Julie's Raintree

To Remember......

There are a plethora of simple pleasure perks for us everyday, so I plugged in my 'perkolater' this morning so I wouldn't miss any of them.

It's a misty, foggy, cool Memorial Day Monday. I love the 'mistical' & mysteriousness of a foggy day. If I could, I would ride my horse Misty who lives in the land of Remembrance through it & maybe I could somehow ride into the land of Narnia in the Springtime...

But first,

a little sustenance before the trip.🥓

I love the simple pleasure of the aroma of frying bacon. It always says "Happy morning!" to me. I don't eat it often, so when I do, it's even more appreciated & perkish!

So, here I sit, by my warm fire,

munching my crunchy bacon toast & sipping my hot tea.

How good is this breakfast fare, how quiet it is inside & out. How thankful I am to have this peaceful beginning to this newborn day. Mmmmm. Savoring the last tidbit of bacon & the final drink of my tea, I am ready to start my own personal memorial journey.

I am looking out on the live canvas the Lord painted for me this morning, I begin my journey of remembrance.....this is the day for it.

I know that many are honoring those who have & are serving in the military & I want to give them honor too, but I like the veterans to have their own special day on Veterans Day, so here, I will have my remembrances for my loved ones who have faithfully served their 'tour of duty' in different ways, although as lovingly & selflessly, & very personally, for me. & I want to say, with all of my heart, I am so humbly thankful.....

💖💖💖

There are many places of the heart to pay call to today & they all come to me with gentle clamoring,

though that sounds like an oxymoron, vying for my attention. Although these memories of presence evoke some melancholy, some sadness because of their leaving or untimely departure to the land of eternity, they also assuage my heart with warmth, laughter, joy. & hope, because I know that I will see them again, those who have crossed the bridge to the heavenly kingdom, to His kingdom. So my tears are mingled with laughter. Tears, because I miss them so desperately at times. Laughter, because we will be together again, in Neverland, never to be apart again, & Foreverland, always. & I include all of my animal family that are there waiting for us to come (but having a great time in the meanwhile!).

I was once accused of being a heretic because I believed that animals went to heaven. Well, aside from Jesus coming again on a white horse, & His armies will be on white horses also, ( Revelation 19:11-16) there is the scripture in Romans 8, verses 19-21. & as I have come to know God the GreatHeart in so many ways, as He has brought me through so many crushing losses, debilitating disappontments & failures, not just my own but others, paralyzing perplexities, & just loved me really hard when things happened that I believed there was no coming back from, the Lord showed me different facets of Who He is, His great "I AM" in every situation of my life. & as I have learned to know Him, I see that He loves all the 'who's' that I love, the 'who's' that have been blessings in so many ways & at times He used to save my sanity. How many times one of my cats or dogs were my comforters & would rush from any place in the house when they heard me or one of my kids crying when they got hurt or from grief. Horses also have brought great comfort & healing to the hearts of the people that Jesus loves. He created them for that purpose. They are His special emissaries for people. All kinds of animals. Why would they not be eternal? They have been on missions for the Lord since the beginning of time. The great comic reliefs, the protectors & at times, have given their lives for their humans or mankind. Not to minimize the humans of those I love & have gone on before me, whether friends or family, the animals I have loved & love will also share eternity with me, with us.

I firmly believe that, because I have learned to know (& am still learning to know better) God's GreatHeart.

"To make heaven a perfect resting place

for those that we adore,

God made sure those pearly gates,

had a doggy door."

or kitty door, or horse door. Or the door that fits your animal family member just right.

🚪🚪🚪🚪🚪

As we are on our memory walk on this Memorial Day, let's also spend a little time in the celebration of the life who has crossed over. No matter what the pain of loss of my loved one, I am so blessed that they were a part of my life on earth, blessed for the forever mark they made on my heart, my life, the difference for good they left behind, even when the time they spent with me will always seem too brief.

& I want to live my life in such a beautiful way with Jesus, that when I am part of the Memorial Day remembrances, that those I leave behind will be blessed that they knew & loved me & I will have left them, & this world richer because I lived. & if I live to be a hundred, that people will feel that the time I spent here on earth was just too brief too! & to hear Jesus say "You did great! I'm so proud of you!" well, that will be a Memorial Day to remember. Forever! & when we come out of the fog which is life, or as C.S. Lewis called it, The Shadowlands, our clarity, our atmosphere, will be perfect as we breathe the freshest & sweetest air of eternal life. For us, that will not be a memory or dream. No more Memorial Days. We will be, "Home, home at last."