in everything, seek Him
Anyone else like to live in the safety zone? You know, those safe and predictable places with guaranteed answers? Yep, that’s me too.
For years, that’s exactly what I did as it seemed…
seek the beauty
Today, you may not be where you want to be; friend, please hear me and believe this to the depths of your soul, none of us are...yet. And that’s okay.
That’s the beauty of this roller coaster called life.
it shouldn’t be radical
I read a quote years ago that urged us to treat each person as if you would be the last person they’d see on this earth; meaning, if you were the very last person they saw/spoke to or spoke to them, the very last person in proximity to share oxygen, what lasting impression would they carry from you into eternity?
When I read it, I was weighted, because I hadn’t honestly thought about it.
when moving forward feels hard
𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕔𝕒𝕟’𝕥 𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕖𝕣 𝕒 𝕡𝕒𝕣𝕜𝕖𝕕 𝕔𝕒𝕣-𝘪𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨.
That thought sorta struck me while teaching the oldest mancub to drive a few years ago. It made total sense then & 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺, but I had only conceptualized it as forward motion with the foot on the gas as being the only way for growth to occur.
there’s an art of intentional in the slow
𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞’𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰-𝑎 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑐𝑟𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑙𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑢𝑠ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑜𝑟 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑦-𝐚 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲-𝐭𝐨-𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝.
Even in the embracing of palms, there’s a sacred space for the slow.
I was the one that needed to listen
I’d first read her words sitting on the floor between the stacks at our community library. I wanted to know what all the hoopla was about-this lady poet from the inauguration.
I read her words that floated beating like bird wings.
the difference
It’d been a long 12 hours of night shift nursing. Crumbled worn, ready to get home to my people, I took the back hallway to escape to the parking deck quicker and stopped at a restroom close to the chapel.
I was surprised to find a lady there washing her hands at that early hour and immediately recognized her.
how mama bear was born
𝑀𝑎𝑚𝑎 𝐵𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑏𝑜𝑟𝑛 𝑜𝑛 𝑎 𝑐𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑇ℎ𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑑𝑎𝑦 𝑖𝑛 𝐽𝑎𝑛𝑢𝑎𝑟𝑦, wind chilling to the bone, a small babe held bundled and protected from weather as we gathered to bring him home.
This week, he is officially an adult-it all happened too fast.
two questions and two answers
Why give grace? 𝐐𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬?
name it holy
The words 𝙣𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙮 have been germinating around in my head for a few years. I think it’s because there have been poignant moments in my life where only the supernatural can fully receive the credit. Moments that I was privileged to witness what happened. Experiences that can’t be explained otherwise.
This morning was one of those moments.
the breath of Thursday
𝑻𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔?? 𝑇ℎ𝑢𝑟𝑠𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑚𝑒 𝑠𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑒-𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑙𝑑 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑙𝑠 𝑎 𝑏𝑖𝑡 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒-𝑓𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑, 𝑎 𝑏𝑖𝑡 𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡𝑒𝑟.
My grandfather convinced me I could accomplish more than I could imagine on a scorching Georgia July 𝑻𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒅𝒂𝒚. It was our last conversation. I came home to North Carolina and he passed two months later before the leaves even fell. ⠀⠀
𝐿𝑖𝑓𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑤𝑎𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑢𝑠 𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑠 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡-that 𝑻𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔 had been where I learned what it looked like for…
⠀
even if...
*𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙛 the laundry piles high and the detergent runs low
*𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙛 the children say they are bored and you feel worn
in my experience, fear will try to drown you
Fear would have loved to drown me that morning and fear would love to grip and drown you at the most tender places of your heart, too.
rise
I opened a text from my husband & saw a picture of our 𝑆𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡 𝑃𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑒(we name our houses) engulfed. This once tiny treasure, this little slice of holy we were blessed to inhabit for five years, was being dismantled by flames to create space for a new dwelling place.
It had been a safe place away from the hustle & bustle where our boy could heal, our marriage restore, our souls revive.
Our lives had fallen apart & then, at 𝑆𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡 𝑃𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑒, it fell into place. We rose as God transformed the ashes of a holy ground into a plume of sheer beauty & grace that still has us gobsmacked. When we arrived at 𝑆𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡 𝑃𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑒, our life felt like drowning fire, choking like smoke, burning the eyes, & trying to steal oxygen.
We fought hard for any peace in those flames, clawing until we found a glimmer of light, & chased the silver linings like a daily methodical manna.
𝑇ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑏𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑗𝑜𝑦.
the celebrating of your life
🥞𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲? 𝙈𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙠𝙡𝙚𝙨.
Make it a 🅗🅤🅖🅔 deal, because when you stop and look around, 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙗𝙞𝙜 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙡.
‘tis so sweet
“𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐨𝐱 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭.”