Dear Martha!

Helloooooooooooooo,

Sorry for being MIA :( 

Life  happened and I became so caught up in it.....

Heaven knows I procrastinated a lot and became unnecessarily lazy....but my heart was always here...

Back now! and will try to be in your face once in a while :))

How I've Missed 'Bloggie'!

Source: Google Images

Today's post is titled 'DEAR MARTHA' ....Wrote this letter to my beautiful friend Martha and I hope it inspires you :)

Dear Martha,

This is just a thank you note beautiful one.

Thank you for your grace to me. You are a light, a song, a word, a force, a brave being.

Thank you for gracing me with your friendship.

Thank you for accompanying me to school. I love leaving work at 4:45 PM with you, you strong woman.

I always wondered how you did it, where you got the strength to do all of this. You were always the first to ignore and cast all our fears, ‘It’s nothing’, ‘I am Ok’, ‘My husband is there’. ‘I am fine’. You taught me resilience and strength. Thank you Girl.

Thanks for always making me smile…everyone actually, you always made us smile. You were you and you taught me to be me.

I loved how you went about your life, being sunshine, and not being apologetic.

You were fierce, a force, smart, intelligent and just an amazing being.

When I needed someone to listen to my usual babble on relationships, you listened…sharing life stories with me, giving me beautiful tips, encouraging me in my walk with God and being present. You listened to me and reiterated the importance of never settling.

Our talk did not finish right…we were supposed to continue as you promised in that T-Junction in school…But you left…But I am thankful for secrets shared.

I remember my birthday…I remember the beautiful woman in black and orange who serenaded me.

Dear Martha, thank you for loving your baby so fiercely. Thanks for letting me feel your little you, will never forget that kick. I remember the sound of your laughter when he moved.

Sweetheart, thanks for teaching me about being serious in life. Thanks for teaching me sacrifice, love is a lot of responsibility and you did that effortlessly.

Your friends miss you and it is never the same without you.

It’s hard that we won’t see you again for now. That was not the agreement.

They said tomorrow, you will be laid 6 feet under…and I don’t want to see that.

My consolation- that you are having a ball in heaven…that you live in all of our heart and your legacy speaks amazingly well of you.

Like you always say-it is well, and I repeat that often when life tries to knock me down again.

I think God gained a good one,

And Martha….I am sorry if you never knew half of what I’ve written here…I am so sorry for words left unsaid.

I am grateful for the gift of your friendship, 

You lived well great girl

You will always be celebrated.

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Death is cruel. It snatches us so fast. Martha, one of my very best friends, fell into his clutches and the tears and heartbreak isn’t enough to reduce the pain.

But sad thing is…It is inevitable. Sad thing is we don’t know when or how or the situation that might cause it…

We all have a Martha in our lives.

She represents the young man on the street that got knocked down on his way to somewhere. One hit and he’s lost forever. She represents the woman who died due to a bomb blast in the north. She represents the father of 3 who lost all his kids in an air-crash or the rich multimillionaire who died from a heart attack.

One thing is common, everyone dies, and with it, their dreams, talents and maybe purpose.

One profound statement a friend taught me is - the best ideas are found in the grave.

In light of this, I think of the popular phrase- Carpe Diem, meaning seize the day.

Right now, we are alive to make our dreams come true. We are alive to inspire and innovate and do great things. We are alive to encourage and be the best version of ourselves, to be somebody for this moment than a nobody for a lifetime, to put some responsibilities to our abilities. So why aren’t we seizing this day?

I believe that everyone is born with a talent. The bible says so- It says that some were given the gift of apostle, prophets, teachers, etc. It doesn’t stop there, many people seated here have amazing gifts…Some are writers, singers, motivators, techies, organizers etc

So, why aren’t seizing this day to innovate, to make good use of our gifts?

Maybe like Erma Bombeck, we should think: “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.”
Because Mr. Death, he’s such a meanie, and may not give us time to live our best life now.

So right now, be inspired to do something with your life, you are alive. Like Martha reminded me often, never settle for a mediocre life, live each day with gratitude. Be resilient. Have guts. Trust yourself and God, and aspire to live life beyond now.

So that one day, when death comes, and your life story ends, people will laugh because you laughed, people will believe because you believed. People will live because you lived life to the fullest.

Let your legacy be one that inspires. Remember that, the things you do today will be spoken of in the future, so what will be said of you after today?

If you were to receive a letter of you, like Martha’s, what will be said of you?

In the words of the late president Abraham Lincoln, ‘In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years’.

Go above and beyond.

...and CELEBRATE THE PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE. LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!

***********************************************************

Yayyyyy!!! You read it to the end (Tot it was pretty long)...

Thanks a million,

Hugs!!!

*Disclaimer: Martha is not her real name......and I miss my dear friend everyday. Grateful for the gift of her :)

LIKE YOU WERE DYING

Hello :)

How are you doing?

My naughty little sister has this habit of downloading old songs into my phone. I wouldn't even know she's done that until I start listening to my playlists and then realise there is a new song. One of the songs she recently downloaded was a song by Tim McGraw ‘like you were dying’.

Listen to it Here. I absolutely love this song.

Though it’s kind of old, the lyrics actually speaks to our ‘Now’.

If you were told that you had one week to live, what is it that you would want to change or you would want to do? What’s in your bucket list? Have you achieved 10% of what’s there? Do sane people prepare for death? Who wants to die?

I hate talking about death. I’m sure you do. But every day, it’s like someone we know dies- distant people that we see on TV, the people involved in the Isreal-Hamas war, our neighbours, friends, acquaintances, family members, newborn babies, etc. Wish it was different but death is inevitable. Can’t remember where (Maybe the Bible) but I read that ‘Time and unexpected circumstances befalls everyone. Eventually, we would die. 

I am of the opinion that it’s our life after when we are gone that matters. What will you be remembered for? (even though there's the unwritten rule that you don't say bad things about the dead).

 I would never forget this saying, ‘It’s not the length of life but the depth of life’. So get up, de clutter your life and live like you were dying, remembering that we have one life to make that positive impact on everyone while enjoying yourself. Leave your legacy on the sands of time.

Oops, before I forget, though its thanksgiving today in the USA, I believe that every day should be appreciated. 

Whenever I speak to grandma, I always feel she’s super blessed and I pray to be like her, Laugh with my grand kids and probably great grand kids. 

Every new day we see, is a gift. It’s really a gift. Today, while I celebrate the life of a friend I lost, {He gave up the ghost 2 days ago after 2 months in hospital ;( ... RIP Dare}I’m grateful for life. What are you grateful for?

I'm grateful for this moment where I have the opportunity to write and have amazing people read what I write. I’m grateful for the opportunity to rewrite my life and live the best life I can possibly live. Many people wish they had, but hey, you have that, you are blessed.

Serve yourself and others. Forgive. Know God (He’s the best being in the world). Sort out your priorities.

I jotted this down from a book I read a long time ago (‘Tuesday with Morris’, I think). It says ‘Everyone knows that they are going to die, everyone of us knows that. The truth is, none of us believe it because if we did, we will do things differently’.

You have that chance now. Do it differently.

Have an amazing Thursday.

Thank you so much for reading. I love you J

WHERE IS DAD?

Hello :)

How's your day so far?

Some days back, I spent some time with a friend of mine whose dad was a soldier. He grew up seeing his dad about 3 times in a month ‘cos his dad was away every other day for one assignment or the other.  Until I lost my dad, I had the opportunity to spend time with him as a kid. He was always there for us (still miss him). I can't imagine life without dad at such a young age and so, when Shola (my friend) told me his story, I decided to capture his ‘childhood feelings for dad’ through his ‘childhood eyes’ by way of poetry (I also tried writing it the 'palindromic' way, which is upside down ~yup, can also be read from the last line to the first line~. Not sure if I did a good job though, please pardon me. But I hope it speaks to you).

WHERE IS DAD? by moi

Mom, where is dad?

He asked, for the third time in 12 hours.

I miss him

Is he coming home soon?

He said he would be back at noon,

And we would play some catch. 

He said we would step on the brake and learn to drive.

Then he’d teach me mathematics and make me a kite.

He said he would attend my plays and cheer me at next week’s match.

He said I’m a little man and he would follow me to Lucy’s party

It’s already noon.

Is he coming home soon?

I miss him.

Mom, where is dad?

-The end.

I wrote this for all of us who has lost our dads or a loved one to war, time, natural disasters, work, death, a broken promise or ‘some crazy life style’. 

Do you still miss them?

God has helped me through my loss and I’m sure he would help you too. He heals all broken hearts, do not despair.

Like God, I love you too and I’m glad to help anyway I can.

Song of the day: Where'd you go? - Fort Minor

Teddy hugs J

Thanks a lot for reading!!!