About Thoughts

 Thoughts is a collection of life lessons learned in my 90-plus years.

Life, I have learned, is about love, family, neighbors, country, our whole world. It’s about trying our best to do what’s right, to fight what’s wrong. Life is about learning, questioning, accepting that which can’t be changed and changing for the good that which is in our power to change. Life is about being responsible for self and others. Life is about choosing to believe in God, or not to believe. Life is about loss and life is about hope.

In my life’s journey I’ve learned mostly from three sources:

• Trial and error (a time waster, but at times necessary).
• The wisdom of others (very good, but needs testing).
• Seeing life from different views as I grew from childhood into my adult years, and now into my “silver-haired” years

Each of us chooses  our views, our beliefs.  Allowing others to choose for us is still our choice.

Some among us are eager to tell us what we should believe, what is best for us, or who we should accept or not accept as “one of us.” Many of those eager-to-lead-us claim to be speaking “for God.” Since they don’t speak “for God” with one voice, I conclude that most are not speaking for God at all. 

Jesus asked, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” He then told us to first take the “plank” out of our eye, then we could more easily help the brother with “the speck of sawdust.” His words are found in Luke 6:41-42.

Unfortunately, many of us don’t see the plank unless someone puts a mirror in front of us. Some won’t see it even then.

God created us with free will, and an exploring mind. It seems logical to assume He expects us to use these gifts.

We have much to gain by asking ourselves what we believe, and why we believe it. We also need to test our beliefs and verify what we assume to be our “facts.”

Each of us has the responsibility and the right to determine personal beliefs. And while there’s nothing wrong with sharing one’s beliefs, explaining one’s beliefs, none of us has the right to insist that others believe our beliefs.

Beliefs, just because we have them, are not always true. At times, they are based on faulty information.

Hopefully, we all will arrive at our belief state-of-mind thoughtfully and wisely. Since none of us is all-wise, all the time, it is possible that we may, in time, find some of our beliefs and views about life are wrong. We may want to re-think them, hopefully correct them.

Personal

Name is Mary Frances Redding Doan. I was born in Ocala, Florida,  the daughter of Nolie and Carrie (Shaw) Redding.

My husband, Jerry, died the day after Christmas, 2011.  We were blessed with three wonderful daughters, Laura, Debbie and Elaine. Elaine died in 2013, after losing her battle with cancer. We lost Laura and her husband Mark Rigdon in year 2000. 

My daughter Debbie and her husband, Joey Faulkner, have daughter Kelly and son Chuck. Elaine and her husband, Wayne Mitchell, have son Darrell and daughter Stephanie.

I have six wonderful great-grandchildren: Nolan, son of Kelly and  Jody Faircloth; and Haleigh, Hannah and Jacob, children of Chuck and wife Brandi; and Henry and Penelope, children of Darrell and wife Erica.

I retired in 1997 as news editor of the Palatka (Florida) Daily News, then a New York Times regional newspaper. 

My work experience includes working at the National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., and at Cape Canaveral (I was there for John Glenn’s first space flight).

My husband and I owned and operated a restaurant in Palatka, Florida, 1965-1990.

I served two years in the U.S. Women’s Army Corps in the early 1950s. I was a cryptographer stationed at the Pentagon.

I live in St. Augustine, Florida.