Wildflower Writes

Photo by  Isaac Quesada  on  Unsplash Today I attended a feedback session for a friend who is developing her website and online presence. It was really a great gathering of women from a variety of backgrounds, life stages, and media expertise. The exchange was invigorating and inspiring. One of the most fascinating aspects of the gathering was hostess’s obliviousness to the fact that her homemade box lunches, coffee station, and sparkling drinks on ice demonstrated a gift for hospitality that left the rest of us amazed if not a bit envious. To her, it was just another fun idea to share with friends. It was only recently that I heard that one way to determine your unique gifts is to pay attention when something comes easy for you that doesn’t come easy for everyone. We sometimes take our abilities and passions for granted. Not everyone sees things the way you do. Not everyone can fix a car, create a website, balance a spreadsheet, or harmonize at will. God gave each of...

It is officially the first day of Spring and I am taking it on as my second New Year. Spring is supposed to be a time of new beginnings , of new growth and turning over new leaves. That is what I’m doing this year. Three weeks ago tomorrow I was let go from my stressful job as an admissions representative for a nursing home. Today I am ready to write a thank you note to the person who gave me the “pink slip.” After the initial shock, I’ve done some evaluating and praying and really feel that God opened the door to a prison cell, and I am FREE! I now sleep better at night, have put away the anti-depressants, have fewer GI problems… Although I hated that job, I didn’t realize what it was doing to me. It was my security blanket , though, and I never would have let go if someone hadn’t wrenched it from my hands. So, I am pursuing my dream as a self-employed, work-from-home, freelance writer . I have several projects in the works already, including a grant, three blogs, a press releas...

It’s a familiar scene. Rows of mortarboard hats, jumbled together and jostling one another in excitement. Rows of proud family and friends, equipped with cameras, cards and flowers, celebrate exuberantly. Smiles can be seen as far as the eye can see. High school graduation has become a coming of age ceremony in our culture. It represents a step over the boundary that separates childhood, conformity, and dependence from adulthood, identity, and independence. Even though you have merely progressed from grade to grade for the past 12 or 13 years, there is no longer a set path. At the point of graduation, you are expected to make the next step. Standing on the precipice of decision at such a point can be scary. What if you make a wrong decision? What if you go to the wrong school or pick the wrong major or can’t get a job? It may be easier to see graduation as a “graduated” part of life. Just like any other day in life, it is a day to grow, a day to learn, and a day to just be t...

After a huge barbecue at my sister’s house, a large group of us went for a walk. We followed my brother-in-law’s lead on a winding trail across a field, through a wooded area down to the river, back through the woods and across another field, and onto the neighborhood street. The walk brought back childhood memories of being gone all day during the summer, exploring uncultivated areas, creating forts in the woods, and munching on wild mulberries. As a child, I didn’t plan my day. I got up in the morning, and rode my bike to a friend’s house or to the drug store or to a new place to explore. Whatever “good idea” popped up, I’d pursue, looking for something interesting and fun to do. As I got older, these strange new questions started to pop in my head: “Who am I? Where am I going? What am I doing?” I thought these were questions that I would figure out and have answered by the time I was an adult. I’m not sure how I got the idea that people choose a college major, get a job, an...