at the memorial service of Lillian Marie Harron. Lillian was the mother of a friend of mine at church. Marie, as her friends and family called her, was born the same year as my dad–1923. As I sat there and listened to our pastor tell the story of her life, I felt sorry I had not know her. It was a wonderful tribute. Friends and family stood and talked about Marie.. how kind…how fun… how loving… and how creative she was. At age 70, she could still do the splits–her grandchildren learned how to do the splits from her. In the lobby the family had assembled a collection of pictures of her that spanned her lifetime. They also had her senior yearbook. One autograph included a phrase that caught my eye, “You’re Plenty Ok.” What a simple concept.
From what I heard about Marie, she lived her life like she was plenty ok. She treated others that way as well. She shared her faith dailly. Marie embraced each challenge with dignity and perserverance. She was not afraid to go against the grain–in the sixties, when her children noticed “whites only” signs, Marie would quickly say to her children, “just because it’s a law doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do.” Her children learned to value everyone and everyone was their friend.
“Plenty Ok” . . . what if every morning we woke up and thought, “today Lord, I embrace this day as a gift… right where I am … both the good and the bad… the hard and the easy. Help me change those things you’d have me change. Lord, help me live my life as you would have me to… my life is plenty ok and I am plenty ok.” Listening to the story of her life I thought I would like to have known her AND that I would like to be more like her.
Try it for the rest of today, believe that you’re plenty okay, just the way God made you. And if you find yourself doubting or second guessing, or replaying or regretting the past, or worrying about the future; forgive yourself and remember… you’re plenty okay! … Celia
P.S. if you’ve given up on learning to do the splits, maybe it’s not too late.