Take a moment with me tonight and think of five memory worthy moments from your past week.
Did you see or cause someone to smile?
Did you laugh at least once?
Did you notice the natural world and her gifts to us? Happy belated Earth Day. 🌱
Did you eat a good meal or cook one?
Did you help yourself or someone else in some way?
It’s time to look tiny, I think. We spend a lot of time noticing the big events, experiencing the big life challenges. In the midst of our big and busy days, the smallest things are vying for our noticing, too.
Five from my list:
Seeds in the ground and some thrown for luck
Baby geese swimming on the water
A plant that hasn’t bloomed in a long time deciding it is time
🧚🏼♀️Pink plastic flamingos on the back porch bringing cheer on a rainy Friday morning…I’ll post a pic in my stories here for those of you who need a “walk into the weekend” uplift. 🦩 (Thanks to a recent birthday giver who funded this silly extravagance that I wish I’d bought long ago)
🧚🏼♀️Knowing it is important to surround ourselves with things that bring a smile. Maybe it’s flowers or candles or art. Maybe a plant? Find your thing. Put it where you can see it. 🌟
🧚🏼♀️The way the green looks greener on rainy days and how a gathering of yellow wildflowers out the back window welcome the day like drops of sunlight among the weeds and rain.
🧚🏼♀️ My eldest grandchild knelt beside me late yesterday and we drew what we saw out that window. She created a beautiful wildflower, nothing like the ones in front of us, yet so beautiful. She cut it from the journal we were working in and told her daddy I want to put this on my wall in my room. I want all my art around me. To already know something that important 🙌🏼
🧚🏼♀️Poetry. This one came from a dear friend via snail mail recently. I think she would approve of its sharing here:
Gifts —priceless ones, daily
I’m listing quite early (for me) this week. That, too, is something of a bonus to add to the weekly five. Taking care of things that matter to me. ❤️
Enjoy your day, dear readers. Look for the color where you can.
I’ll start with Saturdays since some of us are reading this while living one.
For me, most Saturdays are take a breath days.
Sleep in. Stay in pajamas if I like. (I like.) Skype with my daughter. Talk with my sister. (By the way, today is “siblings day” according to social media platforms.) I have only one, but she’s a good one.
Strong coffee this morning and throughout the day.
Wine as the day draws to a close. Today I chose a glass from Vienna. I feel present in that memory, that time. Souvenir gratitude.
A walk to check on the dogwood tree I planted for my daughter this year in honor of her birthday. It’s received several rains. Shoots are slowly opening. I stand on the levy and give thanks for the miracle of that.
For all that is coming to life in front of us. For time to watch. For better days to come.
A loyal dog to wait for and accompany me~~
The iris blooming under the front yard oak tree~~
The trees still standing strong after last night’s storm~~
The strawberries in the garden waiting for joyful appreciation and picking tomorrow ~~
The screen door open with birdsong and distant traffic filtering in~~
Good Friday: a day of solemn remembrance. A day where many Christians keep silence, walk the Stations of the Cross, fast, witness.
It really is in the witnessing we receive the deepest gifts.
Have you ever walked alongside a friend or family member as they experienced a terrible ordeal?
You likely felt helpless, but somehow your presence mattered.
Recall the Scripture when Jesus asked Could you not watch with me one hour? (Matthew 26:40)
Often, we might find it hard to watch with someone. Messy paths make us uncomfortable. Too much is unknown. We are busy. We want control. We want order and resolutions and all to be well. We forget that we all get a turn on the messy road. We are going to want someone to witness with us one day.
Tonight’s post takes a departure from my usual five good things listing.
Tonight, I ask you to pray for five people before you go to sleep. So many people are suffering on any given day. On Good Friday, we recall the ultimate suffering.
If we sit with that suffering for a time and do not turn from it, we learn what we need to do. Who needs us. How we can be present on the way.
Five names, lifted up. Any five. No names come to mind? Then five needs you have. Any five.
Still nothing?
Then pray for five people you will never meet and never know. Picture them on a dark road with no one to help them, no one to offer them a light, a hand, an encouraging word.
When you picture them, you’ll know your next step. Don’t be afraid to take it.
A blog reaching out to victims of abuse and others in need, providing insight about abuse, hope for the future, and guidance to see THE LIGHT that lead Secret Angel out of the darkness of her own abusive situation and helped her to not only survive but to overcome.
agnestirrito 