There is Prosperity In Hope
I think we all worry and I believe it is an internal wiring thing that requires us to do so. Myself, if I have nothing to worry about, my mind begins to conjure-up things to worry about, things that will in all probability, never happen.  When that happens I know it is time to get involved in something quickly. Normally, I plug in my mp3 player and continue listening to an audiobook and then head outside to do some physical labor that doesn’t require much in the way of concentration. And that works for me. By the time I have finished the project the need to worry about something has vanished and I can move on to other things unhindered by the built-in need to ponder over that which I have absolutely no control. I just try to remember that I have the people on my prayer list that need God’s help and that I need to trust in him to take care of their needs. That’s what he does and he’s good at it! There is an old saying that goes something like this: “Don’t feel totally, irreconcilably, responsible for everything, that’s God’s jobâ€.
 Awhile back I read something, I don’t remember what, and it included a line that said “There is prosperity in hopeâ€.  I jotted the line down because it caught my attention. Normally we think of prosperity as being in a good position financially. So, what was the meaning in that statement?  I have often heard “Hope and prosperityâ€, but never before “There is prosperity in hopeâ€.  Could it mean that we are capable of transcending our present state of being and be emotionally prosperous if we have hope in our lives?  I have gone through periods in my life where hope was not present, where hope was so far away it seemed non-existent. When it re-entered, emotional prosperity returned also. I think it is utterly impossible to enjoy life without the presence of hope.  Hope is in my life every single day, therefore, I am a prosperous guy.      Â
The leaves have started their descent from our trees to our yard. The other day I pulled out our yard vacuum and started sucking them up. Halfway across the yard I look back and I can barely tell that I have done anything. They are coming down so fast that my efforts appear to do little good. I continue on knowing that it will be several weeks before the last leaf falls. To complicate my efforts even more, the pine needles have begun to compete with the leaves for a place to nest in our yard. I put out some new grass seed the other day to fill in the areas that did not grow from my seeding efforts back in September and all the covering material coming from our trees will definitely impact the growth of the new seeds.  All I can do is keep up the fight and see what happens.
I read an article the other day in which the author tried to describe the single greatest thing he had ever done. I have been pondering that question the past few days and, it seems, I’m at a loss to come up with anything. At first, I thought it might be the single thing that gave me the most safisfaction, something I had done that made me happy, but I think it means the single thing that I have done that did the most good for others.  I have done a lot of good things for others in my life, but nothing singular stands out. If it pertained to courage, the single most courageous (stupid) thing I have done is jump off a 25 foot diving platform, at age 21, head first and almost drowning in the process. If it had to do with happiness, it would be coaching a Colt League baseball team in the regional’s final game (albeit losing 7-6).   I’m sure somewhere in there should be the birth of my two children, my 1st & 2nd marriage, or the birth of my grand-children. Maybe, it would include making the “All County†football team during my senior year of high school. I must give this idea so more thought.
We attended several “Estate Sales†in the past few weeks . The first one was across the creek from us and started at 8:00 am. We roll out of bed early, eager, and excited about the potential “something for nothing†buys we were going to make.  Alas, we don’t find much there, but I picked up two small figurines and took them over to Jerilyn and ask her if they would be good for her Christmas manger scene. “Nopeâ€, says she, so I take them back and placed them in the small basket they were in before I took them out.   I notice as I walked around inspecting the items for sale that a couple is looking at me and whispering and I wonder to myself “What are they are saying!â€.  I remembered once a few years ago a fellow ran up to me at the Virginia State Fair and asked me if I was Bill Clinton.  Another time, a lady in Bermuda asked me if I was a tennis star. Now, I wondering who this couple thinks I am. They watch, curiously, as we leave and walk to the truck. I start the truck and begin to pull away when the guy comes over to my door and indicates that he wants me to roll the window down.  I do so and he ask me “What did you do with the two figurines you had in your hand?â€.   I explained to him where I put them, he looks doubtful, but walks back to his yard. I did not pull away until he located the items and waved his hand indicating that he had found them. No longer do I look like Bill, or a tennis star, now I look like a thief. Aging sure changes things doesn’t it?
Most medium sized towns have a freecycle place on the ‘net. Ours, here in Poquoson, is freecyclepoquoson at Yahoo Groups. You can check to see if your town has one at http://www.freecycle.org/ . The purpose of the group is to give things away to others that you plan on sending to the landfill. I have been a member of our group for 2-3 years now and, although I get a lot of emails from the website that I’m not interested in, a lot of the times there are interesting things you can pick up. The other day a lady had a grass Thatcher, that you pull behind a lawn tractor, up for grabs. I responded right away and being the first in line, was given the Thatcher. The next day Jerilyn and I are at her house, load it in the back of the truck and head home. I must say that it suffered from a lot of neglect, but underneath the rust and dirt was the makings of something that was going to keep a lot of sweat off my brow come next fall. Over the next several days I take it apart, sand, wire brush and paint. I am now a proud owner of a new-to-me sparkling black Thatcher. My next assignment will be to find a place to store it in the shed. Speaking of sheds, author Gordon Thorburn examined the shed proclivity in his book “Men and Shedsâ€, in which he argues that a shed is a place of retreat and is a male necessity which provides men with solace, especially during their retirement. Amen!   Â
I hope you’re enjoying whatever season it is in your part of the world. Thanks for reading my monthly missive.
You can find my blog at:Â Â http://tommyhale.blogspot.com/
 or my pictures at: http://bipolar66.smugmug.com
To send a letter is a good way to go somewhere
without moving anything but your heart…..Phyllis Theroux
