Wildflower Writes

Photo by Christopher Paul High on Unsplash I’m a sucker for a personality test or a strengths inventory, even a “Which Disney princess are you?” quiz. Incidentally, just because I like to whistle while I work does not make me Snow White! I’ve yet to see a weakness inventory. I would guess few people would want to take a test to tell them all the ways they fall short. Sometimes, even our strengths can be weaknesses when taken to extremes. Realistically, no one can be perfect. Why is it important to know our weaknesses? I’ve always thought it was to eliminate them or mitigate them somehow. And I do believe that God’s strength is made perfect in weakness- that God uses the weak to shame the strong.   Today I heard an additional theory I had never considered. On Rick Warren’s podcast this week, he suggests that we are made “imperfect” on purpose, designed to be in community. Without our weaknesses, we wouldn’t have a need to connect with others. Like puzzle pieces, our strengths...

Photo by  Javad Esmaeili  on  Unsplash   I opened an email from the local community theater, promoting auditions for a two-person show. I’ve been connected to this theater for nearly 30 years, and last year I was cast as a lead for the first time ever. Unfortunately, like so many important events, the show was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and I’ve been wanting to get on the stage ever since. Even as a child, I loved stories and playing pretend. Acting is a way to become a different person, with different experiences, values, and perspectives. There’s also the fun of getting into a character’s head, to understand their motivation or true feelings, and then creatively communicating those traits through facial expression, voice inflection, and body language. Mathematically, the chance of being cast in a two-person show is not very good, especially since I’m not the most talented or experienced choice. I find joy in the audition process, reading as a character ...

It was after 4:00, and I was grudgingly rushing back to work to meet with a family member at the nursing home. I was focusing on the construction sight at the end of the road, and almost missed my turn. I had one of those dissociative thoughts as I made my turn, that I had narrowly missed driving into destruction. It could be a metaphor for life- that by focusing on all the negative circumstances in life, you inevitably drive your life right into negativity and destruction. Then it occurred to me that it was not called a destruction site. It was a construction site. Even though it looks like a complete mess, each machine, hole, orange sign, and pile of dirt serves a purpose. In time, what now looks like a confused eyesore will be a safer traffic flow pattern with brand new asphalt and signs. Sometimes the roads of life need fixed, too. Too many of us continue down the same paths we’ve always known, and don’t realize they’re filled with potholes until we lose a hubcap or get a flat tire...