Life's Building Blocks

Life’s Building Blocks -- Ruth Smith Meyer

Today was one of those days! No not the trouble after trouble kind. This one was packed full of blessings! Actually today made two in a row. Yesterday already made my heart sensitive to the concept, but today just clinched the theory! The people in our lives are building blocks, successively, one after the other moulding us into the unique beings we are.

Yesterday I was at a women’s meeting that brought together women from many eras in my life. Some I see frequently, some I had not seen in years. As the day progressed, I became more and more aware of the different stages in my life and the influence some of those women had on my growing, maturing and accumulation of experience and wisdom. Affirmation from several of those also made me aware that it was a two way street, and I marvelled at the thought.

This morning, as we met for worship, we were joined by several Irish women, in town for a quilt show this past week. They were new in my life, but I immediately sensed that they, too, could add to the richness of my life. I left my business card and e-mail information with them. I hope they use it so we can deepen that friendship and learn from each other. Some of us stayed at the church to eat lunch together. As we discussed our life together, my heart was filled with thankfulness and anticipation.

This evening I had two long telephone calls. One from my son – and yes, I pushed him into this world, but he has pushed me into learning many things, adding huge building blocks into who I became. His commitment to the Lord and to carring out the mission of his life as he sees it, pushes me to also stretch my limits and do my best. He inspires me to keep trying, keep faithful.

The other call came from a woman and her husband who served as hired hand to my dad when I was a teenager. Both were on the telephone. He has always felt like an older brother to me. His gentle, caring voice at all times brings me comfort and blessing. They came to this country as young adults. She often spent time with my sisters and I as her fiancé did chores. At first we communicated with some difficulty because of language barriers, but we had great fun as we searched for the words for different items. A familiarity between us grew and will always remain a precious building block in who I am today. When our call came to an end, my heart was full.

With each decade of life, the people who have touched my life becomes even more precious. I am ever more conscious of how much they have helped shape my life. I am more and more aware that we are all a part of each other. What am I adding to the lives that touch mine?

Do you think this reflective and thankful mood has anything to do with a big birthday looming less than a month away? Could be, but I can’t think of a nicer effect that birthday could have on me. I think there could even be a host of stories incubating in the whole episode.