Signs of Hope

         It has been too long since I have posted anything on our Blog page, but our Establishments are so very busy and our priority remains with the Families who need our professional assistance in their time of loss.

I wanted to share a story for serious reflection...and some brilliant and encouraging planning I have recently learned about.  First, a fun and exciting project that everyone in Tillsonburg can get onboard with....a worthwhile project that citizens of every town and city could do this Spring, Summer, and Autumn.

I have the privilege of being a member, albeit still on a huge learning curve member, of the Tillsonburg Parks, Beautification and Cemeteries Committee and it has been presented at our last meeting that much behind the scenes planning has been taking place in preparation for Spring and Summer of 2021, and I am so pleased to learn that our town is going to be bursting with hues of yellow.  Hope - the colour yellow signifies Hope - and planters, pots, and gardens all over town will be displaying the many hues of yellow.    Hats off to the Horticultural Society, and our town's Recreation, Culture and Parks division, and all others for this inspiring and well planned Summer 2021 floral beauty. 

So, today I am passing on this wonderful initiative and encouraging homeowners, businesses, apartment dwellers, and town boundary farmers to consider this colour scheme of yellows, golds and amber when planning your own front garden, an urn, or hanging pots this 2021 Season.  What a beautiful display of encouragement our main streets and neighbourhoods could shout!

We could all benefit from a visual message of Hope right about now - don't you think?  The restrictions, masks, absences from the people we love and the activities we wish to enjoy have so many people on edge and feeling bogged down and blocked in.  Negativity can wear a person down mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically and I believe too many in our population are allowing this negativity to be the catalyst for uncharacteristic and even mean-spirited conduct and comment.  I share this story for your consideration:

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper.
His father gave him a bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.
The first day the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence.
Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger, the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down.
He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those nails into the fence.

Finally the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all.
He told his father about it and the father suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper.
The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.

The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence.
He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there."

The little boy then understood how powerful his words were.
He looked up at his father and said "I hope you can forgive me father for the holes I put in you."
"Of course I can," said the father.
It's not always anger, it is your actions in general.
There are no "fresh starts" in life. There is no new beginning. Forgiveness comes easy for many people but the scars of the past, they never go away.  Watch what you do and say today, because sometimes the price isn't worth the reward.

Wishing everyone a wonderfully positive week....and I look forward to seeing some beautiful May flowers very soon.

Respectfully,

Barb Wareing