by Caesarian section, a squalling, red-faced boy. Nicolas Marin Solioz was a screamer! Oh my, what a set of lungs! In the nineteen years since then, he hasn’t stopped making noise! Some of it is in the form of music on his steel guitar. Oh, yes, he’s a musician, an entertainer, a clown, a brilliant life of the party! Of the three, he looks the most like De & me. He has drive, determination, and charisma coming out of every pour!
Here is Nick with his girlfriend, Sandrine (Sorry about catching you with your eyes partly closed, Sandrine… you are a beautiful, bright, and thoughtful young lady with a bright future. Good luck as you pursue a career in the medical field!).
Two bright stars!
But, wait! Did I say three? Yes, two years later, determined to have that little girl we anticipated, Bob and I traveled back to Switzerland in time to greet Solioz child number three: Christian Robert (middle name after his Grampy Beekman). No, not a “Melanie” or “Janet,” but we would not trade this sweet, compassionate, thoughtful young man for a gillion bucks! No way!!
There’s he is, his 17-year-old face smiling on the left with his brothers,
having “the plate of the day” at their parents’ restaurant,
Le Rothorn, in Sierre- the Swiss state of Valais.
Chrissy sometimes has a break mid-day and comes home to eat his main meal of the day in the restaurant. He works at the Nursing Home about a half a mile from their apartment, which is above the restaurant on the main street of Sierre. At 16, disgusted with school, he quit the misery (for him) of public school and went to live for about seven weeks with a family in Germany so he could learn a little more conversational German. In their French part of Switzerland, so close to the German-Swiss section, it is imperative that people are at least bilingual. Most know at least two languages, French and German, and the younger generation almost all know English as well. Being a trilingual male interested in a job in the service profession, it didn’t take Chris long to land an apprenticeship at the local nursing home. The transition from being a sixteen year-old, care-free youth to becoming a vocational nurse has not been an easy one. But, with the help of observant supervisors and compassionate colleagues, Chris is succeeding. He works three days a week and attends relevant classes two days a week. His goal is to become a head nurse someday like his Auntie Marge in Fresno, CA. Isn’t it wonderful that Switzerland has the kind of apprenticeship programs that give young high school “drop-outs” viable alternatives? The United States could learn from the Swiss mentality!
Stay tuned for Part Four – “Extended Family and Friends” in Switzerland
Our Grandsons
My husband, Bob, and I went to Switzerland June 27 through July 16 this year. It was our best Swiss vacation ever! One of the reasons it was so great is that our three grandsons, Mike, Nick, and Chris were such a joy to be around. Nick joined us for lunch our first day there. Tante (Aunt) Irene did, too. We ate at Le Rothorn, the restaurant (bar and grill) that our daughter and son-in-law own there in Sierre, the Sun City of Valais, Switzerland. Andre’, a master chef, prepared chicken in curry sauce over rice with veggies. His meat sauces are the best! The restaurant is a place people go for a cup of coffee and a place to read the newspaper in the morning. The plate of the day is a popular lunch time fare. Lunch is the main meal of the day. The menu includes typical Swiss dishes of cheese, chicken, pork, beef, cheval (horse), and pastas. The bar is the most popular part of Le Rothorn, in spite of Andre’s wonderful cooking skills. I wish more people came to enjoy his talents!
Our youngest grandson, Chrissy, joined us up in the apartment after he finished work. De & Andre’ and the boys live in a three bedroom, one bath, no kitchen apartment above the restaurant. They allowed us to stay with them during the first four days of our visit. The boys all bunched up in Mike’s room on two beds and the floor so we could have Nick & Chris’s beds. We really appreciated it because staying with them gave us a chance to really have quality time with our grandsons who have grown from “boys” to young men since we saw them two and a half years ago.
At age 17, Chris has quit regular school, lived for 7 weeks in Germany with a family (to try and learn to speak that language), and then returned to enter a nursing apprentice program. He works three days a week at the Nursing Home in Sierre and attends classes two days each week to get his vocational nursing certificate. Chris has a tender heart. He is a compassionate, thoughtful young man with a bright future ahead of him. Bob and I enjoyed several long, insightful discussions with him during our three weeks together.
Nick, likewise, entered an apprentice program – but he finished his regular schooling near the top of his class and chose to go to work as an apprentice at SwissCom, the state owned telephone company, rather than going on to college at age 17. Now, as a 19 year old with two years of experience in the work world under his belt, he has his resume’ out and is looking for a job before going for a year to serve in the army. Army is mandatory for young men in Switzerland. After that year, Nick plans to go back to school to become a “mediamatician.” He plays a mean steel guitar, has a magnetic personality, and is the life of every party.
To complete the grandson picture, Mike (21) also is an apprentice. He worked last year as an assistant to a disabled 12 year old who was in a wheel chair and needed one-on-one help at school. Now, with the school year completed Mike is considering a computer programming apprenticeship. He has had an interview and is awaiting results. Meantime, he worked a week at a summer camp for handicapped teens. Isn’t it wonderful that our young grandsons have such a giving heart for service to others? I am so proud of them!
In the evening on our second day there, we took the three boys to dinner in Sierre. De and Andre’ had to work at their restaurant that night. We went back to Le Rothorn after dinner, had a “nightcap,” and visited with friends before tucking in for a good night’s sleep.
Stay tuned for Part Three – more “Family Time” and some scenes of Sierre, Switzerland 🙂
Hugs to You !!
Inspire to Love
Let the SonShine!
You inspire me to respond
Learning to Live; Living to Learn; Learning to Love; Living in Love
Written
on April 22, 2019