Ever she sought...

No heaven can come to us unless our hearts find rest 
in it today.  Embrace heaven.  The gloom of the world 
is but a shadow; behind it, and yet within our reach, is 
joy.  Embrace joy.
                                                  ~Fra Giovanni

These words below were found on a gravestone here in the south, of a lady who passed away in 1865:

"Ever she sought the best, ever she found it."

The stone also indicates she died of a fever.  She died 
as the brutal Civil War was ending...when the south had lost the war, was shattered, destroyed, humiliated, and in poverty.  She herself, may have lost family, and everything she owned.  And yet, those who knew her, and loved her, had the words, "Ever she sought the best, ever she found it," engraved on her stone.  Why?  Because she clearly lived those words...embraced those words, uplifting those around her.

Think of the sheer courage to be found in those words, 
the hope, the dignity, the purpose.  And...happiness.

Most of all, think of all the treasure pouring forth in the words.  They are saying what we look for in life in the midst of our challenges, we find because the direction we choose is ours.

Remember the blog I wrote recently on those two very powerful little words, "and yet?"😃  They go hand in 
hand with this.

Search for the best, my dear ones, and strive to reach beyond the gloom. 

Ever we strive to seek the best, ever we may grasp it.