Nov 27, 2019 | Encouragement, Enough, Faith |
She decides between coffee or
a small supply of the kids’ favorite cereal.
It’s one or the other on her budget.
The cereal wins because it is
about more than just cereal.
It’s a reminder of
normalcy.
It’s a reminder to the kids
that she remembers.
It is a small way to
introduce a bit of joy
and she will make whatever
sacrifice is necessary
to do just that.
She doesn’t have the
time or energy
to keep count –
but this is a regular thing for her.
Choices.
This or that.
She would love a cup of coffee
right now to get her through
the long night ahead
as her second job begins.
She pushes back
the fear,
the worry,
for if she allowed it
room it would run through her
spare energy resources
in 60 minutes flat.
And then,
where would she be?
A thought creeps in but she
speaks to it and tells it
to go away.
She shakes her head to
get free of it.
There’s no time to address
the gaping wounds in her heart
that bleed so easily.
So she chases the
memory away.
It is what it is.
Dreams are a luxury and
her sleep,
her awake
her sorrow
her joy
her energy
is for her boys.
Her every minute is
meet the needs.
Her job is survival.
She sorts through
the bills in the mail
as she logs into the
customer service website.
An envelope that isn’t a bill
sorts itself from the stack.
She rips it open to
discover a card,
and a gift card
to her local
grocery store.
There’s no name.
No one to thank
or feel indebted to.
Just provision.
A deep breath –
just what she needs.
And maybe, just maybe,
some coffee.
#PermissionGranted
Are you in the midst of a long night? Reach out – you don’t have to do it alone. Allow others to help you take up your space – to be all that you can be.
Are you in a place where you can leverage where you are to make someone else’s burden lighter? Step into that. Do it for the right reasons and be an encouragement to others.
Nov 21, 2019 | Be you, Becoming, Encouragement, Grow |
Bravery is not a guarantee.
Bravery is not a trade for
the outcome you desire.
Bravery is just the
next step you take.
We don’t know what is
around the corner
but the next step
must still be taken.
It is an exercise in trust,
but don’t forget –
you’re in good hands.
Bravery,
in the company of fear,
hope, and trust
is the engine to take you to
where you are supposed to be.
Some days will be hard and you
will be tempted to believe that bravery
has been overtaken by fear.
Fear is just the reminder
that you can’t do life alone.
Fear is just a warning bell
that you are relying too much
on yourself.
It’s time to trust and put fear in its place.
Bravery,
is a lot of small steps –
not giant leaps.
Small steps forward,
are steps in the right direction
and don’t be tempted to
even think they don’t count.
We can celebrate the little wins
and use those to build courage.
The fails?
Those are our guardrails
to help keep us on the
path we are supposed to be on.
There are no guarantees…
except that
bravery equals growth.
#PermissionGranted
Oct 30, 2019 | Encouragement, Enough, Faith, Trust |
Please unpack your lunch.
Put your shoes away.
I love you.
Please put your clothes in the dirty clothes hamper.
Use kind words.
Your family matters most.
Please tie your shoes.
Don’t mess with your sister!
Leave your brother alone!
Jesus loves you more than I do.
These are a sampling of the
reminders I say to my kids
a few times a day,
okay, well, maybe more than a few –
just depends on the day!
Can I be honest?
It can be frustrating
to have to repeat
myself over and over
and I can’t help but think –
If they would just listen….
And yet – I am like them.
I need daily reminders.
Your words matter.
You have a purpose.
God loves you.
You are enough –
but you can’t do it all.
You can rest in God’s provision.
You can let that go.
I forget.
I get distracted.
I get overwhelmed.
I get focused on what
I wish would change.
I need the reminders
that come through
a song,
a flower,
a leaf,
a bird,
a friend,
scripture,
my family.
I’m working hard to be
a better listener but
keep the reminders coming.
Show and tell me
what I forget,
what doubt taints,
and lies discolor.
I need the reminders
of what is true.
#PermissionGranted
Sep 25, 2019 | Becoming, Do The Hard Thing, Encouragement, Grow |
I’ve stranded myself
in the middle of a tightrope.
Maybe that is where
you are now…
worn out from
maintaining the status quo,
but you are frozen in place.
Every muscle works
at maximum capacity
to keep you
safe, steady, and stuck.
I’ve been there –
working hard
and doing what
should be done,
but not budging an inch.
Working hard to
keep balance
even though I can
see what I want is
on the other side
of the chasm.
There’s a lot of questions
between here and there.
A whole lot of strenuous,
tedious, teetering steps
to be taken.
The choice is:
stay or move forward.
Is it more scary to stay
in a precarious place
and work so hard
to not move at all?
Or is it scarier
to never know what
it is like to cross
the chasm to
dance and
take up your space
where you belong?
Proceed with fear.
It is time.
One step,
then two.
No more stuck
on a tightrope.
#PermissionGranted
What will be your one step for today?
Sep 18, 2019 | Becoming, Do The Hard Thing, Encouragement |
When I am driving
a long distance at a solid
73 miles an hour
I often wonder where the
cars I am traveling
beside are headed.
Where are they going?
The car with the license plate
from Maine –
are they headed
home or are they
just arriving to their
destination?
I had just left
family in Charlotte
and was headed home.
I knew where I was headed
but no one else
driving beside me
knows where I am going.
They might see my license plate
and figure I might
be on my way home.
But there’s no way to know.
It struck me then:
Where we come from
doesn’t dictate
where we are going.
What you’ve been through
doesn’t determine your
destination.
Our struggles,
trauma,
the addictions we fight,
and past failures
are not the deciding
factors of where
we go in this life.
These are strong influencers
in our lives
but they don’t
get to decide
the end result.
We are meant for
life to the full
and if that means
you must drive
in the opposite
direction of what you’ve
been through –
then put the
pedal to the metal.
Where you and I are from
may not be
all that we
are meant for.
Purpose,
possibilites,
and
passion
await our pursuit.
Turn up the music,
put the windows
down,
let the wind
breathe purpose into you,
and drive on.
#PermissionGranted
Where are you headed, friend?
Which friends and what resources do you need to help you get to a place of purpose, passion, and possibility?
Aug 14, 2019 | Encouragement, Faith, Trust |
She holds hope in her hand –
feels the smooth, comforting weight of it.
She carries it with her wherever she goes.
It is a gift that was given to her
and it is her greatest treasure.
She does her best to guard it,
to protect it, and keep
doubt from tarnishing its glow.
Every now and then –
when circumstances make her
want to put down hope so
that she has both hands
free to fight –
she loses sight of it.
Distracted, she
lets go of hope and
moments, days, years later
realizes her hand
no longer clings to hope.
Where did hope go?
Her heart’s been on a journey
full of twisted, torturous turns
and she wonders
where hope went.
At the mere thought of hope
she looks to her hands
and understands she’s left
no room for hope.
Her hands hold
doubt, fear, blame, regret –
she’s at her maximum capacity.
Her passions, possibilities, and purpose
have no agency when her
hands are empty of hope –
for hope is what fuels them.
She shifts her heart’s posture,
because she longs for what
she is made for,
and so she chooses hope.
She empties her hands of her burdens
and finds hope was there all along –
it was just buried under all she held so tightly.
Hope had never left her,
she just couldn’t see it
because her heart
focused on other things.
And now she gazes at it.
Hope –
in her hand,
in her heart –
the smooth, comforting weight of it.
#PermissionGranted
Here’s another post I did on hope.
