Christmas Photos

Christmas 1971 - me age 9, Brent age 7 1/2, Amy age 5
Christmas 1970 - me age 8, Brent age 6 1/4, Amy age 4

WHY ARE WE HERE

Why is it that the older I get, the more I question the meaning of life? I was raised a Christian and I believe in and have accepted Jesus as my savior. I have raised three daughters in a Baptist environment and my husband also comes from the same background. My faith in God continues to grow daily, but along with this growth have come a few questions. Why are we here? For what purpose are we humans in this world? What is heaven really like?

For the past 30 years, my life has consisted of work and raising a family. I sacrificed through three years of nursing school to become a Registered Nurse, knowing this career would allow me to provide for my children. I worked almost thirteen years as a labor and delivery nurse; twelve hour night shifts, three to four days a week. The first few years were exciting and I enjoyed providing for my family, but when my youngest - Christine- was a baby, I felt like I was missing out on the best part of life; I had already missed so much of my older two daughters' lives. As Christine grew up, my discontentment with working grew. Was my job worth missing the formative years of my last child?

No matter how much I missed being at home with Christine, our family had become trapped within a vicious money cycle and I felt compelled to continue working. When Christine was nine, I finally left night shift and the high risk area OBGYN. The problem now was that I was working with the extended care patients; I would become attached to my patients and then they would die. No matter how much I enjoyed talking with and working with my patients, the overwhelming depression surrounding this type of work continued to grow. After the death of my sister in 2005, I realized I couldn’t pretend to be happy any more.

I had to make my family a priority again. These were the people I was working so hard for, but it didn’t matter how much I worked if it continued to keep me away from my family. I took several months off work to get my life back in order and to reconnect with my family. We have downsized our style of living and reprioritized the goals for our future. I have never been so happy.

Of course, you solve one problem and another one will present itself.This year I again started questioning the reason for our existence. What does God really want from us? I feel like He is looking down on Earth as a whole and He is very sad because of the segregation and lack of humanity all around us. Why is America the wealthiest country in the world, but the people of Africa are dying and starving in droves? Why didn’t the US use the money it spent on the Iraq war to make food drops and provide medication for all those who suffer?

Why doesn’t the United States provide for the homeless in our own country? Why do so many American children live below the poverty level if we are the supposed richest country? Why are we trying to keep Mexican immigrants out of our country when we are a country founded on immigrants? With the exception of the Native Americans, none of us would be here if it were not for immigration.

We come from the wealthiest nation in the world, but there are so many people suffering in the United States. Our government representatives need to be more concerned with the people instead of being dictated by big business. It is a shame that lobbiest are the people who are really controlling our nation instead of the middle class, blue collar workers. It is a shame pro-sports players make million of dollars per year, but police, firemen, and other first responders are barely scraping by. It is a shame Hollywood and media entertainers make millions of dollars per year, but school teachers have to count every penny.

I know we are not supposed to question God's plan, but hink about it: why are we here?



© Bobbi Rightmyer

Old House

Dan at Wood and Pixels

Cafe Writing #6

Cafe Writing - Option Six - Poetry


“Let’s frighten the dragons.” I said to Pooh.
“That’s right,” said Pooh to Me.
“I’m not afraid,” I said to Pooh,
And I held his paw and I shouted , “Shoo!
Silly old dragons!” - and off they flew.
“I wasn’t afraid,” said Pooh, said he,
“I’m never afraid with you.”
~A. A. Milne, “Us Two”

Using the quotation above as your inspiration, write a poem (any form is fine) about a real or imaginary best friend


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Don’t forget to comment here with your name, the title of your piece, the selected option number, and the direct link to it. Please note that comments from new participants or with more than one link are held for manual approval, and may not show up immediately.

Cafe Writing #5

Cafe Writing - Option Five - Can You Picture That?
Use the the following photo to inspire a piece of writing in any form (poetry, prose, whatever).
(Please remember to copy the image to your own server, and include photo credit when it is known.)

(Photo Credit: Tony Campbell

Cafe Writing #4

Cafe Writing - Option Four - Pick Three

Then he began to think of all the things Christopher Robin would want to tell him when he came back from wherever he was going to, and how muddling it would be for a Bear of Very Little Brain to try and get them right in his mind. “So perhaps,” he said sadly to himself, “Christopher Robin won’t tell me any more,” and he wondered if being a Faithful Knight meant that you just went on being faithful without being told things..
~A. A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh

Pick at least three of the following words, and build a piece of writing around them. The form is up to you: poem, scene, flash-fic, essay, or general blog entry. If you want to be really daring, write in the style of Milne. (As always, you can pluralize, change tense, or alter the part of speech, if necessary.)
bear, brain, faithful, going, muddling, perhaps, sadly, wherever, wondered

Walking Shadows

Moon Shadows

Dancing Shadows

Stair Step Shadows

Desert Shadows

Sky Shadows