I am constantly surprised at the way I think.  I get fixated on things.  One might say suddenly as that is the word I have been thinking about a lot lately.
To me there are both negative and positive suddenly’s.   I will never forget the guy in the Ukraine saying “at night we went to watch the soccer and in the morning we were at war.”  Recently I watched a person say that it took 51 days for Germany to go from a democracy to a dictatorship.  I also think of the financial crash of 1929.  The stock market lost 89% of its value and it triggered a domino effect of banks going under and people losing their savings and employment.
It seems to me there are a lot of personal suddenlys to.  Something not good happens and the world is changed.  It can be the passing of a loved one or a diagnoses that alters my life and the life of another.  I did not expect to be told a mass had been found in my head.  It was dealt with but my life was not the same.
To me there are also good suddenlys.  Someone wins lotto.  Suddenly financial lack is a thing of the past.  I watched a program last night about the Spanish women’s soccer team.  They had worked towards it but did not expect it.  Suddenly they were world champions.  
Getting the help we need in the yard suddenly changes everything.  Instead of feeling overwhelmed by the situation we feel we have got this.  Suddenly what had seemed like too much was manageable.
It seems to me no matter good or bad it really only matters that I am ready for the suddenlys.  By their nature they will always come out of the blue.  I do not take on a negative persona in readiness.
The best I can do is be at peace with myself and my maker.  Life is full of surprises.  I am happy to do what I need to do.  The best I can do is be prepared.  At times I am surprised by joy while at other times I am surprised by catastrophe.  Yet mostly things are somewhere in between.  For me that is ok as I know someone bigger and better than me has got this. 

I do not necessarily agree that “you cannot teach an old dog new tricks,” but I concede it is a slower process.
Merril and I have instigated a plan where she sets aside three four hour blocks for study, and I use that time for my own study and activities.  All I can say is so far so good.  We both definitely feel better for not only planning it - but doing it.  We are on our second week.
The other day we planned to go out early, then have breakfast with a friend, before collecting some brick pavers for laying.  Then a friend of mine was to visit.  After that was study time, sleep time, study time and veg time.
What we went out early to was a prayer get together we have with a few others of a Monday morning.  We figure that is a good way to start the week.  Not one of us there was not pleased to be there.  One works on yards and when they heard the showers they thought “showers of blessing” and came along.  Another had matters close to the heart we were really able to pray about and stand together with with the person.  Breakfast together at a new joint was enjoyable, and the discussion was as it usually is - really good.
That was where our plan diverged from what was intended.  The traffic was horrendous (school drop off time) so we went home instead of getting bricks.  Merril studied and I thought I would do that day some of what I intended to do the next.  Then my mate came over and we had an enjoyable time together.  Merril used it as study time.
After that we went and got the bricks.  We then had lunch and a rest.  After that Merril studied again and I worked in the yard laying the bricks as edging.  I was able to achieve a little more than I thought, and we are both happy with the result.
We have been inspired by someone who we pay, who is getting the joint to a level where we do not feel we need to do that before we can do anything else.  What has needed doing has gotten done and we have been able to take it further.  That is needed at this point.  Once upon a time we would have been into it, but now we are grateful for any help.  The desire is still there but the ability to make it happen has diminished.
So our plan is coming together.  What may be too hard for one or two, a team can achieve.  We all win.

I read a sentence the other day I really liked. “Being ready to learn and reluctant to correct.”
I think it is probably reasonable to wonder why that impacted me.  It is just that not doing that seems to be the major hinderance to closeness I know of.
I have seen it time and again (and battle with it myself) so often people love dearly and try to tell others what is best for them.  All the while a person needs to know they are loved first before something is received and sometimes acted upon.
I really learned this being close to someone who was as closed as anyone I knew.  I do not take credit for seeing things as clearly as I did, but I needed to endure years of being ignored until it was final accepted that no matter if this person accepted my thoughts regarding them I accepted them.  Honestly when the penny dropped the change in behaviour was remarkable.
It seems to me that so often people are well meaning and often right in what they say and believe, but the method of conveying the truth is floored.  What I meant to change for the better, so often drives away because the object of love does not feel loved.  They feel judged.  That may not be the motive, but it is what is received.
That can be due to innumerable reasons.  I honestly feel that prayer is a key.  The power is not in prayer, but in the one being prayed to.  That has made the difference for me anyway.
Time being misunderstood need not be wasted time.  So often another has something to say.  Sometimes even with words.  When I am willing to dismount from my high horse, I have much to learn.  So often it is the ones who I would prefer to “teach” that have lessons for me to learn.
I saw a movie one time and a guy was with someone in the work environment and his thought was that he was there for the other person.  Things were not going as planned and his attitude suffered.  His wife said to him something like maybe he was there for you rather than you there for him.
The upshot for me is that it is not necessarily about who is there for who, but being willing to love and learn.  The quickest way to acceptance is to obviously love and humbly learn.