Thursday, August 7, 2008

Mrs Justa and the abandoned home

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We have driven by this house

a number of times on our trek to the new home. It caught my eye the first time we went by, and now every time I go by it I am intrigued by it. I can not totally say why, but it makes my mind wander to days of yesteryear. In the lower window, blocked by the ferns that have consumed it, in that window is a sticker that people used to put on a pane of glass to tell the fireman that a child was sleeping in that room.

100_1628 100_1630_edited In this upstairs room, is a shade that is pulled back by the various forces within.

I wonder about the memories

in this house? Who lived there, how many children? Was it a family that was together? Or a broken home? I picture in my mind that it may have 3 bedrooms , probably one bathroom, and a dining room, living room and parlor type.

And the people, I wonder-did they love each other? Did they have dinner together? Did they read bedtime stories and sing lullabies to the children as they drifted off to sleep?

And then I wonder what happened?

At one point this home was new, the roof strong, the walls freshly painted, and windows sparkling with window covers -whether they be shades or drapes. Someone swept these floors and vacuumed the carpets, mowed the yard, maybe gardened and maybe had a dog or a cat. What made them give up? What caused them to leave? It does not look like a fire, it just looks abandoned. The building to the right, I think it might have been a garage. It might have been sideways on the land.

Now the weirdest thing

is right behind this home, I mean right behind it , is a single wide mobile home, a very old one that has also collapsed from neglect, from no one living in it and loving it. So then I wonder, did the people who built this home, did they live in the single wide while they were building this home? And if they did, what an accomplishment they must have felt to have built this home.

I just can not let this go,

I wonder where the people are now who know the stories of this home. Where are the children that once filled this home with the pitter patter of their little feet, the giggles and the sleepy tears.

I hope they individually and together

have as strong a foundation as their home appears to have, and I hope that it was not total misfortune that made them leave, but maybe they were transferred somewhere else and the home was left behind.

I hope my home never becomes lost,

abandoned like this one. I pray my home will be filled with the memories , blessings and happy times that a home is meant to be encompassed with. My love to all, and wishes that you will fill your home- wherever, what ever you call home, with joy, peace and memories. Love, Mrs Justa

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Monday, August 4, 2008

Mrs Justa on richness

Hello all.image Somewhere in my past I read something about the poorest man leaves his children with the richest inheritance. Wow, that is really deep to me. We look for things to make us rich, to satisfy our "needs" but in looking back in my past, I knew more of my family when we had not much to spend, and had each other to keep company.

When I was a child, we were not wealthy. At least not with money, but we were rich with family bonds and moments together. We were taught about God, and Jesus and my mom sang German lullabies and hymns at times to us.

We had dinner together, we read books or sang hymns at night, we had a piano, and we would play music together, we had a black and white t.v. and we were allowed to watch good programs, no guns, no fighting, just real programs. We did not watch cartoons, we could watch the Donna Reed show, My Mother the Car, Lassie, The Wonderful World of Disney. Never was there a night we could not settle down and go to sleep because something on TV or in a book scared us. We had each other.

I look at life now, at everyone having the best, going for more, more sports for the kids to play, more camps to send kids of to, more video games, all night stores and restaurants, and I think about how the majority of people would relate if financial strain forced them to not spend, to not drive to games, to actually spend time together.

I find that this thought is true. Wealth does not have to be from money, it can be from an abundance of love, a fulfilled life of memories and appreciation for what we have instead of what we have not.

May you find the wealth in your own lives and treasure the gifts of people, and not hunger for the all mighty dollar.

Love to all, Mrs Justa

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