A Season of Horrid

My mail lady is going through some changes with the postal service. The other day I asked her, “How are you doing?” and she said, “I’m making $6,000 a year less and doing the same work!” I wasn’t expecting that.

This week, I dropped a note in the mailbox for her along with a Starbuck’s gift card. I sat and stared at the blank piece of card stock for quite a while, pen in hand while trying to pluck the right words from my heart onto the paper, but then realized it didn’t need to be spellbinding. She would probably appreciate the gift card without a note, or a note with no gift card. As a writer, I get too caught up in the words and it prolongs the gesture.

Almost everyone who crosses our path is going through something horrid. On the surface they act like everything is fine, but by standing still as if waiting to hear more they’ll share deeper. It’s such sacred ground to stand on while someone is bearing their soul in our presence and all we need to do is listen.

All they need is to be heard. Saying the words out loud validates the feelings and often brings clarity long after I’ve walked away. Nothing stays the same for long and whatever you’re going through, it will pass, but while we’re in it, the situation looks and feels horrid. Don’t lose heart my lovely.

In order to clear the path, we may be asked to go through a season of horrid.

Loosening My Grip

I feel lighter and more free today than yesterday. I’ve felt this way before and have said something similar many times. By His grace I hope to tap into this intermittent feeling many more times, but for now let’s stay in today.

I’m storing a coffee table for my daughter until she is ready to move again. I jokingly told her it would match my den and she said she’d love for it to be used until she was ready for it, so I made space. It’s shape is octagon with a beveled glass top, which includes a bottom shelf made of cane following the same shape. It’s vintage and in excellent condition, but my furniture was used to sitting around a rectangular coffee table, so it took a few days to find my Zen.

I’d leave the house for a while to walk back in and view the room with fresh eyes. I could feel it was off center, but I can only move this furniture in a handful of directions. This morning I shared coffee and conversation with a neighbor and when I walked back into the house it was like the room wanted to be more open, so I moved the furniture away from the coffee table and relocated a couple of pieces to make the table a centerpiece of the sitting space. That’s when I noticed the cords to the internet modem and Wi-Fi router sprawled along the floor.

My first thought was, ‘Grab the zip-ties!”, and I did, but laid them aside instead of tidying up the cords. Gingerly tucking the cords behind the basket the equipment is sitting on, so you can’t see them, but letting them hang freely between the wall and wicker. Quite a bit feels free today, and not only in the den, as I came up off the floor and realized I didn’t need to zip-tie the cords.

Feature Photo by Fuu J on Unsplash

These Three Cups

There was a bird singing so loudly it was almost disturbing. That could have something to do with watching the old Alfred Hitchcock movie, “Birds” before bed. Since watching that movie, I’ll think twice when seeing a row of crows perched along power lines! 😂

I found this pattern interesting and wanted to write about it last year, but it became buried during a season of inspiration. You’ll see two photos and the first one was taken last November. The second photo was taken last week and when looking at the two photos, 5 months apart, I was pleasantly surprised by the simplicity of the second photo opposed to the first one. My surroundings contain less, but life has more meaning including these three cups.

When our bodies roll out of bed, our inner self needs time to catch up and wants to be awakened gently. I start with a glass of water and if lemon is on hand, a generous squeeze is added to the water. I sit quietly to drink the water and will often meditate while holding the glass. Next is a cup of Taheebo. Taheebo is an extract made from the inner bark of the Pau D’ Arco tree and contains anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties for immune system support. It’s a concentrate mixed with hot water and I always use this cup made of fine china with a crack in it to remind me how fragile life really is.

I sip Taheebo while reading and sitting in stillness, but you know it’s time to get down to business when the coffee cup comes into the picture. I generally know what part of the day I’m in by what cup I’m using.

When our world feels uncertain, it’s nice to have patterns that help ground us of what’s certain and for me that falls into place with these three cups.

Rest your eyes while I read this to you.

Feature Photo by Tom Crew on Unsplash

Put In the Call

Each moment you can choose to practice My Presence or to practice the presence of problems.

Sarah Young

When we pray those urgent prayers, it’s like putting in a call to God for help. I didn’t know what was happening when the truck pulling a wood chipper drove up and parked in front of my house. The emblem on the passenger door revealed it’s from the city, so stepping outside I waited for the driver to appear.

He had a work order to trim some tree branches away from the power lines in my front yard. I smiled and chuckled because I’d forgotten about placing that order in January. After the ice storm I began a mission to get these oak trees under control and it’s been a challenge to find a reputable company at a reasonable price to trim them. If you’re new to this Blog, my home sits underneath a canopy of multiple 100 year old (minimum) Spanish Oak Trees.

It may sound silly but, from January through March I’ve prayed over the well-being of trees and I’ve learned, you can’t trust God and worry at the same time.

During the ice storm, people came to help and showed up as the best neighbors a woman could have. The trees are not yet as safe as they need to be, but God knows the state of these trees and what they can handle. He knows the same thing about us. Whenever I was tempted to worry, especially during high winds, the feature photo for this post was my screensaver on my phone. Three months later the city shows up, but they did show up, so God heard my heart.

All I did was put in the call.

Cooking For One (Maybe 2)

I recently streamed a movie entitled ‘Adam’ and it was very good. Adam is a grown man with Asperger’s Syndrome and at the beginning of the movie the camera showed how infinitely organized his flat was. In his freezer he had a row of frozen Amy’s Macaroni and Cheese, so Adam is basically my soulmate.

I love Mac and Cheese, but prefer homemade. Cooking for one can be challenging, which nowadays recipe sites offer an option for one, but this was before that. I’ve been toying with this recipe to where it’s nailed down to one person and if you love Mac and Cheese as much as me it never disappoints. I use a variety of pasta and my favorites by far are Bronze Cut Rigatoni, Penne, or Tortiglioni.

Cook the pasta until done to your liking and let drain in a strainer. While the pot, or pan is still hot, drop the butter in to melt and turn heat to low to add heavy cream along with cheese. Stir well and add cooked pasta stirring to combine thoroughly with cheese sauce. If you cook the recipe as listed here it will serve 2 people, but you can alter the serving to one on the recipe website. If there happens to be any leftover it’s delicious heated up the next day for a lite lunch!

Feature Photo by Mae Mu on Unsplash

I Almost Missed It

I couldn’t find a good photo online of what I saw. Maybe it was a moment that couldn’t be caught by a phone camera. I thought about taking a picture, because at the time my phone was in my hand. This is also how I almost missed it.

There’s a popular saying, “Do more things that make you forget your phone”, but I was doing nothing. I had awakened before dawn to begin my day in a mindful way. Once it was daylight, I exited my sacred space and entered the main part of the house for a cup of tea to sit and sip while reading. I’m still learning to rest and for those who are following that topic, I’m now reading. “Sabbath”, by Wayne Muller.

The thunderstorm arrived quickly as if out of nowhere. I grabbed my phone to check the weather app and then of course having the phone in hand took me onto checking a couple of other apps until I caught myself plowing through emails. The thunder had stopped and I could hear a good, steady rain falling on the tin roof. That’s when I looked up from my phone and my gaze landed on a nearby window. I sat in awe of what the window revealed.

The raindrops were tiny and gently streaming straight down with a slight breeze ruffling a vine growing along the neighbors fence. What drew me into this moment was the sunlight streaming between the fence and a tree at just the right angle that transformed it into a showcase of nature. It only lasted for a minute before the sun retreated behind a cloud and the rain began to cease.

In a restful state, or ‘not doing’ there are extraordinary moments like these readily available to witness, and to think by looking at my phone…I almost missed it.

Practice a restful state while I read this to you.

Photo by Danielle Dolson on Unsplash

Joy in the Morning

The feature photo for this post is my current screensaver on my phone. I replace it periodically, depending on the type encouragement needed for the journey, and I do the same thing with my laptop.

There are quite a few songs that helped me walk through hell this year, but when I heard this song it said exactly what I needed to hear. When we’re living in circumstances beyond our control, our joy dissipates. I’ve had three rude awakenings this year and we’re barely out of March!

I like the saying, “It’s not happening to you, it’s happening for you.” At the start of the new year, I needed to strengthen my faith and trust God more that He’s got this, even when I don’t. The three words I whisper continually are, “I trust You”, and as soon as those words fall out of my mouth, I feel at peace.

The part of this song that kept jumping out at me was, “If it’s not good, then He’s not done with it yet.” I’m still not sure if that refers to the situation, or the work He did in me because everything I went through strengthened my faith and relationship with Him. Each day I’d do the possible and give Him the impossible, in hopes the next day would be a little bit better than where I stood.

It was slow going. It was not fun. I cried a lot… probably more than I’ve cried in years, but every day was a little bit better and my hope for you is that you keep going until you see… there is joy in the morning.

Tauren Wells-Joy in the Morning

I am taking care of you. Trust Me at all times. Trust Me in all circumstances. Trust Me with all your heart. When you are weary and everything seems to be going wrong, you can still utter these four words, “I trust You, Jesus.” By doing so, you release matters into My control, and you fall back into the security of My everlasting arms.

March 30th Jesus Calling-Sarah Young