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.

Seeking the Light

Posted on by Wendy
Christmas is coming!

As I sit typing this post, it’s pitch black dark outside and really cold. It’s supposed to drop into the twenties tonight. I feel exhausted from a busy day. My body feels like it could be close to midnight, yet it’s barely 7:00.

I am reminded of a conversation I had with a dear old friend at church on Sunday. I hadn’t seen him in a while and we were catching up. He has recently retired and I told him I had been praying for him. He thanked me and asked me to keep praying. He told me he was keeping busy, but really struggled this time of year with the dark, and lately, rainy days. I nodded in agreement and assured him I would.

Tonight, sitting at my keyboard, I agree with him. I much prefer to write in the daylight with sun shining brightly through my windows. It’s so easy to see God, in the chirping birds and blooming flowers, or even in the fall foliage.

It’s sometimes much harder to find Him in the darkness.

There’s actually something called Seasonal Affective Disorder, where people become moody and depressed during seasons with less light. Our physical bodies and minds instinctively crave the light.

I find it beautifully symbolic that the days grow shorter and shorter, the closer we get to Christmas. It’s as if the earth itself is groaning for the light that we are readying our hearts to celebrate. On December 21st, we experience the shortest day of the year and after that, the days begin to lengthen little by little.

Then, just three days after that longest night of the year On December 24th, we celebrate the light from heaven that came to earth to change the fate of mankind forever. Thanks to that baby, we never have to walk in spiritual darkness again.

Maybe it’s just a coincidence that it was also three days between that dark Friday and the glory of Easter morning…

As I ponder these coincidences and the power, goodness, and timing of God, I glance over at my dogs who are always at my side when I write. They don’t carry watches around and they don’t seem to care whether the sun is shining or it’s the dark of night. They like to be near me.

I smile as I’m reminded that we worship a God who is also by our side, rain or shine, day or night. He likes for us to be near Him. When we search for Him we will always find Him even in the darkest of circumstances. After all, He is the light.

So, let’s all take a deep hopeful breath and remember that the darkness never wins. Christmas is coming soon. Hallelujah!

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Growing in Faith

Posted on by Wendy
Faith teaches us that we have nothing to fear.

Yesterday, a little girl came into the school clinic. Her mouth was bleeding and she was a little panicked. Our nurse had stepped out, so I did a little triage. I asked her if she had lost a tooth and she said no. I gave her a cup of water to rinse her mouth out, so I could get a clearer look.

She rinsed and I took a look. There was a baby tooth that was the source of the bleeding. I asked her if it was loose and she told me that it started bleeding when she bit into an apple. All of the pieces fell together and I assured her that all was well, that her tooth was bleeding because it would soon come out and that she didn’t need to worry.

She looked like she wasn’t sure she believed me, but she took a tissue with her and went back to lunch.

It wasn’t long before she came back in grinning, with a tiny tooth in her hand. This time the nurse was in the clinic, but she stopped by my desk to show me. We talked about the tooth fairy coming to visit. She got a bag from the nurse to keep it in and she was on her way, much happier than she had been when she came in the first time.

I thought about that little girl on my drive home. I thought about how she panicked when she saw blood and how she wasn’t so sure that I knew what I was talking about. How could something bad like blood in her mouth, mean something good was about to happen?

Sure, I knew what was coming, because I’m older and I’ve been there, but how often have I panicked myself, when something was different than I thought it should be?

Things that we consider bad, happen to us all of the time, the job we didn’t get, that we wanted so badly, the relationship that didn’t work, even thought we gave it all we had, that no, that we wanted so desperately to be a yes, can all seem devastating at the time.

Yet, the passage of time, coupled with age, allows us to look back and more often than not, see all those “bad,” things were actually good and led us to a better place, or a better situation, or even better people.

The longer we walk with God, the more we come to realize there’s always a plan and that He’s always in control. There’s a peace that comes from knowing and believing that since He’s got it, we simply don’t need to worry about what comes next.

We’re really no different than the little girl and her tooth. We don’t have to panic because something good is in the works. We call that faith.

Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Christmas Tree Adventures

Posted on by Wendy
Every chapter in our lives has a beauty all its own.

On Thanksgiving Day, after the meal was eaten and the dishes were put away, my mama and I were sitting at the kitchen table, looking at the pictures we had taken. We were appreciating a little break after a day of cooking, when my college student came in and announced that she, her brother and her daddy, were going out to find a Christmas tree and asked if we wanted to go.

I had serious doubts about the success of this venture, but I was game and so was Mama. We piled up into the truck, found some Christmas music and away we went. We did eventually find a tree, but we couldn’t find a tree stand, and no one was willing to brave the Walmart madness. We went to six places from one end of town to the other and eventually gave up and went home.

But, we had fun and we made some new memories.

We did go the next day and picked out a tree and a stand. We have always used an artificial one, so this was an entirely new experience for us. When we began decorating, my daughter decided we needed a new garland, so she and Mama and I, pulled up Pinterest and got some ideas. Then we grabbed my son, and we piled into my car, turned on the Christmas music and went to Hobby Lobby. It was complete Black Friday chaos, which I usually avoid at all costs,but we got in and out without a scratch and a couple of rolls of ribbon.

Once again, we made some new memories.

We got home and my daughter and I, finished decorating our new real tree, with our new garland. We laughed a lot and my son threw in his two cents worth from time to time and we made more memories.

I share this story because my son is a senior in high school and my daughter attends college a few hours away from home. This time next year, my hubby and I will be empty nesters. Gone are the days of little ones and milk and cookies left for Santa. Those days were fun and magical, to be sure.

But, this chapter is turning out to be fun as well. We can be more spontaneous and there are no bed times. We can start new traditions. I get opinions from my mostly grown kids on things like garland and I have to say, I’m enjoying the input.

My family Christmas tree adventure, reminded me that every chapter in our lives has a beauty and magic all its own. Looking back can be fun, but longing for the past robs us of the present and there are still so many memories to make. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

First Grade Logic

Posted on by Wendy
How we view failure can determine our success.

One of my favorite first graders came into the office today. I turned around in my chair and he was standing there in front of the clinic. The nurse had stepped out for a minute and I asked him what he needed. He told me his clothes were soaking wet.

Now, I love to hear this kid tell a story, so I asked him what happened. I was not disappointed. He went into a long narrative about how he had been on the slide, not the little kids’ slide, but the one for the upper grades. Everything was really wet, so he was sliding very slowly, and when he reached the bottom, he tried to turn to the left really quickly, but he wasn’t fast enough and fell into a puddle.

There are some kids who would have come into the office crying about being all wet. There are some who would have been mad. But, this one just wanted to change into some dry clothes so he could get back to the business of playing, and as soon as his story was done, he wanted to move quickly.

I helped him find some pants and then the nurse returned and she helped him with a shirt. He was out of there in no time flat, headed back to the playground.

I thought about that first grader for the rest of the day and I smiled every time I thought of him. I thought about how he openly told me about his failed attempt on the slide. He wasn’t embarrassed. He wasn’t mad or sad. It was simply a miscalculation and I suspect he would try it again. I also thought about how playing was his intent and he wasn’t going to let anything get in his way.

We can learn a lot from first grade logic.

We all try things that we fail at. They can be anything from a class, or a new business, or baking, or even relationships. We sometimes fail miserably, but even when we get all wet and covered with mud, are we willing to dry off and try again or are we too embarrassed and just give up? Do we see failure as a simple miscalculation or do we see it as a commentary on our character? How often do we let pride get in the way of our success?

As people of faith, we can pray for guidance and if we get a green light, try again, always remembering nothing is impossible with God.

A first grader reminded me we should always keep trying, if it’s important. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

Hurricane Reflections

Posted on by Wendy
We should seek and hold onto joy whenever we can.

As the pictures of the devastation from Hurricane Michael keep rolling in, it seems to be the topic of everyone’s conversation. Part of it is because, Florida is our next door neighbor and so many of us in Georgia, have been to those places that were hit so hard.

We have so many memories of wonderful times spent there.

Personally, I have scanned the internet daily for a business in Panama City called Goofy Golf. It’s a putt-putt place that’s been there since the fifties. My parents took us to play putt-putt there every year on our family vacations. My mama’s parents took her to play there and I’ve taken my own kids to play there. Although it’s just a place, I desperately want it to have survived.

A few years ago, when the entire town of Gatlinburg, Tennessee was on fire, I frantically searched the internet, hoping that the chapel that my hubby and I got married in, was still standing. It wasn’t like our marriage would have no longer been valid if it burned, I just really wanted it to have survived.

When I think of the people who actually have homes in that area, that were there one minute and gone the next and the people who have severe storm damage, my heart breaks for them. As I have prayed for the folks on the Florida Panhandle the last few days, I’m reminded that our lives can drastically change in the blink of an eye.

As we go through our everyday lives, we can get so complacent, that we take it all for granted. It had been since the 1850’s that, that area had been hit by a hurricane of that magnitude. No one is even alive that would remember it, but I’ve no doubt that those people living back then, were just as devastated.

The aftermath of Hurricane Michael reminds me that we should soak up every moment we are given with the people we love and with those who love us. It reminds me to tell the people we love that we love them. It reminds me to seek and to hold on tightly to joy and to let anger and pain go. It reminds me that we should forgive easily and anger slowly. It reminds me that nothing on this side of Eternity is permanent, no matter how strong we may think it is.

Life is a gift. We should remember that every morning when we wake up. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Making Your Steps Count

Posted on by Wendy
In the end it’s not how many steps we take, but where those steps take us, that matters most.

There’s a little contest going on at my school. It involves how many steps someone can take in a day. There are teams. The team with the most steps at the end of the contest wins. It’s pretty straightforward and it’s a fun way to encourage each other to move around more. There was a similar contest last year. I didn’t participate.

First of all, I don’t have one of those little step counter watches that everyone is wearing these days. I know they are super cool and trendy, but they remind me of 1980’s fashion and I’ve been there and done that. Secondly, I’m just not very competitive. I exercise because I have to to stay fit, not because I get great joy out of it and I’m certainly not going to devote entire weekends of running or swimming, so I can get a shirt.

But, this time, there was a team that was short and so I reluctantly agreed to participate. The tricky part is, I have to carry my cell phone everywhere I go if I want credit for my steps. My embarrassingly low numbers are evidence that I often leave it behind.

I’m sure by the time the contest is finished, I’ll be carrying it around as reliably as a mama kangaroo and her joey.

But, as I was lamenting about the situation the other day, it occurred to me that just because my steps don’t get recorded on my phone, doesn’t mean that I didn’t take them. Just because they don’t count in the contest, doesn’t mean that I’m not more aware of the need to move more.

We are currently living in a social media crazed, show me, world. We may go on the most spectacular vacation of our lives, but if there are no pictures posted, was it less spectacular?

As Christians, our faith calls us to something entirely different. The Bible even tells us, “But, when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:6

Our work contest reminds me that I probably need to be more physically active, and that’s a good thing, but it also reminds me that instead of counting my steps, I really need to focus on making my steps count. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Finding the Blessings

Posted on by Wendy
Turns out, the ideal beach vacation, has very little to do with the weather.

Last summer, my family vacationed in Destin, Florida. It had been years since I had been to the Gulf of Mexico and I was super excited. Our past several beach trips were to the Atlantic side of Florida. They were all wonderful trips, but the white beaches and the clear water on the Gulf of Mexico, are hard to beat.

I couldn’t wait to spend hours and hours, sitting on the sand and listening to the waves. I literally counted the days until we could go. The beach and the water didn’t disappoint. It was as beautiful as I had hoped.

Unfortunately, the weather was not. It rained. I mean not like that normal Florida rain, where it rains an hour every afternoon and moves out. It rained for hours every single day, but one.

There was a time in my life when I would have been devastated and would have believed the vacation that I had been waiting for a year to go on, was ruined.

But, I’ve finally reached a point in my life, where I’ve come to understand that my happiness doesn’t come from the where I am, but from the who I’m with.

My hubby and I were blessed to have our older teenagers with us. I have no idea how many more vacations they will both be able to join us for. There will be things like internships, and jobs, and maybe even summer school, that will keep them busy.

We were able to squeeze out at least a few hours each day of beach time and it was enough.

When we were indoors, we watched movies together and even watched and played some game shows. We talked. We hung out in ways that we really don’t when we are at home.

We got to play putt-putt golf and race cars. We went to see “The Incredibles 2,” fourteen years after we saw the first one together.

When my kids were little, I might have considered the entire vacation a bust. When we have preconceived notions of what the “perfect” anything, looks like, we are bound to be disappointed and we can sometimes miss the blessings that God has placed right in front of us.

It’s not really possible to capture meaningful conversations and inside jokes on social media.

Maybe that’s by design. Maybe the moments that matter the most to us, will always be the ones that are the most personal and will have very little to do with the circumstances, and everything to do with the people we share them with.

A rainy beach trip reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

The Scars are Part of the Beauty

Posted on by Wendy
At the time, I suspect someone was very unhappy with that spot. Now, it’s simply part of the table’s story.

Last weekend, I asked my hubby to drag our kitchen table out into the garage. It’s an old farmhouse table that was long overdue for some tlc. The table has a cool history. My hubby’s granddaddy built it for his growing family, back before my mother-in-law was even born.

That table has had countless meals served upon it and there’s no telling how many conversations. Over the years, there would have been discussions of the Great Depression by the folks sitting around it as well as talk of World War II and the Kennedy Assassination.

I’ve no doubt, that thousands of prayers have been lifted up in its presence.

My hubby and I have had that table for some 21 years now and our own family has added to its history, including the glitter that got in its cracks while my Mama was helping my children with some Christmas crafts.

Some years back, in an effort to preserve it, I put a coat of a water based sealer on it. Unfortunately, after years of wiping it down before and after dinner, the finish became sticky and napkins and any other type of paper would stick to it.

I tried a simple fix early last summer, of sanding it. It didn’t work, so I had to resort to more drastic measures. I had to actually strip it and sand it and then reseal it with an oil based product.

As I was working on the table over the weekend, I marveled at all of the nicks and scratches. There’s a dark black spot on it, that my hubby says was always there. I wouldn’t dream of trying to remove it. I’m not sure I could if I wanted to. For me, it along with all of the other scars, adds to the table’s story and beauty. It makes it unique.

But, I’ll bet my hubby’s grandmother was furious when it happened. I mean, it’s a huge black spot. She couldn’t have possibly known how long that table would be around or thought about the roll it would play in the lives of her great-grandchildren, who she would never even meet.

As I was coating the table with polyurethane, I thought about how we all have spots, and dings, and scars, like that table. They come from simply living.

Sometimes we try to deny them and hide them, and when we got them, we most likely could see no good coming from them. But those scars add to our beauty. They helped to shape who we are. They help us reach out to others along the way, who can benefit from our wisdom.

And who knows, some of those lessons learned, may actually filter down to our own great-grandchildren.

A beautiful old table reminded me to embrace who we are and where we’ve been, scars and all, and to remember that those scars and scratches come from living a long life. Not everyone gets that blessing. Perhaps you needed reminding today.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

The Rear View Mirror Illusion

Posted on by Wendy
Someone else took the time to snap a photo of that beautiful rainbow.

One day last week, I was driving to work, deep down into my bones, weary. It had been a long stressful week both at work and at home and I was running late. While none of these issues were serious in the big picture, I’ll have to admit that I sometimes live in the moment.

I allow my daily annoyances and stresses to completely cloud my vision and the big picture gets lost. My current situation takes over my thoughts and I can find myself feeling like I’m drowning.

This day was one of those days.

I usually find the remedy to these counterproductive thoughts in prayer. I was certainly praying that morning. I glanced in my rear-view mirror and saw the most gorgeous pink clouds behind me. When I looked ahead, the sky in front of me was gray. The sun hadn’t touched it yet.

I sighed as I asked God why sometimes life looks like all of the best times are behind us.

If we are honest, I think we all probably do that from time-to-time. Don’t we? We look at where we are and we look at where we’ve been and we remember the good old days and we wish we could go back. We wonder if we will ever be that happy again.

We forget that time has a way of filtering the bad stuff out of our memories and we remember the good. Why else would anyone with a toddler ever want a second child? Those stresses are so real and hard at the time, the tantrums and defiance, the potty training, but the joy we get from that toddler crowds out the stress and we eventually forget.

I prayed for peace, strength and reassurance, during the rest of my short drive.

When I turned onto the road where I work, the sky was beautiful and bright. It was full of pink clouds and when I pulled into my parking lot, my soul felt lighter. I thanked God for the sign. I took a deep breath as I went racing toward the door, when a voice behind me called out. She wanted to chat and I was late and a little annoyed at the interference.

I politely slowed down and chatted with her. Then she stopped and pointed out the rainbow over the building. It was so faint; you could hardly see it, but it was there and I was amazed as I fought tears.

No, the best days were not behind me and yes, God was there and still listening, still present and still very involved and yes, He was still in the business of answering the prayers of His children who cry out to Him.

I really needed reminding that day. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Embracing Every Season

Posted on by Wendy
There’s beauty in every season of the journey.

Yesterday, the former assistant principal of the school where I work, popped in for a visit. She is now the principal of a different school and she was on spring break. She looked fabulous. Her hair was different. Her eyes had a sparkle. The change for her was clearly a good one.

It seems that change has been in the air this spring. We have five teachers retiring and quite a few others leaving, but all for wonderful reasons. One is moving to be closer to family and spend more time with a new baby. One has a baby on the way and wants to stay home with him or her. Our cafeteria manager is leaving because she’s going to run the cafeteria at a brand new school.

While it’s sad to see so many people that I have come to hold dear, move on to their next chapter, it’s impossible for me not to be excited for them too. They are all following dreams of some sort and embracing a new season.

Last year was my first year working full time in seventeen years. I walked into a group of people who embraced me with open arms even thought the person I was replacing had been loved by them. She had chosen to start a new chapter too.

I share my office space with two other people and one of them is the school nurse. Last year, I was blessed to get to know and to become friends with, our nurse Ivy. She had been diagnosed with ALS, but was determined to keep working. We prayed together every morning and my other coworker and I, worked hard to help her keep working. It was a heartbreaking year, watching her grow a little weaker everyday to a devastating disease that she eventually succumbed to. But, my friend Ivy knew Jesus and I’ve no doubt she’s running marathons on two strong legs in heaven.

I learned so many new things and lessons last year, but perhaps the most important one, was finding the beauty in and embracing every single season I find myself in, whether it’s a hard one or an easy one. There are daily blessings showered upon us on every leg of our journey and when we cling too tightly to where we are and refuse to move ahead, then we are missing some breathtaking new scenery as well as new adventures.

I’ve been a lifelong hater of change. It’s taken me a long time to learn that when we let go of our need to control and learn to trust that God has a plan, we can live in an indescribable state of peace. I’m learning the beauty of letting go and enjoying the ride and to cheer on others as they do the same.

A visit from a friend reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂