Memories Of A Mother's Love...Article #3

This article is a little hard for me, but here goes!

             I was sifting through my closet one day and I stumbled upon a ring belonging to my Mother. As I looked at it, I began searching for other things of hers that I gained when she went to be with the Lord. It’s been a few years since she left us. I sank in the middle of my closet floor and started reflecting on her life as I knew it.

             See there are days when you manage not to go there in the memory jewelry box of your mind. But then there are days when you can’t stop it from happening! We need to go there! There are trinkets and things of value that we gather over the years that matters so much to us, but why? Why should rings, necklaces or articles of clothing that we hold on to of our loved ones matter to us? As I sat there looking at the things of hers that I have, I realized that I could not love these things like I loved my Mother. I realized that my closet full of her trinkets could not give me a hug, a word of encouragement when I’m feeling low or a smile that lights up a room. And I realized that the watch of hers I wear could only give time but not time back with her!

I have no diamonds or rubies of my Mothers. Those are 2 precious gems she never got to obtain. But even though I have none of those things in my closet among her items, this is what I do have. I have memories of a precious gem that no one can ever take away from me. I call her “Mama” and I brand her a virtuous woman. Proverbs 31 speaks of a virtuous woman who is far more precious than rubies. I find that to be so true of my Mother. She was a woman who worked hard and took care of her family. She was a woman of grace and elegance without the backing of riches and wealth. She was a woman who cared about the less fortunate, even though we didn’t have much. She gave love to all she knew and was never afraid to show love.

Kindness was a like a dress she wore all the days of her life that she never took off. Humility was like a worn out pair of shoes she adored and refused to throw away. Friendship was always in her pocket and she gave it freely. Love was like a handkerchief she carried with her just in case. Her smile was like an infectious disease you just could not get rid of. All of these memories are tucked away in my heart. I could never stash them away like my trinkets. I could never go to my closet, open my jewelry box and pull out any of her qualities to wear. How I wish I could, but I can’t!

I hold memories of her so tight within my heart that at times I think I’m stifling myself. And the best memory of all is that of my Mothers love for us! Of all the things of hers that I have, there is not one of these things that will ever measure up to her love. The jewelry box that sits in my closet filled with trinkets of my Mothers are tangible things that I can let go of at any time. They really do not mean that much to me at all. My Mother owned these material things, but their value was not meshed with her love. She loved her life and her children even more than that! Don’t get the wrong idea about me because of my feelings about the “things” she left behind.  

I guess the best way that I can explain myself is this. I do not and cannot hold the “things” in life as commodities! I will not and shall not view those “things” as precious keepsakes. My closet filled with memories of my Mothers things are just that. I could not let myself get wrapped up in crying each time I viewed those things of hers. I had to prevent myself from going to that extreme, neurotic realm! I had to do a life reality check which was that I could lose any of these trinkets and replace them just as easily. But I cannot get back the one precious gem that I lost; my Mother! So I’ll hold on for a little while longer to these things, not memories, just things. I will not love them! I will not cherish them! I will not hold them near and dear to my heart!

I will however, always love my Mother and cherish all the memories of our time together. I will always hold her here in my heart as I remembered her. Things are not what makes our life happy and functional. A closet filled with trinkets and things of old only complicates our lives sometimes. In that, we reflect on those memories that set us back in time. It takes us to a place of haunting in our spirit. We have to continually go forward and not constantly keep looking back. They are not there any longer!

Written by, Staice J Morris

We Don't Fit In Everyone's Closet. Article #2

WOW! What a revelation. There’s a closet somewhere that I can’t fit in. Sounds kind of corny right? Unfortunately, it is a true statement. And I am only using closet as a metaphor here. I wrote an article about 2 years ago called “A Beautiful Closet”. That was to be the beginning of what I’m calling my closet experience. I shared with many in my first article how I liked my closet to look. Then I compared my closet to my life and found that; our lives at times mirror our closet. A beautiful closet equals a beautiful life. A cluttered closet equates to a cluttered life. But I want to make a different comparison in this article #2 closet experience. When I say that there’s a closet somewhere that I don’t fit into, I’m simply saying, I (we) don’t fit into everyone’s life space. Let’s face the facts! We are all not the same and our closets are not the same. And what I know for certain is that we’re all created differently and made only by God’s design.  

I’m learning that there’s something uniquely different about all of us. It could be the way we walk, the way we sing, the way we write or dance. Whatever it maybe, I’m learning to love the “me” God made; inside and out. And it would be wrong of me to want to change anything about me to fit into someone else closet (world). Everyday I see people wanting so much of what others have. Whether it’s their car, house, power, clothe, job, friends, husband, wife, money or whatever. We have got to change our thought pattern. I don’t want anyone else trying to fit their things into my closet (life). I like the way my things fit in my life and I love who God created me to be. Sure, I know that some of us can do what others do, but I also realize that we most likely do it more or less differently than the other. I do understand that some of us look alike, but I also realize that if we look close enough we’ll find something uniquely different in that look.  

Ego is a big part of the worlds fashion these days. I don’t want any of that look in my closet. Our ego can get the best of us at times and could be very harmful to our lives. We can’t really get rid of our ego, but we can make sure it does not become a part of our character. I’ve seen people who just have to be the best of the best at everything in life. Always wanting to be the “be all” for everyone and everything. Never wanting to accept the fact that they do make mistakes! They do fall short at time! And that they cannot be like everyone else nor do or have what someone else does or have. We cannot fit our lives into someone else closet at times. We need to work on the things that God created in us to do and to ask God to change those things in us that are not so great. And however different we are, we need to always remember that we are fearfully and wonderfully made by God.  

Another “E” that I have no room for in my closet (world) is Envy! A-ha, you too! It was a part of my closet space. But I cleaned it out and replaced it with grateful. I am truly grateful for God helping me to see how Envy could ruin a lot of things in my life. I don’t need other people things to define who I am. I don’t have to be jealous of my family members or friends for what they have accomplished in life. I just need to be grateful each day for; what I have, who I am and where I’m at in life. So you ask; what does she have to be so grateful for? Lots! I have Gods love, a wonderful and loving husband, a loving family. I have a roof over my head! I have peace, joy, love, happiness, faith and trust in God. I have a job where so many are searching for one these days. And I have so much more that I am grateful for. And then you ask who am I? I am a child of God! That’s what I am certain of and what’s most important! And now you want to know where I am in life? I’m here…in this life! We shouldn’t envy anyone for that!

So, think about all the things that fit into your closet these days! Can something be removed that has been there for a long time? Does it need a makeover or redo? I want you to go to your closet, stand in it and take a good look around. What do you see? Do you see clutter? Do you see everything organized and in its rightful place? Do you see any similarity between your closet and your life? Does your closet mirror the way your life is today? If not, I would ask that you design your closet to mirror the way you want your life to be. Whether it’s to remove things that are not necessary (envy), replace the old with new (shed ego), reorganize some things or just to free up some space for you to sit and think in your closet. However you chose to design your closet don’t try to fit it into mine! Let your closet, your life and you be…Authentic!

Written by Staice M J Morris (SMJM)

October 12, 2011

A Beautiful Closet, Less The Clutter

Article #1 of “My Closet Experience”

Every month I clean my closet from top to bottom. Yes, you can say that I’m a neat freak and perhaps a perfectionist. Whatever the case I like my closet to be organized with my clothes hanging in a specific order, my shoes stacked out of way on the floor and my armoire filled with my jewelry and trinkets to be very organized. So, I like my closet to be cleaned with no clutter. I like a beautiful closet! But, ladies, what am I really talking about here? Beyond keeping my closet beautiful, I also like my life, my hair, my nails, my skin and my entire being (inside and out) to be as beautiful as possible. Women we are beautiful from inside and out, head to toe, over and under, without a doubt. Our inward beauty which is not seen is just as beautiful as our outward appearance. There’s a saying, beauty is only skin deep, which translates to beauty is skin deep to the outward person and you shouldn’t care about what a person looks like because it’s only the outside. There’s another saying that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, which translates to, different people will find different things beautiful and difference of opinion doesn’t matter greatly. Ladies, we are molded by a very special pair of hands and wonderfully made. There is no one else like you or I. We are a commodity, one of a kind. 

Look at yourself, look deep into your heart and you will find a lot of beauty about you. Like a closet, you have beautiful things inside of you. It could be the gift of giving, the gift of loving people unconditionally, the gift of caring, the gift of having faith when it seems there’s no way out, and the gift of trust when others have doubts. You have so much beauty inside of you and most of you probably don’t even think about it. I understand that some one may have put you down at sometime in the past. They may have said that you’ll never be what you know that you can be. They probably have called you ugly and stupid. They probably have said that you’ll never amount to anything. Ladies, if you take nothing else away from my speech today, I ask you to remember this. My closet becomes beautiful when I clean it. Just as my temple (my body), my mind, my spirit and soul, becomes beautiful when I perfect it. I cleanse it, I rejuvenate it and I refresh it. How do I cleanse it, I purify my body by drinking water, eating fruits and vegetables. How do I rejuvenate it, by exercising, just a little walk each day is enough to keep you going. I refresh it by reading my bible, praying, and speaking scriptures over my body and my life. 

Ladies, on Tuesday Nov 4, we showed more of your beauty than ever before. We as well as America cleaned its closet from top to bottom. Look at our first lady Michelle Obama and then take a look at yourselves. We are all a representation of the beauty of America and how hard work, diligence, fortitude and honesty can win out over division and divisiveness. Ladies, America lived up to her promise on Nov 4th that anything is possible. You can have anything in life that you so desire. If we clean out the clutter in our lives that we keep stumbling over, we can see the beauty that still exist in our lives. Beauty is not rare! It resides inside and outside of us. Beauty is not something to be afraid of, it is to be loved. Beauty is not something to cage up, it needs to be released into the atmosphere. Beauty is not only skin deep, it’s all around us, over and under us. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder (you and I) and it makes no difference what we view as being beautiful. Women, you are wonderfully made and beautiful inside and out.

Your beauty of sharing and caring shines through like a light to the heavens. Reach deep into yourself and peel away all of the clutter. Throw away all the unnecessary mess in your life. Then look underneath all that you threw away and you should find nothing except “a beautiful closet” which translates to a beautiful you!

(SMJM)