Wildflower Writes

Photo by  Pacific Austin  on  Unsplash   Trying to run in the winter is always a challenge, especially since I prefer to workout in the mornings. The combination of pre-dawn darkness, below-freezing temperatures, and slippery sidewalks make the goal of putting in 10-15 miles a week a difficult task. This morning, as I dodged an icy patch while running over a bridge, I thought I glanced something moving over my right shoulder. It turned out that a flag was flying in front of one of the tall streetlights, casting a flickering shadow over my running route. It was nothing to be afraid of, it was literally just a shadow. The Chinese have a word, zhilaohu , that has been translated “paper tiger.” It’s used to refer to something that has the appearance of a threat, but really has no ability to cause harm. Like the flitting shadow that startled me on my run, many fears that keep us from reaching our goals are not real. They have no substance, but they stand in the way of...

" It's Friday, but Sunday's coming ." This phrase comes from the sermon of an African American Baptist preacher, S.M. Lockridge, who rubbed shoulders with Martin Luther King, Jr. and Billy Graham. The gist of the sermon was, like Good Friday, when believers watched their Savior go through torture and death, it felt like everything they lived for was gone. All their dreams for salvation died, as Jesus breathed His last. Sometimes we get to those points in our lives of utter dark ness and despair. We don't know where to turn or what to do next, and we would give anything to escape the pain. But Sunday's coming. In God's timing, Jesus returned to earth to comfort and instruct His believers, and give them hope for the future. In His timing, your blackest, darkest times will see the glow of a new horizon, It's hard to have faith in the waiting, but God has proven over and over that He is faithful. He loves you and He will see you through to Sunday. ...

It was a rotten morning. I arrived at work late. Almost as soon as I walked in the door, a nurse administrator approached me, angry, asking what I knew about an email she had received from corporate. I was caught in the middle and I still had to get my Monday morning report done before the 8:30 meeting. From there I got about half a dozen calls from people who needed something from me right away, and I still had catching up to do from the week before. I was physically tired, emotionally spent, and in a depressed mood. It was only 10 AM. As I tried to gear up to meet with a case worker, I realized I was not my usual self. I didn’t want to be nice and I didn’t want to make small talk. The bright spot was a young man in street clothes who held a door for me. That little bit of kindness was like a ray of sunshine slicing through the clouds of my dark mood. On my way back to the office from the hospital, I caught a snippet of Insight for Living on WFRN. Chuck Swindoll was talkin...

Cold black hands Dark, eerie whispers Surround, Confound the heart Seeping through Cracks Frustration, Indecision Confusion… hopelessness Secret yearnings for an end Malevolent, distasteful, gruesome Yet sweet in thought No more black, no more night No more struggle or fight Or Change, Hope, Light A brighter future in sight? Break free, oh heart Your time is now Burst forth, come out You will beat on and on.

Nothing is quite like finding out that another person has been saying things about you that not only are untrue, but are mean-spirited and may cost you your job. I rarely cry. I guess I want to believe that most people are basically good, that they wouldn’t go out of their way to hurt another person. I don’t know if it was a lack of sleep, or other little stresses, but the thought of someone who can look me in the face one day and tell me how helpful I was to one of her friends, and the next day, throw me to the wolves… set me over. I couldn’t concentrate on work, and I started to feel nauseous. I went to the bathroom, and the tears started to flow. I prayed for the strength to forgive, to resist giving this person the cold shoulder or telling others what a… kind of person she really is. I did some deep breathing. I was able to tell my husband about it over lunch, which helped. I try not to let things like this affect me so strongly. My boss says I take things too pers...