" Thankful and Strong " by Susan Pearl

It is wind that tightly wraps the flag around the flagpole,
It is the wind that unfurls it and has it fly and wave freely again,
Weather fronts come and go,
They bring still days and days with a different direction of wind,
Gentle breezes with a wispy touch that we love so much,
   and then stern and, oh, so fierce big winds blow,
We just don't know which way it will go,
We just don't know.
The weather brings ongoing changes, sometimes hard to understand,
  but we do know that we can't change the weather, no one can.
It is a mixture of things going our way and sometimes not,
With all the while us being thankful for what we've got.
The present becomes the past over and over again,
And we stand strong no mater what direction the wind is in,
Because the strength and love of others are there to show
  that we can make it through when big winds blow.

" Starlit Sky " by Susan Pearl

For some reason I have been thinking about the stars at night.
I learned that there are three kinds of stars.
One kind of a star is a star that has already burnt out but the light from the star is still in motion at the speed of light until it reaches the earth and can be seen until it is gone---
This reminds me of the people that have gone from my life but have left a light from knowing them that remains to be seen and remembered.  It reminds me of the past.

Another kind of light is the present star who is actually there and its light has traveled at the speed of light to reach the earth and this light is currently connected to a current star.
This current light from a current star reminds me of the present. There are many different people who shine a light of brightness in the darkest of times to me and I hope I do the same to them.

And then there is a very interesting star to think about.  It is the star that has been born but the light from this star hasn't reached the earth yet.  The light from this star is traveling at the speed of light but may take many years to be seen from earth.  This star reminds me of the future.  All we can do is put forth our best light to others but it will take a passage,of time for those efforts to come to light in their lives. Also, the light of others may only be seen and realized by us after a passage of time.   It is after years of living and experiencing life that we can finally see it and it is new to us.

It takes a lot of time for the light of any star to reach us even though it travels at the speed of light.
Some lights in our lives are from the past.  Some lights are currently present in our lives. 
And other lights have already been born and are in existence but it will take a passage of time for these lights to be able to be seen by us and others.

The past, the present and the future all coming together to be seen under a beautiful starlit sky.

Oh, Starlit Sky, you fascinate me twice,
Your beauty to behold and your light from past and present along with your light that is on the way to be seen on a future night holds me in captivating thought,
Oh, Starlit sky, you fascinate me twice.

" Deepest Sympathy " By Susan Pearl

Sincere condolence to Orlando, Florida.   Our thoughts and prayers are with the families, loved ones and friends of those whose lives were taken.  All of you have our deepest sympathy and all of you are being remembered.

" My Garage Sale " by Susan Pearl

Many years ago I went to a garage sale,
It was there a plaque with an inspirational reading caught my eye,
That inspirational reading spoke to my heart in a special way,
I got it and brought it home and still have it to this day.

I have often thought of how I was at the right place at the right time,
To be where I needed to be to make such a special find,
That plaque was exactly what I needed to read to make me realize,
There can be peace amidst the turmoil of the changes in our lives.

I put the plaque on a wall and read it often silently to myself,
And, as I read it, the inspirational reading would somehow help,
It gave me pause and I would reflect how thankful I am for the "serenity",
That comes with prayer and peace to accompany me daily.

Now I am older and the time has come for me to prepare for my own garage sale with many boxes to pack,
And as I do I found that, at first, I couldn't even think of parting with my inspirational plaque,
But as time went on I realized maybe the plague could help someone else as it had helped me,
And that is what I truly hope can be.
So the plaque is in the garage sale and like, so many years ago that now have past with time, it will there for someone else to find,
Just like it once had been given to me at a garage sale on a table where the items are marked "free".