Letter From God

I received this email and needed to post it instead of forwarding it only to a few friends.. Beautiful!!

Our 14-year-old dog Abbey died last month. The day after she passed away my 4-year-old daughter Meredith was crying and talking about how much she missed Abbey. She asked if we could write a letter to God so that when Abbey got to heaven, God would recognize her. I told her that I thought we could so, and she dictated these words:

Dear God, 
Will you please take care of my dog? She died yesterday and is with you in heaven. I miss her very much. I am happy that you let me have her as my dog even though she got sick.
I hope you will play with her. She likes to swim and play with balls. I am sending a picture of her so when you see her you will know that she is my dog. I really miss her. 
Love, Meredith 

We put the letter in an envelope with a picture of Abbey and Meredith and addressed it to God/Heaven. We put our return address on it. Then Meredith pasted several stamps on the front of the envelope because she said it would take lots of stamps to get the letter all the way to heaven. That afternoon she dropped it into the letter box at the post office. A few days later, she asked if God had gotten the letter yet. I told her that I thought He had.

Yesterday, there was a package wrapped in gold paper on our front porch addressed, 'To Meredith' in an unfamiliar hand. Meredith opened it. Inside was a book by Mr. Rogers called, 'When a Pet Dies.' Taped to the inside front cover was the letter we had written to God in its opened envelope. On the opposite page was the picture of Abbey & Meredith and this note:

Dear Meredith, 
Abbey arrived safely in heaven. Having the picture was a big help and I recognized her right away. 
Abbey isn't sick any more. Her spirit is here with me just like it stays in your heart. Abbey loved being your dog. Since we don't need our bodies in heaven, I don't have any pockets to keep your picture in so I am sending it back to you in this little book for you to keep and have something to remember Abbey by. 
Thank you for the beautiful letter and thank your mother for helping you write it and sending it to me. What a wonderful mother you have. I picked her especially for you.  I send my blessings every day and remember that I love you very much. By the way, I'm easy to find. I am wherever there is love.

Love, God 

Invictus

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll.
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

William Ernest Henley

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul............. No matter how defeated we perceive ourselves to be, we are invictus.  We are beacons of light with a much bigger purpose than we give ourselves credit for.  

Time Waits For No One.. Treasure Every Moment

I stole this from my friend Brandi's facebook profile.  Apparently, it has been around for a while, but I had never seen it and thought it was absolutely AMAZING!!

To realize

The value of a  sister/brother

Ask  someone

Who doesn't have one.

To  realize

The value of ten  years:

Ask a  newly

Divorced couple.

To  realize

The value of  four years:

Ask a  graduate.

To  realize

The value of one  year:

Ask a student  who

Has failed a  final exam

To  realize

The value of  nine months:

Ask a mother who  gave birth to a  stillborn.

To  realize

The value of one  month:

Ask a  mother

Who has given  birth to

A premature  baby.

To  realize

The value of one  week:

Ask an editor of  a weekly  newspaper.

To  realize

The value of one  minute:

Ask a  person

Who has missed  the train, bus or  plane..

To  realize

The value of  one-second:

Ask a  person

Who has survived an  accident.

Time waits for  no one.

Treasure every  moment you have.

You will  treasure it even more  when

You can share it  with someone  special.

To realize the  value of a friend or family  member:

LOSE  ONE.

Imperfectly Beautiful

Some months ago, a friend of mine was describing her trip to San Francisco to me and she used the words "imperfectly beautiful" to describe the city. Those words stuck with me. They stuck because for the first time I heard out loud a truth about life in general. People in general as well. Beauty IS imperfect. Imperfections are what make things beautiful. I loved my newfound enlightenment.

For as long as I can remember, I incessantly tried to achieve perfection in every facet of my life. Such a tiring job, but nevertheless, I would try to find ways to make my pursuit of perfection easier and successful. As I found ways of being "perfect" in one area, other areas would suffer the blunt. At the time, these sacrifices seemed worthy, and I lived my life like that, sacrificing some things in order to be perfect or have perfection in others. I sacrificed family relationships, friendships, sometimes my health, character and love.

Then... one morning I woke up and realized I was paralyzed and that everything in my life had changed, much against my will. I no longer fit the picture perfect image I painted of myself in my head. For a long time, a very long time, I felt inadequate, imperfect and unworthy. Never beautiful. I actually stopped looking in the mirror. I began to detach from my physical self and focus on me. For the first time in my life, I got to know ME. I stopped defining myself by what I looked like and what I did. I was just Camile.

The process was not easy, although exhilarating, because for the first time, I was giving ME a chance, there were still some parts of ME that I was not too proud of. Facing the faults was hard, but recognizing where they came from and taking responsibility for them have been an incredible experience. Slowly, I have learned to love ME and forgive ME. In turn, it makes it easier to just be ME. After the period of getting to know ME again, I learned to love ME inside and out. Especially love my imperfections. On the outside, I appreciate every scar on my body; they reflect all my trials and tribulations and are there to remind me to be humble and grateful for an extra day. The same goes for the inside; every scar is outlasted by a memory that brings me joy and a feeling of love.

My search for perfection continues today, but I look for a different kind of perfect. I realize now that my spirit is eternal, and that is the real ME. I look to perfect ME, while being kind and patient to ME at the same time. This search requires no other sacrifice; it is a search of love and understanding. Every bump on the road that I may encounter is to endure the lesson. I am not perfect and I have yet much to learn, however, I recognize that all my imperfections make ME imperfectly beautiful.

A Love Story...

This is a must-watch video. I saw this a couple of weeks ago, and it touched me deeply. Simply beautiful!!