Light and Warmth

I was touched to be asked to accompany some dear friends to a local hospice's carol service.  I am so glad I went.  This special carol service is an opportunity to remember those who are no longer with us. 

It was dedicated to the hospice's specialist nursing team who do sterling work providing compassionate end of life care to the inpatient and outpatient community they serve.  Whilst my mother did not directly benefit from this hospice's care, as a family we will never forget the tremendous tailored package she received whilst still living at home from a similar hospice in recent years.  My heart sang out the words of carols I have known since I was small, in the same church I attended with my family when I was small.  I felt a sense of connection with the community we were then part of, and valued the opportunity to return and rejoin at this most significant juncture in my experience.

We stood together.  We lit candles together.  We walked alongside one another.  We sat together.  We sang together.  We were there for ourselves, and for those we wished to remember, and in being there we were there for one another.      

The last few years have been anything but straightforward.  The path has taken twists and turns no one could have foreseen.  A great many of the challenges have been made far more approachable than they might otherwise have been with the help of the dedicated and consummate professionals we have been truly fortunate to encounter along the way.  It was this gratitude that the carol service reminded me of most powerfully.   

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.  

Attitude, to me, is more important than facts.  It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do.  It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill.  It will make or break a company...  a church...  a home. 

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.  We cannot change our past...  we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable.  The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude...  I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to it. 

And so it is with you...  we are in charge of our attitudes.

Charles Swindoll