Song of the South

"🎵Zip-a-dee-doo-dah...

....Zip-a-dee-ay!

...my oh my  oh what a wonderful day!

Plenty of sunshine (& roses!)

...headin' my way!

Zip-a-dee-doo-dah!

Zip-a-dee-ay!!🎵"
That song was sung by Uncle Remus from the Disney movie "Song of the South"
that I watched when I was a little girl. I loved Uncle Remus! I loved the movie! & I loved the song! & I still sing the song as I'm sure so many others do. You just can't help it because it's such a fun & happy song. But these days I sing an entirely different version albeit the same title. Yes, for those of us into our seventh decade of our sojourn of life, (actually probably a lot sooner but it didn't scream at me like it does now.)  the Song of the South that I sing a lot now is 'going south'. Or the downward pull of gravity such as in my skin, my muscles, or certain parts of my body. (😦) Or energy. My going uphill is going downhill. Then, concerning my husband, hearing ( oh those non-conversations!) & eyesight. It's not just the Old Gray Mare that ain't what she used to be. Not to be disrespectful to the song, but it came to my mind the other day, another different version,

"🎵Where has all my _______(fill in the blank)gone?

Body, money, skin, energy, hearing, seeing, thinking, hair (that's a big one!) etcetera, etcetera. Only it didn't seem long time passing. "🎵Yesterday, I thought my _______(again, fill in the blank) was here to stay. Now I find that it has gone away...🎵"  except for weight & frequent visitations from pain that can turn from visitations into chronic extended vacations. 

Also I've discovered it's whole lot easier to get down on my knees, (due to gravity) than it is to get back up (known as defying gravity). Oh! Excuse me! I've been sitting (or standing or walking) too long. Time out while I rebound for a few minutes to keep the lymphatic flow going & then ten air squats ( or a reasonable facsimile) for core strength because of the aforementioned sitting for a bit. Then, to drink a glass of water, take a few supplements, quaff that protein/energy libation, & ten deep breaths to refresh the oxygen in my blood, brain, &... 

"...stimulates the vagus nerve & activates the parasympathetic nervous system." & I'm all about sympathetic. We septuagenarians plus need all of the sympathy we can get, para or otherwise! Well, maybe a little compassion & patience at least. After all, all of us mortals come to this door of aging sooner or later & you don't get to choose whether or not you go through either. Sometimes it seems like you get violently pushed into it. & sometimes it comes as a surprise. I remember that surprise the first time I was down on the floor & realized I couldn't get back up on my own. Actually, it was more of a shock. I crawled to the couch for assistance.   

"Sunrise, Sunset...swiftly fly the years...🎵"

& that song isn't just about my children anymore! 

Sometime, the 'vapor' that the Bible calls our lives on earth, will turn into a eulogy as we sing our final Song of the South, & return to 'dust', THE END. 😢

But wait, wait. In the cowboy vernacular, "Holt on here." Yes the body ages. Yes the mind may wane. Yes the hair may thin & the pain may be hard. but that's just the body. & there's more to us than just our body. Don't you feel young in your heart? Don't you feel ageless? That's God's signature of eternity calling. Because God made you, the real you,  the spirit you, to live forever. Then, when the aging process is over, & we step through the door called death, "... this mortal will put on immortality." (First Corinthians 15:54) & when we know & follow Jesus, that means Heaven...

& when He sounds that clarion call, "Suppertime"! that's when I'll be singing my new song. The 'Song of the North'! Because I'm going in & I'm going UP! Home... home at last! & not The End. It is written, "In the beginning". Our new, forever, beginning. It does NOT!!! get better than that. I hope to see you there!

(Romans 10:9 & 10)

Raintree Perk of the Day:

"It's the truth, it's actual, everything is (more than!) satisfactual...🎵"

I will NEVER get tired of this picture. Preview of things to come!

💖