Tag: trusting where you are

One Can Hope

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Standing at the kitchen sink, staring out the window I see God took care of one more thing in my life today. There’s a Bougainvillea hanging under one corner of the house, in hopes it will grow it’s way up onto the roof. It has a couple of long branches reaching that way, but this morning they had drooped from lack of water. It’s on my morning rounds with the watering hose.

After giving it some water I came in the house and started work. I didn’t give the Bougainvillea another thought until now. It soaked up the water and the long branches are tucked up under the roof again. I think it would be beautiful to have Bougainvillea blossoms all over the roof. I don’t know if that will happen, but that’s what came to mind when I hung it there.

God probably has something better in store, but I’m doing my part by keeping it watered. It’s in the right place for endless possibility, but we’ll have to wait and see what transpires. As I walk away from the window back to my desk I smile and think, one can hope.

We plan, but God decides.

Proverbs 16:9

A Clear View

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I awoke this morning with absurd thoughts like, “Maybe I should stop writing, or maybe I’m not really a writer.” Hogwash. I’m not sure what would be left if God removed the writer from me.

Over the weekend, I cleaned a window. The actual outside of the window, and it startled me with it’s sparkling cleanliness as I walked by. Wouldn’t it be nice if everything in life could be as clear as a clean window and as easily achieved. It took less than 5 minutes to return it to it’s original clarity.

Why did I clean this one window? Because it’s my favorite one to gaze out of as I write. The weather forecast is calling for rain all day and there’s a little weather app at the bottom of my laptop screen. It can’t make up it’s mind about the rain, so one minute it says, ‘Rain to stop’, and the next minute it says, ‘Flood’. There’s a large gap of uncertainty between those two events.

This window had a water stain running the length of it from the last rain we had, and it was distracting. Every time I’d gaze out the window, I couldn’t help but notice the stain, but today the window is clear and it reveals a totally different story. We cannot believe everything we think, especially first thing in the morning, so give the mind a moment to clear.

Wherever you choose to sit and write, I hope it’ll offer a clear view.

Greenlight

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When driving down a straightaway it’s exhilarating when every stoplight is green. I can usually breeze right through half a dozen on green before one turns to red and calls for a stop. Once you stop, there’s a wait involved before it returns to green.

I get excited for greenlights because they mean go, and I’ve always been the type person who is sitting on go. Fall is here, we’ve turned our clocks back for daylight savings time, the holidays are upon us, and year end is right around the corner, but I’m still keeping an eye out for the greenlight.

Over the weekend I drove into town to pick up some household items, and leaving the store I decided to exit the way of a large intersection full of stoplights. As I pulled up to the intersection every light was red, so I stopped and wondered out of all the red lights, who would get to go first?

I was turning right, so it was no big deal because we can turn right on red in Texas, but this intersection was full of vehicles just waiting and hoping for their greenlight. Looking up at the stoplight in that moment I saw a green arrow dropped down in place of the red. My lane was first to go.

That’s the thing about greenlights. You don’t know it’s yours until you pull up to the red. It’ll turn green when we least expect it. Keep your eyes open for the greenlight.

A Moment’s Notice

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I woke up to the sound of a bulldozer knocking down trees next to my home. The woods that offered privacy, shade and homes for the animals are no more. Poof.

I stood at the kitchen window in horror as trees were tossed carelessly into a dumpster. Their life and the years they stood became irrelevant in the path of progress.

The edge of our driveway is the beam to the left.

The last few days the machine’s have been still, and that’s been much needed. I knew the two lots were for sale, but didn’t realize they’d sold. Someone is building a couple of houses there, with one facing the street I live on, and another one facing the street behind me. My daughter and I had no warning this was about to happen. It all transpired within a moment’s notice.

This morning I sat in silence on my bench in the front yard for the first time in days. The one positive I’ve noticed is there’s more light with less trees. Over the weekend I was still adjusting to the new landscape, or the lack thereof and texted my daughter. I felt helpless over the situation and was distraught over the woods being gone. Then my daughter responded with this nugget of wisdom.

“I understand Momma. I wish we would’ve had a head’s up, but maybe it’s better that we didn’t”. ~My daughter.

This cup is empty, but my heart is full.

When God wants us to stand still and trust in His plan, we relinquish control. Instead of focusing on what’s gone, I can appreciate what this change brought, such as more light and a cool breeze entering the yard. We won’t see His full plan immediately, but He’s watching how we behave in a moment’s notice.

Let Love Be Loud

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I’ve been reading my morning devotional, and jotting down whatever jumps out, or resonates. Here’s this week’s favorite.

When things seem all wrong, trust me anyway. I am much less interested in right circumstances than in right responses to whatever comes your way.

Jesus Calling-1/26/2021

I’ve had 5 days that feel like Monday with a client at work. I really want it to feel like midweek, so I’m just gonna settle in here with you for a moment. You know, I can take happy clients all day long, and that’s the fun part of the job, but the ones who are high strung and relentless are the ones who make me better.

The circumstances were all wrong, but I believe God handed me the right responses every time.

I was able to practice listening and could hear what was really fueling his anger. It wasn’t this situation at all.

This job has taught me I cannot make people happy. They need to be happy in their own skin first, and there’s a lot of people who are not happy. I like to call this the ‘rewarding challenge’ of the job. Without any challenging circumstance there is little reward.

Whatever comes your way today, I encourage you take a pause to see what is the right response. It helps to not take the situation personally, but rather to give the kind of response to make the situation better. We have the power to make someone’s day a light-hearted and memorable experience, and people need that now more than ever. Let love be the loudest thing about you.

Pause and Breathe

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Chocolate makes everything better.

As I’m standing in line with a bag of chocolate eggs, I saw this magazine. Just seeing it poured a bucket of calm over me, so it was added to my purchase.

magcover

Trusting where you are today matters for who you’ll be tomorrow.

I believe those words. I’ve watched them come to fruition in my life continually and there are people who remind me.

Speaking with a friend yesterday, he reminded me that I’ve been here before, and to look at where I am now. I’m starting a new job. Well, actually it’s an extension of one of my existing jobs, but I’ll be working for one company instead of two.

It’s unsettling with all the technology I’ll be learning, and the added responsibility, but he tells me I say that every time!

As I was eating brunch yesterday, I read this article of things I know, but needed to see.

pageofmag

I hope this displays large enough to be readable and it covers you in comfort. Our days feel uncertain, but we’ve been here before.

Turning the page, I came upon this.

pauseandbreathe
The purpose of this page is to give you permission to pause and to breathe and to be.

Hey there Darling…Pause and breathe.