Monthly Archives: August 2012

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15Aug 2012

Seize the Moment- The Best You Can!

Going back to school- It seems this phrase ignites different emotions for different people. For some kids it’s “bllaaahh!” and for others it’s “yaaay!”. For some parents it creates a leap of joy in the air and for others it is a reminder of how fast time is flying and slipping thru our hands.

Me? I have a big lump in my throat. I promised my 2nd grader I wouldn’t cry as he got on the bus today (as I watched him hold back a tear or two!) I saw the parents of the Kindergartners, who actually have permission to cry, hold back their tears.

So why was I, the mother of a 2nd grader, on the verge of a breakdown? I should be a pro at this by now! Then it hit me- it’s all a reminder of how quickly time is passing. I don’t know about you but I feel like I am trying to keep the sand from going down the hourglass of time! I try to put the little pieces back in one at a time, only to have 5000 drop in the meantime.

Wasn’t it just yesterday my child was……

Maybe you don’t have kids and you are amazed at how quickly time is passing in your marriage. You thought for sure at your 5th Anniversary you would be…..

Or maybe you are still single and you just can’t believe how quickly 10 years have passed since you graduated college. You knew without a doubt your career would be……

We all are amazed at how quickly time passes and even surprised at where or what we thought would be happening.

There is a point to this- it’s simple- just a little reminder. Every day, hour, minute, second is passing us by. It’s unrealistic to say, “I’m going to embrace every moment and live every day like it’s my last” (come on, we gotta work and go on with life!) But we can embrace the little things. Don’t let the small joys of life pass you by. Try not to just drudge thru the day so you wake up 10 years later, well, realizing it’s 10 years later. Don’t look up at your 18 year-old going off to college and regreting that you didn’t spend enough time with them.

Truly seize today- the best you can! Do something today to take it all in. We are blessed to have what we have and live how we live. Each of us. Take in the moment before it slips away.

Thank you for taking this moment today and reading. I hope you have a great day and seize one moment today.

Written by Natalie Chandler

Natalie Chandler, MA, LMHC is a therapist at Imagine Hope Counseling Group. Natalie enjoys doing marriage counseling, individual counseling, and couples counseling.  We also specialize in family counseling, child, and adolescent counseling. Imagine Hope serves the Indianapolis area including the surrounding areas of Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, Westfield, and Zionsville

01Aug 2012

Rachel’s Gift- One Year Later

This is a repost from a year ago. It has been 1 year since Rachel’s death. There have been more outpourings of resources as people have once again seen, in one year, what a difference this little girl has made. She raised $1.2 million dollars and provides water for more than 60,000 people now. That is amazing! You can watch the video of her mom meeting the people they helped.

Outlive your life! www.charity water.org/blog/rachels-gift

Repost

I wasn’t planning to do a blog this week. I gave myself permission to take the week off, as it has just been a busier than usual, hectic week. However, today something stopped me in my tracks on the way to work. I vowed I would not go to bed tonight until I blogged about it. So here it is, mistakes and all. I heard about it on KLOVE radio 101.9 this morning. This is so inspiring…

For Rachel Beckwith’s 9th birthday this year, she requested she did not receive presents. She wanted people to donate money to charitywater.org. They are an organization that gets clean water to people who otherwise wouldn’t have it. I think this is just precious! What a selfless little girl!

Her goal was to raise $300. She raised $220. This alone inspired me. But KLOVE went on to tell that she was recently killed in an automobile accident! How horrific! I couldn’t believe the ending to this story. But then they went on to tell, that by the publicity of her kind act, surrounding her death, she has now raised over half a million dollars!! Donations have been pouring in. So far, she will be able to provide water to over 27,000 people!! This is amazing!!!

She is definitely “outliving her life”! I was just so touched by this little girl, in her life and in her death. It is a reminder to us all that what we do now can impact people far beyond the time we have on earth.

If you would like to read more of this inspiring story you can go to the homepage of http://www.klove.com and click on her story at the bottom of the page. Or go to http://mycharitywater.org/rachels9thbirthday to learn more about her story and the charity. You can also make a donation there if you wish.

Thank you for reading. I hope you have a great day and do something to “outlive your life”! (We will talk more about this in coming weeks if you aren’t sure what this means.) God bless!

*Natalie Chandler, MA, LMHC is a therapist at Imagine Hope Counseling Group. Natalie enjoys doing marriage counseling, individual counseling, and couples counseling.  We also specialize in family counseling, child, and adolescent counseling. Imagine Hope serves the Indianapolis area including the surrounding areas of Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, Westfield, and Zionsville.