It is a beautiful sunny summer morning here in Spokane,Washington on August 15, 2015. The sun is brilliant. The sky is clear. The sun’s rays are just beginning to warm the cooler night air. A new day begins…And simultaneously a new chapter in my life begins to unfold along with it. Today, I am moving my residence. Today I am beginning to write a whole new chapter in my own Book of Life. Twenty-five years ago my wife, my children, and I moved into this beautiful 8,200 square foot home nestled on the banks of the Little Spokane River here in Northeastern Washington. The home rests on 145 acres of ground with water surrounding it in the form of ponds, artesian springs, creeks, and, of course, the winding river. It was, is, and continues to be, in my personal opinion, the finest piece of real estate in all of Spokane, County. My family lived here for two and one half decades. We raised our family right here on this ground. It was a story-book life as my family of five lived, worked, grew, changed, and matured as each day passed. We invested our blood, sweat, tears, time, energy, and resources, into turning this home and land into a beautiful estate. We built, repaired, maintained, improved, and replaced all kinds of things, structures, and fixtures around all of the grounds. In short, we added to and took from this beautiful asset as we invested the resources of our entire family into this property. It was indeed a real family estate. We called it Diamond Springs Ranch.
What kind of return did we get from this investment of owning and improving our property? Oh there were many returns and they appeared in many and varied forms. We entertained extensively to all different types, kinds, and groups of people. We fed, served, blessed, and shared our land and buildings to, for, and with hoards of other people. Some of them we knew very well and with whom felt a wonderful kindred spirit. Others were friends, casual acquaintances, some were strangers, and others neighbors. Most were family and our closest of personal friends. We always kept our front doors open to any and every person who happened by. We shared our investment with any one who desired to be part of it. It was indeed our intent and our honor to use this estate to love, serve, and care for all of God’s creation, and to honor, praise, and glorify our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
But,…the greatest of all blessings received in return from the usage of our family property were the myriads of great, fond, and wonderful “Memories” that were created all the while we lived and shared together for twenty-five wonderful years. Those precious memories will last forever within our hearts and minds. Even though a fire in June 2013 destroyed most of our family history, all forty-four years of it, those “precious memories” can never be taken from our minds.
“Things” are very nice and wonderful to have and enjoy. No question about it….but,….as you age and mature you soon come to know that it is the people in and around your life that really do make the difference between living a happy and successful life as compared to living a mediocre unfulfilled life. This one thing I do know for certain…personal relationships and the efforts expended among the parties involved as they create and preserve their shared experiences are the things that are the most important in life, and that add the most value to the lives of everyone included within these ever-so-special relationships.
The truth is that those experiences and combined efforts accomplished and performed by closely related family, friends, relatives, casual acquaintances, and sometimes even complete strangers are the very glue that binds and holds people together as they build and enjoy a most successful life while here on earth.
My mind is flying back over time,…over the past twenty-five years. Over the excitements, efforts, good times, ugly times, blessings received, and sacrifices made while we all lived here on the banks of the Little Spokane River. There have been gatherings, parties, many great meals, intimate close personal times together with friends and family, graduations, weddings, steak, salmon, and halibut “feeds,” business meetings, birthdays, school class parties, and lots of other fun times,…and the list goes on and on. These truly are memories made to last for a lifetime. These lasting events and the people who were part of them are indelibly etched onto the “screens” of my mind. Each event or happenstance was special. And individual lives were touched and changed forever. It has been a true privilege to have been part of so many activities and people.
God created man and woman to bless His created world, to take dominion over all of it, and to subdue this newly created world and everything on and in it. He also created them so as to fellowship and commune with them for His own good pleasure as they enjoyed all that had been created. God Almighty gave man and woman the same ability to procreate their own personal children for the very same purpose and reason…their own good pleasure. This is why God wants man and woman today to love and serve their fellow man as they live out their lives here on earth and to do it all for the glory of God. When we live in such a manner it brings great joy and pleasure to the Creator of the Universe. His blessings and rewards are always sure to follow.
For these very reasons I sit here today in readiness and with a somewhat sad and nostalgic,…but also joyful heart,… as I prepare to leave this chapter of my life and to enter into a new exciting “season” of my life. There is a purpose and a reason for everything that happens to everyone of us during the course of our life here on earth. Positive anticipation is to be the watchword for each and every day that we live. Positive expectation about the future and about our coming dreams and goals is the direction in which we should want to live. Just as God tells us in his word,…everything that happens to us has a season of existence,…a certain given duration of existence….,we are to enjoy life and live it to the fullest in each and every season in which we find ourselves.
Always remember that God is in total control of all things that are happening in our lives and that are being played out by ourselves and by others with whom were are dealing. Flexibility is the key to all successful living. God has you right where you find yourself right now, and has allowed the circumstances within which you are working and living to occur just as they are happening for a special and specific reason and purpose. I believe with all of my heart and soul that God will open and also will close the doors in our lives that appear before us. It is good for your soul to remember that whenever He closes one door in your life, He always opens another door in the direction of achieving your preplanned life’s purpose,…IF…you keep your head up and keep looking for the success He has in store for you using at all times a positive mental attitude. Success truly is a choice,…so also is failure. God loves each of us so much that He has given us our own free will of choice. In the Book of Deuteronomy He emphatically exhorts us to choose life (success) and not death (failure). You are the one person who is in control of and responsible for the making of your own choices, and directions of travel in your own life. Count your blessings and live each day of your life with a grateful heart and joyful positive expectation that God will indeed meet and fill all of your needs.
Please choose wisely and decide to succeed. And then travel only in the direction of your dreams towards a better more faith-filled life of joy and happiness. Love and serve your God, love and serve your fellow man, and do everything in your life that you do, as if you were doing it directly for your Creator, Father God! Everything else will somehow fall into place to bless and benefit your life. That is the way that God works for all of His children! Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
Peace and Love to All of You………………….Poppa Bear