Mar 19, 2020 | Community, Do The Hard Thing, Encouragement |
We might be five miles apart,
next door, or 2500 miles away
from each other.
But you’re never far.
Distance can’t change
what the heart holds.
Distance can’t dilute
our determination
to care for one
another well.
We will find a way.
Distance cannot
weaken love.
It just doesn’t
have that kind of power.
Distance only makes
us ache to be more present.
This can fuel how
we show up in
our own homes
and in our communities.
Don’t hide
from what you feel –
dig deep, process your
thoughts to be able
to love and serve
those close and those
far away.
Otherwise, I am afraid
we risk not
showing up at all and
we just can’t
afford that.
#PermissionGranted
Feb 26, 2020 | Community, Encouragement |
You’re not alone.
You’re not alone.
And if you are
convinced you are –
I’m there, too.
I may feel
raw,
unseen,
and
unsteady.
But friend,
I am not
alone.
You are weak from
bracing
against the
assault of the
relentless wind
but I need you to
shift your gaze.
Look up.
Look up.
I’m here.
I see you.
I see your heart
and you see mine.
No words required.
We
lock
arms.
We may be tired,
beaten down,
but we are
determined to
weather the storm.
You hold me up.
And then it’s my turn
to orient you.
You are never alone.
I’m right here.
#PermissionGranted
Jan 15, 2020 | Becoming, Encouragement, Grow |
Lethargy is in her veins.
She is slow to feel,
slow to dream,
slow to fight.
She feels unsure in
every space,
unsure if she wants
to be seen
or if she wants
to be in the shadows.
She delays decisions
until they are
made for her.
Blooming is
left to
others
with more beauty
and talent.
Her plainness
disqualifies her.
Her hunger for more
no longer registers.
She just
moves
more
s l o w l y.
The billboards educate,
the lyrics choreograph,
the movies script
the pathways in
her brain
and
she’s too bone-weary
to fight.
She just goes through the motions,
does what is expected of her.
Lies are what sustains her,
but she can’t find a pulse.
#PermissionGranted
…to seek sustenance from truth.
Dec 18, 2019 | Be you, Encouragement |
I got my gray covered yesterday.
It was showing up, super sparkly and well, gray.
And I’m just not ready for that.
My earrings were sitting on the counter so that they were safe from staining color. I asked my hairdresser to please not let me forget them and she said, “Oh, I will!” I laughed. She likes them, too! It’s safe to say the beaded earrings are one of my favorite pairs.
The earrings make a statement.
They are colorful.
They are bold.
They take up space.
They are fierce.
They are unique.
I wear them often – even now as I write this, in a scarf, sweatshirt, jeans, and duck boots – nestled into hair I have not combed today.
Later in my appointment, my hairdresser said to another woman in the room, whom I had just met, “Look at these earrings!” And she held up my work-of-art earrings for all to see. Everyone oohed and ahhhed over them and I enjoyed their appreciation of my favorite art to wear. My new acquaintance then said, “They suit you.”
And I was speechless for a second because that is one of the best compliments that I’ve been given! I believe she also likely saw the earrings the same way I do –
colorful,
bold,
fierce,
unique.
And she said they suit me.
She doesn’t know me, but she’s saying that’s what I am even on a day when I was feeling low, when everything was gray, not just my hair, and I was feeling about as far from fierce as one can get, and yet she said the earrings suited me.
I said, “Thank you, I appreciate that!”
And I tucked this away in my heart but it kept asking to be shared.
On the days when you question your worth – don the expensive shoes.
When you feel like bold is something you were in a previous chapter of life, go ahead and wear your statement piece.
If you are feeling a bit gray, wear fierce anyway.
When we feel off, when smiles are hard to come by – that’s the day to wear the red shoes or the bold jewelry pieces because these are the days that we need reminded who we are. When we wear what we love, it’s a way of reminding ourselves we are worthy of love.
So the next time you comment on someone’s earrings, shoes, or dress – remember that you might be speaking to her heart and not just her sense of fashion.
#PermissionGranted
Like these earrings?
Support women-owned businesses and get you a pair at https://www.etsy.com/shop/ukaome.
Dec 12, 2019 | Becoming, Encouragement, Faith |
The full moon was breath-taking last night when I saw it playing hide and seek behind some leafless trees.
It took my breath away because it was
so low,
so gigantic,
so faithful,
so unassuming.
Then, this morning it was low in the sky as I took my daughter to school. We embraced the moments we had with it and we kept looking for it as we made our way through the stoplights.
“There it is, again!”
“It’s like a sticker, it’s so perfect!”
And then it was quiet.
I am sitting at a traffic light.
Looking at the moon, trying not to feel.
I want to be present and not lean into
I am tired. I have questions. I am overwhelmed.
My girl doesn’t know all of these things.
And she doesn’t know how her shared excitement about the moon encouraged me to take a deep breath.
I am brought back to the present when I hear her sweet voice coming from the back of the car.
(She’s a singer, like her mama.)
She’s singing:
Away in a manger, no crib for his bed,
The little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head;
The stars in the heavens looked down where he lay,
The little Lord Jesus, asleep on the hay.
The cattle are lowing; the poor baby wakes,
But little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes.
I love thee, Lord Jesus; look down from the sky
And stay by my cradle till morning is nigh.
Be near me, Lord Jesus; I ask thee to stay
Close by me forever, and love me, I pray.
Bless all the dear children in thy tender care,
And fit us for heaven to live with thee there.
And I look at the moon.
And I hear her song…
It’s the same moon.
The moon before me is the same moon that was in the sky at the birth of Jesus.
The same light was in the sky when he came so that we could stay close forever.
The tired, overwhelmed feelings I have are in part, a result of the pain that comes with stretching, with growth, and then partly due to being here on this earth with the wrongs that run rampant.
He’s fitting me for heaven – challenging the parts of me that need to change and he’s also placed within me a longing for his kingdom here on earth – I am reminded that he invites me to be a part of that work.
And again, I feel loved, seen, heard.
It’s the same moon
so low,
so gigantic,
so faithful,
so unassuming.
#PermissionGranted
Dec 4, 2019 | Encouragement, Faith, Trust |
A thrill of hope
caught me by surprise.
I didn’t recognize it at first.
It was a beautiful sunset, yes,
but I’ve seen them before.
But this one was
unrelenting,
full of
saturated color
in shades of
ochre,
violet,
gold,
magenta,
crimson.
It cycled through colors
in time with breath.
Breath in.
Breath out.
A new shade.
I couldn’t look away.
And then at one point,
I wouldn’t look away.
I took a detour to get
more time with the colors.
When I arrived home
I told the kids to run upstairs
to see the show in the sky.
It’s then I remember that
my day started with
a gorgeous sunrise.
And now the perfect bookend:
a sunset painted
in the sky,
with liquid color.
Visually astounding,
but also a cacophony
of
hope.
Color ushers in
wonder.
Wonder
ushers
in
hope.
You never let me forget.
#PermissionGranted
