A New Year is here. No matter what the year has brought, or not brought, what you lost or found. It is always a time for reflection. No matter what that looks like it gives each of us a chance to exhale. The body exhales to expel carbon dioxide (waste filled, unusable air) to MAKE ROOM for another breathe of healthy nutrient filled oxygen.

Recently I had some bloodwork done and it’s seems I am breathing inappropriately. Doesn’t totally surprise me I have never been a good breather. I find myself holding my breath or inhaling when I should be exhaling. Breathing through exercise is very challenging 😊 But a New Year is always a time to exhale and recalibrate my life.

I don’t know if it is still a part of readying a plane for flight, but it used to be they had to go through recalibration steps before each flight, because of all the various magnets that are part of a plane engine. The magnetic pull could undo flight settings.

That sounds a little bit like life. The news, family, sickness, personal losses, bills etc. can all pull us off our center. I just googled: at 5 degrees off course in one hour the plane would be 48 miles off planned destination.  Have you every had those times that you looked in the mirror and ask how  did I get here. Most of life is determined by small periodic adjustments in our course. But there again the next step if we find ourselves 48 miles of course, listen to the GPS in your heart and allow it to help you recalibrate.   

Each January I join others in a 21 day fast. No meats, no bread, no sweets. Limit portion sizes, as well as limited screen time.  Of course spending more time with things that feed and nourish the soul. We live in such a loud world. It is very refreshing to just turn the volume down. I read a Bible verse this week that I don’t remember ever reading and have made my way through the entire Bible several times. Besides just plain being a good discipline yearly, I hear things that I wouldn’t have heard in my loud world.   

The year of Jim’s death which happened 10 days before the new year. His funeral was Jan 4^th the fast started the following Sunday. I had a conversation with God that went something like this. “Lord you certainly don’t expect me to fast this year”? To which He replied “Well Hope why do you fast each year”? To which I responded, It is kind of a reset and recalibrate body, mind, soul and spirit. Then He said “do you think maybe you could benefit from that this year”?  So I purged my refrigerator. 😊

         Fasting is never for the people around you. It has everything to do with  personal resets. I like to think it is my personal visit with God.

           It doesn’t make me better than anyone else…it just helps Hope Bennett balance out and return to center. The place my God dwells.

         Speaking of things that can throw you off center, I just received a call that my second oldest brother is loosing his fight with several physical challenges all very much complicated by his exposure to agent orange as a twenty two year old serving in Viet Nam. He is the second oldest. I am number eight. He played guitar beautifully, until the neuropathy in his hands made it impossible to feel the strings. Used to sing until his breath would no longer allow that. He still huffed and puffed his way threw songs at our family reunion up until that last couple years.  

In honor of my Brother I am including a couple of my guitar paintings.

         I remember as a young teen hearing the song  Hear that lonesome whistle blow. It always made me cry when the train whistle blew a short distance away, and I knew my brothers (3 in Viet Nam) were too far away to hear it. He is not expected to survive the night.

My younger sister is in her last weeks of a colon cancer battle. My heart and soul could use some recalibration time with my Lord this year 2026.

We have all had those times we just hear an empty echo…kind of how I feel. When you lose a sibling your memories are of you and them, no matter how many others there are. I have lost 5. One as an infant and I was too young to remember. 1983 I lost my youngest brother to drowning at age 15. 2008 my brother 2 yrs older of cancer. 2011 my sister between that brother and I from diabetes. 2018 my youngest sister passed from colon cancer.

It doesn’t get easier and it doesn’t matter how many are left. I lost each of them as if they were my only-s. You say goodbye one at a time. I spent an afternoon with my brother last month. We never know when this will be our last time with anyone, but the goodbyes that you both know it most likely is your last goodbye are definitely set apart moments. These are the times your heart takes a picture.  We squeezed each other’s hand and just said “I love you”! He headed for the bathroom and I to my car.

Once again thanks for being my safe place.

Another Pooh and Piglet Moment 😊

Pooh was running behind their friends Tiger, Owl, Kanga and Roo, when suddenly an out of breathe Piglet was at his side. He said Piglet what are you doing here, this is a very scary and dangerous mission? You should have stayed home.

 To which Piglet replied “I would rather be out here afraid with all of you, than at home under my bed WITH ALL OF ME! 

Life lesson: stay out of my head, when I go to bed.

Blessings! Thanks for reading!