Aging humbles you, and time seems to go faster with each passing season.

In your autumn years you began to realize all the senseless things you wasted time worrying about or spent time doing. The older you get the more your realize what is and isn’t important. I never seem to have enough time to do all the things I want to do.

My parents and sisters, with their families, all live in Arkansas. I do not get to visit near enough. I do not have enough time off to travel and take the grands to new places as much as I want. I don’t get to have enough family dinners with my children and grands, our schedules are all different.

I also think of all the times I was too busy cleaning and cooking to just have fun with my kids. I thought the house could never be clean enough – what wasted precious time. My daughter comments occasionally on how I let the grands mess up the house and how it doesn’t seem to bother me. I told her I can always clean but someday the grands will be busy doing other things and not have enough time to visit as much.

I hope I have given my children and grands enough love, enough hugs and told them enough how they are the best part of my life. Have I said I’m sorry enough for the things said in anger? Have I taught them enough to be their best and to survive whatever they face? I want them to know they make me proud and that I express that enough. I hope my family knows how much I love them.

I love watching my nieces grow into beautiful women, and now the joy of watching my great-nieces and great nephew is precious! I hope I’ve showed and told my sisters enough that they know I am so very proud of them and love them with my whole heart. I want my friends and church family to know how much they mean to me. You can never love enough no matter how long we have.

I will never get enough of seeing the sun rise, the sun set, or rainbows. There will never be enough time to hear the laughter of children, puppy kisses or listening to kittens purr. Never enough time to walk with my sweet rescue dog – jake. I will never grow tired of seeing the newborn lambs and within a week watching them jump and frolic in the pasture – they are absolutely adorable.

There isn’t enough kindness in this world anymore. I don’t worry about wearing the latest fashions. I have nice clothes that I like and that is enough. I am practicing being thankful and content with what I have – it is more than enough.

I hope I have been kind enough, loving enough, and forgiving enough. I know I can never pray enough for my family, friends and our country. I know I can never praise our saviour enough. I hope I have been a blessing to others, as they have to me, or that I have enough time to make sure that I am.  Enough time to see my grands grow into adulthood and hopefully still be on this earth to see their children. I want to have enough “Remember whens” than “I wish I hads.”

I can tell you I have had enough of the hatred, meanness and lack of respect for everyone and our country. I have had enough of the rudeness and lack of morals and cruelty. Enough of our country turning upon ourselves. More than enough. Enough of  kids bullying other kids – each child is more than special enough to deserve only love and kindness. I pray the hate and meanness and cruelty will be replaced with love for each other, or at least respect for others.

Christianity needs to be in the forefront again. We need to come together as a people and stand up and say – enough! In the coming new year I hope we all can make a difference, for the better, and live in a world that cares, and I will be thankful.

Psalm: 119:114 –  Thou art my hiding place and my shield: I hope in thy word.