Wildflower Writes

It was a leadership retreat.  It had been an amazing day- gourmet food, a ropes course, getting to know the others in the group.  I had stayed up late chatting by the fire with some of the guys, and made my way back to the women's cabins alone, about a half mile back through the woods in the pitch dark. I had my flashlight, and I used it to stay out of the small puddles that lined the path.  I also made sure I didn't run into any trees on the way, and that I made it to the right cabin. This was the image I had as I was reading Charles Stanley's new book, " How to Reach your Full Potential for God ", where he draws a mental picture of using your flashlight or lantern to get through the woods in the middle of the night.  He makes these points: You need the light to see in the distance, to be able to know your goal and the direction you are headed. You need the light to see either side of the path, to make sure you are not wandering into t...

Today was the last day of school for my kids. They’ve just finished 2nd grade and kindergarten, respectively. My husband was reminding me of their first day, just over nine months ago. It was supposed to be some big emotional moment, with my youngest child starting school. I was too proud to be sad. He was so excited to get on the big yellow bus with his big sister. I was so nervous I was calling the bus garage when there was no bus after 15 minutes of waiting. I think he’s grown so much in that one school year. He seems older, anyway. He can read now. He wants to be a scientist. He brought home an old phone they had taken apart in class. He writes and illustrates his own stories. The thumb habit is nearly history. He’s an official first grader. My daughter has grown, too. I’m only a head taller than her now, and I had a dream that she was asking to wear my shoes. She is constantly thinking of new schemes and projects for her and her brother to do. She also likes to mak...

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...