Am how old?!

Well, I have not written for a long time so......

My Birthday was last Monday the 9th. I commenced a posting but was called away.

I supose that becoming this age one should stop and reflect on their life. Well I have and the past fifty years have been FABULOUS!!!

There has been sorrow and pain along the way but most of all there as been great joy and happiness. I have lived trying to live by making the best decisions I could with the knowlegde I had at the time. Of course looking back, I see that I may have had different choices. BUT I made the decision I could so I have for the most part have lived with out regret. I have lived for today, believing that a great today builds a great past and bright future!

In High Schoold I wrote a autobiography, which I entitled "Know this that every soul is FREE!"
Based on a Hymn by William Clegg.

"Know this that every soul is free
to choose his life and what he'll be
For this eternal truth is given
That God will force no man to heav'n
Freedom and reason make us men;
Take these away, what are we then?
Mere animals and just as well
the beasts may think of Heav'n or hell."

I still believe that every soul is free to choose his life and what he'll be!

The other guideing principal is that of LOVE. Paul and Moroni wrote that between faith, hope and charity (love), the greatest of all is love. Love is powerfull, but in this world hate is strong and at times seems the strongest. I ahve tried to love show compassion to all. It is hard to follow. Why is it easier to find fault in others than it is to find one great thing in them? How hurtfull are words. I am afraid to say that I have been hurt the most by those who say they are followers of Jesus Christ, than by those who are not. Of course I have felt the love by those who follow Jesus Christ also. But the wounds are deep and hard to forget and to forgive, but forgivness is part of love.

I learned long ago that as the song lyric says so beatiful, the greateat love of all is learing to love yourself

" I decided long ago, never to walk in anyone's shadows If I fail, if I
succeed At least I'll live as I believe No matter what they take from me They
can't take away my dignity Because the greatest love of all Is happening to me I
found the greatest love of all Inside of me."

"And if
by chance, that special place That you've been dreaming of Leads you to a lonely
place Find your strength in love."

I did find that the by loving myself did take me to a loney place, in many ways it is still a loney place. However I have found love, I have opened my heart to those who I thought would not love me and accept me for me, for who I am. It is still hard, I still feel on my own. I want to extend my life to them, but...will they love Steven as my 'husband', will they see him as an in-law, just if I was married to a woman?

I love my family. But I am what I am. I know of the love they have for me...is there room for one more?

Life is short and if by chance I follow my parent's foot steps, my life is 3/4 over. If that is so the next 1/4 of my life will be full of love and laughter. Living each day to it's fullness. So I end this post with a poem by Wilt Whitman, that I read while in my youth which still today guides me.

The Road not Taken.

Two roads diverged in a yellow
wood,
And I sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To
where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
and
having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was
grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the
passing there
Had worn them really about the
same,

And both that
morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden
black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how wayleads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a
sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -
I
took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all
the difference.

So now I, Rue Lynn Galbraith now say ages hence I did take the road less traveled and that has made all the difference!!