Wildflower Writes

Photo by  LinkedIn Sales Navigator  on  Uns plash   I’ve always been an introvert. As a kid, I sometimes got “kicked out” of the house during the summer because I was as happy curled up on the couch reading Nancy Drew books as I was meeting up with the neighbor kids. Being an introvert isn’t necessarily shyness or social anxiety. It’s a tendency to draw energy from being alone or engaged in solitary activities, rather than drawing energy from being with others in social situations.   So, I enjoy people, but I don’t need to be with people all the time, and I’m selective about who I spend time with. Tonight, I shared coffee with some of my favorite ladies. We shared deep thoughts, secret fears, childhood memories, and lots of laughs. It was one of those rare moments that we could be real with each other. The time flew by. I am grateful for friendships like these that make me a better person. “As iron sharpens iron,” the Bible says. They encourage and challenge...

In Roman times, soldiers carried a shield, made of pressed wood and reinforced with iron and brass. In battle, this shield kept them from injury so they could live to fight another day. When a centuria of soldiers was under heavy fire, they would form a "testudo" or tortoise. This formation was created from the shields of all the soldiers, and together it made a "shell" that protected all of the soldiers more completely than any one shield could protect one soldier.  This is why I am part of a church. My personal faith is an amazing thing that gives me an identity, a purpose, and an understanding of the world. It protects me from the "flaming arrows of the evil one" (Ephesians 6:16). But it's not enough. In the same way a soldier's body isn't completely covered by a shield, my faith is inadequate if I practice it in solitude.  But if I combine my faith with the faith of a teenager who is pursuing a calling from God, the faith of a ...

I used to want to be famous. I wanted to see my name printed on the front of a book as I browsed Barnes & Noble. I wanted the interview on the national television network, and the occasional recognition of my name or face at the local coffee house or grocery store. I knew it was a silly dream: not unattainable, but not necessarily a worthy goal. I have a new goal now. I want to be like Becky. I didn't know I wanted to be like Becky, until I attended her memorial service yesterday. I knew Becky through the church choir. I didn't know her well; I knew she worked in a school, that she was a seasoned vocalist, and had a strong faith in God. She died a few weeks ago, in her early sixties, after a 6-month bout with an aggressive cancer. There was an amazing variety of people at the service. I dare not say funeral, because it really wasn't a time of mourning. It was truly a celebration of one woman's life. Staff and children from the school where she taught music for...

To me, it was an epiphany.  "No one expects you to do this alone." "Really?" I thought.  I had always thought I was expected to just handle everything that came my way.  Even when I felt overwhelmed to the point of tears, or completely alone in my struggle, I just didn't know that it was okay to share the load.  What a relief!  I wasn't a failure.  I wasn't inadequate.  I was human.  In fact, my counselor went on to elaborate, God actually puts people in our lives to love, support, encourage, and challenge us.  In order to build relationships, I had to take down a formidable foe.  Pride.  I had to take off the smiley mask that tried to communicate well-being and self-reliance.  I had to admit I wasn't as strong or independent as I thought I was.  I had to admit I actually needed other people in my life. No one expects you to reach your goals alone. You need people in your life who will encourage you and believe in ...