• Home
  • About
  • Subscribe
  • Links
  • Archives
  • Contact

Anita Catch My Breath

Life's Gettin' Real

  • Eye-Openers
  • Faith
  • Humor
  • Dating & Marriage
  • Parenting
  • Friendship
  • Refueling
  • 9 Lives

Living Fully

by Anita Leave a Comment

A few days ago I saw a Facebook friend, who said to me, “Anita, you really know how to live. It’s good…‘cause most moms are so tied up with kids and work or housework and everything else, they have no lives of their own.”

I immediately felt guilty.

Oh no. Am I one of “those people?” The ones whose posts make my life look perfectly blissful, easy and fun? Or worse — make others feel their lives are comparatively less so?

‘Cause if so, I’ll be the first to tell you – It’s A Lie.

No. I’m just guilty of selectively posting the “best of” takes and capturing quickly fleeting moments on camera. And, I post often to make my life easier. How so? I’m not organized or creative enough to create pretty scrapbooks for my family, so I cheat and order “My Social Book” albums to make memory books from my Facebook posts for me.

Today I turned yet another year older. And I had big plans, BIG PLANS, for the day:

(1) get a quick ‘n cheap massage…‘cause my aging back is so achy,
(2) order new contacts…’cause my aging eyes are so dry,
(3) get a nap in…’cause this aging body is D.R.A.G.G.I.N.G.,
(4) read and write…’cause this aging extrovert is becoming introverted, and
(5) I forget…’cause this aging mind can’t hang.

Of those things, I got, or am getting, this writing done.

After a certain age, it’s not fun to age. But I’m humbled to see that aging is a blessing for which to be deeply and daily grateful. It’s hard to embrace the many external signs of aging — I’d be a hypocrite not to mention I sell the nation’s #1 anti-aging skincare, hahaha – but, without fail, my first thought every morning is “Thank you for this day, God. Thank you for giving me breath and life today.”

Last week, I lost another beautiful, godly, joy-spreading friend to cancer. She was an amazing wife and mom to three, a cheerful, loving friend to all she met, a faithful and fearless Christian who encouraged others and built their faith up, even as she suffered the worst of cancer’s many trials. I hadn’t kept in touch with her much since high school but I know she lived life fully. How? She loved well. Why? She knew She Knew SHE KNEW God’s immeasurable and unending love for her, and she held onto it for dear life…to her dying day. It was always enough. More than enough.

“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12)

In the midst of our mourning, we rejoice because our dear friend has received the crown of life. No more pain, no more sorrow, no more sickness, no more death. And we look forward to seeing her again, and next time in perfect health and joy.

So the truth is…every day, every ache, and every bit of deterioration of our eyesight, hearing, memory or sanity is really a gift.

It means we’re still alive.

It means the Creator of the universe has good reason for keeping us here another day.

It means He wants to show us something or, maybe through us, to show someone else something – all for His good glory.

It means that if we’re each made “in His image” and still walking this earth – He wants us to know Him truly and deeply, and reflect even just a glimpse of His love and and goodness in this dark, ugly world.

And when it’s all said and done, He’s given us a way, the only way, back home to Him, so He can say, “Well done. Well lived. Now enter life unending and rejoice without end.”

Facebooktwitterrssinstagram

Share this:

  • Tweet
  • Print
  • Email

Related

Filed Under: Faith, Uncategorized Tagged With: aging gracefully, eternal life, faith, good life, life

Don’t miss a post–subscribe now!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Ready Or Not, Here I Come.

Classy 'n sassy, flawed but forgiven,
I'm a bit of a mess...but teachable, yes.
You may just laugh, you may just cry,
"Oh no she di-int! Say wha? And why?"
'Cause life is short and sh*t gets real.
So let's be real. We got a deal?

Catch up next week?

Facebooktwitterrssinstagram

Top Posts

House Hunting & Keeping Up With Them Joneses

Smart Girls, Brave Girls Win.

Give Your Kids An Edge: Instill a Problem-Solving Mindset

40s is NOT the new 20s...or 30s even. But hold up, Ladies - It ain't so bad!

I Don't Want My Kids to Be Happy

The Evolution of Love, Part 3 – Reality Check: Marriage & that Damn 7-Year Itch

The A-Hole Who Wrecked David Beckham's Date With His Daughter

A Mother's Love-Hate Relationship...With Cooking

LIVE OR DIE. (But I'm Only 17!)

Wait. Does Rob Fukuzaki Think I'm Stalking Him?!

I Won't Disown God Because, Surprisingly, He Hasn't Disowned Me

Confessions of a "Spirited" Mom, Vol. 1 (of 1,000)

My Top 10 Pregnancy Peeves

What a Real Boss Lady Taught Me About Motherhood

Simplify and Do Life Better, Part 1

Top 10 Mortifying Moments, Part 2: Impressing a New Boyfriend

Top 10 Mortifying Moments, Part 1: Making Friends

Serve the Less Fortunate and You'll Be All the Richer

Getting Real About Work-Life Balance and Stay-at-Home Motherhood

Nothing Wastes Time and Life Like Unforgiveness

Grace and Courage, Courage and Grace

Instagram

anitacatchmybreath

anitacatchmybreath
Gotcha where I wantcha; now I’m gonna eatcha! Lo Gotcha where I wantcha; now I’m gonna eatcha! Love bites = my love language #scarymommyconfessions
These days facemask + lashes = dressing up. #covi These days facemask + lashes = dressing up.  #covidlife
It’s just like that magical, overwhelming, forev It’s just like that magical, overwhelming, forever-life-changing moment when you hold your newborn babe for the first time...

Except that it’s a fluffy round bunny in your arms. 
Well, and the bunny isn’t even yours. 
And....you’re still a baby yourself. So, no.

In other words, it’s Nothing like that moment.
Outdoor walks and the sights and sounds of nature Outdoor walks and the sights and sounds of nature help maintain my peace...and sanity these days.  What’s helping you?
Blown away by the poem written and recited by exce Blown away by the poem written and recited by exceptional 22yo Amanda Gorman at Biden’s inauguration this morning.

"THE HILL WE CLIMB" Poem Transcript:

Dr. Biden, Madam Vice President, Mr. Emhoff, Americans, and the world.

When day comes, we ask ourselves, where can we find light in this never ending shade?
The loss we carry, a sea. We must wade. 
We've graved the belly of the beast.
We've learned that quiet isn't always peace.
In the norms and notions of what just is, isn't always justice.
And yet the dawn is ours before we knew it. Somehow we do it.
Somehow we've weathered and witnessed a nation that isn't broken, but simply unfinished.
We, the successors of a country and the time where a skinny Black girl descended from slaves and raised by a single mother can dream of becoming president only to find herself reciting for one.
And yes, we are far from polished, far from pristine, but that doesn't mean we are striving to form a union that is perfect.
We are striving to forge our union with purpose.

To compose a country, committed to all cultures, colors, characters, and conditions of man.
And so we lift our gaze, not to what stands between us, but what stands before us
We close the divide because we know to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside.
We lay down our arms so we can reach out our arms to one another. We seek harm to none and harmony for all.
Let the globe, if nothing else say, this is true.
That even as we grieved, we grew.
That even as we hurt, we hoped. 
That even as we tired, we tried that will forever be tied together victorious.
Not because we will never again know defeat, but because we will never again sow division.
Scripture tells us to envision that everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree and no one shall make them afraid
If we're to live up to our own time, then victory won't lie in the blade, but in all the bridges we've made.
That is the promise to glade the hill we climb.
If only we dare it's because being American is more than a pride we inherit.
It's the past we step into and how we repair it.

We close the divide because we know to put our future first, we must first put our differences aside
Reposting @thejoywarrior. She called it. This is Reposting @thejoywarrior.  She called it. This is nothing less than terrorism.  By U.S. citizens. On their own Capitol. To protest the lawful, democratic ousting of a President who can not acknowledge facts or truth, or accept defeat, or abide by - much less uphold - the law and our Constitution. God, please humble and hold our nation accountable, that we might be blessed once more. NO ONE can “MAGA” but You, God. You, who desires goodness, humility, and brotherly love among us all.
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2021 · Anita Catch My Breath · All Rights Reserved

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.