The Plumbline

"Over every mountain there is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley."  Theodore Roethke I have done a fair amount of hiking in my lifetime, but one thing continues to amaze me when I reach some summit point - the look back down the trail by which we ascended to this new height. The 'look back' often shows just how many switchbacks, twists, and turns that path really took. It also often shows us just how much we missed that was right there in front of us, but because of the things that 'bordered' the path, we missed what was just beyond that border. The view from the top is much different than the view while we are traveling the path. At the moment we enter that 'trail head' to explore the path, do we know what the path will hold? Not likely. If we have traveled it before, we are probably a little familiar with it, but even a short period of time and the influence of the elements can change that path. Erosion occurs where rain water...

"One faces the future with one's past." Pearl S. Buck The other day the hospice nurse was chatting with mom. They were talking about how mom feels like she is sometimes a burden - something I think most parents feel when they become a little more dependent upon their children for their daily needs. As they chatted, the nurse kindly reminded mom that I appeared to be very happy doing what it takes to keep her safe and well-cared for, then she said that maybe it was my turn to repay mom for the many times I may have been a handful for her in my younger days. While she didn't know me as a kid, she certainly had me 'pegged'! I did my share of things that put mom and dad through heartache and the simple acts I perform today to keep mom safe and well are nothing compared to those times! We all have those 'tales from the past' we'd rather like to keep hidden from view - things we are neither proud of, nor very appealing to onlookers. Yet, they are the...