Small and Wonderful Things . . .

Poeri Haziran 09, 2022

"The world is fairly studded and strewn with pennies cast broadside from a generous hand. But who gets excited by a mere penny?...It is dire poverty indeed when a man is so malnourished and fatigued that he won't stoop to pick up a penny. But if you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then, since the world is in fact planted with pennies, you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days. It is that simple. what you see is what you get." ~Anne Dillard

A few of the small and wonderful things which bring untold joy into my life. It's the small things in life which truly mean the most. Simple abundance . . . it's the best.

We were able to have our own little church service here in our home yesterday, with everything that would normally be in one of our regular services at church. We had three hymns, including a sacrament one. Our singing is not the best, but the spirit was there. I shared some thoughts. Todd shared some thoughts. He blessed and passed the sacrament. Our main speaker was Jeffrey R Holland. How lucky were we! I did the opening prayer, Todd the closing. Our Sunday School Teacher had done a video for us to watch online. The only thing missing was other people to share it with. I am so grateful for a church leadership who are inspired and started our church getting ready for this eventuality two years ago with their new family and home centred learning programs. Nobody could have foreseen this pandemic coming, but they somehow had everything in place and had been preparing us for it.

Another program in our church which is inspired is our food storage program. It is not hoarding. It is built up over time. Each week with our regular shop we have been encouraged through the years to build up several months supply of food and essentials for emergency purposes. That way when things like this happen, we are prepared. Our grocery store shelves are emptying as people panic buy. There is no toilet paper, cleaning supplies are just not there. Thankfully I have inherited my mother's habit of buying an extra pack of toilet roll every time it goes on offer. I had thought we had several packs, but it turns out we only have one. DUH. Nevermind. We will survive. We do have plenty of canned goods, rice and pasta. I was horrified to read yesterday that people have been stealing the pasta, rice, etc. from out of the food bank carts at the shops. Its insanity. I am a bit worried about medications, but Todd is going to call the chemist today to see if they will deliver our prescriptions. Apparently you can have it done for free. We will see what happens. There are other things however that we need that can only be bought in person. I will have to see if we can get someone to get those for us.

They are saying now on the news that they are going to be requiring people over the age of 70 to quarantine themselves and it could be for as long as four months or more. We are prepared. I am not 70, but my husband is and I will do whatever I have to to protect him. They are saying as well that if the NHS (National Health System) is pushed too far they may have to stop treating patients over the age of 65, which sounds appalling. We are expendable apparently. I do understand, but what a horrible decision to have to make. I am praying it doesn't come to that.

We have excellent home grocery delivery services here in the UK. I already subscribe to one. It is quite difficult at the moment to book in delivery slots, but not impossible. I have managed to get one for next Monday. You do have to fill a cart to hold it, which I have done. I can go back before the date and edit it to include the things that we need at that time. We will just get the driver to leave everything in the front hall while we stand in the living room, or on the front doorstep.

One of the most important things we have is our faith. You cannot see it, but you can feel it and it is very tangible to us. We have no need to fear. What will be will be and a part of our faith is the knowledge and belief in an afterlife. Whilst I am not quite ready to go there just yet, I have the assurance in my heart that my loved ones that have preceeded me are there and I can look forward one day to seeing them again.

This is a wonderful opportunity for us to focus on things that are truly important like home and family, our faith . . . to get those things done around the house that are always eluding us. There is no pressure. We can just simply be and focus on the good. Nobody ever got hurt by looking on the positive side of things. We are blessed to be living in an age where we can have instant communication with the world, via the internet, television, telephones, etc. We can easily see who we are talking to at the click of a button.

Glass birds, sunshine and primroses . . . spring springing . . . birds nesting . . .

Furry black faces and unconditional love . . .

Someone to share it all with . . .

I had planned this year to write letters every month, alas that won't happen for a few months I don't believe, but I always have that to look forward to. I could write them, but they won't get posted.

A thought to carry with you . . .

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜田田｜門 ★
*When you focus on the good

the good gets better.•。★★ 。* 。

In the kitchen today. White Bean & Ham Soup. That one I shared in my day book a week or so ago. It was delicious. I did make a few changes, and I cut the recipe in half.

Have a wonderful week. I hope it is filled with things that bring you joy. Don't forget!