Wildflower Writes

Bruno van der Kraan on Unsplash As the sun sets on another Easter, I reflect on a week honoring Jesus’ last days on earth, including his death and resurrection. One of my favorite parts of the Easter story is when the women go to finish preparing the body, and upon arriving at the empty tomb, meet a couple of angels. They ask the women: “Why do you look for the living among the dead?” I wonder how often we don’t find what we’re looking for because we’re looking in the wrong place. We look for a sense of worth in the opinions of others. We look for meaning in the words of celebrities. We look for fulfillment in how well we perform at school or work. When we seek all the good things of life, such as love, security, and meaning, in the world, we’re looking in the wrong places. The world is like a tomb. It is only an empty shell without Jesus. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” He is the source of all good things, the only way to know and be reconciled to God, th...

Photo by  Erda Estremera  on  Unsplash I heard a story today about a young pastor and his family who were planning a move to their new church two days before their first Sunday. It was an 8-hour drive. Everything was packed. The truck was rented. Then, chaos. The truck broke down before it even got to the house. They got it up and running, but it broke down again on the way. After a hotel stay and much discussion, it was decided the only option was to tow the moving truck and its trailer with the family car all the way to its destination. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to get to the church by Sunday morning. Everything that had been planned by their new congregation had to be rescheduled. All they could do was move forward and plan for the next week. You would think that working around canceled plans would be second nature to us by now, but it’s still disappointing when we plan on something and it falls through. Especially when it’s beyond our control. I’ve noti...

I am an impatient driver.  If I see a utility or garbage truck slowing traffic, I immediately start thinking of an alternative route to get to my destination.  It may be out of my way, but hopefully I will save time by not waiting in line to bypass the roadblock.  There will always be obstacles to reaching your goals, and sometimes they will be unforeseen.  Sometimes you'll be able to plan an alternate path to get to where you are going.  Other times, you may have to be patient and wait it out.  Once in awhile, something major will come up, and you won't make it to where you were going.  You'll have to change your destination all together. For example, I'm working toward writing full-time.  However, I can't quit my full-time day job to pursue writing, because I don't have a surplus of cash, and it's pretty important that my children get to eat.  Sometimes, I get really frustrated with work issues, and I dread going in.  I read a Bibl...

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...

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...