Month: May 2018

Taking a Step Back

Posted on by Wendy
We have lots of restoration to do.

Today is the first day that my son is out for summer break. My daughter came home from college a couple of weeks ago and all of my chicks are back in the nest. It’s a temporary season, but one I’m going to treasure. June at my job means ten hour days Monday-Thursday, so we can have Fridays off. The Fridays are wonderful, but ten hours is a long time to sit at a desk.

My daughter is moving into a small house next year. We are going to carve time out this summer to refinish some furniture for her. All of the pieces are old, solid and special. Her bed belonged to her great-grandparents on my side. It was their first bed. Her dresser belonged to her great-grandmother on her daddy’s side. Her end tables belonged to her grandparents on my side and her desk belonged to her grandmother on her daddy’s side.

We have been blessed with lots of unique pieces that belonged to some very special people, that also need lots of work, but restoration is one of the things I love best and she and I will work on them together.

My sister is coming to visit for a few weeks. We are taking a vacation.

With all of that said, I’m taking a break from writing on Graceful Gaines this summer. I may try to post here and there. I’m sure God has so much to show me in my furniture endeavor, but I won’t be posting regularly. I really want to intentionally take the time to love my people well this summer and to be fully present. It sometimes takes longer than one would think to write a post.

My son will graduate next year and I’m well aware that our family dynamic will soon change for good. While I’m okay with that, I’m excited for my kids and their personal journeys; I want to soak up every drop possible of the present. Time is the one thing we never get more of.

I want to thank all of my readers for reading and commenting. The encouragement always means the world to me. I pray that you have a wonderful summer and I plan on meeting you back here in the Fall.

Have an awesome summer!

Wendy 🙂

Senior Inspiration

Posted on by Wendy
Although graduation ends one chapter of the journey, a new one is just beginning.

A couple of days ago, the seniors from our local high school who attended the elementary school where I work, were invited to come and walk the halls in their caps and gowns. It was such a sweet spectacle. Their parents came. The current elementary students poured out into the halls and clapped for them as they passed by, sometimes giving them high fives.

One group, I’m sure, wondered if they would ever be that big and the other probably felt like elementary school was a lifetime ago. Then there were the parents who I suspect, wondered where all of the time went and could have sworn that only yesterday, their kids were the ones walking the halls as elementary students.

There were lots of pictures and videos and more than a few bittersweet tears. We had some of the seniors come into the office to ask if they could see their former teachers, those who had been standouts in their journey to this point, those who had believed in them, and connected with them, inspired them and made a difference in their lives.

I suppose we all have teachers like that, those standouts who we will always hold dear and will always be fresh in our memories.

As I thought about it all later, it occurred to me that while those seniors have reached the end of a chapter in this particular journey, a new one is just beginning. They will have new standouts and mentors, not only for the next few years, but for the rest of their lives, because the journey never ends on this side of Eternity.

I began to think of the standouts in my own life, from elementary school, high school and college. I have been blessed with many, but, there are so many more, family members, bosses and coworkers, friends, neighbors, in-laws, members of my church family, and members of my Salkehatchie family.

There have been so many people along the way who connected with me, believed in me and made a difference.

I think teachers often understand the call to connect with, encourage and inspire others. I think that’s often why they choose to do what they do. Yet, we are called to do the same with the people God puts in our path.

We all have the opportunity to encourage others and be a part of someone’s journey just as others have chosen to be a part of ours. If we pray about it a and keep our eyes open, God will send us the very people who need our individual wisdom and experience.

Because the journey never ends until we graduate to heaven. Until then, we should make all of the difference we can. Some seniors reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

When Two or Three Gather

Posted on by Wendy
Community can lift us up when we need it most.

I work in the front office of an elementary school and this week is our last week before the summer break. The office is busy on any given week, but to say that this week is packed full of events all week long, is an understatement. It seems like we can’t go more than ten minutes without something new popping up in the office.

And the busyness begins first thing in the morning, from parents who bring in an array of items left at home, from lunchboxes to homework, to phone calls from parents looking for a bus that they swear they were not late getting out for, or this week, calls from parents asking about events that those of us in the front office didn’t even know about.

People rarely pop in, in the morning just to say hello. If they come in, they usually want or need something.

But, yesterday, my sweet friend from choir, who also happens to be my pastor’s wife, popped in to say hello. She’s a long term sub until the end of the year and a retired teacher. She told me she just had to come in and tell me a little bit about her weekend.

Her granddaughter had turned sixteen and the family had a party for her. My friend decided to take the cornhole game that my family had made for her and her husband several years earlier. She said she thought they might enjoy it. Well, apparently it was a huge hit. Her eyes danced with joy as she talked about how much fun the family had playing that game and she gave me a hug and thanked me again for giving it to them.

I don’t know what prompted her to come and see me. I suspect it was spiritual in nature because I had really prayed on the way to work about extra patience and peace this week, and for God to help me be a light to others when I’m so stressed out at the moment.

And there she was, shining light herself, spreading love and joy, and starting my day with a positive spin.

I’ve often written about the importance of Christian Community, where we can encourage each other, just like the Apostle Paul wrote about, not that long after the Resurrection. I’ve seen Jesus through it way too many times to doubt its importance in our spiritual lives. Yes, it can sometimes be hard and we sometimes get it completely wrong.

Yet, we really are better together and as the Bible says, “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Mathew 18:20

A morning hug reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Enjoying Family Time

Posted on by Wendy

My family spent Mother’s Day with my sweet mama at her house. We ate pizza We went swimming. We got caught up. We laughed a lot and enjoyed being with family. We even visited with a cousin I haven’t seen in way too long. We took pictures and created memories. We stayed much later than planned and we got home late. I don’t have a post today, but I hope you have a wonderful Monday!

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Celebrating Controlled Chaos

Posted on by Wendy
Being a mama is often messy, but most pursuits worth doing, usually are.

We moved our daughter out of her dorm and home for the summer, just over a week ago. It was so exciting to get her back home. After unpacking, and folding, and rearranging, there was still no good place for a lot of the things that she moved home, so they ended up stacked as neatly as possible, in a corner of our dining room.

As I passed by the controlled chaos yesterday, I found myself chuckling.

We are getting ready to celebrate Mother’s Day and contrary to what the Hallmark commercials and Pinterest would like for us to believe, there’s nothing tidy, organized, or perfect, about being a mama.

The moment a woman learns that she is pregnant, life is no longer tidy and becomes very unpredictable. From the kind of pregnancy she has, to the length of labor, to the moment the baby arrives, life becomes controlled chaos.

There are sleepless nights, and potty training, and sometimes monsters underneath the bed. Then there’s someone who’s mean to your child at school. When we think we finally might have a handle on things, there’s middle school and hormones, followed too quickly, by dating and driving.

It’s often motherhood that shows us a tangible need for faith in our lives because we come to truly understand that nothing is really under our control. And when we wrap our brains around our need for God, we then feel a deep need to pass that faith on to the children He put in our care.

We understand that our children also need to have faith to weather the chaos that will inevitably occur in their lives.

This Mother’s Day, I’m so thankful that my daughter is back home. The boxes in the corner remind me that it’s temporary. At some point, both of my children will be grown and gone and my corners can perfectly ordered.

Until then, I’m embracing the chaos. Some boxes reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too. Happy Mother’s Day.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Sharing Fears and Faith

Posted on by Wendy
We can help others with our own faith stories.

We were recently discussing in my Sunday school class, the Biblical account of the Israelites leaving Egypt and crossing the desert where they would eventually walk through the Red Sea.

The account tells us that God led them with either a pillar of cloud by day or a pillar of fire by night and that that pillar never left its place in front of the people. Exodus 13:20-22

That’s kind of a huge wonder, right? I mean they could actually see the presence of God. So when the Egyptians decided to come after them and they panicked, my first thought has always been, seriously? You can actually see the presence of God and you still doubt?

But, in our discussion, it came out that there were likely three million plus, people in that desert. There’s a good chance those people in the back couldn’t see that presence. It wasn’t like they had smart phones to text the folks in the back.

All of a sudden, I found a little more understanding for those doubting Israelites.

We’ve all been there. We’ve all had times in our lives where we’ve questioned our faith. We find ourselves attempting to faithfully follow God and live the life we think we are called to lead and then we can no longer see or feel His presence.

Like those Isrealites so long ago, we begin to doubt and fear. Has God abandoned us? Why didn’t He just let us remain in our own Egypt of darkness?

But, that’s where we really need to seek out those people who have traveled the road ahead of us. The people in the front, could see the pillar. They had the ability to share it with the people in the back.

There are always people of faith who have been in a situation similar to our own. They are sometimes people we know and sometimes they can be writers, speakers, or even singers who have willingly shared their stories to assist others on the journey.

Those of us who have walked in faith for a while have the opportunity and calling to share our own faith stories with newer believers to help them. That’s how kingdom work is done.

An Old Testament account of faith and fear reminded me that instead of automatically judging others for their spiritual shortcomings, we should remember our own and share our failures and victories with some fellow believers who may desperately need to hear them. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Reaching for Jesus

Posted on by Wendy
When we get back on the right path, heaven cheers.

A couple of weeks ago, my hubby and I attended a bike race. They actually close the streets off in downtown Athens and the competitors race through the streets. There are events that take place all day long, but the final two events are the women’s race and the men’s race.

Both are backed by sponsors and the top finishers get national ranking. It’s amazing to see them pedal by. They go so fast that you can feel the wind on your face. Unfortunately, that speed also results in some bad injuries when they crash.

We witnessed just that very thing, when we arrived. Two cyclists in the women’s race had gotten tangled up. They were both on the ground for a while. At one point, one of them got up and the crowd cheered. The other one was on the ground a lot longer.

An emergency vehicle had pulled onto the scene to assist. There was a period of time where she wasn’t moving at all. Then, she sat up and everyone cheered. A few minutes went by and she stood and everyone cheered. At last, she walked to the vehicle and everyone cheered again. And when she rode away, everyone was still cheering.

We stayed until the end of the women’s race and we watched about half of the men’s race before we headed home. But, the injured cyclist stayed on my mind.

I kept thinking about how the crowd cheered her on at each little step of progress until she finally was able to get up and off of the road to where help waited for her.

I thought about how often we get tangled up in our own lives, sometimes with the wrong people and sometimes with the wrong decisions. There are times when those decisions or people knock us off of our feet and take us all the way down to the ground.

Sometimes we lie there in excruciating pain and wonder if we will ever have the strength to get back up.

But, if we reach for Jesus, He always reaches back and helps to pull us back on our feet and with each step of progress, heaven cheers because as long as we are walking towards God, each step is blessed, not matter how tiny it may seem to us at the time.

A bicycle race reminded me that as long as we reach for Jesus, we can always get back up, not matter how horrific the fall may feel. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

It All Matters

Posted on by Wendy
When we willingly give what we have, God will multiply it.

Last Sunday at choir practice, the sopranos were really struggling. We were missing a few voices that day and we were having a hard time finding the notes. We stumbled around for a little while and then another soprano showed up.

She picked up her book and joined in and it all got easier. We joined our voices together and we found the sound.

It was amazing really, how just one more person could make such a big difference in an entire choir, but she did. Her little part helped us get where we needed to go. The struggle vanished.

I thought about choir practice long after we finished singing. I thought about the big difference, seemingly small contributions can make.

I think we’ve probably all had the thought that there are already enough people working on a particular task and that our presence won’t be missed. I know I have. It’s always tempting to believe our little part doesn’t really matter that much, yet it often does.

We are all called to use our gifts and talents to grow the kingdom. If we believe that God made us, then we have to believe that we are gifted in some way and that those gifts can make a difference.

What if the little boy with the fish and loaves would have kept quiet when the disciples asked if anyone had any food? What if he would have kept it to himself because it couldn’t possibly have helped?

Jesus wouldn’t have performed one of the most celebrated miracles in the Bible.

But, notice the food wasn’t snatched from the boy; he freely offered it and when he did, Jesus fed thousands with it.

We forget that it’s not about the size of our contribution, but about whose hands we place our contribution in.

If we willingly give God what we have, He can use it to make miracles happen.

A struggling choir practice reminded me of the importance of every single voice, every single set of hands and every single prayer. It all matters to God.

Perhaps you needed reminding today.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Choosing to Pay Attention

Posted on by Wendy
We all have something to contribute.

Last weekend, there was an awards banquet for our high school band. I arrived early to help decorate and get set up. Everyone was asked to bring a dessert to share. As people started arriving, the goodies started rolling in.

One mom handed me a box of store bought cookies and kind of hung her head a little, as she commented that she guessed there would be a lot of cookies. I told her that was what I had brought. I shared with her that I had been to church and running around all day, and that I was busy and I suspected a lot of other people were too. I reminded her that these were teenagers and they would be more than satisfied with store bought cookies.

I watched her instantly brighten at those few words of encouragement and she held her head up a little higher as she went to find her seat.

I later surveyed the band feast. It stretched out across six tables. There were homemade goodies like brownies, pudding and cake pops, but there were also bags of Chips Ahoy cookies. Someone even brought a bowl and filled it with miniature candies like M&M’s.

The line stretched to the door and the kids loved it all. No one commented on any particular dessert as not being worthy to be there. Nope, plates were piled high and some people even made a second trip.

I thought about that spread and my conversation with that mom, long after the afternoon was done. I thought about how we all have something to contribute no matter how small or insignificant we think that might be and how comparison is always the wrong choice.

If everyone who brought store bought cookies, elected to bring nothing, because they were embarrassed that they weren’t homemade, there wouldn’t have been enough. The purpose of the banquet was to celebrate the kids not the baking skills of their parents.

I also thought about what a huge difference a few words of encouragement can mean to someone who may be struggling. I didn’t know that lady or what her situation was and I was busy, but it took me like two minutes to offer her some encouragement.

I wonder how often I miss the opportunity. It’s so easy in our hectic, busy lives to look straight ahead and focus on our to-do list and not notice the people who might be in our paths, people who might be struggling or hurting, people who may need a simple kind word.

We can all choose to make a difference in the lives of people who cross our paths or we can choose to do nothing. Some store bought cookies reminded me to pay attention. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂