Category: Choosing to See the Bright Side

Optimism is a discipline that can be learned. Choosing to see the best in all situations makes us happier and healthier in the long run. Optimists live longer than pessimists.

Copperhead Reminders

Posted on by Wendy
We sometimes become complacent and forget to be thankful for all of the blessings we have been given.

I was cooking dinner a couple of weeks ago, when my hubby approached me with his phone. He had a picture of a snake pulled up on it. He had just taken down the trash and found a small snake underneath it, he thought about killing it, but didn’t think it was poisonous, so he let it go.

But, after coming back into the house and finding pictures online, he knew it was definitely a Copperhead. They are poisonous and the little ones are supposed to be particularly dangerous because they don’t give a warning bite. They just release all of their venom when they strike.

We had a conversation with each other and our kids about being extra careful outside and not wearing flip flops or sandals in the yard. We talked about wearing closed toed shoes and watching carefully where we step. We talked about the importance of vigilance.

Over the next few days, every time I was out in the yard, whether picking blueberries or cutting hydrangeas, I was hyper-vigilant about where I walked. I didn’t zone out. I was constantly watching for the danger that may be lurking near.

At some point though, it occurred to me that I was in no more danger after the snake sighting than I was the day before. I was just no longer unaware.

Of course, I shouldn’t have been unaware to begin with. One of our dogs had been bitten by a Copperhead years before. She was thankfully okay, but it was in the fenced backyard. I had just chosen to become complacent. My hubby killed a really large one in our neighbor’s driveway.

How had I forgotten?

As the days went by, my fear of being bitten by a dangerous, ninja snake, every time I stepped out of my garage, morphed into a paying close attention stance. I stopped expecting danger at every turn, but didn’t walk around blissfully unaware either.

I was living in the moment, appreciating, but also respecting, my present circumstances. It turned out to be a gift because I began to truly appreciate the beauty around me.

I began to think about how tragedy or near tragedy, makes us take stock and really appreciate what we have, for a time. Sickness, loss or even death of someone we love, makes us savor and hold extra close, the many blessings we have been given. We become extra thankful, but life steps in and we get busy and we forget.

That Copperhead reminded me to live in thankfulness, perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

Hearts that Overflow

Posted on by Wendy
When our hearts are overflowing, sometimes we have tears.

I work in an office at an elementary school and from time to time, a couple of the teachers will send a child my way to help reinforce something they may be working on in the classroom. I’m always happy to help. I often get a glimpse of Jesus when I talk with children. I used to tell my own kids when they were little, that children were His favorite people.

There’s a little boy who was coming in for a short while to read to me for a minute. He was working on fluency and every little bit helps, so he would come in and read a short passage and we would count his words together. It was always so fun to see his eyes light up when he read a little bit more than the day before. I think I enjoyed his progress as much as he did.

I hadn’t seen him in a while, but he popped in a couple of days ago with a new page to read with more difficult words. I was happy to see him. I’d missed his excitement and little stories. But, this time he had something on his mind. He didn’t miss a beat when he told me, “He had tears.”

I found that a strange expression for a little guy, but I waited as he went on to tell me he had tears because he was going to be leaving his teacher and going up to second grade.

My heart ached for him. Change is hard at any age. I remembered having teachers in my own life, who left footprints on my heart and I had been really sad to leave them, even though I was moving forward. I remembered my own children having teachers who left their footprints on my babies’ hearts and my own as well.

I have come to appreciate what a gift it is when we become so touched by the people in our lives that leaving them, gives us tears, to borrow my little friend’s expression. Those tears are simply evidence of the lasting, beautiful effect that those people will always have on our hearts. Those people change us forever and help to shape the people we become.

I reassured my little friend that he would get to see his teacher next year and that I was sure he would love second grade. That seemed to be enough for him. He took a deep breath and began reading and went a little further than the day before.

This time of year often brings lots of change, grade changes, school changes, graduations and weddings are just a few things that tend to occur in the spring. Those events while happy, often lead to us having tears, but the good news is that those tears mean we’re alive and our hearts are full, so full that they are overflowing, and that is truly a blessing.

A little boy reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

5K Lessons

Posted on by Wendy
I learned a lot more from participating in a 5K than I bargained for.

Last weekend I participated in a 5K. It was a fund raiser for our school’s STEM program and lots of people I work with were participating, so I reluctantly signed up. I’m not a runner. I like to walk for fitness and I run a little, during my walks, but I would never consider myself a runner.

The thought of a race was definitely not my cup of tea. I’m just not competitive that way, but I signed up anyway.

It turned out to be cold, in the forties and there was a small chance of rain, but there was a carnival atmosphere when I arrived. Everyone was pumped up and smiling. There was music playing. I wasn’t really sure what the excitement was about, but it was infectious.

Once the race began, I ended up walking alone and keeping my own pace. When I would see people I knew, they would smile and speak. Sometimes they were way ahead and on their way back when we crossed paths and sometimes I would pass them.

Either way, everyone was very encouraging, “Go Wendy!” they would call. When it began to rain, I began to run more than walk. I got a few good natured call outs, “thought you didn’t run!” I would laugh and reply that I don’t.

I never said I couldn’t run; I said I don’t run. Turns out, when it’s freezing and raining, I can run quite a lot.

But, the encouragement was contagious and I found myself cheering others on when I passed by them as well. When I crossed the finish line, a friend of mine was videoing and cheering me on.

I was so grateful to be done. I was cold and wet and ready to head home, but another friend told me I couldn’t leave because I was going to medal. How could that be possible? Little kids had passed me.

She explained that the race was broken down into age groups. There weren’t many people in my age group. I found it hysterical that just being old and finishing, made me eligible for an award, but I stayed and I got a medal. She did too and everyone cheered for each other.

I thought about that race long after I finally got home and got warm and dry.

It really is a parallel of how we should live our lives, going at our own pace, joining with others sometimes, walking some and running some, continuing forward even when the weather is bad and maybe most importantly, encouraging others in their race.

As a dear friend of mine says, “It doesn’t matter when you cross the finish line, as long as you finish. The only ones who lose are the ones who don’t try at all.” Perhaps you needed reminding today.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

Creation Inspiration

Posted on by Wendy
It’s amazing what we can find when we are patient and look closely.

I took a field trip around my yard one day last week. We had been blessed with a couple of days in the eighties and my yard had sprung back to life. Everything was green and blooming and I walked around just snapping pictures, like a kid on Christmas morning.

My fig tree had a bunch of figs for the first time ever and my blueberry bushes were covered in blueberries, not just blooms, but actual berries.

I marveled as I walked around, at all of the life and growth bursting forth around me and I was reminded of the long wet winter. It rained for days and days last winter. I mean seriously, it was gray most of the time and I sometimes wondered if they rain would ever end. I think it was actually the second wettest for us in history.

We got no snow, but tons of rain, and I was so weary of it.

But, the aftermath of that wet, miserable winter, was proving to be stunning. Apparently that incessant rain had caused nature to flourish in a way I would have never thought possible back in February.

As I pondered the thought, I looked closely at my hydrangeas. They are such interesting plants. During the winter, they go completely dormant. If you didn’t know any better, you would swear they were dead and dig them up and toss them, but they seem to turn green again overnight and what was dead on the outside actually was alive on the inside. Mine actually had tiny blooms getting ready to explode.

When I finally went back into the house, I felt filled with the inspiration that can only come from Creation, the kind that comes from what only God can create and I was reminded of the importance of patience, perseverance and trusting His plan.

God knew in January and February about the new life that was coming in the spring. He new about the growth and the beauty. He knew what the rain would produce even when I wasn’t capable of seeing it, even when I was tired and frustrated.

He knows the same about His human creations as well. He knows the plans He has for us. He knows what’s coming after the long rainy seasons move through. He’s constantly working to knit it all together to create something beautiful and fruitful.

A spring walk reminded me. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

The Blessings After the Showers

Posted on by Wendy
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

Yesterday, I barely made it home before it started raining. It was a pretty decent shower with a couple of thunder claps. As I looked out my kitchen window, I silently congratulated myself that I didn’t get caught in it. I was in my house, safe and dry and my car was parked safely in the garage.

My hubby wasn’t so lucky. He had to drive home in the rain and it was still drizzling when he got home. It didn’t last long though and the sun came out almost as soon as the rain stopped. He ran out to his truck to get something and came back in the house smiling.

It’s pollen season in Georgia and everything is blanketed in a thick coat of yellow powder. You can sweep it off, but it comes right back. The only thing that really removes it is a good rain shower.

My hubby was happy to report that his truck was all shiny again after the rain. The pollen had been washed away.

I glanced out the door at my car, yep, still covered in pollen. I had missed the inconvenience of the rain, but I’d missed the blessing that came with it as well.

I thought about the rain for the rest of the evening. I thought about how we dread the inconveniences and frustrations that inevitably occur on this side of eternity. I thought about hard times and how we tend to avoid them at all cost.

Yet, often, when life gets hard, we learn to focus on the things in life that really matter and we learn to let go of the things that don’t. We find ourselves drawing closer to God, when we find ourselves in need.

In a sense, hardship washes away the stuff that doesn’t really matter and magnifies the stuff that does.

And when the sun comes out again, and it always does, we are lighter than we were before because we laid those needless burdens down and if we allow Him to, God will put new light into us and we can see new blessings.

A spring shower reminded me to stop dreading the rain. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

Rainy Day Blessings

Posted on by Wendy
Flowers always require rain to bloom.

Yesterday, as I headed to my car after work, it was raining, again. I dug around my bag and found my umbrella, again. It’s gotten an awful lot of use over the past few months. Sigh. I knew the rain was coming. It had been forecasted, still, I wasn’t happy to see it.

When I was driving to work that morning, I prayed that God would show Himself. It had been a long week and I was bone tired. I was greeted with a spectacular, bright pink sky. It was gorgeous and I was thankful, but as I headed home, the skies were gray once again. I was so tired of the rain.

Yet, as I grumpily drove, I couldn’t help but notice, the daffodils that were blooming all over the side of the road. There were also brightly colored yellow bell bushes along my path. When I turned into my neighborhood, there were tall, white Bradford Pear trees that were covered in blooms.

Creation had definitely begun to awaken from it’s winter slumber and as usual, it was stunning. I had to grudgingly admit that the copious amount of rain had to have played a part in the beauty that I was being blessed with.

A few weeks ago, when the rain was pouring for days on end, spring was nowhere in sight. The entire world was dark and gloomy and I wanted sunshine and rescue from the seemingly endless downpours. It was February and it was dark and cold; spring felt like a very distant hope.

Yet, on the last day of February, I marveled at the beauty the rain had helped to create.

I felt a little heart nudge that reminded me of my morning prayer for God to show Himself. I had prayed and almost immediately, my prayer was answered and I could feel His presence. I love those kinds of moments, immediate gratification, who doesn’t?

But, He was also present in the gray, cold rain. I had to look a little harder to find Him, but He was there. He was there in all of the beautiful spring color, but He was also there before there was any color, preparing for the beauty that He knew was coming.

I couldn’t see it during the rainy weeks in February, but He was at work. He’s always at work. The early spring blooms reminded me that people, just like the earth, require a certain amount of rain to bloom and it’s not always pretty. It’s sometimes messy and uncomfortable.

Faith teaches us that spring always comes, no matter how dark and rainy the winter might be. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

The Perfection Deception

Posted on by Wendy
The quest for perfection will always frustrate us on this side of Eternity.

Next Friday, the elementary school where I work, is having a book dress up day. It coincides with Dr. Seuss’s birthday. The different grade levels are picking book characters to dress up as and there will be a parade. Elementary schools still do some cool and fun activities because being a kiddo and learning is supposed to be fun.

Those of us older folks, who happen to work in the office, were encouraged to participate as well, which we of course, happily agreed to. Life is serious enough. We didn’t want to miss an opportunity to play along with the littles and who doesn’t love a parade?

After much discussion and combing Pinterest, we decided on 101 Dalmatians. It would be fairly easy to put together and we all knew the story well from our own childhood.

All I had to do was buy a plain white t-shirt and cover it in black spots. That’s a simple enough task. I got the shirt, put it in the washer and when it was dry, got ready to cover it in spots.

But, I had to decide whether to use a fabric marker or fabric paint. After several doodles on a different piece of fabric, I settled on the paint. Then I got started on the first spot. Was it too small? Was it a perfect circle? Where should the next spot go? Was it too close or too far away? Then there was the third. Was I making a weird pattern? Should they all be close to the same size?

After driving myself crazy for a little while, I picked up the book that I had since I was a kid, and was reminded that no two dalmatians look alike and that some had lots of spots and some had very few and the patterns were all over the place. Thank-you Walt Disney.

I knew this of course, but how had I forgotten? How had I allowed such a seemingly easy task, to cause me such unneeded stress?

I knew the answer: It’s the quest for perfection.

It’s a doomed quest that many of us needlessly saddle ourselves with, the perfect body, the perfect smile, the perfect hair, the perfect outfit, the perfect spouse, the perfect kids, the perfect job, the perfect church, the list is endless.

We sometimes forget that we are travelers here. Our permanent residence is in heaven where perfection lives because God is perfect, but on this side of Eternity, we are broken and nothing is perfect, although there are times when we will create all kinds of unneeded chaos trying to achieve it.

A dalmatian t-shirt reminded me that life here on planet earth is never perfect and trying to achieve perfection here will always wear us out. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too!

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Seeing the Light in the Difficult Times

Posted on by Wendy
Sometimes when we are forced to be still, we hear and see things we would have otherwise missed.

Sunday morning I awakened by a throbbing migraine. I have had them since my freshman year in college. My mama has them. My granddaddy had them. Over the years, I’ve learned to feel one coming on and I can head it off by taking medication early, before it gets bad. After it gets bad, there isn’t much to do besides, sit in the darkness with an ice pack on my head.

Because of my learned coping strategies, it’s been a long time since one has really knocked me off of my feet, but this one was sneaky and it came during the night. I tossed and turned as it got worse and it wasn’t until it became more than I could stand, that I finally got up and took something.

Of course, it was too late at that point and I had to get an ice pack and go right back to bed. An hour later, I finally trudged into the kitchen for some coffee to continue the fight. It was a little better, but still there. I sat at the kitchen table in semi-darkness, lamenting the fact that I would miss church and probably the work out I had promised myself.

I knew very well that my day would be slowed down to a turtle crawl at best and a day on the sofa at worst.

As I began to drinking my second cup of coffee, I could hear nothing but silence and the ticking of a clock. The sky through my windows began to brighten and the sun came out. It had been raining for days, so my soul felt a little lighter. Then a deer walking the fence line caught my eye. I sat mesmerized watching her, wondering what had caught her attention.

If I hadn’t felt confined to the chair, I would have been up emptying the dishwasher.

I likely would have missed the sun breaking through the clouds and the deer.

A little while later, I went to let the dogs out and it felt like a cool spring morning. I grabbed a blanket and went out to the porch to sit and I could hear the creek behind our house. It doesn’t normally have enough water to make a gurgling sound, but the recent rains had given it a beautiful voice, one I would have missed if I hadn’t had the headache.

As I sat, bundled up in the cool morning air, I felt thankful and blessed, not for the migraine. No one is thankful for a migraine or any other sickness or crises in their lives. But, I was thankful that in the stillness I was able to see God. I was able to see beauty. I was able to find peace.

The Bible tells us over and over that we never walk alone and most believers know that it’s true on some level, but it’s often the darkest times when we are really reminded, when we can really feel and see that promise.

A migraine reminded me. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

Appreciating the Blessings

Posted on by Wendy
Taking time to appreciate our blessings, is a way of giving thanks to the One who gave them to us.

One day late last week, the meteorologists in our area began to forecast rain and when I say rain, I mean they were talking five to seven inches of rain over the next week. Everyone at work grumbled at the news. Lots of people on Facebook grumbled. Georgia has had a very wet winter and it appeared the trend would continue.

Saturday morning started out cloudy, as expected, but as the day progressed, the sun came out and by 1:00 it was beautiful and sunny. I received a text from a friend telling me she was outside soaking up the sun and hoped I was doing the same.

I wasn’t doing the same. I had been running around doing errands and when I arrived home, I planned on taking a walk and then checking off my long to do list.

But, I was so tired. I hadn’t gotten enough sleep the week before and my deck looked really inviting. I decided to have lunch outside and then get busy. It was 70 degrees out there and I lingered after lunch. My hubby decided that it was a perfect day to cook on his smoker, so he did.

Then he brought some cushions out to put on our outdoor furniture. I decided to sit with him for a few minutes while he ate his lunch, then I would get busy.

One of my dogs jumped up and sat down beside me and she and I enjoyed the sun, for just a few more minutes.

But, then my son came out with his lunch, so I decided to sit with him while he ate, then I would get busy.

We chatted and laughed as the minutes kept ticking by and I don’t know when I have been so relaxed.

When my son decided to go back inside and my dog and I remained, an idea bubbled in my heart. When we know rain is coming and we are given the blessing of beautiful sunshine in advance, isn’t it wrong not to appreciate it?

I had been praying about being so tired and here was an opportunity to rest, was I really not going to take it? How many blessings do we miss while we are busy doing what we consider more important at the moment?

Let’s face it, our to do lists are never done. When we actually make it to the bottom, don’t we always start a new one? And will those lists have any significance at all in five years?

A sunny, warm day in February, with family and furry babies to share it with, is a gift. We should really take the time to enjoy what we have given and be thankful. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

Shining the Light

Posted on by Wendy
Just an ordinary light can make an extraordinary difference to the darkness around us.

Our house backs up to some power lines, so for the almost fourteen years we have lived here, we have had this wonderful feeling of being more remote than we are. Nothing can be built under those lines, so we have tons of deer, rabbits, chipmunks, hawks and owls. Since there are no other houses, we have rarely used curtains on the backside of our house. When the sun goes down, it’s completely dark, or it was.

Our little town has become a hot bed of construction and some enterprising developer has built a brand new subdivision on the other side of those power lines. There are no houses yet, but there are street lights. There is one so bright that it’s almost blinding, shining through one of our bedroom windows at night.

My hubby and I recently took a little hike over there to check it out. I really just had to get a look at the ginormous light that had been erected. I reasoned that it must be like an airport search light or a light house beam or something extraordinary.

But, when we made our way through the tall weeds, briers and bushes, I could hardly believe what I saw. It was just an everyday, average, street light. It wasn’t especially tall and the paved streets over there, had plenty of them even though we could only see one.

After doing a little exploring, we headed home, but I couldn’t get that light out of my mind. It’s amazing how just one light can make such a huge impact on the world around it.

I read that some light houses can be seen up to 37 miles out at sea. There was a time when that was the only guidance that weary sailors had, to get them safely to shore. I’ve no doubt that those sailors could tell you all about the importance of light.

The concept of light is important to Christians as well. The term light, is used 232 times in the NIV version of the Bible. Scripture tells us God is light and Jesus told His disciples to let their light shine.

I think that concept can sometimes be a little daunting for us everyday folks. We wonder what difference one person can possibly make. Yet, the streetlight all the way through woods, that shines brightly through my window, reminds me that it doesn’t take much light at all, to shatter the darkness around us.

That streetlight reminded me that whatever light we have to give, will always be more than enough, because God has always been in the business of multiplication. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂