I Suppose This Is What You Will Have To Do

When every door is closed,

closed tightly,

and there is not a single window opening,

then I suppose the best thing

you can do

 is patiently wait in the hallway.

 

Are you walking through open doors,

 or waiting in the hallway?

Old Testament

Book of Jeremiah chapter 29 verses 11-13

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,”
declares the Lord,
“plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
 plans to give you hope and a future.
¹² Then you will call on me
 and come and pray to me,
 and I will listen to you.
¹³ You will seek me
 and find me
when you seek me with all your heart.

This Is What I Do Know...life is not always gentle.

In January I flew.

 

We had such a cold and snowy winter,

 

so it was a reprieve to go where there

 

was no snow.

 

Upon my return it was interesting to see

 

a distinct line

 

where the snow began.

 

I was returning to 16 degrees Fahrenheit,

 

and cold frigid winter.

 

Were it not for the perspective

 

of seeing the snow line from above the earth

 

it would have been easy to think that everyone

 

was enjoying snow.

 

Because "my world"

was covered and wrapped

 entirely in snow.

 

Perspective,

 yes,

perspective

 is how we

can attempt

to see things

 from a different point of view.

 

When I was expecting our first born son,

 

I began to wonder,

 

what my perspective would be,

 

if I could see life through the eyes of

 

Mary,

 

the blessed mother,

 

of the Christ Child.

 

I'm sure it wasn't easy

 

to travel in the condition in which she found herself.

 

Did she long for her circumstances to be different?

 

Did she have a willing heart?

 

Did she have a hopeful heart?

 

Was she resisting every change?

 

Or was she pursuing the future?

 

We can't know the answer,

 

but I believe anyone

 (any woman at least)

 

would have enough perspective to say,

 

Mary was walking through some really hard times.

 

But God provided a place:

 

in a manger.

 

God provided a protector:

 

in Joseph.

 

God provided for physical needs:

 

in the Magi who brought expensive gifts.

 

God provided love:

 

in adoring shepherds.

 

God provided celebration:

 

in the chorus of Heavenly Angels.

 

I have no way of knowing

 your perspective.

 

I have no way of truly knowing

 the depths of your pain.

 

I have no way of knowing

 the arduous journey you are travelling.

 

But I do know that God will provide.

 

I do know

 

LIFE IS NOT ALWAYS GENTLE,

 

but

 

GOD IS ALWAYS GOOD!

 

Feel blessed today.

"Medium Notes" of Pure Yum!

We eat a lot of fresh fruit and veggies.

 

Tonight it was

 

 nectarines

 

plums

 

and

 

blueberries.

 

Yum!

 

That's a new combination for us.

 

It's a new favorite.

 

The tangy tartness

 

of the nectarines and plums

 

paired very well

 

with the smooth and mild

 

blueberries.

 

You know,

 

if it was coffee

 

from a coffee shop,

 

it would likely be

 

described with

 

"medium notes

 

of something or the other exotic".

 

Just thought I should let ya know that.

 

What is your favorite summer fruit right now?

Why Do I Wonder These Things?

So after having all day today to think

 

 about the post I did last night

 

 about the wishberries,

 

I began to wonder...

 

what if I were a wishberry

 

so to speak?

 

Have you ever wondered that?

 

Have you wondered

 what it would be like

 if you were a wishberry?

 

I know...

that's a crazy thought.

 

What if  you and I were battered

 

by rain

 

and wind

 

or the innocent breath of by standers

 

or kicked around with a heavy leather boot

 

by the wiles of living?

 

What if the seeds of our lives just turned loose

 

and floated

 

floated away?

 

It's kinda freaky really

 

if you think about it,

 

because

 

that is happening constantly

 

to you

 

AND me.

 

The seeds of our lives

 

are spreading influence.

 

Influence for good,

 

or bad,

 

or indifference.

 

Where do those seeds go?

 

Actually, where have they gone?

 

Has my influence mattered?

 

Have I had a positive affect on others?

 

Have I brought joy

 

or encouragement?

 

Have I been faithful?

 

Have I been trustworthy?

 

Have I bloomed

 

where ever the seeds of my life have fallen?

 

In all my failings

 

as a wife,

 

a mom,

 

a friend,

 

a sister,

 

a daughter,

 

a daughter in law,

 

have I still had a positive influence?

 

We really can't control life

 

not really,

 

not absolutely.

 

We can do our best,

 

our very best,

 

with our circumstances,

 

and let that be good enough.

 

The wishberry seeds are blooming

 

where they are planted.

 

 

It's In The Promise Of The Wishberry

 A few weeks ago on a damp and cold and dreary 

 Spring day

she asked,

"When do you ever think

we will see those yellow flowers again?"

 

I said,

 "What yellow flowers?"

 But I was thinking

tulips...

or

daffodils...

 

Then with a contemplative

tone in her voice

she said,

"Well...,

 the only way I know

to describe them

is

 they are

young wishberries!"

 

Then I knew!

Ah yes.

Young wishberries.

When she was just a tiny

wisp

of

a

child,

quiet

and

intuitive,

hardly talking,

she christened a dandelion puff

calling it

"a wishberry".

I've loved dandelion puffs,

since I was a child.

Still,

even now,

I love blowing them

and

watching the seeds

float,

float away,

on the wings of the fragile puff

of my breath

or the wind.

Once when I was in elementary school

I found a huge dandelion puff

where two stems had fused

and grown together

making a

heart shaped puff

much larger than I had ever seen.

And so began my fascination with them.

Upon her pronouncement of calling them

wishberries,

so very aptly named,

in my humble opinion,

they became just that much more

dear to me.

And

we've enjoyed

wishberries

together

ever since.

 

We never fail to have

a bouquet each Spring

 of

young wishberries

and violets.

 

I perused the yard and I only found one actual wishberry.

 

It wasn't a perfectly round seed pod of puff and promise.

 

It was actually kind of small and tattered.

 

It was battered by the wind and last night's rain.

 

But still the promises were there,

in the seeds

that waited to be released

from their tiny station on the stem.

 

The seed held the promise for more young wishberries.

 

The seeds will float,

float away,

still a part of their past,

but becoming something new.

 

Renewal

Growth

I suppose life

just isn't life

without it.

Scattering and change

and yet

still

hope for regrowth.

 

When there is enough rain and wind and battering,

 

those seeds will

loosen their grip and spread

 

and there will be more yellow polka dots across

 

the lawn.

 

I know most people don't like them.

And find them to be a nuisance.

 

I see hope...

in the promise of the wishberry.

 

Don't you?

You Are Really Gonna Be Somethin' Pretty Awesome!

He said he awoke to sounds

 of someone coming in through the window,

and instantly,

 his stomach was in his throat.

So leaving the safety of his bed

 he began to search for the intruder.

Upon closer inspection,

 he realized

 that the

"intruder coming through the window"

was nothing more

 than his son's gerbil

taking a midnight spin

 on the gerbil wheel!

 

He was unnerved.

Wide awake.

All systems primed to kill the gerbil.

And yet,

there was safety in the house.

Home was a refuge,

a safe refuge.

And though he didn't say,

I suppose he went back to bed,

and I would imagine

 sleep was long in coming.

 

I overheard my brother

relate this story a few days ago.

He told how the incident

completely unnerved him.

I've thought about it all day today,

 off and on

and

I've thought about how

life can deal you some blows

those hard difficult blows

that just simply

 slug your stomach

to your throat
in much the same way
that my brother felt.

Often those blows

bring up emotions

and

responses to fear.
 

F.E.A.R.

f...false

e...evidence

a...appearing

r...real

 

I know

I know...

not always...

is fear based on false evidence,

but yes,

 sometimes it really is.

 

This evening late,

thunder rumbled,

lightening flashed,

the wind blew,

leaves swirled across the yard,

the temperature cooled,

the humidity evaporated.

We gathered on the porch

to enjoy a summer storm.

 

And yet,

everything

we heard

and saw

was false evidence.

There was no storm.

There was no rain.

 

On a particularly long

and stressful day,

not too long ago,

I told my husband,

"If we can just get through this,

 we are gonna be SO AWESOME!"

Ha ha ha,
now I chuckle at my attempts.
 

I was trying to keep it light

and

interject the positive

and try to feel things

that neither of us probably

felt like feeling.

But hey, why not try?

Right?

And he would chuckle

 and respond with a half hearted,

 "Yeah."

 

Because you've probably dealt

 with some of the same things we have,

when life is

knocking you around
and
slugging your stomach
right up to your Adam's apple

and the thunder is rumbling

and the lightening is flashing

and on top of all that...

you think you hear an
 "intruder comin' through the window".

 

When all along,
that ruckus,
that noise,
that emergency,
that tough time,
  is just the gerbil on the wheel.
 

So don't give in to fear I tell ya.

Recognize

"that gerbil"

"that intruder"

"that joy stealer"

"that worry maker"

"that energy zapper"

for what he really is,

and focus on

Truth

and

Peace

and

Joy

and

Love

and

Comfort.

 

I have to tell myself that too.

Because many times fear is from

false

evidence

appearing

real.

 

So tell me,

how do you deal with fear?

 

He knows the way I take and when He has tried me I will come forth as gold.

Old Testament Book of Job, Chapter 23 verse 10

 

So look out y'all,

once you get through whatever

 it is you are going through,

you are gonna be somethin' really awesome. 

 Just you wait and see!